Abstract
BackgroundAlfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a widely cultivated, essential commercial forage crop. The protein content in its leaves is the critical factor in determining the quality of alfalfa. Thus far, the understanding of the molecular mechanism of alfalfa defoliation traits remains unclear. The transcriptome database created by RNA-Seq is used to identify critical genes related to defoliation traits.ResultsIn this study, we sequenced the transcriptomes of the Zhungeer variety (with easy leaf abscission) and WL319HQ variety (without easy leaf abscission). Among the identified 66,734 unigenes, 706 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) upregulated, and 392 unigenes downregulated in the Zhungeer vs WL319HQ leaf. KEGG pathway annotations showed that 8,414 unigenes were annotated to 87 pathways and contained 281 DEGs. Six DEGs belonging to the “Carotenoid biosynthesis”, “Plant hormone signal transduction” and “Circadian rhythm-plant” pathways involved in defoliation traits were identified and validated by RT-qPCR analyses.ConclusionsThis study used RNA-Seq to discover genes associated with defoliation traits between two alfalfa varieties. Our transcriptome data dramatically enriches alfalfa functional genomic studies. In addition, these data provide theoretical guidance for field production practice and genetic breeding, as well as references for future study of defoliation traits in alfalfa.
Highlights
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a widely cultivated, essential commercial forage crop
Based on differentially expressed genes (DEGs), we aimed to identify the critical genes related to defoliation traits in the Zhungeer variety and the WL319HQ variety
De novo assembly transcriptome Six libraries of the total RNA extracted from the leaves of Zhungeer and WL319HQ varieties at the early flowering stage were constructed for high-throughput sequencing
Summary
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a widely cultivated, essential commercial forage crop. The protein content in its leaves is the critical factor in determining the quality of alfalfa. Alfalfa is widely distributed across the world and cultivated as a commercial forage crop due to its high protein, vitamin and mineral content [1, 2]. ABA is a natural plant hormone identified in the 1960s, with roles in promoting plant organ shedding and seed germination [7, 8]. ETH is another early-discovered plant hormone with function in the regulation of plant growth, such as the promotion of fruit ripening, acceleration of organ aging and shedding [13].
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