Abstract
Syringa oblata Lindl. is a woody ornamental plant with high economic value and characteristics that include early flowering, multiple flower colors, and strong fragrance. Despite a long history of cultivation, the genetics and molecular biology of S. oblata are poorly understood. Transcriptome and expression profiling data are needed to identify genes and to better understand the biological mechanisms of floral pigments and scents in this species. Nine cDNA libraries were obtained from three replicates of three developmental stages: inflorescence with enlarged flower buds not protruded, inflorescence with corolla lobes not displayed, and inflorescence with flowers fully opened and emitting strong fragrance. Using the Illumina RNA-Seq technique, 319,425,972 clean reads were obtained and were assembled into 104,691 final unigenes (average length of 853 bp), 41.75% of which were annotated in the NCBI non-redundant protein database. Among the annotated unigenes, 36,967 were assigned to gene ontology categories and 19,956 were assigned to eukaryoticorthologous groups. Using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway database, 12,388 unigenes were sorted into 286 pathways. Based on these transcriptomic data, we obtained a large number of candidate genes that were differentially expressed at different flower stages and that were related to floral pigment biosynthesis and fragrance metabolism. This comprehensive transcriptomic analysis provides fundamental information on the genes and pathways involved in flower secondary metabolism and development in S. oblata, providing a useful database for further research on S. oblata and other plants of genus Syringa.
Highlights
Color and scent are important properties of flowers and play an important role in the ecophysiology, aesthetic properties, and economic value of flowering plants
We identified genes associated with pathways of important secondary metabolic processes that were differentially expressed during flower development, which provides comprehensive information about gene expression at the transcriptional level and increase the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of flower pigment biosynthesis and floral scent metabolism in S. oblata
The combination of RNA-seq and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) analysis based on Illumina sequencing technology provided comprehensive information on gene expression in S. oblata
Summary
Color and scent are important properties of flowers and play an important role in the ecophysiology, aesthetic properties, and economic value of flowering plants. Each plant possesses a unique and distinct floral color and scent. Exploring the generation mechanism for floral color and scent is necessary to reveal their roles in plants, and to breed new varieties through regulation of color and scent. Flower pigments vary among plant species according to the characteristics of their low-molecular-mass secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids, carotenoids, and alkaloids, of which flavonoids are the dominant compounds[1]. Anthocyanidins (including pelargonidin, cyanidin, delphinidin, peonidin, petunidin, and malvidin) in floral organs are the main flavonoids that determine flower color. The regulatory mechanisms of anthocyanin metabolism have been resolved in some ornamental plants, such as Gerbera hybrida, Gentian scabra, Lilium spp., and P. hybrida[5,6,7,8,9]. The different biosynthesis and regulatory mechanisms of anthocyanidins found in different plants should be explored
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