Biologia plantarum 61:667-674, 2017 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-017-0736-5

RNA-seq analysis reveals a key role of brassinolide-regulated pathways in NaCl-stressed cotton

H. M. Shu1, S. Q. Guo1, Y. Y. Gong1, L. Jiang1, J. W. Zhu1, W. C. Ni1,*
1 Key Laboratory of Cotton and Rapeseed, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Industrial Crops, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, P.R. China

Brassinolide (BL) alleviates salt injury in cotton seedlings; however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of this response. In this study, digital gene expression analysis was performed to better understand the regulatory pathways of BL in NaCl-stressed cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Compared with control plants (CK), a total of 1 162 and 7 659 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in the leaves and roots of NaCl-treated plants, respectively. Most of the DEGs in NaCl-treated plants, compared to CK, were regulated by BL. Moreover, expression patterns of DEGs in BL+NaCl treated plants were similar to those in CK plants; however, the responses of DEGs in the leaves and roots of NaCl-treated plants to BL differed. In the roots, BL-regulated DEGs were involved in protein biosynthesis, whereas in the leaves, BL promoted photosynthesis in NaCl-stressed cotton. BL treatment also significantly increased the overall biomass, chlorophyll a + b content in leaves, and the protein content in roots in NaCl-stressed cotton. The downregulation of stress-responsive genes in BL+NaCl-stressed leaves was also found. These results suggest that BL can alleviate NaCl injury in cotton plants.

Keywords: chlorophyll; differentially expressed genes; gene ontology enrichment analysis; photosynthesis; proteins
Subjects: RNA-seq analysis; brassinosteroids; salinity; chlorophyll; photosynthesis; differentially expressed genes; cotton

Received: July 21, 2016; Revised: January 9, 2017; Accepted: January 19, 2017; Published: December 1, 2017Show citation

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Shu, H.M., Guo, S.Q., Gong, Y.Y., Jiang, L., Zhu, J.W., & Ni, W.C. (2017). RNA-seq analysis reveals a key role of brassinolide-regulated pathways in NaCl-stressed cotton. Biologia plantarum, 61(4), 667-674. doi: 10.1007/s10535-017-0736-5.
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