Wilson H T, Xu K, Taylor A G
Cornell University School of Integrated Plant Science, New York State Agriculture Experimental Station, Geneva, NY 24456, USA.
ScientificWorldJournal. 2015;2015:391234. doi: 10.1155/2015/391234. Epub 2015 Oct 8.
The beneficial effects of gelatin capsule seed treatment on enhanced plant growth and tolerance to abiotic stress have been reported in a number of crops, but the molecular mechanisms underlying such effects are poorly understood. Using mRNA sequencing based approach, transcriptomes of one- and two-week-old cucumber plants from gelatin capsule treated and nontreated seeds were characterized. The gelatin treated plants had greater total leaf area, fresh weight, frozen weight, and nitrogen content. Pairwise comparisons of the RNA-seq data identified 620 differentially expressed genes between treated and control two-week-old plants, consistent with the timing when the growth related measurements also showed the largest differences. Using weighted gene coexpression network analysis, significant coexpression gene network module of 208 of the 620 differentially expressed genes was identified, which included 16 hub genes in the blue module, a NAC transcription factor, a MYB transcription factor, an amino acid transporter, an ammonium transporter, a xenobiotic detoxifier-glutathione S-transferase, and others. Based on the putative functions of these genes, the identification of the significant WGCNA module and the hub genes provided important insights into the molecular mechanisms of gelatin seed treatment as a biostimulant to enhance plant growth.
明胶胶囊种子处理对多种作物增强植物生长和耐受非生物胁迫具有有益作用，但对此类作用的分子机制了解甚少。采用基于mRNA测序的方法，对明胶胶囊处理和未处理种子培育的一周龄和两周龄黄瓜植株的转录组进行了表征。经明胶处理的植株具有更大的总叶面积、鲜重、冻重和氮含量。对RNA-seq数据进行成对比较，在处理组和对照组两周龄植株之间鉴定出620个差异表达基因，这与生长相关测量也显示出最大差异的时间一致。使用加权基因共表达网络分析，在620个差异表达基因中鉴定出208个显著的共表达基因网络模块，其中包括蓝色模块中的16个枢纽基因、一个NAC转录因子、一个MYB转录因子、一个氨基酸转运蛋白、一个铵转运蛋白、一个外源性解毒剂——谷胱甘肽S-转移酶等。基于这些基因的推定功能，显著WGCNA模块和枢纽基因的鉴定为明胶种子处理作为一种生物刺激剂促进植物生长的分子机制提供了重要见解。
