Vannozzi Alessandro, Palumbo Fabio, Magon Gabriele, Lucchin Margherita, Barcaccia Gianni
Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Campus of Agripolis, V. le dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro, Padova, Italy.
Hortic Res. 2021 Sep 1;8(1):200. doi: 10.1038/s41438-021-00635-7.
The comprehension of molecular processes underlying the development and progression of flowering in plants is a hot topic, not only because that often the products of interest for human and animal nutrition are linked to the development of fruits or seeds, but also because the processes of gametes formation occurring in sexual organs are at the basis of recombination and genetic variability which constitutes the matter on which evolution acts, whether understood as natural or human driven. In the present study, we used an NGS approach to produce a grapevine flower transcriptome snapshot in different whorls and tissues including calyx, calyptra, filament, anther, stigma, ovary, and embryo in both pre- and post-anthesis phases. Our investigation aimed at identifying hub genes that unequivocally distinguish the different tissues providing insights into the molecular mechanisms that are at the basis of floral whorls and tissue development. To this end we have used different analytical approaches, some now consolidated in transcriptomic studies on plants, such as pairwise comparison and weighted-gene coexpression network analysis, others used mainly in studies on animals or human's genomics, such as the tau (τ) analysis aimed at isolating highly and absolutely tissue-specific genes. The intersection of data obtained by these analyses allowed us to gradually narrow the field, providing evidence about the molecular mechanisms occurring in those whorls directly involved in reproductive processes, such as anther and stigma, and giving insights into the role of other whorls not directly related to reproduction, such as calyptra and calyx. We believe this work could represent an important genomic resource for functional analyses of grapevine floral organ growth and fruit development shading light on molecular networks underlying grapevine reproductive organ determination.
理解植物开花发育和进程背后的分子过程是一个热门话题，这不仅是因为人类和动物营养所需的产品通常与果实或种子的发育相关，还因为性器官中发生的配子形成过程是重组和遗传变异的基础，而重组和遗传变异是进化作用的物质基础，无论这种进化是自然驱动还是人为驱动。在本研究中，我们使用NGS方法，在开花前和开花后阶段，对葡萄花不同轮和组织（包括花萼、副萼、花丝、花药、柱头、子房和胚）的转录组进行了快照分析。我们的研究旨在识别能够明确区分不同组织的枢纽基因，从而深入了解花轮和组织发育的分子机制。为此，我们使用了不同的分析方法，其中一些方法在植物转录组学研究中已经得到巩固，比如成对比较和加权基因共表达网络分析，另一些方法主要用于动物或人类基因组学研究，比如旨在分离高度且绝对组织特异性基因的tau（τ）分析。这些分析所获得数据的交集使我们能够逐步缩小研究范围，为直接参与生殖过程的花轮（如花药和柱头）中发生的分子机制提供证据，并深入了解与生殖无直接关系的其他花轮（如副萼和花萼）的作用。我们相信这项工作可能代表了一个重要的基因组资源，可用于葡萄花器官生长和果实发育的功能分析，为葡萄生殖器官决定的分子网络提供线索。
