Analysis on the salt tolerance of Nitraria sibirica Pall. based on Pacbio full-length transcriptome sequencing

Abstract

N. sibirica, as a typical halophyte, can not only effectively repair saline-alkali land, but also has high economic value. However, the analysis on its salt tolerance at combining the molecular and physiological levels was little studied. Hence, in this study, the salt tolerance of N. sibirica was analyzed based on Pacbio full-length transcriptome sequencing, and the salt tolerance in the physiological levels was verified by key genes. The results found that 89,017 full-length transcripts were obtained, of which 84,632 sequences were annotated. The 86,482 coding sequence (CDS) sequences were predicted. In total, 6561 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. DEGs were significantly enriched in “response to salt stress”, “sodium ion homeostasis”, “response to osmotic stress”, “reactive oxygen species metabolic process”, “defense response by cell wall thickening” and “signal transduction”, et al. A total of 69 key genes were screened, of which 33 were not reported on salt tolerance. The NsRabE1c gene with the highest expression was selected to verify salt tolerance. The results showed that the gene regulates plant growth to resist salt stress. Results in the present study deepen the understanding of salinity resistance in N. sibirica and provide resources for further breeding projects under such stress conditions.