Identification of Differentially Expressed Genes Related to Floral Bud Differentiation and Flowering Time in Three Populations of Lycoris radiata

Abstract

The transition from vegetative to reproductive growth is important for controlling the flowering of Lycoris radiata. However, the genetic control of this complex developmental process remains unclear. In this study, 18 shoot apical meristem (SAM) samples were collected from early-, mid- and late-flowering populations during floral bud differentiation. The histological analysis of paraffin sections showed that the floral bud differentiation could be divided into six stages; the differentiation time of the early group was earlier than that of the middle and late groups, and the late group was the latest. In different populations, some important differential genes affecting the flowering time were identified by transcriptome profiles of floral bud differentiation samples. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to enrich the gene co-expression modules of diverse flowering time populations (FT) and floral bud differentiation stages (ST). In the MEyellow module, five core hub genes were identified, including CO14, GI, SPL8, SPL9, and SPL15. The correlation network of hub genes showed that they interact with SPLs, AP2, hormone response factors (auxin, gibberellin, ethylene, and abscisic acid), and several transcription factors (MADS-box transcription factor, bHLH, MYB, and NAC3). It suggests the important role of these genes and the complex molecular mechanism of floral bud differentiation and flowering time in L. radiata. These results can preliminarily explain the molecular mechanism of floral bud differentiation and provide new candidate genes for the flowering regulation of Lycoris.

Transcription Factor and Zeatin Co-Regulate Mixed Catkin Differentiation of Chinese Chestnut (Castanea mollissima)

“…For each sample, expression levels were estimated as fragments per kilobase of transcripts per million mapped reads (FPKM). DESeq was used to identify DEGs among two samples via FDR < 0.05 and absolute log 2 (fold-change) ≥ 1 as the limit [31]. The newly acquired DEGs were further annotated with KEGG pathway analysis.…”

Establishing a Virus-Induced Gene Silencing System in Lycoris chinensis

“…In addition, the bulbs contain a large number of alkaloid compounds, which have anti-malarial and anti-tumor effects and are a treatment for senile dementia [3,4], so the plants also have important medicinal value. Due to the great ornamental and medicinal value of Lycoris, more and more transcriptomic data have been provided, and functional genes related to excellent breeding traits have been identified [5][6][7][8]. However, due to the lack of efficient genetic transformation, there has been no report on the gene function of Lycoris thus far.…”