Transcriptome scale analysis to decode the differential sucrose accumulation mechanisms in sugarcane under the effect of gibberellin

Abstract

In the present study, we analyzed GA3 (gibberellin)‐treated sugarcane samples at the transcriptomic level to elucidate the differential expression of genes that influence sucrose accumulation. Previous research has suggested that GA3 application can potentially delay sink saturation by enhancing sink strength and demand, enabling the accommodation of more sucrose. To investigate the potential role of GA‐induced modification of sink capacity in promoting higher sucrose accumulation, we sought to unravel the differential expression of transcripts and analyze their functional annotation. Several genes homologous to the sugar‐phosphate/phosphate translocator, UTP‐glucose‐1‐phosphate uridylyltransferase, and V‐ATPases (vacuolar‐type H+ ATPase) were identified as potentially associated with the increased sucrose content observed. A differentially expressed transcript was found to be identical to the mRNA of an unknown protein. Homology‐based bioinformatics analysis suggested it to be a hydrolase enzyme, which could potentially act as a stimulator of sucrose buildup. The database of differentially expressed transcripts obtained in this study under the influence of GA3 represents a valuable addition to the sugarcane transcriptomics and functional genomics knowledge base.