Abstract
Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) is an excellent fast-growing timber species occurring in southern China and has significant value in the forestry industry. In order to enhance the phosphorus utilization efficiency in Chinese fir, four clones named X6, S3, S39 and FK were used, and low phosphorus (LP) stress experiments were performed to analyze the response of different clones to phosphorus deficiency. According to the results on seedling height, maximum root length, leaf blade aspect ratio, root ratio, malondialdehyde content, acid phosphates activity, proline content, soluble protein level, and chlorophyll a and b levels of the tested clones, compared to the control groups (CK), the phosphorus high efficiency clone X6 was screen out for transcriptome sequencing experiments. De novo RNA-seq was then used to sequence the root transcriptomes of X6 under LP stress and CK, and we then compared the gene expression differences under the two conditions. A total of 3416 SDEGs were obtained by comparing the LP and CK groups, among which 1742 were up-regulated and 1682 were down-regulated. All SDEGs obtained from the LP and CK treated samples were subjected to KEGG annotation and classification. Through classification statistical analysis using WEGO software, 607 SDEGs obtained KEGG pathway annotations, which were related to 206 metabolic pathways. In Chinese fir subjected to LP stress, 53 SDEGs related with phosphorus metabolism, and phosphate uptake and transport were obtained from our transcriptome data. Based on the phosphorus metabolism pathway obtained by KEGG classification, combined with previously report on gene annotation related with phosphorus metabolism, the enzymes encoded by SDEG related with phosphorus metabolism and their expression pattern were mapped onto phosphorus metabolism pathway.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thanks the State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding (Northeast Forestry University) support Program (Grant No. 201201).
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Yong-Quan Lu and Huahong Huang conceived and designed the experimental plan. Zaikang Tong and Jinliang Xu selected and prepared the Chinese fir clones for this experiment. Dingwei Luo, Guifang Ma and Licui Jia performed physiology experiment and root transcriptomes experiment. Yong-Quan Lu and Jianhui Li analyzed and interpreted the experiment data, constructed the phosphorus metabolism draft and drafted manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Project funding: This work is supported by the State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding (Northeast Forestry University) support Program (Grant No. 201201).
The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com
Corresponding editor: Chai Ruihai.
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Li, J., Luo, D., Ma, G. et al. Response of Chinese fir seedlings to low phosphorus stress and analysis of gene expression differences. J. For. Res. 30, 183–192 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-018-0597-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-018-0597-6