Comprehensive transcriptome analysis discovers genes related to leaf color in Cymbidium ‘Sakura’ etiolated mutant

Abstract The orchids Cymbidium ‘Sakura’ (CyC) and its etiolated mutant (CyT) were studied. CyC displays obvious dark green leaves, while CyT shows yellow leaves. There were obvious differences in phenotype and organelle ultrastructure between CyC and CyT. The total chlorophyll content in CyT was low...
Ausführliche Beschreibung

Abstract The orchids Cymbidium ‘Sakura’ (CyC) and its etiolated mutant (CyT) were studied. CyC displays obvious dark green leaves, while CyT shows yellow leaves. There were obvious differences in phenotype and organelle ultrastructure between CyC and CyT. The total chlorophyll content in CyT was lower than that in CyC. Ca. 47.60 Gb clean data were obtained for the transcriptome from samples of CyC and CyT using Illumina Hiseq™ 2500 RNA-seq. The DEGs expression analysis results revealed that 1139 genes were differentially expressed between CyC and CyT. Several DEGs were further validated by qRT-PCR. Chlorophyll synthesis and photosynthesis were inhibited, and chlorophyll degradation contributed to the etiolated traits in the mutant. In our research, the phenotypic, physiochemical, and cytological traits were compared between CyC and CyT. The research will contribute to the understanding of the cloning and functional aspects of genes that involved in leaf color variation responses, and will accelerate leaf color breeding of orchids. Ausführliche Beschreibung