De novo assembly of Agave sisalana transcriptome in response to drought stress provides insight into the tolerance mechanisms.

Journal: Scientific reports
Published Date:

Abstract

Agave, monocotyledonous succulent plants, is endemic to arid regions of North America, exhibiting exceptional tolerance to their xeric environments. They employ various strategies to overcome environmental constraints, such as crassulacean acid metabolism, wax depositions, and protective leaf morphology. Genomic resources of Agave species have received little attention irrespective of their cultural, economic and ecological importance, which so far prevented the understanding of the molecular bases underlying their adaptations to the arid environment. In this study, we aimed to elucidate molecular mechanism(s) using transcriptome sequencing of A. sisalana. A de novo approach was applied to assemble paired-end reads. The expression study unveiled 3,095 differentially expressed unigenes between well-irrigated and drought-stressed leaf samples. Gene ontology and KEGG analysis specified a significant number of abiotic stress responsive genes and pathways involved in processes like hormonal responses, antioxidant activity, response to stress stimuli, wax biosynthesis, and ROS metabolism. We also identified transcripts belonging to several families harboring important drought-responsive genes. Our study provides the first insight into the genomic structure of A. sisalana underlying adaptations to drought stress, thus providing diverse genetic resources for drought tolerance breeding research.

Authors

  • Muhammad Bilal Sarwar
    Plant Genomics Lab, Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, 87-West Canal Bank Road Thokar Niaz Baig, Lahore, 53700, Pakistan.
  • Zarnab Ahmad
    Plant Genomics Lab, Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, 87-West Canal Bank Road Thokar Niaz Baig, Lahore, 53700, Pakistan.
  • Bushra Rashid
    Plant Genomics Lab, Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, 87-West Canal Bank Road Thokar Niaz Baig, Lahore, 53700, Pakistan. bushra.cemb@pu.edu.pk.
  • Sameera Hassan
    Plant Genomics Lab, Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, 87-West Canal Bank Road Thokar Niaz Baig, Lahore, 53700, Pakistan.
  • Per L Gregersen
    Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, Slagelse, Denmark.
  • Maria De la O Leyva
    Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, Slagelse, Denmark.
  • Istvan Nagy
    Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, Slagelse, Denmark.
  • Torben Asp
    Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, Slagelse, Denmark.
  • Tayyab Husnain
    Department of Genetics, Hazara University , Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , Pakistan.