Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Qualea Grandiflora mart. Plants to Investigate the Role of Aluminum in This Cerrado Species Metabolism

Title: Comparative transcriptome analysis of Qualea grandiflora Mart. plants to investigate the role of aluminum in this Cerrado species metabolism

Renata Cristina Costa e Silva*, Fernando Araripe Gonçalves Torres*, Gabriel da Rocha Fernandes, Simoni Campos Dias, Luiz Alfredo Rodrigues Pereira*.

 *University of Brazilian, Postal Code 70910-90, Brazil.

Abstract. About 40% of agricultural land of the world is acid with high levels of aluminum (Al). Therefore, most tropical soils are acid. Soil acidity occurs through natural processes that result in the accumulation Al species, especially Al³⁺. Cerrado plants species of Vochysiaceae family, such as Qualea grandiflora, accumulate Al and require it for proper growth and development. Based on that, the transcriptome profiles of leaves from 8-month old plants grown with and without Al were investigated. De novo assembly of individual transcriptome followed by sequence clustering yielded 134,494 non redundant sequences, from which 16,719 transcripts were differentially expressed between the two treatments. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses indicated that 52 and 58 orthology groups, were overrepresented in upregulated transcripts in control and Al-treated plants, respectively. A total of 400 transcription and transduction factors and 208 transporter genes were differentially regulated in Q. grandiflora leaves in response to Al. Some genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism, environmental adaptation, resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses, as well as pathogen defense were highly expressed in leaves of Al-treated plants, implicating them in Al metabolism in this plant species. Moreover, in the absence of Al, the most regulated genes were related to stress response mechanism such as programed cell death, production of secondary metabolites (terpenes) and antioxidant activity. The transcriptome also revealed a gene network in the leaves regulated by Al and provided valuable information on Al associated genes. Additionally, a detailed insight into the molecular mechanisms associated with the role of Al in Q. grandiflora may provide future applications to crop improvement.

 

key words: transcriptome, Al-accumulating, metabolism.

 

Biography

Renata Cristina Costa e Silva is a PhD student at the Department of Botany, University of Brazilian. Her thesis proposal is directed towards unravelling the metabolic role of Al in Cerrado plants. These plants need Al to grow and develop. This research has been funded by FAPDF (Research funding foundation of Brasilia) and CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel).

Presenting author details

Full name: Renata Cristina Costa e Silva
Contact number: 55(62) 9122-3167
Email adress: renatacrisbio@yahoo.com.br
Category: Poster presentation