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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Logan, Utah » Forage and Range Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #408398
Research Project: Improved Plant Genetic Resources and Methodologies for Rangelands, Pastures, and Turf Landscapes in the Semiarid Western U.S.

Location: Forage and Range Research

Title: Transcriptome profiling provides insights into the early development of tiller buds in high- and low-tillering orchardgrass genotypes

Author
item FENG, GUANGYAN - Sichuan Agricultural University
item XU, XIAOHENG - Sichuan Agricultural University
item LIU, WEN - Sichuan Agricultural University
item HOA, FEIGXIANG - Sichuan Agricultural University
item YANG, ZHONGFU - Sichuan Agricultural University
item NIE, GANG - Sichuan Agricultural University
item HUANG, L - Sichuan Agricultural University
item PENG, YAN - Sichuan Agricultural University
item Bushman, Shaun
item HE, WEI - Sichuan Agricultural University
item ZHANG, XINGQUAN - Sichuan Agricultural University

Submitted to: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/9/2023
Publication Date: 11/15/2023
Citation: Feng, G., Xu, X., Liu, W., Hoa, F., Yang, Z., Nie, G., Huang, L., Peng, Y., Bushman, B.S., He, W., Zhang, X. 2023. Transcriptome profiling provides insights into the early development of tiller buds in high- and low-tillering orchardgrass genotypes. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 24(22). Article 16370. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242216370.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242216370

Interpretive Summary: Tillering is important in forage grasses because of it's relationship with forage yield. In orchardgrass, a recent reference genome assembly allowed for trait dissection and candidate gene identification, with tillering genes as targets. In this study, RNA was collected at different growth stages in high and low tillering orchardgrass breeding lines, and transcript abundances compared. Additionally, traits related to tillering were measured, such as carbohydrates and giberillic acid abundances. The authors found hundreds of genes were induced in the high tillering plant, and nitrogen and GA pathways were highly correlated with tillering.

Technical Abstract: Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) is among the most economically important perennial cool-season grasses, an excellent hay, pasture, and silage crop in temperate regions worldwide. Tillering is a vital feature that dominates orchardgrass regeneration and biomass yield. However, transcriptional dynamics regarding early-stage bud development between high- and low-tillering orchardgrass genotypes are unclear. Thus, this study assessed the photosynthetic parameters, partially essential intermediate biomolecular substances, and the transcriptome to elaborate the early-stage profiles of tiller development. Photosynthetic efficiency and morphological development significantly differ between high- (AKZ-NRGR667) and low-tillering genotypes (D20170203) at the early stage after tiller formation. The 206.41 Gb of high-quality bases revealed stage-specific DEGs, demonstrating that signal transduction and energy-related metabolism pathways, especially photosynthetic-related processes, influence tiller induction and development. Moreover, WGCNA and functional enrichment identified distinctively co-expressed gene clusters and four main regulatory pathways, including chlorophyll, lutein, nitrogen, and GA metabolism. Therefore, photosynthesis, carbohydrate synthesis, nitrogen efficient utilization, and phytohormone signaling pathways are closely and intrinsically linked at the transcriptional level. These findings enhance our understanding of tillering in orchardgrass and perennial grasses, providing a new breeding strategy for improving forage biomass yield.