Institute of Crop Sciences, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (FAAS), Fujian Engineering Research Center of Characteristic Floriculture, Fuzhou, 350013 China
Abstract
Oncidium, a kind of orchid plants characterized with unique flower, is one of the four tropical orchids with high ornamental value and favored by consumers. However, our understanding about the molecular basis of its flower development is still limited. Here, we collected Oncidium tissues at different developmental stages for RNA-seq. A total of more than 621 million clean reads were generated. 134,640 unigenes were assembled, and 54,221 unigenes were annotated. The number of DEGs (differentially expressed genes) was the largest in the comparison group F2-vs-F3 (F2 stage compared with F3 stage in flowers). The GO (Gene Ontology) terms and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathways enriched for the specific DEGs were diverse at different stages. The common pathways enriched in multiple comparisons were also obtained. 11 key genes were obtained in cutin, suberin and wax biosynthesis pathway. Moreover, 32 candidate genes related to flower development were screened. Most of them presented tissue-specific expressions, especially MADS-box genes described by the ABCDE model. In all, the present data provides a valuable resource for dissecting the molecular mechanism of Oncidium in regulating flower development.
