Genes 2018, 9(4), 212; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes9040212
Transcriptomic Analysis of Flower Bud Differentiation in Magnolia sinostellata
Lijie Fan 1
, Mengqian Chen 1, Bin Dong 1, Ninghang Wang 1, Qin Yu 1, Xingli Wang 1, Lingjuan Xuan 1, Yaling Wang 2, Shouzhou Zhang 3 and Yamei Shen 1,*
, Mengqian Chen 1, Bin Dong 1, Ninghang Wang 1, Qin Yu 1, Xingli Wang 1, Lingjuan Xuan 1, Yaling Wang 2, Shouzhou Zhang 3 and Yamei Shen 1,*
1
College of Landscape and Architecture, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, China
2
Xian Botanical Garden of Shaanxi Academy of Science, Xian 710061, China
3
Shenzhen Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, Shenzhen 518004, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 12 February 2018 / Revised: 8 April 2018 / Accepted: 11 April 2018 / Published: 16 April 2018
(This article belongs to the Section Plant Genetics and Genomics)
Abstract
Magnolias are widely cultivated for their beautiful flowers, but despite their popularity, the molecular mechanisms regulating flower bud differentiation have not been elucidated. Here, we used paraffin sections and RNA-seq to study the process of flower bud differentiation in Magnolia sinostellata. Flower bud development occurred between 28 April and 30 May 2017 and was divided into five stages: undifferentiated, early flower bud differentiation, petal primordium differentiation, stamen primordium differentiation, and pistil primordium differentiation. A total of 52,441 expressed genes were identified, of which 11,592 were significantly differentially expressed in the five bud development stages. Of these, 82 genes were involved in the flowering. In addition, MADS-box and AP2 family genes play critical roles in the formation of flower organs and 20 differentially expressed genes associated with flower bud differentiation were identified in M. sinostellata. A qRT-PCR analysis verified that the MADS-box and AP2 family genes were expressed at high levels during flower bud differentiation. Consequently, this study provides a theoretical basis for the genetic regulation of flowering in M. sinostellata, which lays a foundation for further research into flowering genes and may facilitate the development of new cultivars. View Full-TextKeywords:
flower bud differentiation; flowering gene; RNA-seq; qRT-PCR; Magnolia sp.
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Fan, L.; Chen, M.; Dong, B.; Wang, N.; Yu, Q.; Wang, X.; Xuan, L.; Wang, Y.; Zhang, S.; Shen, Y. Transcriptomic Analysis of Flower Bud Differentiation in Magnolia sinostellata. Genes 2018, 9, 212.
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