Transcriptome sequencing analysis revealing the potential mechanism of seed germination in Pulsatilla chinensis (Bunge) Regel

Pulsatilla chinensis (Bunge) Regel has been widely used in the pharmaceutical industry. With the deepening of clinical application, the research on its plant resources has attracted much attention. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of distinct germination during Pulsatilla seed development are still mostly unknown. Therefore, in this study, four germination stages of P. chinensis seeds, with obvious differences in seed appearance traits, were used as materials. Transcriptome sequencing technology was used to analyse the molecular mechanisms of seed germination. A total of 27,601 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (six different groups) were determined. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the up-regulated DEGs were enriched in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, photosynthesis, photosynthesis-antenna proteins, plant hormone signal transduction, flavonoid biosynthesis and other pathways. A total of 87 DEGs was enriched in phytohormone signal transduction pathways, including auxin (25), abscisic acid (13), gibberellin (6), ethylene (9) and cytokinin (7). Furthermore, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed using these DEGs. Some DEGs were validated by qRT-PCR analysis. This comprehensive analysis provided basic information on the key genes of plant hormone signal transduction pathways involved in the seed germination process of P. chinensis (Bunge) Regel.

Automated summary

This study used the differences in seed appearance traits during the germination stages of Pulsatilla chinensis seeds as materials and analyzed the molecular mechanisms of seed germination using transcriptome sequencing technology. It was found that there were 27,601 differentially expressed genes during the germination process, and some of these genes were involved in plant hormone signal transduction pathways. The analysis of these genes revealed the key genes involved in the plant hormone signal transduction pathways during the seed germination process of Pulsatilla chinensis.