title: Transcriptome-wide characterization of candidate genes for improving the water use efficiency of energy crops grown on semiarid land.
abstract: Understanding the genetic basis of water use efficiency (WUE) and its roles in plant adaptation to a drought environment is essential for the production of second-generation energy crops in water-deficit marginal land. In this study, RNA-Seq and WUE measurements were performed for 78 individuals of Miscanthus lutarioriparius grown in two common gardens, one located in warm and wet Central China near the native habitats of the species and the other located in the semiarid Loess Plateau, the domestication site of the energy crop. The field measurements showed that WUE of M. lutarioriparius in the semiarid location was significantly higher than that in the wet location. A matrix correlation analysis was conducted between gene expression levels and WUE to identify candidate genes involved in the improvement of WUE from the native to the domestication site. A total of 48 candidate genes were identified and assigned to functional categories, including photosynthesis, stomatal regulation, protein metabolism, and abiotic stress responses. Of these genes, nearly 73% were up-regulated in the semiarid site. It was also found that the relatively high expression variation of the WUE-related genes was affected to a larger extent by environment than by genetic variation. The study demonstrates that transcriptome-wide correlation between physiological phenotypes and expression levels offers an effective means for identifying candidate genes involved in the adaptation to environmental changes.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Beijing Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Yangyang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Beijing Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
authors.forename: Lifang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Beijing Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Shilai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Beijing Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Chengcheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Beijing Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Caiyun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Beijing Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
authors.forename: Cong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China sang@ibcas.ac.cn yanj@wbgcas.cn.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China.
authors.forename: Jianqiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Beijing Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China sang@ibcas.ac.cn yanj@wbgcas.cn.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sang
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D055864:Droughts; D017753:Ecosystem; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D014644:Genetic Variation; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006109:Poaceae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D014867:Water
keywords: Abiotic stress; Miscanthus lutarioriparius; RNA-Seq; adaptation; genetic and environmental interaction; water use efficiency.