title: Suitable Reference Genes for Accurate Gene Expression Analysis in Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) for Abiotic Stresses and Hormone Stimuli.
abstract: Parsley, one of the most important vegetables in the Apiaceae family, is widely used in the food, medicinal, and cosmetic industries. Recent studies on parsley mainly focus on its chemical composition, and further research involving the analysis of the plant's gene functions and expressions is required. qPCR is a powerful method for detecting very low quantities of target transcript levels and is widely used to study gene expression. To ensure the accuracy of results, a suitable reference gene is necessary for expression normalization. In this study, four software, namely geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and RefFinder were used to evaluate the expression stabilities of eight candidate reference genes of parsley (GAPDH, ACTIN, eIF-4α,SAND, UBC, TIP41, EF-1α, andTUB) under various conditions, including abiotic stresses (heat, cold, salt, and drought) and hormone stimuli treatments (GA, SA, MeJA, and ABA). Results showed thatEF-1α andTUBwere the most stable genes for abiotic stresses, whereasEF-1α,GAPDH, andTUBwere the top three choices for hormone stimuli treatments. Moreover,EF-1α andTUBwere the most stable reference genes among all tested samples, andUBCwas the least stable one. Expression analysis ofPcDREB1andPcDREB2further verified that the selected stable reference genes were suitable for gene expression normalization. This study can guide the selection of suitable reference genes in gene expression in parsley.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Meng-Yao
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Xiong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Ai-Sheng
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Xiong
keywords: abiotic stress; hormone stimuli; parsley; qPCR; reference gene