Key Soybean Seedlings Drought-Responsive Genes and Pathways Revealed by Comparative Transcriptome Analyses of Two Cultivars

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 23; no. 5; p. 2893
• Main Authors: Xuan, Huidong, Huang, Yanzhong, Zhou, Li, Deng, Sushuang, Wang, Congcong, Xu, Jianyu, Wang, Haitang, Zhao, Jinming, Guo, Na, Xing, Han
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 07.03.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Calcium; Calcium - metabolism; Calcium signalling; Cell walls; Cultivars; Drought; Drought resistance; drought stress; Droughts; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Genes; Genotypes; Glycine max - genetics; Glycine max - metabolism; Glycine max [L.] Merr; Hormones; MAP kinase; Molecular modelling; Plant growth; Plant Growth Regulators - metabolism; Proteins; RNA-seq; seedling stage; Seedlings; Seedlings - metabolism; Signal transduction; signal transduction pathways; Soybeans; Stress, Physiological - genetics; Transcription factors; Transcriptome; Transcriptomes; seedling stage; drought stress; Glycine max [L.] Merr; RNA-seq; signal transduction pathways
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms23052893

Seedling drought stress is one of the most important constraints affecting soybean yield and quality. To unravel the molecular mechanisms under soybean drought tolerance, we conducted comprehensive comparative transcriptome analyses of drought-tolerant genotype Jindou 21 (JD) and drought-sensitive genotype Tianlong No.1 (N1) seedlings that had been exposed to drought treatment. A total of 6038 and 4112 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in drought-tolerant JD and drought-sensitive N1, respectively. Subsequent KEGG pathway analyses showed that numerous DEGs in JD are predominately involved in signal transduction pathways, including plant hormone signaling pathway, calcium signaling pathway, and MAPK signaling pathway. Interestingly, JA and BR plant hormone signal transduction pathways were found specifically participating in drought-tolerant JD. Meanwhile, the differentially expressed , , and of calcium and MAPK signaling pathway were only identified in JD. The number of DEGs involved in transcription factors (TFs) is larger in JD than that of in N1. Moreover, some differently expressed transcriptional factor genes were only identified in drought-tolerant JD, including , , , , and . In addition, this study suggested that JD could respond to drought stress by regulating the cell wall remodeling and stress-related protein genes such as , , , , and . JD is more drought tolerant than N1 owing to more DEGs being involved in multiple signal transduction pathways (JA, BR, calcium, MAPK signaling pathway), stress-related TFs, and proteins. The above valuable genes and pathways will deepen the understanding of the molecular mechanisms under drought stress in soybean.