The Methylation Patterns and Transcriptional Responses to Chilling Stress at the Seedling Stage in Rice

Chilling stress is considered the major abiotic stress affecting the growth, development, and yield of rice. To understand the transcriptomic responses and methylation regulation of rice in response to chilling stress, we analyzed a cold-tolerant variety of rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. P427). The physiological properties, transcriptome, and methylation of cold-tolerant P427 seedlings under low-temperature stress (2–3 °C) were investigated. We found that P427 exhibited enhanced tolerance to low temperature, likely via increasing antioxidant enzyme activity and promoting the accumulation of abscisic acid (ABA). The Methylated DNA Immunoprecipitation Sequencing (MeDIP-seq) data showed that the number of methylation-altered genes was highest in P427 (5496) and slightly lower in Nipponbare (Nip) and 9311 (4528 and 3341, respectively), and only 2.7% (292) of methylation genes were detected as common differentially methylated genes (DMGs) related to cold tolerance in the three varieties. Transcriptome analyses revealed that 1654 genes had specifically altered expression in P427 under cold stress. These genes mainly belonged to transcription factor families, such as Myeloblastosis (MYB), APETALA2/ethylene-responsive element binding proteins (AP2-EREBP), NAM-ATAF-CUC (NAC) and WRKY. Fifty-one genes showed simultaneous methylation and expression level changes. Quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) results showed that genes involved in the ICE (inducer of CBF expression)-CBF (C-repeat binding factor)—COR (cold-regulated) pathway were highly expressed under cold stress, including the WRKY genes. The homologous gene Os03g0610900 of the open stomatal 1 (OST1) in rice was obtained by evolutionary tree analysis. Methylation in Os03g0610900 gene promoter region decreased, and the expression level of Os03g0610900 increased, suggesting that cold stress may lead to demethylation and increased gene expression of Os03g0610900. The ICE-CBF-COR pathway plays a vital role in the cold tolerance of the rice cultivar P427. Overall, this study demonstrates the differences in methylation and gene expression levels of P427 in response to low-temperature stress, providing a foundation for further investigations of the relationship between environmental stress, DNA methylation, and gene expression in rice

Transcriptome analysis of rice root heterosis by RNA-Seq

Abstract Background Heterosis is a phenomenon in which hybrids exhibit superior performance relative to parental phenotypes. In addition to the heterosis of above-ground agronomic traits on which most existing studies have focused, root heterosis is also an indispensable component of heterosis in the entire plant and of major importance to plant breeding. Consequently, systematic investigations of root heterosis, particularly in reproductive-stage rice, are needed. The recent advent of RNA sequencing technology (RNA-Seq) provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth transcript profiling for heterosis studies. Results Using the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform, the root transcriptomes of the super-hybrid rice variety Xieyou 9308 and its parents were analyzed at tillering and heading stages. Approximately 391 million high-quality paired-end reads (100-bp in size) were generated and aligned against the Nipponbare reference genome. We found that 38,872 of 42,081 (92.4%) annotated transcripts were represented by at least one sequence read. A total of 829 and 4186 transcripts that were differentially expressed between the hybrid and its parents (DGHP) were identified at tillering and heading stages, respectively. Out of the DGHP, 66.59% were down-regulated at the tillering stage and 64.41% were up-regulated at the heading stage. At the heading stage, the DGHP were significantly enriched in pathways related to processes such as carbohydrate metabolism and plant hormone signal transduction, with most of the key genes that are involved in the two pathways being up-regulated in the hybrid. Several significant DGHP that could be mapped to quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for yield and root traits are also involved in carbohydrate metabolism and plant hormone signal transduction pathways. Conclusions An extensive transcriptome dataset was obtained by RNA-Seq, giving a comprehensive overview of the root transcriptomes at tillering and heading stages in a heterotic rice cross and providing a useful resource for the rice research community. Using comparative transcriptome analysis, we detected DGHP and identified a group of potential candidate transcripts. The changes in the expression of the candidate transcripts may lay a foundation for future studies on molecular mechanisms underlying root heterosis.</p