Molecular analysis of in vitro regeneration in Hemigraphis alternata (Burm. f.) T. Anderson

Hemigraphis alternata (Burm. f.) T. Anderson commonly known as red flame ivy plant belongs to the family Acanthaceae, is a prostrate tropical perennial herb that typically grows to 6-9 tall and spreads indefinitely along the ground rooting at the stem nodes. This plant possess high potential to regenerate under natural habitat and also in in vitro conditions and the lack of molecular data related to its high regeneration potential make it a suitable material to study the plant regeneration in Hemigraphis alternata to unravel the molecular mechanisms during different stages of plant regeneration. The objectives of the work were, establishment of in vitro regenerated plants in Hemigraphis alternata, Transcriptome analysis of in vivo and in vitro regenerated plants and Gene expression profiling during somatic embryogenesis, shoot development and root development. High-throughput sequencing together with gene annotation presently available should facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the genes and transcription factors involved in plant growth and development under in vivo and in vitro conditions. This information provides a partial understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying in the complex phenomena of plant growth and development, which opens a new area into the dazzling array of manipulations to achieve many goals in the crop improvement programmes.

红脉爵床（Hemigraphis alternata (Burm. f.) T. Anderson）俗称红火焰常春藤，隶属于爵床科（Acanthaceae），为匍匐型热带多年生草本，通常株高6-9，可沿地面无限蔓延，并于茎节处生根。该植物在自然生境及离体培养(in vitro)条件下均展现出优异的再生潜能，但目前针对其高再生能力的分子数据仍较为稀缺，这使得红脉爵床成为研究植株再生过程、解析植物再生不同阶段分子机制的理想材料。本研究的核心目标为：建立红脉爵床的离体再生体系，对活体(in vivo)与离体再生植株开展转录组分析，并对体细胞胚发生、芽发育及根发育过程中的基因表达谱进行检测。高通量测序技术结合现有基因注释资源，将有助于更全面地阐明活体与离体条件下参与植物生长发育的基因及转录因子的调控作用。本研究所得信息仅能部分解析植物生长发育这一复杂现象背后的分子机制，却为作物改良项目中实现各类育种目标的多样操作策略开辟了全新的研究方向。