Transcriptomes of Erycina pusilla and Erycina crista-galli. Erycina (Orchidaceae)

Comparative gene expression was used to investigate the evolutionary origins of Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in the genus Erycina (Orchidaceae). RNAseq libraries were generated for two species, E. pusilla (CAM) and E. crista-galli (C3), sampled every 2 or 4 hours across a 24 hour cycle. We assembled species specific transcriptomes and analyzed gene expression across time to assess which genes had time-structured expression and which stayed constant. We further assessed changes to network structure and connectivity of gene families to find significant alteration to regulatory networks between C3 and CAM orchid species.

本研究采用比较基因表达分析，探究兰科（Orchidaceae）赤唇兰属（Erycina）植物中景天酸代谢（Crassulacean Acid Metabolism, CAM）途径的演化起源。我们为两个物种构建了RNA测序（RNA-seq）文库：分别为具有CAM途径的E. pusilla与具有C3光合途径的E. crista-galli，并在24小时周期内每2小时或4小时采集一次样本。我们组装了物种特异性转录组，并对跨时间点的基因表达谱进行分析，以甄别出具有时序表达模式的基因与表达量保持恒定的基因。本研究进一步通过分析基因家族的网络结构与连接性变化，揭示C3与CAM型兰科植物间调控网络的显著改变。