Transcriptome sequencing of tapping panel dryness affected rubber trees

Tapping panel dryness (TPD) seriously affects the natural rubber (NR) production of Hevea brasiliensis (rubber tree). Several studies have speculated that TPD influences NR biosynthesis in the latex of rubber trees based on the expression changes of NR biosynthesis-related genes. In this study, we verified that the NR biosynthesis activity of TPD-affected rubber trees (TPD trees) latex is lower than that of healthy rubber trees (healthy trees) using NR biosynthesis in vitro assays and found that the molecular weight of NR synthesized by TPD trees is larger than that of healthy trees by gel penetration chromatography analysis.