Data from: De novo transcriptome assembly and analysis of differential gene expression in response to drought in European beech

Despite the ecological and economic importance of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) genomic resources of this species are still limited. This hampers an understanding of the molecular basis of adaptation to stress. Since beech will most likely be threatened by the consequences of climate change, an understanding of adaptive processes to climate change-related drought stress is of major importance. Here, we used RNA-seq to provide the first drought stress-related transcriptome of beech. In a drought stress trial with beech saplings, 50 samples were taken for RNA extraction at five points in time during a soil desiccation experiment. De novo transcriptome assembly and analysis of differential gene expression revealed 44,335 contigs, and 662 differentially expressed genes between the stress and normally watered control group. Gene expression was specific to the different time points, and only five genes were significantly differentially expressed between the stress and control group on all five sampling days. GO term enrichment showed that mostly genes involved in lipid- and homeostasis-related processes were upregulated, whereas genes involved in oxidative stress response were downregulated in the stressed seedlings. This study gives first insights into the genomic drought stress response of European beech, and provides new genetic resources for adaptation research in this species.

尽管欧洲山毛榉（Fagus sylvatica L.）兼具重要的生态与经济价值，但该物种的基因组资源仍相对匮乏。这一现状阻碍了学界对其胁迫适应分子机制的深入解析。鉴于山毛榉极有可能受到气候变化带来的多重威胁，解析其应对气候变化相关干旱胁迫的适应过程具有核心意义。本研究通过RNA测序（RNA-seq）首次构建了山毛榉的干旱胁迫相关转录组：在针对山毛榉幼苗开展的干旱胁迫试验中，研究团队于土壤干旱实验的5个时间点采集了50份样本用于RNA提取；经从头转录组组装（de novo transcriptome assembly）与差异基因表达分析，共获得44335条重叠群（contigs），并鉴定出胁迫组与正常浇水对照组间的662个差异表达基因（differentially expressed genes）。基因表达呈现显著的时间特异性，且仅5个基因在全部5个采样日的胁迫组与对照组间均呈现显著差异表达。基因本体（Gene Ontology, GO）富集分析结果显示，胁迫幼苗中多数参与脂质代谢与稳态调控相关过程的基因呈上调表达，而参与氧化应激响应的基因则呈下调表达。本研究首次揭示了欧洲山毛榉的基因组水平干旱胁迫响应机制，并为该物种的适应相关研究提供了全新的遗传资源。