Development of lotus ( Nelumbo nucifera) embryo

Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is a basal eudicot from the family Nelumbonaceae with great economic and cultural importance in Asia that has been cultivated for about 7,000 years. All parts of lotus can be used as food or medicine, especially for the seeds green plumula, increasing interest are put in its potential functional utilization for its rich secondary metabolites antioxidant, anti-amnesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor activities. And the lotus seeds have exceptional 1,300-year longevity. In this study, we investigated the development of the seeds plumula, the RNA-seq was performed on the 15, 18, 21 and 24 days after pollination on the plumula. Totally, 31,107 genes were identified, including 4,422 new identified transcripts. Of these genes, 15,743 genes were found differentially expressed between different developed plumula (FPKM Folds change>2, FDR<0.01). This comprehensive dataset will help us to explore some interesting subjects, like the mechanism of accumulation of the secondary metabolites during plumule development, the regulation of establishment of seed longevity, the formation of the special photosynthesis system etc..