Transcriptome profiling of mutant iew-1 with epicuticular wax increase in common wheat

As a barrier for plants to contact with the outside world, epicuticular wax plays an important role in resisting biotic and abiotic stresses. To gain a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying the epicuticular wax increase mutant iew-1, this study compared the transcriptome profile and photosynthetic characteristics of the wild-type and mutant iew-1. Transcriptome profiling screened out 602 differentially expressed genes, of which 403 genes were up-regulated and 199 genes were down-regulated. GO enrichment analysis and KEGG analysis showed that the differential genes were mainly enriched in light harvesting, light reaction, and photosynthesis. These results showed that epicuticular wax may be closely related to photosynthesis. The analysis of photosynthetic characteristics further confirmed that the mutant iew-1 has significantly better photosynthetic capacity than the wild-type, which is consistent with RNA-seq data, indicating that an increase in epicuticular wax can improve the photosynthetic efficiency of wheat. This study provides a solid theoretical basis for exploring the molecular mechanisms and gene regulation of epicuticular wax and photosynthesis.