Analysis of light induced secondary seed dormancy in Aethionema arabicum, wild type and rgl2 mutant in Cyprus accession

Light inhibits the seed germination in the Cypriot accession (CYP) of Aethionema arabicum. Extended light illumination also induces a secondary seed dormancy that inhibits the germination even if the seeds were transferred back to darkness. A forward genetic screen identified rgl2 mutant, that show light inhibited germination, but fails to re-enter the secondary dormancy. This analysis aims to compare the seed transcriptome before or after the dormancy was established by light illumination (100 µmol/m2s; white light). One day light treatment (1dL) inhibits the germination but the seeds are not yet dormant. Seven day (7dL) long light treatment induces dormancy in the WT but not in the rgl2 mutant. Overall design: WT and rgl2 mutant imbibed seeds were exposed to white light (100 µmol m-2s-1) for 23 hours (1dL) or 7 days (7dL). mRNA profiles were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina HiSeqV4 with SR50 mode. In total, 12 samples were analyzed (2 genotype x 2 conditions x 3 repetitions)