ADAPTATION AND RESPONSE OF KOBRESIA LITTLEDALEI TO COLD STRESS

This study presents an integrated transcriptome sequencing to identify how Kobresia littledalei plants mount their responses and initiate acclimation against cold stress. Several significant DEGs and metabolic responses were categorized. By execution of BLAST analysis of the all genes against selected protein databases like Nr, Swiss-Prot, KEGG and COG, we got functional annotations and classifications. The large number of transcriptomic sequences and their functional annotations provide sufficient resources for future molecular studies. Moreover, information on the KEGG metabolic pathways and transcription factors will facilitate the discovery of other cold resistant genes. Importantly, our findings herein further the general understanding of Kobresia plants adaptation and responses to cold stress through the molecular mechanisms involved in signal regulation and cold resistance. Overall design: Kobresia plants (Kobresia littledalei) were randomly picked from natural field grounds in Tibet and afterwards transplanted into a nursery bed for recovery. The grass patches were grown in pots for 7 days in a 25? greenhouse. Thereafter, the grass pots were sub-divided into 6 batches and moved to a -5? cryogenic treatment room; where each grass pot (Kli-0 to Kli5) was exposed to different cold treatment timelines.Kli-0, Kli-1, Kli-2, Kli-3, Kli-4, Kli-5 were treated for 0 hour, 0.5 hours, 4 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours respectively.All treatments were performed in triplicates.Total RNA from each sample were extracted and sequenced.