RNA-seq analysis of date-palms treated with stress hormone ABA compared to controls

Date palms are extremely stress tolerant. The aim of the experiment was to evaluate, how date palm leaves react to application of the drought stress hormone ABA on the transcriptional level, and to compare the resulting data with those obtained from the stress sensitive Arabidopsis thaliana. The experiment thus should help us to understand how date palms manage their stress tolerance in comparison to sensitive plants. Single cut pinneates from date palm leaves were treated for 2 h with CO2-free air in darkness, then illuminated for 4 h at a photon flux rate of 620 µmol m2 s-1. Following this pre-incubation, 25 µM ABA was fed via the petiole. After 2 h, RNA was extracted from the pinneates. Controls were treated equally with ABA-free solution.