Pinus tabuliformis Transcriptome or Gene expression. Pinus tabuliformis

Ovules are the female reproductive tissue of Pinus tabulaeformis Carr. and play a major role in sexual reproduction. To investigate the potential mechanism of female gametophyte fertility, we used RNA sequencing to compare the transcriptome of ovules of a female sterile line (SL) and a fertile line (FL) during ovule development. Period of free nucleus mitosis is a particular process in gymnosperm. Ovules were harvested at three developmental stages in this period: ovules containing functional megaspore with dozens of free nuclei (stage 1), hundreds of free nuclei (stage 2) and about one thouthand free nuclei (stage 3).