RNASeq for E4 tillers, leaves, upper and lower stems of F1 Switchgrass from a cross of VS16XAP13

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is an important bioenergy crop; however, recalcitrance of its biomass to enzymatic digestion to component monomers hampers biochemical conversion to fuels. With a particular interest in dissecting biomass recalcitrance-related genes, we conducted RNA sequencing of four F1 progeny of the well-studied lowland and upland genotypes, AP13 and VS16. The selected genotypes had shown divergent digestibility in previous field studies, with genotypes 421 and 530 exhibiting significantly greater recalcitrance to enzymatic digestibility than genotypes 514 and 541. The green house-grown tissues that we surveyed at elongation stage 4 (E4) included whole tillers, upper and lower portions of the second internode, and the second leaf.