Transcriptome sequencing along reproductive development in sexual and apomictic Paspalum notatum

Apomixis is a genetically-controlled deviation of the plant sexual reproductive pathway, triggered by one to several determinants and often associated with polyploidy. Heterochronic transcription of sense/antisense mRNAs and ncRNAs might be regulating the occurrence of the trait. Here we produced floral transcriptomes from apomictic (Q4117) and sexual (C4-4x) Paspalum notatum genotypes at four different reproductive developmental stages (premeiosis, meiosis, postmeiosis and anthesis). Twenty-four total mRNA floral libraries representing three replicas of the four different reproductive stages for each genotype were constructed by using TruSeq® Stranded mRNA technology and sequenced with Hiseq 1500 Illumina. The databases generated here provide a quantitative expression catalog of all P. notatum transcripts associated with sexuality or apomixis at each particular developmental stage. It might allow the detection of candidates with heterochronic expression between reproductive types and the discovery of pathways subjected to differential anti-sense mediated silencing during sexual and apomictic development.