Transcriptomic analysis reveals the importance of Protein Phosphatase 2 regulating the growth of soybean roots

We functionally characterized a protein phosphatase, GmHAD1-2, which belongs to haloacid dehalogenase (HAD) family. Suppression of GmHAD1-2 significantly decreased lateral root number and length mainly through affecting naringenin, a kind of flavonoid concentration and auxin accumulation in lateral root primordia and tips. RNA-seq analysis revealed that a total of 726 genes exhibited differential expression patterns between WT and suppression of GmHAD1-2 transgenic soybean plant (Ri). A set of DEGs appeared to be involved in root development, including 16 transcription factors (e.g, GmZATs), 2 cell wall related proteins (i.e, GmEXLB1/2), 29 genes related to auxin and ethylene signaling pathways. The results suggest that a complex transcriptional regulatory network participates in the growth of soybean roots. Soybean wild type (WT) and suppression of GmHAD1-2 transgenic soybean plant (Ri) were used in the experiments. Soybean seedlings were transferred into nutrient solution containing 250 mM KH2PO4 (+P). After 12 days, soybean roots were collected for mRNA library construction and sequencing. Each treatment had two biological replicates.