Lotus root Transcriptome or Gene expression. Nelumbo nucifera

Dynamics of rhizome enlargement is relatively poorly known in the lotus root, because detailed investigation of underground rhizome growth is time and labour consuming. Therefore lotus can be suitable as a model plant to study rhizome increase . Just like the other storage organs, rhizome is also an important edible product, and the developmental processes of this kind of storage organ are regulated by genes. Expressions of these genes affect the formation of rhizome. Although much work in other species has partially described the above processes, and many storage organ-related genes have been documented, but the expression of genes which affect rhizome formation in lotus root have not been studied in detail. Tag sequencing technique has been established as an efficient approach to study gene expression in different environmental conditions. For some vegetables, a lot of important genes involved in plant critical metabolisms have been successfully identified by this technique. In this study, DEGs from four developmental stages of lotus root rhizome were sequenced and analyzed with aim to comprehensively understand the processes of rhizome formation and development at molecular level.