Panicum virgatum strain:cv Summer Transcriptome or Gene expression

Switchgrass is a key species being evaluated for use as a lignocellulosic bioenergy crop. An essential trait for a perennial bioenergy plant such as switchgrass is the ability to regrow shoots (tillers) every year without having any significant winter kill. Since this regrowth occurs from the below-ground crown and rhizome tissues understanding the molecular processes underpinning this yearly cycle of growth and dormancy are likely to provide insights into cellular factors that impact perenniality and winter hardiness. In this study crown and rhizome tissues obtained from a switchgrass cultivar (cv Summer) that shows good winter hardiness were used as a source to obtain molecular information. Messenger RNA were extracted from these tissues and analyzed on a next-generation DNA sequencer. This instrument provided a very large number of sequences, which were subsequently annotated using tools in bioinformatics. These annotations made it possible to get a snap shot of the biological and metabolic status of the tissue. Overall, our first of a kind data, can now serve as a foundation to explore changes occurring at the molecular level in below-ground tissues obtained from switchgrass plants with divergent responses to cold temperatures. In the long-term these datasets will provide information that can be applied in breeding programs to improve this important bioenergy crop.

禾本科牧草（Switchgrass）作为一种重要的木质纤维素生物能源作物，正在接受评估。对于像牧草这样的多年生生物能源植物而言，其关键特性在于每年均能从地下茎冠和根茎组织中重新生长枝条（分蘖），而不会遭受显著的冬季损害。鉴于这种再生现象源自地下茎冠和根茎组织，深入研究支撑这一生长与休眠年循环的分子机制，有望揭示影响多年生长和冬季抗寒性的细胞因素。在本研究中，我们从表现出良好冬季抗寒性的牧草品种（夏品种）中获取了茎冠和根茎组织，以此作为获取分子信息的来源。从这些组织中提取了信使RNA，并在下一代DNA测序仪上进行分析。该仪器产生了大量序列，随后通过生物信息学工具进行注释。这些注释使我们能够获取组织生物学和代谢状态的快照。总体而言，我们首创的数据如今可作为探索来自对低温反应各异的牧草植株地下组织中分子层面变化的基石。从长远来看，这些数据集将提供可在育种计划中应用的信息，以改良这一重要的生物能源作物。