Transcriptomic data of leaves from eight sunflower lines and their sixteen hybrids under water deficit

Twenty-four sunflower genotypes were selected to represent genetic diversity within cultivated sunflower and included both inbred lines and their hybrids. Drought stress was applied to plants in pots at the vegetative stage using the high-throughput phenotyping platform Heliaphen. Here, we provide transcriptomics data from sunflower leaves. These data differentiate both treatment and the different genotypes and constitute a valuable resource to the community to study adaptation of crops to drought and the transcriptomic basis of heterosis. Transcriptomic profiling of sunflower responses to drought including a large genetic variability