Table_4_Transcriptome Analysis Revealed the Molecular Response Mechanism of Non-heading Chinese Cabbage to Iron Deficiency Stress.XLSX

Iron is a trace metal that is found in animals, plants, and the human body. Human iron absorption is hampered by plant iron shortage, which leads to anemia. Leafy vegetables are one of the most direct and efficient sources of iron for humans. Despite the fact that ferrotrophic disorder is common in calcareous soil, however, non-heading Chinese cabbage performs a series of reactions in response to iron deficiency stress that help to preserve iron homeostasis in vivo. In this study, we discovered that iron deficiency stress caused leaf yellowing and impeded plant development in both iron-deficient and control treatments by viewing or measuring phenotypic, chlorophyll content, and Fe2+ content in both iron-deficient and control treatments. We found a total of 9213 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in non-heading Chinese cabbage by comparing root and leaf transcriptome data with iron deficiency and control treatments. For instance, 1927 DEGs co-expressed in root and leaf, including 897 up-regulated and 1030 down-regulated genes, respectively. We selected some key antioxidant genes, hormone signal transduction, iron absorption and transport, chlorophyll metabolism, and transcription factors involved in the regulation of iron deficiency stress utilizing GO enrichment, KEGG enrichment, multiple types of functional annotation, and Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA). This study identifies prospective genes for maintaining iron homeostasis under iron-deficient stress, offering a theoretical foundation for further research into the molecular mechanisms of greater adaptation to iron-deficient stress, and perhaps guiding the development of iron-tolerant varieties.

铁是广泛存在于动物、植物及人体内的微量金属元素。人体对铁的吸收会因植物源铁的生物利用限制而受阻，进而引发缺铁性贫血。叶菜类蔬菜是人类获取铁元素最直接高效的膳食来源之一。尽管石灰性土壤中普遍存在铁营养失调问题，但不结球白菜可通过一系列应答缺铁胁迫的生理反应，维持体内铁稳态。本研究通过对缺铁处理组与对照组的表型、叶绿素含量及亚铁离子（Fe²+）含量进行观测与测定，发现缺铁胁迫会导致两组材料均出现叶片黄化与植株生长受抑的现象。通过对比不结球白菜根、叶组织在缺铁处理与对照条件下的转录组（transcriptome）数据，本研究共鉴定得到9213个差异表达基因（differentially expressed genes, DEGs）。其中，根与叶组织共表达的DEGs共计1927个，分别包含897个上调基因与1030个下调基因。本研究借助GO富集分析（GO enrichment）、KEGG富集分析（KEGG enrichment）、多类功能注释以及加权基因共表达网络分析（Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis, WGCNA），筛选得到一批参与缺铁胁迫调控的关键抗氧化基因、激素信号转导通路基因、铁吸收与转运基因、叶绿素代谢基因以及转录因子。本研究鉴定得到了缺铁胁迫下维持铁稳态的潜在候选基因，为进一步解析植物适应缺铁胁迫的分子机制提供了理论基础，同时可为耐缺铁作物品种的培育提供指导方向。