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Identification of nitric oxide responsive genes in the floral buds of Litchi chinensis

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Biologia Plantarum

Abstract

Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is an important tropical and subtropical evergreen woody fruit tree, and it has been shown that nitric oxide (NO) could promote litchi flowering. NO responsive genes of litchi (cv. Nuomici) primordia were identified through a suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) library screen. We obtained 1 563 expressed sequences tags (ESTs) that were enriched in the NO treated inflorescence primordia. We then used a reverse Northern analysis to identify 728 true NO responsive ESTs, the sequences of which have been further analyzed. They represent 70 litchi unique genes that could be classified into 9 categories: 14 % of them were involved in transport facilitation, 7 % in transcription regulation, 9 % in stress response, 7 % in sugar metabolism, 9 % in secondary metabolism, 10 % in intracellular signalling, and 44 % in other metabolism, whereas 11 % were genes with unknown functions, and 7 % were genes with no hit found. Next, we performed a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to determine the expression of selected candidate genes during a time-course of NO treatment and of normal floral tissue development.

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Abbreviations

ANR:

anthocyanidin reductase

CHS:

chalcone synthase

DIG:

digoxin

EST:

expressed sequences tags

GA14:

gibberellin-regulated protein 14-like

IAA:

indole-acetic acid

IPTG:

isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside

LB:

Luria Bertani

LFY :

LEAFY

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

RT-qPCR:

real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction

SNP:

sodium nitroprusside

X-gal:

5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-galactopyranoside

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, P.R. China

    W. -W. Liu, H. -B. Chen, X. -Y. Lu & B. -Y. Zhou

  2. Horticulture Research Centre, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur, 1701, Bangladesh

    M. J. Rahman

  3. State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    S. Zhong

Authors
  1. W. -W. Liu
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  2. H. -B. Chen
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  3. X. -Y. Lu
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  4. M. J. Rahman
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  5. S. Zhong
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  6. B. -Y. Zhou
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Correspondence to B. -Y. Zhou.

Additional information

Acknowledgements: We thank Dr. B.C. Sarker for proofreading. This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation (31071760) and the Agricultural Industry Project (CARS-33-08) by the Ministry of Agriculture.

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Liu, W.W., Chen, H.B., Lu, X.Y. et al. Identification of nitric oxide responsive genes in the floral buds of Litchi chinensis . Biol Plant 59, 115–122 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-014-0466-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-014-0466-x

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