Transcriptome profiling of differentially expressed genes in cytoplasmic male-sterile line and its fertility restorer line in pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.)

• Published in: BMC plant biology 2020-02, Vol.20 (1), p.74-74, Article 74
• Main Authors: Saxena, Swati, Sahu, Sarika, Kaila, Tanvi, Nigam, Deepti, Chaduvla, Pavan K, Rao, A R, Sanand, Sandhya, Singh, N K, Gaikwad, Kishor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abortion; Agricultural production; Buds; Cajanus cajan; Carbon cycle; Corn; Cytochrome; Cytoplasm; Cytoplasmic male sterility; Differentially expressed genes; DNA binding proteins; DNA sequencing; Fertility; Flowering; Flowering plants; Gene expression; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genomes; Helix-loop-helix proteins (basic); Homology; Illumina sequencing; Legumes; Leguminous plants; Observations; Oxidative phosphorylation; Pea; Phosphorylation; Physiological aspects; Pigeon pea; Pigeonpeas; Plant sterility; Plants (botany); Pollen; Reactive oxygen species; Seed industry; Seeds; Software; Transcription factors; Transcriptome analysis; Tricarboxylic acid cycle
• ISSN: 1471-2229; 1471-2229
• DOI: 10.1186/s12870-020-2284-y

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) is the sixth major legume crop widely cultivated in the Indian sub-continent, Africa, and South-east Asia. Cytoplasmic male-sterility (CMS) is the incompetence of flowering plants to produce viable pollens during anther development. CMS has been extensively utilized for commercial hybrid seeds production in pigeon pea. However, the molecular basis governing CMS in pigeon pea remains unclear and undetermined. In this study transcriptome analysis for exploring differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between cytoplasmic male-sterile line (AKCMS11) and its fertility restorer line (AKPR303) was performed using Illumina paired-end sequencing. A total of 3167 DEGs were identified, of which 1432 were up-regulated and 1390 were down-regulated in AKCMS11 in comparison to AKPR303. By querying, all the 3167 DEGs against TAIR database, 34 pigeon pea homologous genes were identified, few involved in pollen development (EMS1, MS1, ARF17) and encoding MYB and bHLH transcription factors with lower expression in the sterile buds, implying their possible role in pollen sterility. Many of these DEGs implicated in carbon metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), oxidative phosphorylation and elimination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) showed reduced expression in the AKCMS11 (sterile) buds. The comparative transcriptome findings suggest the potential role of these DEGs in pollen development or abortion, pointing towards their involvement in cytoplasmic male-sterility in pigeon pea. The candidate DEGs identified in this investigation will be highly significant for further research, as they could lend a comprehensive basis in unravelling the molecular mechanism governing CMS in pigeon pea.