MsaH2A.W is identified response to salt tolerance in Miscanthus sacchariflorus
Ting Yu,
Yancui Wang,
Pingping Xu,
Senan Cheng,
Xinwei Hou,
Guofeng Geng,
Zhiqiang Pan,
Shukai Wang,
Dusheng Lu,
Shubo Gu,
Xitong Xu,
Zhixin Liu,
Cuixia Chen
Affiliations
Ting Yu
State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an China
Yancui Wang
State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an China
Pingping Xu
State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an China
Senan Cheng
State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an China
Xinwei Hou
State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an China
Guofeng Geng
State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an China
Zhiqiang Pan
State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an China
Shukai Wang
State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an China
Dusheng Lu
State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an China
Shubo Gu
State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an China
Xitong Xu
State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an China
Zhixin Liu
Comprehensive Utilization Technology Innovation Center of Saline Alkali Land of Yellow River Delta Agricultural Hi‐tech Industry Demo Zone Dongying China
Cuixia Chen
State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy Shandong Agricultural University Tai'an China
Abstract Miscanthus is a perennial forage plant with great potential for high stress tolerance and biomass yield. It has strong adaptability for growing in saline land and avoids competition with grain crops in arable lands. However, little is known about the underlying genetic basis of Miscanthus adaptation to salt stress. Two diploid species of the genus Miscanthus, Miscanthus sinensis and Miscanthus sacchariflorus, were the focus of this study. The transcriptome variations of these varieties and their hybrid were analysed using RNA‐seq technology under salt treatment. The number of differentially expressed genes in M. sinensis was much higher than that in M. sacchariflorus and their hybrid under salt stress, which indicated that M. sacchariflorus and their hybrid require less transcriptional variation. In addition, most salt‐tolerant genes in the enriched salt‐tolerant pathways were induced in the roots of M. sinensis and constitutively highly expressed in the roots of M. sacchariflorus and their hybrid under salt stress. According to this expression pattern of known salt‐tolerant genes, a histone variant gene MsaH2A.W of M. sacchariflorus was mined and consequently proved for the first time that it could enhance the salt tolerance of transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Overall, this study provides valuable genetic resources for studying the underlying genetic basis of salt stress resistance in Miscanthus. Identification of the salt tolerance gene MsaH2A.W can promote the genetic improvement and molecular breeding of salt‐resistant species.