RNA-seq analysis of the transcriptome of leaf senescence in tobacco

Abstract

Leaf senescence is a complex developmental process which is under the control of a highly regulated genetic program and involves major changes in gene expression. During the past two decades, significant progress in molecular understanding of leaf senescence has been made through transcriptomic analysis, which, in comparison with traditional molecular biology, provides enormous amount of information on gene expression regulation at the whole genome level. In this chapter, we describe the protocol for RNA-seq, one of the most commonly used technologies in transcriptomic analysis, using tobacco leaf senescence as a model system.