Transcriptome analysis of soybean leaves response to manganese toxicity

Abstract

As an essential micronutrient, manganese (Mn) participates in diverse processes during plant growth and development. Excess accumulation of Mn in plants is toxic, and soybean (Glycine max) growth and production are severely limited by Mn toxicity. However, the molecular basis in adaptation to Mn toxicity for soybean remains largely unknown. In this study, RNA-seq analysis on soybean leaves was conducted, more than 44 million reads were generated, and a total of 38,022 expressed genes were identified. Compared to control, 2258 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 744 up-regulated and 1514 down-regulated ones, were obtained. Cellular process, cell part and binding function were the most enriched terms by GO analysis. Furthermore, 49 DEGs were identified in plant hormone signal transduction pathways by KEGG analysis. Among them, Mn toxicity up-regulated AHK, PIF, JAZ and TGA family DEGs might play important roles in the adaptation of soybean leaves to Mn toxicity. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13102818.2021.1950566.