Transcriptome Profiling in Leaves of Wheat Genotype under Heat Stress

Abstract

Hexaploid wheat is the main cereal food crop for most people but it is highly influenced by climatic variations. The influence of these climatic variations was studies in wheat genotype WH -1184 in field conditions under two different environments (normal and late sown) and it was found that the genotype is less yielding under late sown conditions. To study the effects of heat stress at transcript level, it was grown under two different conditions (WH-1184 control and heat treated) in pots and transcriptome analysis based on Illumina Novoseq 6000 was carried out for the identification of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and metabolic processes or gene regulations influenced by heat stress which lead to a reduction in both quality and quantity of wheat production. These DEGs were utilized to set up a subsequent unigene assembly and GO analysis was performed using unigenes to analyze functions of DEGs which were classified into three main domains, i.e., biological process, cellular component, and molecular function. KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) ontology was used to visualize the physiological processes or to identify KEGG pathways that provide plants their ability to shield in adverse conditions of heat stress. From KEGG ontology, it was reported that genes which encoded protein detoxification and ABC1 domain-containing protein were upregulated while genes thatencoded glutathione transferase (GST), peroxidase, and chitinase enzymes were downregulated. Downregulation of these enzymes during heat stress causes oxidative damages in plants while upregulated proteins play a main role in detoxification to protect plants from heat stress. It was hypothesized that the yield of WH-1184 decreased 44% under heat stress due to the downregulation of genes that encoded GST, peroxidase, and chitinase enzymes which can protect plants from oxidative damage. Hence, upregulation of these genes might be helpful for the adaptation of this genotype under heat stress condition.