De novo Transcriptomic Analysis in Salvia officinalis L. Exposed to Nitric Oxide

Common sage (Salvia officinalis L.) is a medicinal and aromatic plant that belongs to the Lamiaceae family. Nitric oxide (NO) is a key signaling molecules in cells whose level are increased in response to various stimuli. Therefore, in order to identify the genes involved in NO signaling, de novo RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) strategy was employed to evaluate the transcriptional profiles in sage leaves. In this study, sage plants were foliar sprayed with 100 µM NO (donor diethylenetriamine NONOate). The leaf samples were then harvested after 24 hours of treatment for analyses. De novo assembly was performed on transcriptomic data using Trinity. Functional annotation and classification of the genes were performed by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses. As a result, 69 genes were differentially expressed in NO-treated leaves as compared to control. Among them, 9 genes were up-regulated, while 60 genes were down-regulated. GO analysis of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) indicated significant enrichment in categories such as response to stress, defense response, and response to external stimuli between the control and NO-treated seedlings. RNA-seq analysis provided basic data on which molecular mechanisms may be involved depending on the DEGs in sage exposed to NO.