Identification of Photoperiod Responsive Genes in Wheat Cultivar Jing 841 by Transcriptome Sequencing

The photoperiod pathway is crucial for flowering induction of plants, especially for most of annual plants.Photoperiod response is one of the essential developmental characteristics of wheat, which determines the flowering time of wheat and has an important impact on the ecological distribution, yield and quality of wheat.Therefore, the research on the molecular regulation mechanism of wheat photoperiod response is of great significance for the directional improvement of wheat varieties.The purpose of this research was to identify the photoperiod response genes in wheat Jing 841 by comparing the transcriptome data and the digital gene expression (DGE) profile of photoperiod sensitive wheat cultivar Jing 841 and photoperiod-insensitive wheat cultivar Liaochun 10 under different photoperiod conditions.For each cultivar, seedlings treated with different photoperiods were collected and sequenced by Solexa/Illumina sequencing, and a total of 89,702 unigenes were obtained.Some photoperiodic response genes in Jing 841 were verified through the quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).According to the functional comment, a total of six categories with 92 DEGs were further identified which were specifically expressing in Jing 841.During a whole light/dark cycle (16 h/8 h and 6 h/18 h light/dark, respectively), three genes showed different expression patterns.The photoperiod response genes specifically expressed in Jing 841 may participate in the photoperiod regulation of wheat and exert an important role.The results provide critical information for the molecular mechanism of photoperiod regulation in wheat, which lays a significant foundation for further research on the development of wheat photoperiod.