Transcriptome Analysis of Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) Differentially Expressed Genes in Response to Drought Stress

Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) is an economically important nut tree that greatly affected by drought, limiting its production and distribution. Although the complete genome of pecan was published several years ago, molecular basis pecan’s response to drought remains unclear. In this study, we analyzed high-throughput transcriptome data for pecans under 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 days stress compared with controls. A total 12,893 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified stress, 11,684 them showing significant changes after d treatment. Among these, 4448 up-regulated while 7226 down-regulated. The trend analysis revealed DEGs could be classified into 20 clusters. Surprisingly, majority (6148) showed a gradual down-regulation, 3683 up-regulation in drought. Gene ontology enrichment mainly enriched biological processes. KEGG pathway results indicated pathways, including metabolic biosynthesis secondary metabolites, plant hormone signal transduction DEGs, 457 protein kinase 734 transcription factor shown drought-responsive may play key roles expression patterns selected candidate further validated using quantitative real-time PCR. Collectively, these findings highlighted multiple processes provided valuable insights investigation functions stress-responsive response.