Transcriptome profiling the response of elephant grass (<i>Cenchrus purpureus</i>) root to cold stress

作者：Yuanbin Hu, Min Sun, Dan Luo, Dan Yang, Yaning Zhang, Jiyuan Jia, Qiong Ding, Atiqa Najeeb, Xiaoshan Wang, Yang Ji, Jing Zhang, Yanan Liu, Xiaoyu Liang, Linkai Huang, Chunli Mao · 发表于：Grass Research · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.48130/grares-0025-0011 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Plant Taxonomy and Phylogenetics、Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance、Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology

Elephant grass ( Cenchrus purpureus ) is a significant perennial energy and forage plant, characterized by high biomass, low nutrient needs, and resilience to adverse conditions. However, its sensitivity to cold limits its yield and utilization in agriculture. Understanding the cold stress responses of elephant grass is crucial for breeding cold-tolerant varieties. To investigate this, a multi-temporal transcriptome analysis was conducted, revealing that approximately 1,480, 4,949, 8,433, and 9,005 genes were differentially expressed after cold treatments for 3, 6, 12, and 24 h, respectively. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were significantly enriched in pathways related to plant hormone signaling, MAPK signaling, and arginine and proline metabolism. KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that these pathways play a vital role in the cold stress response of elephant grass roots. Several transcription factors (TFs), including MYB, NAC, WRKY, bHLH, bZIP, and AP2/ERF, were also implicated, with five MYB, four AP2/ERF, four Dof, three bHLH, two NAC, and two C2H2 TFs significantly up-regulated during cold stress. Additionally, genes encoding antioxidant enzymes ( SOD , CAT , GPX , APX , GST ) and those involved in the synthesis of putrescine ( ADC ) and proline ( P5CS ) contributed to the cold stress response. This study provides valuable insights into transcriptome networks and potential gene resources for breeding cold-tolerant elephant grass.