A genome-wide expression profile analysis reveals active genes and pathways coping with phosphate starvation in soybean

BACKGROUND: Phosphorus is one of the most important macronutrients that is required for plant growth and development. However, stress under low-P conditions has become a limiting factor that affects crop yields and qualities. Plants have developed strategies to cope with this, while few genes associated with low-P tolerance have been identified in soybean. RESULTS: Genome-wide analyses were performed on the roots and leaves of a low-P-tolerant accession and a low-P-sensitive accession which were identified by hydroponic experiments under different P treatments. Through comparative analyses on the differently expressed genes, we explored 42 common genes that were highly correlated to low-P stress. The functional classification of these genes revealed 24 Gene Ontology (GO) terms of biological process including response to oxidation reduction, hormone stimuli, and biotic and abiotic stimuli. Additionally, three common pathways were identified. CONCLUSIONS: These results could not only promote the work on the molecular regulation mechanism under low-P stress in soybean, but also facilitate the cultivation of high-phosphorus-acquisition and high-phosphorus-utilization soybean varieties. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-2558-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.