Transcriptome profiling and weighted gene co-expression network analysis of early floral development in Aquilegia coerulea

The earliest phases of floral development include a number of crucial processes that lay the foundation for the subsequent morphogenesis of floral organs and success in reproduction. Currently, key transcriptional changes during this developmental window have been characterized in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana, but little is known about how transcriptional dynamics change over the course of these developmental processes in other plant systems. Here, we have conducted the first in-depth transcriptome profiling of early floral development in Aquilegia at four finely dissected developmental stages, with eight biological replicates per stage. Using differential gene expression analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis, we identified both crucial genes whose expression changes mark the transitions between developmental stages and hub genes in co-expression modules. Our results support the potential functional conservation of key genes in early floral development that have been identified in other systems, but also reveal a number of previously unknown or overlooked loci that are worthy of further investigation. In addition, our results highlight not only the dynamics of transcriptional regulation during early floral development, but also the potential involvement of the complex, essential networks of small RNA and post-translational regulation to these developmental stages.