Complementary Transcriptome and Proteome Analyses Provide Insight into the Floral Transition in Bamboo (Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro)

Most woody bamboos bloom only once after long vegetative growth phases and die immediately afterwards. It is difficult, however, to determine the timing of the floral transition, as little information is available on the molecular mechanism of plant maturity in bamboos. To uncover the bamboo floral transition mechanism, its morpho-physiological characteristics, transcriptomes and large-scale quantitative proteomes were investigated in leaves which were collected at different stages during floral transition in a woody bamboo, Dendrocalamus latiflorus. We identified many flowering time-associated genes and the continued increase and decrease genes were screened as flowering biomarker genes (e.g., the MADS14 and bHLH13 genes). These different genes were assigned to specific metabolic pathways by the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). And the photoperiod pathways depending on the circadian rhythm may play an essential role in the bamboo floral transition. In addition, a total of 721 differently expressed proteins of leaves from the vegetative-to-reproductive stages were identified. Fifty-five genes were specifically differentially expressed at both the transcriptomic and proteomic levels, including genes related to photosynthesis and nucleotide sugar, which may be involved in the floral transition. This work provides insights into bamboo flowers and the management of forest breeding.