Transcriptome analysis and molecular mechanism of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) drought tolerance under repeated drought using single-molecule long-read sequencing

BACKGROUND: Oil flax (linseed, Linum usitatissimum L.) is one of the most important oil crops., However, the increases in drought resulting from climate change have dramatically reduces linseed yield and quality, but very little is known about how linseed coordinates the expression of drought resistance gene in response to different level of drought stress (DS) on the genome-wide level. RESULTS: To explore the linseed transcriptional response of DS and repeated drought (RD) stress, we determined the drought tolerance of different linseed varieties. Then we performed full-length transcriptome sequencing of drought-resistant variety (Z141) and drought-sensitive variety (NY-17) under DS and RD stress at the seedling stage using single-molecule real-time sequencing and RNA-sequencing. Gene Ontology (GO) and reduce and visualize GO (REVIGO) enrichment analysis showed that upregulated genes of Z141 were enriched in more functional pathways related to plant drought tolerance than those of NY-17 were under DS. In addition, 4436 linseed transcription factors were identified, and 1190 were responsive to stress treatments. Moreover, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis showed that the proline biosynthesis pathway interacts with stress response genes through RAD50 (DNA repair protein 50) interacting protein 1 (RIN-1). Finally, proline biosynthesis and DNA repair structural gene expression patterns were verified by RT- PCR. CONCLUSIONS: The drought tolerance of Z141 may be related to its upregulation of drought tolerance genes under DS. Proline may play an important role in linseed drought tolerance by maintaining cell osmotic and protecting DNA from ROS damage. In summary, this study provides a new perspective to understand the drought adaptability of linseed. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-07416-5.