Tissue-specific transcriptome analysis of drought stress and rehydration in Trachycarpus fortunei at seedling

BACKGROUND: Trachycarpus fortunei has broad economic benefits and excellent drought resistance; however, its drought response, adaptation, and recovery processes remain unclear. METHODOLOGY: In this study, the response, tolerance, and recovery processes of T. fortunei leaves and roots under drought stress were determined by Illumina sequencing. RESULTS: Under drought stress, T. fortunei reduced its light-capturing ability and composition of its photosynthetic apparatus, thereby reducing photosynthesis to prevent photo-induced chloroplast reactive oxygen damage during dehydration. The phenylpropanoid biosynthesis process in the roots was suppressed, DHNs, LEA, Annexin D2, NAC, and other genes, which may play important roles in protecting the cell membrane’s permeability in T. fortunei root tissues. During the rehydration phase, fatty acid biosynthesis in T. fortunei roots was repressed. Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) screened modules that were positively or negatively correlated with physiological traits. The real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) results indicated the reliability of the transcriptomic data. CONCLUSION: These findings provide valuable information for identifying important components in the T. fortunei drought signaling network and enhances our understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which T. fortunei responds to drought stress.