Differentially Expressed Genes of Roots and Stems of Pitaya under Drought Stress

Key words: 
• pitaya /
• drought stress /
• RNA-Seq /
• differentially expressed genes

Abstract: Although pitaya（ Hylocereus undatus） has a good drought tolerance,drought stress could result in reduced production,low quality,and even failure in bearing fruit of pitaya. The pitaya Dahong was used as the experimental material,and a new generation of high-throughput sequencing technology（ RNA-Seq） was used to compare the differences in the root and stem of the pitaya between the treatment group and the control group. We screened differentially expressed genes（ DEGs） from the root and stem,and verified the expression of the screened genes by qRT-PCR. A total of 194 DEGs were produced from CR-VS-DR,including 70 up-regulated expression genes and 124 down-regulated expression genes which responded to drought stress. From CS-VS-DS,21 DEGs were obtained,including 12 up-regulated expression genes and 9 down-regulated expression genes which responded to drought stress. The sereened differentially expressed genes were mainly concentrated in the process of tyrosine metabolism,secondary metabolite biosynthesis,glycolysis/glycoheterosis,and carbon metabolism. It showed that the pitaya was mainly adapted to drought stress by adjusting its basic metabolism,and the tyrosine metabolism may play an important role in the drought resistance of the pitaya.