Transcriptomic analysis of no trichome mutant and identification of new trichome related genes in arabidopsis

Trichome is a typical single cell structure formed by the development of epidermal cells through cell fate determination, cell specialization and morphogenesis. Trichome not only protects plants from being injured by drought, high salinity, heavy metals, ultraviolet rays, and pests, but also secretes many kinds of metabolites. A mutant with almost no trichomes (ntm) on its leaves, stems, and inflorescence was identified. qPCR results showed that the expressions of GL1 and GL2 were significantly decreased, but the expression of GA1, GL3, TTG1, EGL3 and SAD2 was enhanced in ntm. RNA-seq was performed to explore the reasons for the difference between ntm and WT to help elucidate the mechanism of trichome development. The results showed that there were 275 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 75 up-regulated and 200 down-regulated genes. GO analysis showed that DEGs were mainly enriched in lipid synthesis, plant cell wall, and redox. KEEG analysis showed that DEGs were mainly enriched in three pathways: cytochrome P450 (ko00199), synthesis of cutin, wax and suberine (ko00073), and plant hormone signal transduction (ko04075). The findings of this study will help to clone the sequence of ntm and further understand the development of trichome. (author)