Comparative analysis of flower development, active ingredients and transcriptomic response revealed mechanisms of Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. 'Hangju' responding to flooding stress

Abstract

Abstract C. morifolium cv. 'Hangju' is used as material medicine and herbal tea in China for several centuries. In the previous observation, it was found that sufficient rainfall conditions can affect the flower buds differentiation process of 'Hangju'. In order to study the effects of flooding stress on 'Hangju', this study simulated the flooding stress during the reproductive growth of 'Hangju' and detected the morphological difference of the capitulum and luteoloside content change in different growth stages. RNA-seq was also used to contrast transcriptomes of pre- and post-treatment performance. In total, 101,806 unigenes were obtained and 968, 624, 964, and 582 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between flooding groups and control groups in the 4 stages. GO enrichment analysis of DEGs was performed to derive the main enrichment entries, KEGG enrichment analysis reveals a significant enrichment of DEGs in the biosynthetic pathway of secondary metabolites, which include flavonoid, flavone, and flavonol biosynthesis pathways. Overall, our research provides reasonable insights into the flower bud differentiation response mechanisms of 'Hangju' is subjected to flooding stress, and will expand our understanding of the transcriptional response to flood stress. These results will provide a better understanding of the formation of quality in 'Hangju' when subjected to flooding stress and will expand our understanding of the transcriptional response to flooding stress. These results will provide greater understanding of the formation of quality in 'Hangju'.