Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Provides New Insights into the Molecular Regulatory Mechanism of Adventitious Root Formation in Ramie (Boehmeria nivea L.)

The occurrence of adventitious roots is necessary for the survival of cuttings. In this study, comparative transcriptome analysis between two ramie (Boehmeria nivea L.) varieties with different adventitious root (AR) patterns was performed by mRNA-Seq before rooting (control, CK) and 10 days water-induced adventitious rooting (treatment, T) to reveal the regulatory mechanism of rooting. Characterization of the two ramie cultivars, Zhongzhu No 2 (Z2) and Huazhu No 4 (H4), indicated that Z2 had a high adventitious rooting rate but H4 had a low rooting rate. Twelve cDNA libraries of the two varieties were constructed, and a total of 26,723 genes were expressed. In the non-water culture condition, the number of the distinctive genes in H4 was 2.7 times of that in Z2, while in the water culture condition, the number of the distinctive genes in Z2 was nearly 2 times of that in H4. A total of 4411 and 5195 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the comparison of H4CK vs. H4T and Z2CK vs. Z2T, respectively. After the water culture, more DEGs were upregulated in Z2, but more DEGs were downregulated in H4. Gene ontology (GO) functional analysis of the DEGs indicated that the polysaccharide metabolic process, carbohydrate metabolic process, cellular carbohydrate metabolic process, cell wall macromolecule metabolic process, and photosystem GO terms were distinctively significantly enriched in H4. Simultaneously, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that photosynthesis, photosynthesis antenna proteins, and starch and sucrose metabolism pathways were distinctively significantly enriched in H4. Moreover, KEGG analysis showed that jasmonic acid (JA) could interact with ethylene to regulate the occurrence and number of AR in Z2. This study reveals the transcriptomic divergence of two ramie varieties with high and low adventitious rooting rates, and provides insights into the molecular regulatory mechanism of AR formation in ramie.