AUTHOR=Pushkova Elena N. , Krasnov George S. , Lakunina Valentina A. , Novakovskiy Roman O. , Povkhova Liubov V. , Dvorianinova Ekaterina M. , Beniaminov Artemy D. , Fedorova Maria S. , Snezhkina Anastasiya V. , Kudryavtseva Anna V. , Dmitriev Alexey A. , Melnikova Nataliya V. 

TITLE=Genome and Transcriptome Sequencing of Populus × sibirica Identified Sex-Associated Allele-Specific Expression of the CLC Gene

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2021.676935

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2021.676935

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=Transcriptome sequencing of leaves, catkin axes, and flowers from male and female trees of Populus x sibirica and genome sequencing of the same plants were performed for the first time. The availability of both genome and transcriptome sequencing data enabled the identification of allele-specific expression. Such an analysis was performed for genes from the sex-determining region (SDR). P. x sibirica is an intersectional hybrid between species from sections Aigeiros (P. nigra) and Tacamahaca (P. laurifolia, P. suaveolens, or P. x moskoviensis), therefore, a significant number of heterozygous polymorphisms were identified in the SDR that allowed us to distinguish between alleles. In the SDR, both allelic variants of the TCP (T-complex protein 1 subunit gamma), CLC (Chloride channel protein CLC-c), and MET1 (DNA-methyltransferase 1) genes were expressed in females, while in males, two allelic variants were expressed for TCP and MET1 but only one allelic variant – for CLC. Targeted sequencing of TCP, CLC, and MET1 regions on a representative set of trees confirmed the sex-associated allele-specific expression of the CLC gene in generative and vegetative tissues of P. x sibirica. Our study brings new knowledge on sex-associated differences in Populus species.