Open Access

ARTICLE

Selection of Stable Reference Genes for Quantitative Real-Time PCR on Herbaceous Peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) in Response to Drought Stress

Zhipeng Sheng, Yuting Luan, Cong Xu, Jun Tao^*, Daqiu Zhao^*

College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China

* Corresponding Authors: Jun Tao. Email: ; Daqiu Zhao. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Identification of Genetic/Epigenetic Components Responding to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses in Crops)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2023, 92(3), 801-814. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2023.024953

Received 15 June 2022; Accepted 08 September 2022; Issue published 29 November 2022

Abstract

Herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.), as a high-end cut flower in the international market, has high ornamental and medicinal values. But in Northern China, drought is a major environmental factor influencing the growth and development of P. lactiflora. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) can evaluate gene expression levels under different stress conditions, and stable internal reference is the key for qRT-PCR. At present, there is no systematic screening of internal reference for correcting gene expressions of P. lactiflora in response to drought stress. In this study, 10 candidate genes [ubiquitin (UBQ2), UBQ1, elongation factor 1-α (EF-1α), Histidine (His), eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF), tubulin (TUB), actin (ACT), UBQ3, ACT2, RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II)] were chosen, and 4 analysis methods were used to compare the stabilities for these 10 genes coping with drought stress. Due to the difference of operation methods, the results of different analysis were distinct, and the final comprehensive analysis indicated that EF-1α was a relatively stable internal reference gene for P. lactiflora under drought stress. Also, UBQ1 and UBQ2 were the best reference gene combination according to GeNorm analysis. This study will lay a foundation for screening the key genes of P. lactiflora in response to drought stress.

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Keywords

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