Analysis of Hormone Regulation on Seed Germination of Coix Based on Muli-Omics Analysis

Seed germination is an important stage of growth and reproduction and plays an important role in the life cycle of spermatophyte. It is co-determined by both genetic and environmental factors, and plant hormone regulation may be a highly conservative mechanism. Coix lachryrma-jobi (coix) is a grain with balanced nutrition for medicine and food and has substantial production value. It is an important part of agricultural production, and the efficiency of seed germination after sowing is a key link. In this study, coix species small white shell Xingren was used as the experimental material, and changes in gene expression levels and metabolite enrichment in seeds were identified by transcriptome and metabonomic analysis before and after seed germination. A total of 599 metabolites, including those from amino acid metabolism, sugar metabolism, and fatty acid metabolism, were significantly increased in germinating coix. Simultaneously, 10,929 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and functional clusters of genes were also significantly clustered in hormone-signaling and glucose and fatty acid metabolism. In addition, this study found that a considerable number of hormone-signaling genes were significantly up-regulated during seed germination, activating multiple metabolic processes. The results of our conjoint analysis of multi omics showed that glucose and fatty acid metabolism played an important role in seed germination under hormone regulation.

Automated summary

Seed germination is a critical stage in the life cycle of spermatophyte and is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Plant hormone regulation is believed to be a highly conserved mechanism in this process. In this study, transcriptome and metabonomic analysis were used to investigate changes in gene expression and metabolite enrichment during seed germination of Coix lachryrma-jobi. The results revealed significant increases in a variety of metabolites related to amino acid, sugar, and fatty acid metabolism. Additionally, hormone-signaling and glucose and fatty acid metabolism genes were found to be significantly clustered. It was also observed that hormone-signaling genes were up-regulated during seed germination, leading to the activation of multiple metabolic processes. This study highlights the importance of glucose and fatty acid metabolism in seed germination under hormone regulation.