Identification and Genome-Wide Gene Expression Perturbation of a Trisomy in Chinese Kale (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra)

Trisomy harbouring an extra copy of the chromosome generally causes a variety of physical and intellectual disabilities in mammals but is an extremely rare and important genetic stock in plants. In this study, a spontaneous trisomy plant in a Chinese kale accession (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra, CC, 2n = 18) that showed significantly smaller plant architecture when compared to other normal plants was found and subsequently confirmed by cytological analysis in which the chromosome set of 2n = 19 and abnormal chromosome behaviour were observed. Then, based on the gene expression deviation determined by RNA-seq, the extra chromosome copy in this trisomy was identified as chromosome C2 (TC2). Compared to normal plants, TC2 not only showed generally upregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) on chromosome C2 (97.21% of 573 DEGs in chromosome C2) but also exhibited a whole-genome expression perturbation, in which 1329 DEGs (69.87% of total DEGs) were observed along two-copy chromosomes (trans-effect). The genes in the high (gene expression value > 100) and medium (100 > gene expression value > 10) groups were more prone to decreased gene expression, but the genes in the low group (10 > gene expression value > 0.1) showed upregulated expression deviation. In addition, GO (Gene ontology) annotation analysis revealed that the upregulated DEGs in the trans-effect group were overrepresented by the genes involved in the response to stress category, while the downregulated DEGs in the trans-effect group were mostly enriched in pathways related to DNA synthesis. In conclusion, we think our results can provide important resources for genetic analysis in B. oleracea and show some novel insights for understanding trisomy plant biology.

Automated summary

This study identified a natural trisomy plant in Chinese kale, which exhibited smaller plant architecture compared to normal plants and had an extra chromosome copy identified as chromosome C2. The trisomy plant showed generally upregulated gene expression on chromosome C2 and whole-genome expression perturbation. The upregulated differentially expressed genes were enriched in stress response pathways, while the downregulated genes were related to DNA synthesis.