Expression Analysis Of Rice Epigenetic Related Genes In Response To Cd Stress

Rice is one of the most important food crops worldwide.Cadmium(Cd)is a toxic heavy metal that negatively affects growth of rice by inhibiting seed germination,root growth,Photosynthesis and respiration,and activities of antioxidant enzymes.The study focused on analyzing effects of Cd stress on transcriptional expression of epigenetic related genes in rice.We analyzed epigenetics-related genes encoding histone methyltransferases,histone demethylases,histone acetyltransferases,histone deacetylases,DNA methyltransferases,DNA demethylase,RNA-dependent RNA polymerase(RdRP),chromatin remodeling factors,and PeG proteins on a genome-wide scale,and found that some of the genes were differentially expressed under Cd stress.Transcriptome analysis showed that many of the genes responded to Cd stress in roots and shoots.A phylogenetic tree was constructed with rice and Arabidopsis.The location of chromosomes was made in the rice genome.The cis-elements were analyzed in the promoter regions of the genes.It was found that some of them were potentially responding to abiotic stresses.We further validated 15 differentially expressed genes(p<0.05)from the transcriptome of rice exposed to Cd,including SDG725,CHR711,CHR717,CHR720,CHR727,CHR739,CHR745,JMJ713,JMJ715,HAC701,HAF701,Roslb,Ros1c,DML3a,VEF701 by semi-quantitative RT-PCR.These results indicate that a set of epigenetic genes can be differentially regulated by Cd exposure.