Enrichment analysis of genes that are related to lead stress in alfalfa, based on transcriptome sequencing

This paper used a high-throughput Illumina Hiseq sequencing platform to sequence the transcriptome of the control group (CK) and drought treatment group (Pb96) of alfalfa (Medicago sativa), and analyzed the sequencing data to further explore the molecular mechanism of alfalfa resistance to lead. The results showed that 2 242 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected under lead stress treatment. Among them, 1 321 DEGs were up-regulated and 921 were down-regulated. Within GO (gene ontology, http://www.geneontology.org/) enrichment analysis, differential genes are mainly involved in material metabolism, protein binding, and catalytic activity. According to KEGG (Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes, http://www.genome.jp/kegg/) analysis, differential genes are mainly involved in metabolic pathways, photosynthesis, and starch sucrose metabolism. In COG (clusters of orthologous groups of proteins/orthologous groups of genes) analysis, differential genes are mainly involved in carbohydrate transport and metabolism, translation, ribosome structure and biogenesis, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, transport, and catabolism. This study provides a reference for studying the molecular mechanism of alfalfa resistance to lead by transcriptome analysis of alfalfa roots.