Abstract
To explore the probable mechanism of antimony stress resistance by Nelumbo nucifera and screen out relevant antimony-resistant genes, we conducted transcriptome sequencing of Nelumbo nucifera seeds treated by antimony at low, medium, and high concentrations (100, 500, 1000 mg/L respectively), screened differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and analyzed gene ontology classification and KEGG enrichment.Totally 18078 DEGs between antimony stress treatments and the control were identified, and 4192, 5850 and 8036 DEGs were found respectively.The pathways underlying the degradation of phosphopentose, limonene and pinene, the biosynthesis of flavonoid and ubiquinone, and the biosynthesis of terpenoids play critical roles in this responding process. The expressions of 7 genes validated by qPCR were consistent with the RNA-Seq results, which confirms the reliability of RNA-Seq results.This study on transcriptome analysis of Nelumbo nucifera under antimony stress provides a genetic resource and a theoretical basis for research on plant restoration of antimony pollution.