Transcriptome analysis of a Triticum aestivum landrace (Roshan) in response to salt stress conditions

In order to better understand the molecular mechanisms associated with salinity tolerance, transcriptome analysis of a local salt-tolerant wheat landrace (i.e. Roshan) was performed under salt stress. Transcriptome sequencing yielded 137,508,542 clean reads using the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform. The results of two alignment programs, i.e. STAR and HISAT2, were used separately to perform the analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using DESeq2. Finally, a total of 17,897 DEGs were identified by DESeq2. Moreover, gene ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses identified 108 GO terms and 62 significant KEGG pathways, of which ‘metabolic process’ and ‘metabolic pathways’ were the most abundant enriched term and pathway, respectively. Additionally, key salinity-tolerant genes, including asparagine synthetase, were also identified in the present study. Out of 87 identified families of transcription factors, GAI‐RGA ‐ and ‐SCR (GRAS) was one of the most important, which participates in signal transduction, and meristem maintenance and development. Eventually, to validate the gene expression levels, six DEGs were selected for a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and the results were in line with those of RNA-Seq. The findings of the current study can guide future genetic and molecular studies and allow a better understanding and improvement of salt tolerance in wheat.