Transcriptome scale analysis to decode the differential sucrose accumulation mechanisms in sugarcane under the effect of gibberellin.

In the present study, we analyzed GA 3 (gibberellin)-treated sugarcane samples at the transcriptomic level to elucidate the differential expression of genes that influence sucrose accumulation. Previous research has suggested that GA 3 application can potentially delay sink saturation by enhancing sink strength and demand, enabling the accommodation of more sucrose. To investigate the potential role of GA-induced modification of sink capacity in promoting higher sucrose accumulation, we sought to unravel the differential expression of transcripts and analyze their functional annotation. Several genes homologous to the sugar-phosphate/phosphate translocator, UTP-glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase, and V-ATPases (vacuolar-type H+ ATPase) were identified as potentially associated with the increased sucrose content observed. A differentially expressed transcript was found to be identical to the mRNA of an unknown protein. Homology-based bioinformatics analysis suggested it to be a hydrolase enzyme, which could potentially act as a stimulator of sucrose buildup. The database of differentially expressed transcripts obtained in this study under the influence of GA 3 represents a valuable addition to the sugarcane transcriptomics and functional genomics knowledge base.