Pulsatilla chinensis (Bunge) Regel has been widely used in the pharmaceutical industry. With the deepening of clinical application, the research on its plant resources has attracted much attention. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of distinct germination during Pulsatilla seed development are still mostly unknown. Therefore, in this study, four germination stages of P. chinensis seeds, with obvious differences in seed appearance traits, were used as materials. Transcriptome sequencing technology was used to analyse the molecular mechanisms of seed germination. A total of 27,601 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (six different groups) were determined. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the up-regulated DEGs were enriched in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, photosynthesis, photosynthesis–antenna proteins, plant hormone signal transduction, flavonoid biosynthesis and other pathways. A total of 87 DEGs was enriched in phytohormone signal transduction pathways, including auxin (25), abscisic acid (13), gibberellin (6), ethylene (9) and cytokinin (7). Furthermore, a protein–protein interaction network was constructed using these DEGs. Some DEGs were validated by qRT-PCR analysis. This comprehensive analysis provided basic information on the key genes of plant hormone signal transduction pathways involved in the seed germination process of P. chinensis (Bunge) Regel.

白头翁( Pulsatilla chinensis (Bunge) Regel)已广泛应用于制药工业。随着临床应用的深入，对其植物资源的研究备受关注。然而，白头翁种子发育过程中不同发芽的潜在分子机制仍然大多未知。因此，本研究对中华白杨的四个萌发阶段进行了研究。以种子外观性状差异明显的种子为材料。利用转录组测序技术分析种子萌发的分子机制。总共确定了 27,601 个差异表达基因 (DEG)（六个不同组）。KEGG富集分析显示，上调的DEG富集于苯丙素生物合成、光合作用、光合作用-天线蛋白、植物激素信号转导、类黄酮生物合成等途径。植物激素信号转导途径中富集了总共87个DEG，包括生长素（25）、脱落酸（13）、赤霉素（6）、乙烯（9）和细胞分裂素（7）。此外，利用这些 DEG 构建了蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用网络。一些 DEG 通过 qRT-PCR 分析进行了验证。P. chinensis (Bunge) Regel。