Flowering is one of the major developmental processes that govern the economic yield of crop plants. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying flowering in Isabgol, an important high-value medicinal crop. Here, we analyzed the leaf transcriptome of early and late flowering genotypes by high throughput next-generation sequencing to uncover the genes and pathways involved in flowering time and flower development. Illumina paired-end sequencing of Isabgol leaves at the stem elongation stage, generated 8,976,119 and 4,282,684 reads respectively in DPO-14 (early flowering) and DPO-185 (late flowering) genotypes. The sequence assembly resulted in 40,175 and 39,533 transcripts respectively in early and late genotypes. A total of 17,768 (95.50) in DPO-14 and 21,255 (94.10) in DPO-185 CDS were annotated. There were 8981CDS were differentially expressed of which 1220 (13.58%) were significantly upregulated while 1485 (16.53%) CDS were significantly downregulated in DPO-185 compared with DPO-14. In total, 229 genes were identified belongs to distinct flowering pathways in Isabgol. A putative schematic network of flowering pathway regulation in Isabgol was proposed. Significant DEGs (60 genes) related to flowering time and flower development were detected between the early and late flowering genotypes. Significant differences in fold change expression of 17 genes were observed in early and late flowering genotypes. Many differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in flowering time and flower development were identified. The expression data will serve as a resource for unraveling the functions of specific genes involved in flower development in Isabgol and other plants. These findings are significant for further understanding of the molecular basis for flowering time regulation, breeding, and molecular biology in Isabgol as well as other crop plants.

中文翻译：

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通过转录组分析探索 Isabgol (Plantago ovata Forsk.) 的开花基因

开花是控制作物经济产量的主要发育过程之一。然而，对于重要的高价值药用作物 Isabgol 开花的分子机制知之甚少。在这里，我们通过高通量下一代测序分析了早花和晚花基因型的叶转录组，以揭示与开花时间和花发育相关的基因和途径。在茎伸长阶段对 Isabgol 叶进行 Illumina 双端测序，在 DPO-14（早花）和 DPO-185（晚花）基因型中分别产生了 8,976,119 和 4,282,684 个读数。序列组装分别在早期和晚期基因型中产生了 40,175 和 39,533 个转录本。DPO-14 中的 17,768 (95.50) 和 DPO-185 CDS 中的 21,255 (94.10) 被注释。与DPO-14相比，DPO-185中有8981个CDS差异表达，其中1220个（13.58%）显着上调，而1485个（16.53%）CDS显着下调。总共确定了 229 个基因属于 Isabgol 中不同的开花途径。提出了 Isabgol 中开花途径调节的假定示意图网络。在早花和晚花基因型之间检测到与开花时间和花发育相关的显着DEG（60个基因）。在早花和晚花基因型中观察到 17 个基因的倍数变化表达的显着差异。鉴定了许多涉及开花时间和花发育的差异表达基因（DEG）。表达数据将作为揭示与 Isabgol 和其他植物花发育相关的特定基因功能的资源。这些发现对于进一步了解 Isabgol 以及其他作物植物开花时间调控、育种和分子生物学的分子基础具有重要意义。