Transcriptome analysis Cladophora rupestris absorption and response to Pb stress

Abstract This study aimed to analyze the transcriptome of C. rupestris under Pb stress by using high-throughput sequencing technology, observe the changes of gene expression and metabolic pathway after 3 and 5 days under 1.0 and 5.0 mg/L Pb2+ treatment, and analyze the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and related functional genes. Metabolic pathways were revealed through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Results show that DEGs increased significantly with the increase of Pb2+ concentration and stress time. A total of 32 genes were closely related to Pb stress response. GO analysis identified two major transporter proteins, namely, ATP-binding transport protein-related (ABC transporters) and zinc finger CCHC domain containing protein (Zfp) in C. rupestris. Pthr19248, pthr19211, Zfp pthr23002, Zfp p48znf pthr12681, Zfp 294 pthr12389, and Zfp pthr23067 played important roles against Pb infection and its absorption in C. rupestris. KEGG pathway analysis indicate that ABCA1, ATM, and ABCD3 were closely related to Pb absorption. Pb stress was mainly involved in metallothionein, plant hormone signal transduction, ABC transporters, and glutathione metabolism.