Transcriptome-wide selection of a reliable set of reference genes for gene expression studies in potato cyst nematodes (Globodera spp.)

PLoS One. 2018 Mar 2;13(3):e0193840. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193840. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Relative gene expression analyses by qRT-PCR (quantitative reverse transcription PCR) require an internal control to normalize the expression data of genes of interest and eliminate the unwanted variation introduced by sample preparation. A perfect reference gene should have a constant expression level under all the experimental conditions. However, the same few housekeeping genes selected from the literature or successfully used in previous unrelated experiments are often routinely used in new conditions without proper validation of their stability across treatments. The advent of RNA-Seq and the availability of public datasets for numerous organisms are opening the way to finding better reference genes for expression studies. Globodera rostochiensis is a plant-parasitic nematode that is particularly yield-limiting for potato. The aim of our study was to identify a reliable set of reference genes to study G. rostochiensis gene expression. Gene expression levels from an RNA-Seq database were used to identify putative reference genes and were validated with qRT-PCR analysis. Three genes, GR, PMP-3, and aaRS, were found to be very stable within the experimental conditions of this study and are proposed as reference genes for future work.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Gene Expression Profiling* / methods
  • Genes, Helminth
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Analysis, RNA
  • Transcriptome*
  • Tylenchoidea / genetics*
  • Tylenchoidea / metabolism

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through a Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP) titled “Risk Assessment and Eradication of Globodera spp. in U.S. Production of Potato”, supported by award #2015-69004-23634 from the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (https://www.globodera.org/).