Using Isoform Sequencing for De Novo Transcriptome Sequencing and the Identification of Genes Related to Drought Tolerance and Agronomic Traits in Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.)

Plant height and tillering are the key traits of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), a perennial turf grass widely used for forage worldwide. It exhibits excellent abiotic stress tolerance. However, investigation these at genetic level is limited by lack completely sequenced genome fescue. Here, we generated genome-wide transcriptome data using PacBio isoform sequencing (Iso-Seq) technology. We obtained 73,628 transcripts with an average length 2410 bp. Among transcripts, 42,265 (60.09%) were predicted as complete full-length open reading frames. The dataset contained 11,520 simple sequence repeats; 737 bp long non-coding RNAs; 1599 alternative splicing sites in unigenes. Sixty-three unigenes involved abscisic acid biosynthesis, catabolism, signaling pathways identified. Illumina-sequencing analysis results, further verified qRT-PCR, revealed significant upregulation nine under drought stress. Ninety-three controlling plant also identified, which FaMAX1 was functionally to regulate tillering. Our results provide valuable resource about fescue; identified candidate genes can aid improving tolerance agronomic other related plants.