Transcriptome analysis of Oryza sativa in responses to different concentrations of thiocyanate.

Effective concentrations of potassium thiocyanate (KSCN) to rice seedlings were experimentally determined using relative growth rate as a sensitive endpoint. Agilent 44-K rice microarray was used to profile the molecular responses of rice seedlings exposed to thiocyanate ion (SCN) at three different effective concentrations (EC, EC, and EC). A total of 18,498 known genes were collected from SCN-treated rice microarray analysis. Out of all, 1603, 1882, and 5085 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were observed at EC, EC, and EC concentrations, respectively. More upregulated/downregulated DEGs were detected in shoots than in roots after SCN exposure. Gene functions and pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs indicated that different effective concentrations of SCN resulted in multiple enriched GO categories and KEGG pathways and outcomes were quite tissue-specific. Different regulations and adaptations of gene expression in molecular function (MF), biological process (BP), and cellular components (CC) were observed in rice tissues at different effective concentrations of SCN, suggesting their different responsive and adaptive strategies. Information collected here presents a detailed description of SCN-induced alternations of gene expression in rice seedlings and provide valuable information for further searching specific genes participating in transportation, phytotoxic responses, and detoxification of SCN in rice seedlings.