Resequencing and transcriptomic analysis reveal differences in nitrite reductase in jujube fruit (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.)

Background Jujube is a typical fruit tree species from China. 'Muzao', a cracking-susceptible cultivar, and 'Linhuang No. 1', a cracking-resistant cultivar, were selected in a previous study as contrasting research materials. Whole-genome resequencing and transcriptomic analysis of 'Linhuang No. 1' and 'Muzao' allowed the identification of differentially expressed genes with different gene structures between the two cultivars and could be helpful in explaining the differences and similarities between the two cultivars. Results Resequencing identified 664,129 polymorphic variable sites between 'Linhuang No. 1' and 'Muzao'. To determine the genetic relationship among 'Linhuang No. 1', 'Muzao' and the jujube genome reference cultivar 'Dongzao', the characteristic polymorphic variable sites were analysed by principal component analysis. The genetic relationship between 'Linhuang No. 1' and 'Muzao' was closer than that of either variety and 'Dongzao'. Nineteen differentially expressed genes were identified by combining transcriptomic analysis with resequencing analysis. LOC107427052 (encoding a nitrite reductase) was identified by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis for further study. The identified insertion was not in the domain region of the LOC107427052 gene coding sequence (CDS) region and was verified by the finding that the insertion did not affect translation of the protein. The LOC107427052 gene expression levels, nitrite reductase activities and nitrite contents of 'Muzao' were significantly higher than the corresponding values of 'Linhuang No. 1' at the young fruit stage. There was no significant difference in the quantity of the product of nitrite reductase, namely, ammonia, between the two cultivars. Conclusions The present study was the first to explore the differences between different jujube cultivars ('Linhuang No. 1' and 'Muzao') by combining genome resequencing and transcriptomics. LOC107427052 (encoding a nitrite reductase) was characterized by KEGG enrichment analysis. The insertion in the CDS region of the LOC107427052 gene provides a new direction for the study of nitrogen metabolism in jujube. Our study has laid a foundation for the comparative analysis of nitrite metabolism between the jujube cultivars 'Linhuang No. 1' and 'Muzao'.