Transcriptional signatures associated with environmental and developmental variation in tobacco aroma-related pathways across cultivars and regions
5 affiliations
- 1Technology Center of China Tobacco Hunan Industrial Co. Ltd., CNTC
- 2Beijing Life Science Academy
- 3College of Biology, Hunan University
- 4Hunan Tobacco Research Institute
- 5Yuxi Zhongyan Tobacco Seed Co., Ltd
Abstract
Background: Tobacco aroma is a complex quality trait shaped by interactions among genotype, developmental progression, and regional environment, yet the transcriptional programs linking ecological context to aroma-related metabolism remain incompletely understood.
Methods: We profiled the transcriptomes of ten Nicotiana tabacum L. cultivars grown in three representative regions and sampled at three developmental stages. Normalized RNA-seq expression, principal component analysis, differential expression analysis, soft clustering, pathway enrichment, gene-expression variability analysis, and protein–protein interaction network analysis were performed.
Results: Growing region was the major source of transcriptomic variation, followed by developmental stage, whereas cultivar effects were comparatively smaller. Leaf maturation from S1 to S3 was associated with repression of photosynthesis and carbon-assimilation pathways and induction of stress responses, redox regulation, cell-wall and membrane remodeling, amino acid metabolism, and secondary metabolism. Aroma-associated processes, including carotenoid-, phenylpropanoid-, and redox-related pathways, showed regiondependent expression patterns. Strong-aroma cultivars exhibited greater transcriptional variability across regions than light-aroma cultivars, suggesting stronger environmental responsiveness of their regulatory networks. Network analysis further highlighted candidate hub genes, including the heat shockrelated protein A0A1S4A548 and peroxiredoxin Q A0A1S4B900, in temperature- and oxidative-stress-related modules.
Conclusion: These findings provide a transcriptome-level framework for understanding how environmental context and developmental maturation are associated with aroma-related metabolic reprogramming in tobacco and identify candidate genes for future functional validation.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026transcriptional,
title = {{Transcriptional signatures associated with environmental and developmental variation in tobacco aroma-related pathways across cultivars and regions}},
author = {Xiaoxu Li and Yilin Wen and Xinxi He and Jiashuo Yang and Guoping Wang and Yu Peng and Zhiyuan Li and Yu Zhao and Dousheng Wu and Xiangli Xu and Wanfeng Liu and Yangyang Li and Pingjun Huang and Junping Gao and Yirong Wang and Long Chen and Xiaonian Yang and Wenxuan Pu},
journal = {Frontiers in Plant Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpls.2026.1854430},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1854430/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Transcriptional signatures associated with environmental and developmental variation in tobacco aroma-related pathways across cultivars and regions
AU - Xiaoxu Li
AU - Yilin Wen
AU - Xinxi He
AU - Jiashuo Yang
AU - Guoping Wang
AU - Yu Peng
AU - Zhiyuan Li
AU - Yu Zhao
AU - Dousheng Wu
AU - Xiangli Xu
AU - Wanfeng Liu
AU - Yangyang Li
AU - Pingjun Huang
AU - Junping Gao
AU - Yirong Wang
AU - Long Chen
AU - Xiaonian Yang
AU - Wenxuan Pu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Frontiers in Plant Science
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2026.1854430
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1854430/full
AB - Background: Tobacco aroma is a complex quality trait shaped by interactions among genotype, developmental progression, and regional environment, yet the transcriptional programs linking ecological context to aroma-related metabolism remain incompletely understood. Methods: We profiled the transcriptomes of ten Nicotiana tabacum L. cultivars grown in three representative regions and sampled at three developmental stages. Normalized RNA-seq expression, principal component analysis, differential expression analysis, soft clustering, pathway enrichment, gene-expression variability analysis, and protein–protein interaction network analysis were performed. Results: Growing region was the major source of transcriptomic variation, followed by developmental stage, whereas cultivar effects were comparatively smaller. Leaf maturation from S1 to S3 was associated with repression of photosynthesis and carbon-assimilation pathways and induction of stress responses, redox regulation, cell-wall and membrane remodeling, amino acid metabolism, and secondary metabolism. Aroma-associated processes, including carotenoid-, phenylpropanoid-, and redox-related pathways, showed regiondependent expression patterns. Strong-aroma cultivars exhibited greater transcriptional variability across regions than light-aroma cultivars, suggesting stronger environmental responsiveness of their regulatory networks. Network analysis further highlighted candidate hub genes, including the heat shockrelated protein A0A1S4A548 and peroxiredoxin Q A0A1S4B900, in temperature- and oxidative-stress-related modules. Conclusion: These findings provide a transcriptome-level framework for understanding how environmental context and developmental maturation are associated with aroma-related metabolic reprogramming in tobacco and identify candidate genes for future functional validation.
SN - 1664-462X
ER -