The Genes Associated with Drought Tolerance by Multi-Layer Approach in Potato

We have developed a multi-layer pipeline that uses transcriptomic data to identify candidate genes associated with complex pathways in plants. We used this multi-layer approach, incorporating microarray, RNA sequencing, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and protein-protein interaction analyses, to identify 14 genes associated with drought tolerance in potato. We generated transgenic potato lines that over-express bZIP28, one of the genes selected by our pipeline, to confirm the involvement of that gene in drought tolerance. The protein interactions of the products of the screened genes were assessed using yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation analyses. Overall, this study demonstrated the utility of our multi-layer approach for deciphering complex biosynthetic pathways using transcriptomic data.