Taylor Abrahamson

Many biochemical processes in plants have yet to be linked to specific genes. One of these processes is the production of wax blooms: white chemical coatings found on some plants that help them protect against drought, pathogens, and drastic temperature changes. In this project I studied these wax blooms via RNA sequencing using Oxford Nanopore Sequencing Technology. The goal was to identify candidate genes for wax bloom production using Kalanchoe species as models because (i) they can be grown quickly in a lab, (ii) multiple independent analyses can be conducted using tissue from the same plant, and (iii) not all Kalanchoe plants produce wax blooms, so comparisons can be made - Kalanchoe thyrsiflora produces a wax bloom while Kalanchoe pinnata does not. To do this, RNA was extracted using the CTAB extraction buffer method and purified using a DNase treatment and an mRNA isolation module, then sequenced on a nanopore flow cell. The sequencing run produced approximately 1 million base pair reads which allowed us to use computer programs in our search for Oxidosqualene cyclase genes present in their transcriptomes, an important component in sterol synthesis.