Alfalfa Flower Pigment and Gene Expression Data

Integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic profiling analyzes five alfalfa flower types, from white to four shades of purple. The study quantifies anthocyanin and carotenoid contents and identifies 580 common significant differentially expressed genes. It was authored by Hongqi Du and published in 2026.

Use Cases

• Correlate expression levels of candidate genes like MSTRG.59017 with anthocyanin content changes across flower types.
• Analyze the ratio of blue to red pigments across the ZH1 to ZH4 purple flower gradient.
• Identify transcription factors, such as MYB and bHLH, among the 108 regularly trending genes for regulatory network modeling.
• Validate transcriptomic data using qRT-PCR results for key differentially expressed genes involved in pigment synthesis.

Strengths

• Integrates two omics layers: metabolomics (LC-ESI-MS/MS) and transcriptomics (RNA-seq) for a multi-faceted analysis.
• Focuses on a specific biological gradient, profiling five distinct flower types (white and four purple shades).
• Identifies 580 common significant differentially expressed genes (CSDEGs) and 24 transcription factors from the analysis.
• Quantifies specific anthocyanin molecules, including delphinidin-3,5-O-diglucoside and malvidin-3,5-O-diglucoside.

Limitations

• The dataset is very small in file size (53.3 KB), indicating limited raw or processed data scope.
• Sample data and column structure are unavailable, hindering immediate analysis without inspecting the file.
• The study is confined to alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), limiting direct applicability to other plant species.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Hongqi Du.

Collection Method

Integrated analysis of LC-ESI-MS/MS metabolomics and RNA-seq transcriptomics on five alfalfa flower types.

Freshness

Last updated in March 2026.