Candidate reference genes for gene expression studies in water lily.

ABSTRACT

The selection of an appropriate reference gene(s) is a prerequisite for the proper interpretation of quantitative Real-Time polymerase chain reaction data. We report the evaluation of eight candidate reference genes across various tissues and treatments in the water lily by the two software packages geNorm and NormFinder. Across all samples, clathrin adaptor complexes medium subunit (AP47) and actin 11 (ACT11) emerged as the most suitable reference genes. Across different tissues, ACT11 and elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1alpha) exhibited a stable expression pattern. ACT11 and AP47 also stably expressed in roots subjected to various treatments, but in the leaves of the same plants the most stably expressed genes were ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme 16 (UBC16) and ACT11.