Meta-analysis of public RNA sequencing data of abscisic acid-related abiotic stresses in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, and cold negatively affect plant growth and crop productivity. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to these stressors is essential for stress tolerance in crops. The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is significantly increased upon abiotic stressors, inducing physiological responses to adapt to stress and regulate gene expression. Although many studies have examined the components of established stress signaling pathways, few have explored other unknown elements. This study aimed to identify novel stress-responsive genes in plants by performing a meta-analysis of public RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) data in Arabidopsis thaliana, focusing on five ABA-related stress conditions (ABA, Salt, Dehydration, Osmotic, and Cold). The meta-analysis of 216 paired datasets from five stress conditions was conducted, and differentially expressed genes were identified by introducing a new metric, called TN [stress-treated (T) and non-treated (N)] score. We revealed that 14 genes were commonly upregulated and 8 genes were commonly downregulated across all five treatments, including some that were not previously associated with these stress responses. On the other hand, some genes regulated by salt, dehydration, and osmotic treatments were not regulated by exogenous ABA or cold stress, suggesting that they may be involved in the plant response to dehydration independent of ABA. Our meta-analysis revealed a list of candidate genes with unknown molecular mechanisms in ABA-dependent and ABA-independent stress responses. These genes could be valuable resources for selecting genome editing targets and potentially contribute to the discovery of novel stress tolerance mechanisms and pathways in plants.