Analysis and Identification of Genes Associated with the Desiccation Sensitivity of <i>Panax notoginseng</i> Seeds

<i>Panax notoginseng</i> (Burk.) F. H. Chen, a species of the genus Panax, radix has been traditionally used to deal with various hematological diseases and cardiovascular diseases since ancient times in East Asia. <i>P. notoginseng</i> produces recalcitrant seeds which are sensitive to desiccation and difficult to store for a long time. However, few data are available on the mechanism of the desiccation sensitivity of <i>P. notoginseng</i> seeds. To gain a comprehensive perspective of the genes associated with desiccation sensitivity, cDNA libraries from seeds under control and desiccation processes were prepared independently for Illumina sequencing. The data generated a total of 70,189,896 reads that were integrated and assembled into 55,097 unigenes with a mean length of 783 bp. In total, 12,025 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified during the desiccation process. Among these DEGs, a number of central metabolism, hormonal network-, fatty acid-, and ascorbate-glutathione-related genes were included. Our data provide a comprehensive resource for identifying the genes associated with the desiccation sensitivity of <i>P. notoginseng</i> seeds.