Research articleIdentification and comprehensive evaluation of reference genes for RT-qPCR analysis of host gene-expression in Brassica juncea-aphid interaction using microarray data

•Brassica juncea is a chief oil yielding crop in many parts of the world including India.•Appropriate reference gene(s) is essential for qRT-PCR based study of gene-expression in B. juncea during aphid-stress.•Putative reference genes were identified from microarray data of Arabidopsis-aphid interaction.•Eleven reference genes were analysed for expression stability upon aphid infestation in B. juncea.•Rank order derived by software based statistical analysis suggested CAC, TUA and DUF179 as the most suitable reference genes.•Recommended reference genes were validated by normalizing gene-expression data of other stress-inducible genes.

Brassica juncea is a chief oil yielding crop in many parts of the world including India. With advancement of molecular techniques, RT-qPCR based study of gene-expression has become an integral part of experimentations in crop breeding. In RT-qPCR, use of appropriate reference gene(s) is pivotal. The virtue of the reference genes, being constant in expression throughout the experimental treatments, needs to be validated case by case. Appropriate reference gene(s) for normalization of gene-expression data in B. juncea during the biotic stress of aphid infestation is not known. In the present investigation, 11 reference genes identified from microarray database of Arabidopsis-aphid interaction at a cut off FDR ≤0.1, along with two known reference genes of B. juncea, were analyzed for their expression stability upon aphid infestation. These included 6 frequently used and 5 newly identified reference genes. Ranking orders of the reference genes in terms of expression stability were calculated using advanced statistical approaches such as geNorm, NormFinder, delta Ct and BestKeeper. The analysis suggested CAC, TUA and DUF179 as the most suitable reference genes. Further, normalization of the gene-expression data of STP4 and PR1 by the most and the least stable reference gene, respectively has demonstrated importance and applicability of the recommended reference genes in aphid infested samples of B. juncea.