ABSTRACT: In the process of field production, crops are often affected by a variety of abiotic stresses, among which heat (HT) and drought (DR) stress are the most common co-stresses in summer. Although a large number of studies have been carried out on HT and DR stress respectively, little is known about how their combination (DH) affects plants. In this study, we investigated the responses of sweetpotato to HT, DR or DH stress by RNA-seq and DIA technologies, and set up a controlled experiment and quantified gene expression and protein concentrations from paired samples. A total of 12 cDNA libraries were constructed under HT, DR, DH and control condition. We identified 536, 389 and 907 DEGs in response to HT, DR or DH stress, of which 147 were shared and 447 were specifically identified under DH stress. Proteomic analysis identified 1609, 1168 and 1535 DEPs under HT, DR and DH treatments compared to the control, of which 656 were shared and 358 were exclusively identified under DH stress. Further analysis revealed that some DEGs/DEPs associated with heat shock protein, carbon metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, starch and cellulose metabolism, plant defense and so on. Correlation analysis identified a number of co-expressed genes and proteins under HT, DR or DH stress. Meanwhile, a cross-comparison of transcriptomics and proteomics data identified 59, 35 and 86 significant co DEGs and DEPs genes under HT, DR and DH stress respectively. This is the first time that studies the differential genes and proteins of sweet potato under DH stress, and hopes that the results of this study will help us to understand the molecular mechanism of sweet potato resistance to heat and drought stress.
