Project description:Dendrobium huoshanense C.Z. Tang et S.J. Cheng is a perennial epiphytic herb of family Orchidaceae, which main metabolites are polysaccharides, flavonoids, etc. Low temperature is the main environmental factor that limits the growth and development of plants, and even threatens the survival of plants. However, Changes that occur at the molecular level in response to low temperatures are poorly understood in D. huoshanense. To understand the molecular mechanism of cold tolerance, we performed transcriptomic analysis on two time points of 0 d (control group) and 7 d (cold stress group). A total of 37.63 Gb transcriptomic data were generated using the MGI 2000 platform. These reads were assembled into 170,754 transcripts, and 23,724 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained. Pathway analysis indicated that “flavonoid biosynthesis”, “anthocyanin biosynthesis”, “flavone and flavonol biosynthesis”, and “plant hormone signal transduction” might play a vital role in D. huoshanense responses to cold stress. Several important pathways genes such as genes encoding polysaccharides, flavonoid, and plant hormone-signaling transduction kinase were identified under cold stress. In addition, the contents of mannose and total flavonoids increased under cold stress. Twelve DEGs in polysaccharides, flavonoid, and hormone pathways were selected from transcriptome analysis for quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) validation. Our results provide a transcriptome database and candidate genes for further study of D. huoshanense cold stress.