Data for: Metatranscriptomic of the Antarctic vascular plant Colobanthus quitensis: responses to global warming scenario through changes in endophytes gene expression levels

Supplementary table S1 - RNAseq information and statistics of C. quitensis reference transcriptome assembly Supplementary table S2 - Colobanthus quitensis, reference metatranscriptome annotation table, including phylum information and normalized expression (Trimmed means of M-values) Supplementary table S3 - Differential expression between Colobanthus quitensis plants grown in open areas or inside open top chambers Supplementary table S4 - KEGG annotation and KEGG module analysis: Colobanthus quitensis, KEGG analysis of differentially expressed genes, including KEGG module reconstruction and KEGG detailed annotation for all DEGs Supplementary figure S1 - Volcano plot of DE transcripts Article Abstract: Maritime Antarctic is one of the most stressful environments for plant life worldwide. However, two vascular plant species (Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis) have been able to colonize this hostile environment. Although it has been proposed that C. quitensis possesses tolerance mechanisms and adaptations allowing survival and growth under such stressful conditions, the underlying molecular/transcriptional mechanisms are currently unknown. Furthermore, the impact of global warming on the endophytic and epiphytic organisms associated to C. quitensis remains unclear. Here, by using a metatranscriptomic approach, we determined the effect of an in situ simulated global warming scenario on C. quitensis plants. We found a large number of differentially expressed genes successfully annotated (2,997), suggesting that climate change modulates the metatranscriptome of C. quitensis plants and associated endophytes and epiphytes. Interestingly, 50,49% and 26,79% of up- and down-regulated genes, respectively, are from non-plant species (putative endophytic and epiphytic organisms, such as fungi). Interestingly, Gene Ontology analysis pointed out several biological processes differentially enriched in non-plant microorganisms associated with C. quitensis grown in a simulated global warming scenario. Taken together, these results suggest that climatic drivers are shaping plant-microorganism interaction, and that endophytes/epiphytes would play crucial roles on plant adaptation to extreme environmental conditions.