Validation of gene expression patterns by RT-qPCR. Means (±SE) were used to determine transcript levels with the 2−ΔΔCt method.

One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the relative expression levels of DEGs. For the ANOVA, data were tested for homogeneity of variances and normality. Tukey’s multiple range test was used for pairwise comparison for mean separation (P < 0.05). The y-axes indicate log-transformed FPKM values (right) and log-transformed relative expression (left).