2.4 RT-qPCR analysis
Total RNA was extracted using a Foregene Plant RNA Isolation Kit (Foregenes, Chengdu, China). The first-strand cDNA was synthesized via a Thermo Scientific Kit (Thermo Scientific, Carlsbad, CA, USA). RT-qPCR was conducted with a Roche LightCycler® 96 Real-Time PCR System (Roche, Indianapolis, IN, USA). The malate dehydrogenase (MdMDH ) gene in M. domestica was used to normalize the expression of different genes. The primers used are listed in Table S1.