Significantly regulated transcripts were enriched for biological processes which were grouped in respective categories and subcategories of higher level cellular function.
In general, more regulated transcripts and affected biological processes were specific for the different groups.
Based on transcripts that had significant changes in abundance with °Brix level, 230 biological processes were significantly overrepresented in this group (Additional file 3).
The over-represented biological processes were metabolism, with the largest group of regulated genes, and muscle-system/contraction. With respect to metabolism, genes were mainly involved in the generation of precursor metabolites and energy, cellular respiration and oxidative phosphorylation; quinone cofactor metabolism was also affected.
The best-represented groups of biological processes were response to abiotic or biotic stimuli, protein metabolism, cell organization and biogenesis.
Biochemical compounds, (e.g. nucleic acids, proteins, complexes and small molecules) participating in reactions form a network of biological processes and are grouped into pathways.
Overrepresentation of GO biological processes was analysed for the group of proteins/genes associated with single diseases (PE, DM, GD and Ob) and pairs of diseases (PE & DM, PE & GD, PE & Ob), as well as concurrently with all four diseases.
Another potentially relevant group of biological processes are those related to common downstream signaling by different growth factors particularly through RAS and the RAF/MAPK cascade and last but not the least, signaling by the VEGFA-VEGFR2 pathway.
The 966 L/C regulated genes in wild-type and the 216 L/C misregulated genes in cli186 were categorized using functional classification terms to determine which biological processes are significantly over-represented in this group of genes.
