scholarly journals Microtubule Dynamics Plays a Vital Role in Plant Adaptation and Tolerance to Salt Stress

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5957
Author(s):  
Hyun Jin Chun ◽  
Dongwon Baek ◽  
Byung Jun Jin ◽  
Hyun Min Cho ◽  
Mi Suk Park ◽  
...  

Although recent studies suggest that the plant cytoskeleton is associated with plant stress responses, such as salt, cold, and drought, the molecular mechanism underlying microtubule function in plant salt stress response remains unclear. We performed a comparative proteomic analysis between control suspension-cultured cells (A0) and salt-adapted cells (A120) established from Arabidopsis root callus to investigate plant adaptation mechanisms to long-term salt stress. We identified 50 differentially expressed proteins (45 up- and 5 down-regulated proteins) in A120 cells compared with A0 cells. Gene ontology enrichment and protein network analyses indicated that differentially expressed proteins in A120 cells were strongly associated with cell structure-associated clusters, including cytoskeleton and cell wall biogenesis. Gene expression analysis revealed that expressions of cytoskeleton-related genes, such as FBA8, TUB3, TUB4, TUB7, TUB9, and ACT7, and a cell wall biogenesis-related gene, CCoAOMT1, were induced in salt-adapted A120 cells. Moreover, the loss-of-function mutant of Arabidopsis TUB9 gene, tub9, showed a hypersensitive phenotype to salt stress. Consistent overexpression of Arabidopsis TUB9 gene in rice transgenic plants enhanced tolerance to salt stress. Our results suggest that microtubules play crucial roles in plant adaptation and tolerance to salt stress. The modulation of microtubule-related gene expression can be an effective strategy for developing salt-tolerant crops.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaitlin E. Bountress ◽  
Vladimir Vladimirov ◽  
Gowon McMichael ◽  
Z. Nathan Taylor ◽  
Gary Hardiman ◽  
...  

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify gene expression differences associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma exposure (TE) in a three-group study design comprised of those with and without trauma exposure and PTSD.Methods: We conducted gene expression and gene network analyses in a sample (n = 45) composed of female subjects of European Ancestry (EA) with PTSD, TE without PTSD, and controls.Results: We identified 283 genes differentially expressed between PTSD-TE groups. In an independent sample of Veterans (n = 78) a small minority of these genes were also differentially expressed. We identified 7 gene network modules significantly associated with PTSD and TE (Bonferroni corrected p ≤ 0.05), which at a false discovery rate (FDR) of q ≤ 0.2, were significantly enriched for biological pathways involved in focal adhesion, neuroactive ligand receptor interaction, and immune related processes among others.Conclusions: This study uses gene network analyses to identify significant gene modules associated with PTSD, TE, and controls. On an individual gene level, we identified a large number of differentially expressed genes between PTSD-TE groups, a minority of which were also differentially expressed in the independent sample. We also demonstrate a lack of network module preservation between PTSD and TE, suggesting that the molecular signature of PTSD and trauma are likely independent of each other. Our results provide a basis for the identification of likely disease pathways and biomarkers involved in the etiology of PTSD.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Chunhong Zhang ◽  
Yaqiong Wu ◽  
Zhenghao Xiong ◽  
Weilin Li ◽  
Wenlong Wu ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: The softness of blackberry fruits limits their postharvest shelf-life and commercial use, and abscisic acid (ABA) is considered one of the key hormones involved in fruit ripening. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the underlying physiological and molecular actions of ABA on blackberry fruit ripening and softening. METHODS: Various physiological indices of and plant hormone levels in treated and untreated blackberry fruits were determined simultaneously. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed by RNA-sequencing, and their expression profiles were detected. The ripening mechanism was elucidated by UHPLC-MS using two groups of fruits at 28 d. RESULTS: After 25 d, the ABA concentration and polygalacturonase (PG) and beta-1,4-endoglucanase (EG) activities in ABA-treated fruits were significantly higher than those in untreated fruits. Large differences in the expression profiles were detected at 28 d. The expression of DEGs related to cell wall softening and ABA synthesis was largely triggered after 25 or 28 d. Sixty-nine differentially accumulated metabolites were ultimately annotated as related to fruit ripening. CONCLUSIONS: ABA stimulates blackberry fruit ripening by promoting cell wall enzyme activities, the expression of various ripening-related genes and metabolite accumulation.


Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyuan Peng ◽  
Dafu Yu ◽  
Junxin Yan ◽  
Na Zhang ◽  
Jixiang Lin ◽  
...  

Ryegrass has a relatively high salt tolerance and is considered to be a promising species for both foraging and turf purposes in salt-affected soils in China. While annual ryegrass and perennial ryegrass are two different species, they have similar genomes. However, little is known about their physiological and molecular response mechanisms to salinity stress. Here, biomass, chlorophyll fluorescence, and inorganic ion and organic solute content were measured. 2-DE-based proteomic technology was then used to identify the differentially expressed proteins in the salt-treated seedlings. The results showed that salt stress reduced growth and photosynthesis in the seedlings of both species, but much more so in annual ryegrass. With increasing salinity, the Na+ concentration increased while the K+ concentration decreased in both species, and the sugars and proline increased as the primary organic solutes used to cope with osmotic stress. Additionally, proteomic analysis revealed 33 and 37 differentially expressed proteins in annual and perennial ryegrass, respectively. Most of the identified proteins were involved in carbohydrate and energy metabolism, photosynthesis, genetic information processes, amino acid metabolism, stress defense, and protein synthesis and folding. The results suggest that the two-ryegrass species had different physiological and proteomic responses. These findings can provide new insights into physiological mechanisms by which ryegrass species respond to salt stress.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (17) ◽  
pp. 6036
Author(s):  
Qiushuo Song ◽  
Madhumita Joshi ◽  
Vijay Joshi

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) is a widely popular vegetable fruit crop for human consumption. Soil salinity is among the most critical problems for agricultural production, food security, and sustainability. The transcriptomic and the primary molecular mechanisms that underlie the salt-induced responses in watermelon plants remain uncertain. In this study, the photosynthetic efficiency of photosystem II, free amino acids, and transcriptome profiles of watermelon seedlings exposed to short-term salt stress (300 mM NaCl) were analyzed to identify the genes and pathways associated with response to salt stress. We observed that the maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II decreased in salt-stressed plants. Most free amino acids in the leaves of salt-stressed plants increased many folds, while the percent distribution of glutamate and glutamine relative to the amino acid pool decreased. Transcriptome analysis revealed 7622 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under salt stress, of which 4055 were up-regulated. The GO analysis showed that the molecular function term “transcription factor (TF) activity” was enriched. The assembled transcriptome demonstrated up-regulation of 240 and down-regulation of 194 differentially expressed TFs, of which the members of ERF, WRKY, NAC bHLH, and MYB-related families were over-represented. The functional significance of DEGs associated with endocytosis, amino acid metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, photosynthesis, and hormonal pathways in response to salt stress are discussed. The findings from this study provide novel insights into the salt tolerance mechanism in watermelon.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasmita Rani Das ◽  
Seema Pradhan ◽  
Ajay Parida

AbstractScreening the transcriptome of drought tolerant variety of little millet (Panicum sumatrense), a marginally cultivated, nutritionally rich, susbsistent crop, can identify genes responsible for its hardiness and enable identification of new sources of genetic variation which can be used for crop improvement. RNA-Seq generated ~ 230 million reads from control and treated tissues, which were assembled into 86,614 unigenes. In silico differential gene expression analysis created an overview of patterns of gene expression during exposure to drought and salt stress. Separate gene expression profiles for leaf and root tissue revealed the differences in regulatory mechanisms operating in these tissues during exposure to abiotic stress. Several transcription factors were identified and studied for differential expression. 61 differentially expressed genes were found to be common to both tissues under drought and salinity stress and were further validated using qRT-PCR. Transcriptome of P. sumatrense was also used to mine for genic SSR markers relevant to abiotic stress tolerance. This study is first report on a detailed analysis of molecular mechanisms of drought and salinity stress tolerance in a little millet variety. Resources generated in this study can be used as potential candidates for further characterization and to improve abiotic stress tolerance in food crops.


Author(s):  
Jake J. Wen ◽  
Claire B. Cummins ◽  
Taylor P. Williams ◽  
Ravi S. Radhakrishnan

Burn-induced cardiac dysfunction is thought to involve mitochondrial dysfunction although the mechanisms responsible are unclear. In this study, we used our established model of in vivo burn injury to understand the genetic evidence of burn-induced mitochondrial metabolism confusion by describing cardiac mitochondrial metabolism-related gene expression after burn. Cardiac tissue was collected at 24 hours after burn injury. An O2K respirometer system was utilized to measure cardiac mitochondrial function. Oxidative phosphorylation complex activities were determined using enzyme activity assays. RT Profiler PCR array was used to identify differential regulation of genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism. Quantitative qPCR and Western Blotting were applied to validate differentially expressed genes. Burn-induced cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction was supported by the finding of decreased state 3 respiration and decreased mitochondrial electron transport chain activity in complex I, III, IV, and V following burn injury. Eighty-four mitochondrial metabolism-related gene profiles were measured. The mitochondrial gene profile showed that one third of genes related to mitochondrial energy and metabolism was differentially expressed. Of these 28 genes, 15 were more than 2-fold upregulated and 13 were more than 2-fold downregulated. All genes were validated using qPCR; 4 genes had a protein level which correlated with the observed change in gene expression. This study provides preliminary evidence that a large percentage of mitochondrial metabolism-related genes in cardiomyocytes were significantly affected by burn injury.


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