Project description:Over recent decades the progression of natural autumnal senescence has been increasingly delayed across wide areas of the Northern Hemisphere and is thought to be caused by rising temperature. Recently this delay has been shown to be partly attributable to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations [CO2]. Here, for the first time, we present a possible mechanistic explanation for this phenomenon. Using a plantation of Populus x euramericana grown at elevated [CO2] (e[CO2]) using Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) technology, we investigated the molecular and biochemical basis underlying this response. Using a poplar cDNA microarray where late growing season and senescing leaves from ambient [CO2] (a[CO2]) and e[CO2] were compared, revealed unique increases and decreases in transcript abundance in the e[CO2] treatment. Growth at e[CO2]caused the greatest increase in the abundance of transcripts catalysing steps in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway and an increase in leaf anthocyanin content. Leaf sucrose and starch content were also increased during senescence in e[CO2] and associated with a higher abundance of transcripts in the sucrose and starch biosynthetic pathways. We propose that in e[CO2], autumnal photosynthesis and sugar accumulation results in changes in genes expression that include further investment in secondary carbon metabolism leading to anthocyanin production. This enables prolonged leaf longevity during natural autumnal senescence through increased availability of carbon and improved stress tolerance while in contrast this may also have a negative effect on the control of dormancy. Samples GSM398292..GSM398314 (late senescence samples only): Six replicate trees were labelled in the unfertilised sub-plots of plots 1-4 in the POP/EUROFACE site (http://www.unitus.it/euroface/) and the 10th leaf down from the closed apical bud of the dominant branch were labelled. Leaves were sampled to liquid nitrogen (18th October 2004) and stored at -80 oC. Extracted RNA was tested for quality and quantity and of that passing the test equal quantities of RNA from each replicate were taken and each sample from the control plots (plots 2 and 3) were randomly paired with a sample from and elevated CO2 plot (plots 1 and 4). From the resulting 9 dual channel hybridisations 6 had the control sample in the Cy3 channel and 3 had the elevated CO2 sample in the Cy3 channel. The 6 samples with Cydye orientation as Cy3=control (ambient CO2) and Cy5 = treated (elevated CO2) are as follows: GSM398296, GSM398301, GSM398303, GSM398304, GSM398305 and GSM398306. The 3 samples with dye swap i.e Cy3 = treated (elevated CO2) are as follows and Cy5 = control (ambient CO2) are as follows: GSM398292, GSM398313 and GSM398314. Samples GSM398426..GSM398474: Four replicate leaves per sub-plot were sampled and flash frozen into liquid nitrogen, on 31 August 2004, and prior to visible senescence but around the time of bud-set as given by Calfapietra et al., (2003) [1]. The tenth leaf down the dominant stem (which represented the first fully expanded mature leaf of maximum size) from a reference leaf of 30 mm in length (leaf one) were selected. On the 14th September twenty trees from within each experimental plot were taken. The tenth leaf down the dominant stem (which represented the first fully expanded mature leaf of maximum size) from a reference leaf of 30 mm in length (leaf one) were labelled on the main-stem above the petiole. All labelled leaves were a uniform height (approx 0.3 m) from the canopy top across all treatments and not shaded by the canopy. Four replicate leaves from within each sub-plot were sampled during each harvest (except on 18th October when six replicate leaves were sampled). Each sampling time was restricted to two hours within the same day and across sampling day’s uniform cloud free skies were chosen. September samplings took place between 15.00 and 17.00 when climatic variables were generally consistent; later in the season time of sampling was adjusted to an earlier two hour period after mid-day when climatic variables were generally consistent. A chlorotic canopy was evident in plots five and six, as described by Liberloo et al. (2007) therefore any subsequent analysis was for plots one to four only. Six replicate labelled leaves were sampled (as above) from each sub-plot on 18th October 2004

Project description:The current study uses a transcriptomic approach to identify genes associated with differences in wood density, that are likely to be of value as candidate genes in Sitka breeding programmes for improved wood density. Following extensive wood density analysis from a Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong) Carr.) field grown clonal trial, three detailed microarray studies were conducted to compare the transcriptome of cambial tissue from contrasting clonal lines with high and low wood density. Twenty five genes exhibited differential expression, reaching as high as 50 fold, in at least two of the three microarray experiments and this was verified using real-time PCR. Identified genes functioned in cell wall synthesis, transcriptional regulation and plant pathogen defence, amongst others. These results confirm the importance of previously-identified density-related genes, and highlight a number of novel genes with a putative role in wood quality. A wide range of processes influence wood density, but this study has allowed the identification of potential regulators in these pathways. Future studies may now use this information to understand the control of natural variation in wood density, and manipulate the expression of these genes to improve timber quality. The Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong) Carr.) âExperiment 35â clonal trial was grown at Newcastleton, Scotland (OS grid reference: NY506881, latitude: 55.1847, longitude: -2.77892) and set up by Forest Research, an agency of the Forestry Commission, which has been described previously (Mboyi and Lee 1999). A total of 750 trees were established from cuttings taken in 1989 of genotypes belonging to 6 unrelated full-sib families with 8 genotypes per family and 15 replicate ramets per genotype. Cambial cell scrapes were taken in summer 2004 when trees were 15 years old. A 5x2cm section of bark was cut away at a height of 1.3m from the ground for each tree selected for microarray analysis. The exposed xylem was immediately excised using a clean sharp razor blade and snap frozen in liquid Nitrogen. Samples were transported to the laboratory and ground in liquid nitrogen using a chilled mortar and pestle and stored at -80oC prior to RNA extraction. RNA was extracted and microarray hybridisation performed as described within.

Project description:Tropospheric ozone causes severe oxidative stress in plants. To investigate the transcriptional responsiveness of adult trees to ozone, fully-expanded sun and shade leaves of mature beech trees were harvested at four time points over the entire vegetation period in 2005 and 2006. Microarray analyses were conducted on leaves from trees grown in the field under ambient and twice-ambient ozone concentrations at Kranzberger Forst (Bavarian). Beech trees changed their transcript levels in response to ozone. In the years 2005 and 2006 different transcription patterns were observed; this may have been a result of different weather conditions and ozone uptake. Furthermore, we obtained differences in mRNA expression patterns between shade and sun leaves. In the ozone-treated sun leaves of 2005, slightly up- and down-regulated transcript levels were detected, particularly in the spring and autumn, whereas shade leaves clearly exhibited reduced mRNA-levels, particularly at the end of the vegetation period. In 2006, this pattern could not be confirmed, and in the autumn, four other transcripts were slightly up-regulated in ozone-treated shade leaves. In addition, two additional transcripts were found to be influenced in sun leaves in the spring/summer. While we detected changes in the levels of only a few transcripts, the observed effects were not identical in both years. In conclusion, elevated ozone exhibited very small influence on the transcription levels of genes of mature beech trees. The study was carried out at the Kranzberger Forst research site (near Freising, Germany: 48°25’08’’N, 11°39’41’””E, 485m (Pretzsch et al., 1998) in a mixed 60-year old stand (closed canopy) with about 30m high European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) trees. Free-air ozone fumigation started in May 2000 at double the ambient ozone concentrations with a cut-off at 150 nl l-1 (Werner and Fabian, 2002), thereby avoiding acute damage to the leaves. The ozone concentrations were measured at four heights within the fumigated space and were additionally monitored with 200 passive samplers (Werner and Fabian, 2002). In 2005 the AOT40 value under twice ambient ozone was 64.3 μmol mol-1 h and in 2006 69.0 μmol mol-1 h. Detailed ozone concentration data over the growing seasons have been reported elsewhere (Gielen et al., 2007; Kitao et al., 2009). Sun and shade leaves from 60-year-old European beech trees were harvested in a total of 8 sampling campaigns in 2005 and 2006. Using scaffolding, five leaves of sun crown (height of about 25 m) and five shade (height of about 19 m) leaves were taken from each of five control and ozone-treated trees. The sampling was carried out in May, June, August, and September of 2005 and in June, August, September and October of 2006. To avoid diurnal effects, the samples were always taken around 11 a.m. For each tree, the four leaves (sun or shade) were combined, frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80 °C until RNA isolation. For one time point we had five microarrays and five dye-swaps for each of sun and shade leaves. The probes of the trees under ambient ozone were labelled with Cy3 and probes of the trees under 2x ambient were labelled with Cy5. For every pair of trees a dye control were carried out, where the control trees were labelled with Cy5 and the ozone-treated one with Cy3. For statistical analysis a coefficient of variation about all microarrays of one time point was calculated using Acuity 4.0 microarray informatics software [Axon Instruments]. We used only those spots that had a coefficient of variation < 50 and were present on at least half of identical slides. The ozone-changed transcript level of genes were expressed in the median values as log2 ratios.

Project description:Tropospheric ozone causes severe oxidative stress in plants. To investigate the transcriptional responsiveness of adult trees to ozone, fully-expanded sun and shade leaves of mature beech trees were harvested at four time points over the entire vegetation period in 2005 and 2006. Microarray analyses were conducted on leaves from trees grown in the field under ambient and twice-ambient ozone concentrations at Kranzberger Forst (Bavarian). Beech trees changed their transcript levels in response to ozone. In the years 2005 and 2006 different transcription patterns were observed; this may have been a result of different weather conditions and ozone uptake. Furthermore, we obtained differences in mRNA expression patterns between shade and sun leaves. In the ozone-treated sun leaves of 2005, slightly up- and down-regulated transcript levels were detected, particularly in the spring and autumn, whereas shade leaves clearly exhibited reduced mRNA-levels, particularly at the end of the vegetation period. In 2006, this pattern could not be confirmed, and in the autumn, four other transcripts were slightly up-regulated in ozone-treated shade leaves. In addition, two additional transcripts were found to be influenced in sun leaves in the spring/summer. While we detected changes in the levels of only a few transcripts, the observed effects were not identical in both years. In conclusion, elevated ozone exhibited very small influence on the transcription levels of genes of mature beech trees. The study was carried out at the Kranzberger Forst research site (near Freising, Germany: 48°25’08’’N, 11°39’41’””E, 485m (Pretzsch et al., 1998) in a mixed 60-year old stand (closed canopy) with about 30m high European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) trees. Free-air ozone fumigation started in May 2000 at double the ambient ozone concentrations with a cut-off at 150 nl l-1 (Werner and Fabian, 2002), thereby avoiding acute damage to the leaves. The ozone concentrations were measured at four heights within the fumigated space and were additionally monitored with 200 passive samplers (Werner and Fabian, 2002). In 2005 the AOT40 value under twice ambient ozone was 64.3 μmol mol-1 h and in 2006 69.0 μmol mol-1 h. Detailed ozone concentration data over the growing seasons have been reported elsewhere (Gielen et al., 2007; Kitao et al., 2009). Sun and shade leaves from 60-year-old European beech trees were harvested in a total of 8 sampling campaigns in 2005 and 2006. Using scaffolding, five leaves of sun crown (height of about 25 m) and five shade (height of about 19 m) leaves were taken from each of five control and ozone-treated trees. The sampling was carried out in May, June, August, and September of 2005 and in June, August, September and October of 2006. To avoid diurnal effects, the samples were always taken around 11 a.m. For each tree, the four leaves (sun or shade) were combined, frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80 °C until RNA isolation. For one time point we had five microarrays and two dye-swaps for shade leaves, and three microarrays and two dye-swaps for sun leaves. The probes of the trees under ambient ozone were labelled with Cy3 and probes of the trees under 2x ambient were labelled with Cy5. For every pair of trees a dye control were carried out, where the control trees were labelled with Cy5 and the ozone-treated one with Cy3. For statistical analysis a coefficient of variation about all microarrays of one time point was calculated using Acuity 4.0 microarray informatics software [Axon Instruments]. We used only those spots that had a coefficient of variation < 50 and were present on at least half of identical slides. The ozone-changed transcript level of genes were expressed in the median values as log2 ratios.

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Ozone exposure of Populus deltoides and Populus trichocarpa

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