Project description:Salicylic acid (SA) is a critical molecule mediating plant innate immunity with an important role limiting the growth and reproduction of the virulent powdery mildew (PM) Golovinomyces orontii on Arabidopsis thaliana. To investigate this later phase of the PM interaction, and the role played by SA, we performed replicated global expression profiling for wild type and SA biosynthetic mutant ics1 Arabidopsis from 0 to 7 days post infection. We found that ICS1-impacted genes comprise 3.8% of profiled genes with known molecular markers of Arabidopsis defense ranked very highly by the multivariate empirical Bayes statistic (T2 statistic ((Tai and Speed, 2006)). Functional analyses of T2-selected genes identified statistically significant PM-impacted processes including photosynthesis, cell wall modification, and alkaloid metabolism that are ICS1-independent. ICS1-impacted processes include redox, vacuolar transport/secretion, and signaling. Our data also supports a role for ICS1 (SA) in iron and calcium homeostasis and identifies components of SA crosstalk with other phytohormones. Through our analysis, 39 novel PMâimpacted transcriptional regulators were identified. Insertion mutants in one of these regulators, PUX2, results in significantly reduced reproduction of the powdery mildew in a cell death independent manner. Though little is known about PUX2, PUX1 acts as a negative regulator of Arabidopsis CDC48 (Rancour et al., 2004; Park et al., 2007), an essential AAA-ATPase chaperone that mediates diverse cellular activities including homotypic fusion of ER and Golgi membranes, ER-associated protein degradation, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis. Future work will elucidate the functional role of the novel regulator PUX2 in PM resistance. Experiment Overall Design: Arabidopsis whole leaves were harvested at 6h, 1 day, 3 days, 5 days and 7 days after Golovinomyces orontii infection for RNA extraction and hybridization to Affymetrix Arabidopsis ATH1 microarrays. Gene expression profiles were obtained for wild type Columbia-0 and enhanced disease susceptibility mutant eds16-1, a null isochorismate synthase 1 (At1g74710) mutant. In parallel, uninfected samples were collected at 0 hr and 7days from wild type and mutant plants. The experiment includes 4 biological replicates.
Project description:In plants, the activation of immunity is often inversely correlated with growth. Mechanisms that plant growth in the context of pathogen challenge and immunity are unclear. Investigating Arabidopsis infection with the powdery mildew fungus, we find that the Arabidopsis atypical E2F DEL1, a transcriptional repressor known to promote cell proliferation, represses accumulation of the hormone salicylic acid (SA), an established regulator of plant immunity. DEL1 deficient plants are more resistant to pathogens and slightly smaller than wild type. The resistance and size phenotypes of DEL1 deficient plants are due to the induction of SA and activation of immunity in the absence of pathogen challenge. Moreover, Enhanced Disease Susceptibility 5 (EDS5), a SA transporter required for elevated SA and immunity, is a direct repressed target of DEL1. Together, these findings indicate that DEL1 control of SA levels contributes to regulating the balance between growth and immunity in developing leaves. Mature, fully expanded leaves of 41/2-week-old Col-0 and del1-1 plants were harvested at 5 days after G. orontii infection and from uninfected control plants for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays.
Project description:In Arabidposis thaliana, the msh1 recA3 double mutant shows an extensive mitochondrial genome rearrangement and displays pronounced thermotolerance. We use microarray analysis to characterize genes and their response in the double mutant to a heat shock experiment in which plants were exposed to a temperature of 37 C for 2 hours. Wild type and double mutant plant were exposed to a temperature of 37 C for 2 hours and RNA samples were collected for the wild type and the double mutant before and after the heat shock.
Project description:Obligate biotrophs such as the virulent powdery mildew Golovinomyces orontii alter plant host cellular architecture, metabolism, and defense in order to acquire nutrients while suppressing cell death and senescence. G. orontii exclusively infects epidermal cells of Arabidopsis with clearly defined stages of infection. Host factors mediating the powdery mildew (PM) interaction are often expressed in the mesophyll cells underlying the infected epidermal cells. Therefore, in order to identify Arabidopsis processes and regulators mediating this PM interaction, we used UV laser microdissection to isolate cells at the PM infection site for global expression profiling. As part of this process, we optimized and/or developed novel tissue preparation, RNA extraction and amplification, and quality control protocols resulting in highly correlated biological replicate data. We focused on the growth and reproduction stage of the PM infection (5 days post infection) when the number of reproductive structures, conidiophores, can be quantified. Site-specific profiling increased our sensitivity dramatically, allowing us to identify specific processes, process components, and their putative regulators hidden in previous whole leaf global expression analyses. For example, the known cell cycle regulator MYB3R4 exhibits altered expression at the site of infection, as do a subset of cell-cycle-associated genes. Furthermore, null myb3r4 mutants exhibit enhanced resistance to PM with reduced conidiophores per colony, suggesting cell cycle control plays an important role in the PM interaction. Experiment Overall Design: Arabidopsis whole leaves from wild type Columbia-0 and enhanced disease susceptibility mutant eds16-1, a null isochorismate synthase 1 (At1g74710) mutant were harvested at 5 days after Golovinomyces orontii infection, microwave-fixed, paraffin-embedded and sectioned. Groups of epidermal and mesophyll cells (~20 cells/group) surrounding the G. orontii infected epidermal cell were cut using a Leica AS laser microdissection (LMD) system. In parallel, groups of epidermal and mesophyll cells were collected from uninfected leaves at 5 days from wild type Arabidopsis. LMD-isolated cells, whole leaf, whole leaf amplified and tissue scrape samples were used for RNA extraction and hybridization to Affymetrix Arabidopsis ATH1 microarrays. Gene expression profiles were obtained for wild type from all samples and for ics1 mutant from LMD infected samples. The experiment includes 2 biological replicates.
Project description:Transient genetic modification of plant protoplasts is a straightforward and rapid technique for the analysis of numerous aspects of plant biology. One drawback in the analysis of transformed protoplast suspensions is that they are a heterogeneous mix of cells that have and have not been successfully transfected. To overcome this problem, we have developed a system that employs a fluorescent positive selection marker in combination with flow cytometric analysis as well as fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) to isolate responses in the transfected protoplasts exclusively. This recombinase-compatible system enables high-throughput screening of genetic circuitry. Moreover, the use of FACS allows in depth downstream analysis. Lastly, over-expression is an effective means to dissect regulatory networks, especially where redundancy exists. Here, this system has been applied to the study of auxin signaling in order to investigate reporter gene activation and genome-wide transcriptional changes in response to manipulation of the auxin-response network. We have transiently over-expressed dominant negative mutant isoforms of Aux/IAA transcription factors (IAA7mII and IAA19mII; Tiwari et al., 2001) in Arabidopsis Pwer::GFP root protoplasts, making use of a RFP fluorescent positive selection marker and FACS to isolate the dually labeled (IAAnmII expressing and Pwer::GFP-positive) cells. We have compared the transcriptional differences between an empty vector control, IAA7mII and IAA19mII protoplasts that had either been treated with 5microM IAA or mock-treated for 3 hours. Experiment Overall Design: 18 samples with 3 replicates for each condition and transformation vector: 3x empty vector mock treated, 3x empty vector IAA treated, 3x IAA7mII over-expressor mock treated, 3x IAA7mII over-expressor IAA treated, 3x IAA19mII over-expressor mock treated and 3x IAA19mII over-expressor IAA treated.
Project description:Drought is one of the most severe stresses leading to retardation of plant growth and development and loss of crop yield. Here we examined the proteome changes of an important oil seed crop canola Brassica napus under drought stress over a 14 day period. Using iTRAQ LC-MS/MS, we identified 2,244 proteins expressed during drought stress. Among them, 412 proteins showed significant changes in abundance under stress, and 67, 243, 287, and 79 proteins were differentially expressed in 3rd, 7th, 10th, and 14th day of drought stress, respectively. Functional analysis of the 412 proteins indicated that the number of proteins associated with “Metabolism”, “Protein synthesis”, and “Signaling” decreased, while those related to “Photosynthesis” and “Stress and defense” increased in response to drought stress. In particular, the proteome profiles at the 7th and 10th day were similar to each other, although there were much more post-translational modifications (PTM) at the 10th day of drought. Interestingly, 286 of 2,244 proteins exhibited PTMs in response to drought stress, 82 of which were differentially changed in drought-stressed plants, and 60 were observed at the 10th day. Furthermore, comparison of protein expression changes with those of gene transcription showed that there was positive correlation in B. napus, although there were different patterns between transcripts and proteins at each time point. As drought stress prolongs, most of the protein abundance changes may be attributed to gene transcription, and PTMs clearly contribute to the protein diversity and functions.
Project description:Arabidopsis nudix hydrolase 7 knock-out mutant Atnudt7-1 exhibits a reduced size phenotype when compared with age-matched Col-0 wildtype plants growing in potting mix of 12 parts vermiculite: 3 parts redi-earth and 1 part sand. In these array experiments the differences in gene expression caused by this mutation is assessed in comparison to wildtype plants.
Project description:Plant responses to the environment are shaped by the external stimuli and internal signaling pathways. In both the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and crop species, circadian clock factors have been identified as critical for growth, flowering and circadian rhythms. Outside of A. thaliana, however, little is known about the molecular function of clock genes. Therefore, we sought to compare the function of Brachypodium distachyon and Seteria viridis orthologs of EARLY FLOWERING3, a key clock gene in A. thaliana. To identify both cycling genes and putative ELF3 functional orthologs in S. viridis, a circadian RNA-seq dataset and online query tool (Diel Explorer) was generated as community resource to explore expression profiles of Setaria genes under constant conditions after photo- or thermo-entrainment. The function of ELF3 orthologs from A. thaliana, B. distachyon, and S. viridis were tested for complementation of an elf3 mutation in A. thaliana. Despite comparably low sequence identity versus AtELF3 (< 37%), both monocot orthologs were capable of rescuing hypocotyl elongation, flowering time and arrhythmic clock phenotypes. Molecular analysis using affinity purification and mass spectrometry to compare physical interactions also found that BdELF3 and SvELF3 could be integrated into similar complexes and networks as AtELF3, including forming a composite evening complex. Thus, we find that, despite 180 million years of separation, BdELF3 and SvELF3 can functionally complement loss of ELF3 at the molecular and physiological level.
Project description:RNA-seq reads from the outcrossing species Arabidopsis lyrata were produced from flowers to study the consequences of the transition from the ancestral state (outcrossing) to the derived state (selfing) that is observed in the sister species Arabidopsis thaliana. This was done in the context of examining another species pair (Capsella rubella versus Capsella grandiflora, which are selfing and outcrossing, respectively). These samples were generated to complement part of this larger study. Briefly, the shift from outcrossing to selfing is common in flowering plants, but neither the genomic consequences nor the speed with which they appear are well understood. An excellent model for understanding the evolution of self fertilization is provided by Capsella rubella, which became self-compatible <200,000 years ago. We present a reference genome for the species, and compare RNA expression and polymorphism patterns between C. rubella and its outcrossing progenitor C. grandiflora. There is a clear shift in the expression of genes associated with flowering phenotypes; a similar shift is seen in the related genus Arabidopsis, where self-fertilization evolved about 1 million years ago. DNA sequence polymorphisms distinguishing the two Capsella species reveal rapid genome-wide relaxation of purifying selection in C. rubella but without a concomitant change in transposable element abundance. Overall, we document that the transition to selfing may be typified by shifts in expression for genes that function in pollen and flower development, along with a measurable reduction of purifying selection. As part of a cross-species comparison of gene expression, RNA-seq data was generated in biological replication (2 replicates) from Arabidopsis lyrata at the floral stage. In total, two samples (biological replicates) were used. The reference strain was used for the experments (strain MN47). Resulting data about gene expression was used as part of a larger study. The Capsella rubella and Capsella grandiflora data are included in GEO Series GSE45518.
Project description:RNA-seq reads from the selfing species Arabidopsis thaliana were produced from flowers to study the consequences of the transition from the ancestral state (outcrossing) to the derived state (selfing). This was done in the context of examining another species in the Arabidopsis genus (A. lyrata) and another species pair (Capsella rubella versus Capsella grandiflora, which are selfing and outcrossing, respectively). These samples were generated to complement part of this larger study. Briefly, the shift from outcrossing to selfing is common in flowering plants, but neither the genomic consequences nor the speed with which they appear are well understood. An excellent model for understanding the evolution of self fertilization is provided by Capsella rubella, which became self-compatible <200,000 years ago. We present a reference genome for the species, and compare RNA expression and polymorphism patterns between C. rubella and its outcrossing progenitor C. grandiflora. There is a clear shift in the expression of genes associated with flowering phenotypes; a similar shift is seen in the related genus Arabidopsis, where self-fertilization evolved about 1 million years ago. DNA sequence polymorphisms distinguishing the two Capsella species reveal rapid genome-wide relaxation of purifying selection in C. rubella but without a concomitant change in transposable element abundance. Overall, we document that the transition to selfing may be typified by shifts in expression for genes that function in pollen and flower development, along with a measurable reduction of purifying selection. As part of a cross-species comparison of gene expression, RNA-seq data was generated in biological replication (2 replicates) from Arabidopsis thaliana at the floral stage. In total, two samples (biological replicates) were used. The reference strain was used for the experments (strain Col-0). Resulting data about gene expression was used as part of a larger study. The Capsella rubella and Capsella grandiflora data are included in GEO Series GSE45518.