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Thermal stress effects on grain yield in Brachypodium distachyon occur via H2A.Z-nucleosomes.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Crop plants are highly sensitive to ambient temperature, with a 1 ºC difference in temperature sufficient to affect development and yield. Monocot crop plants are particularly vulnerable to higher temperatures during the reproductive and grain-filling phases. The molecular mechanisms by which temperature influences grain development are, however, unknown. In Arabidopsis thaliana, H2A.Z-nucleosomes coordinate transcriptional responses to higher temperature. We therefore investigated whether the effects of high temperature on grain development are mediated by H2A.Z-nucleosomes. RESULTS:We have analyzed the thermal responses of the Pooid grass, Brachypodium distachyon, a model system for crops. We find that H2A.Z-nucleosome occupancy is more responsive to increases in ambient temperature in the reproductive tissue of developing grains compared withvegetative seedlings. This difference correlates with strong phenotypic responses of developing grain to increased temperature, including early maturity and reduced yield. Conversely, temperature has limited impact on the timing of transition from the vegetative to generative stage, with increased temperature unable to substitute for long photoperiod induction of flowering. RNAi silencing of components necessary for H2A.Z-nucleosome deposition is sufficient to phenocopythe effects of warmer temperature on grain development. CONCLUSIONS:H2A.Z-nucleosomes are important in coordinating the sensitivity of temperate grasses to increased temperature during grain development. Perturbing H2A.Z occupancy, through higher temperature or genetically, strongly reduces yield. Thus, we provide a molecular understanding of the pathways through which high temperature impacts on yield. These findings may be useful for breeding crops resilient to thermal stress.

SUBMITTER: Boden SA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4062847 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Thermal stress effects on grain yield in Brachypodium distachyon occur via H2A.Z-nucleosomes.

Boden Scott A SA Kavanová Monika M Finnegan E Jean EJ Wigge Philip A PA

Genome biology 20130625 6

<h4>Background</h4>Crop plants are highly sensitive to ambient temperature, with a 1 ºC difference in temperature sufficient to affect development and yield. Monocot crop plants are particularly vulnerable to higher temperatures during the reproductive and grain-filling phases. The molecular mechanisms by which temperature influences grain development are, however, unknown. In Arabidopsis thaliana, H2A.Z-nucleosomes coordinate transcriptional responses to higher temperature. We therefore investi ...[more]

PMID: 23800039

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Project description:BackgroundA complete assembled genome sequence of wheat is not yet available. Therefore, model plant systems for wheat are very valuable. Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium) is such a system. The WRKY family of transcription factors is one of the most important families of plant transcriptional regulators with members regulating important agronomic traits. Studies of WRKY transcription factors in Brachypodium and wheat therefore promise to lead to new strategies for wheat improvement.ResultsWe have identified and manually curated the WRKY transcription factor family from Brachypodium using a pipeline designed to identify all potential WRKY genes. 86 WRKY transcription factors were found, a total higher than all other current databases. We therefore propose that our numbering system (BdWRKY1-BdWRKY86) becomes the standard nomenclature. In the JGI v1.0 assembly of Brachypodium with the MIPS/JGI v1.0 annotation, nine of the transcription factors have no gene model and eleven gene models are probably incorrectly predicted. In total, twenty WRKY transcription factors (23.3%) do not appear to have accurate gene models. To facilitate use of our data, we have produced The Database of Brachypodium distachyon WRKY Transcription Factors. Each WRKY transcription factor has a gene page that includes predicted protein domains from MEME analyses. These conserved protein domains reflect possible input and output domains in signaling. The database also contains a BLAST search function where a large dataset of WRKY transcription factors, published genes, and an extensive set of wheat ESTs can be searched. We also produced a phylogram containing the WRKY transcription factor families from Brachypodium, rice, Arabidopsis, soybean, and Physcomitrella patens, together with published WRKY transcription factors from wheat. This phylogenetic tree provides evidence for orthologues, co-orthologues, and paralogues of Brachypodium WRKY transcription factors.ConclusionsThe description of the WRKY transcription factor family in Brachypodium that we report here provides a framework for functional genomics studies in an important model system. Our database is a resource for both Brachypodium and wheat studies and ultimately projects aimed at improving wheat through manipulation of WRKY transcription factors.

Dataset Information

Thermal stress effects on grain yield in Brachypodium distachyon occur via H2A.Z-nucleosomes.

Publications

Thermal stress effects on grain yield in Brachypodium distachyon occur via H2A.Z-nucleosomes.

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