Dataset Information

Shared characteristics underpinning C4 leaf maturation derived from analysis of multiple C3 and C4 species of Flaveria.

ABSTRACT: Most terrestrial plants use C₃ photosynthesis to fix carbon. In multiple plant lineages a modified system known as C₄ photosynthesis has evolved. To better understand the molecular patterns associated with induction of C₄ photosynthesis, the genus Flaveria that contains C₃ and C₄ species was used. A base to tip maturation gradient of leaf anatomy was defined, and RNA sequencing was undertaken along this gradient for two C₃ and two C₄ Flaveria species. Key C₄ traits including vein density, mesophyll and bundle sheath cross-sectional area, chloroplast ultrastructure, and abundance of transcripts encoding proteins of C₄ photosynthesis were quantified. Candidate genes underlying each of these C₄ characteristics were identified. Principal components analysis indicated that leaf maturation and the photosynthetic pathway were responsible for the greatest amount of variation in transcript abundance. Photosynthesis genes were over-represented for a prolonged period in the C₄ species. Through comparison with publicly available data sets, we identify a small number of transcriptional regulators that have been up-regulated in diverse C₄ species. The analysis identifies similar patterns of expression in independent C₄ lineages and so indicates that the complex C₄ pathway is associated with parallel as well as convergent evolution.

SUBMITTER: Kumpers BM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5853325 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Shared characteristics underpinning C4 leaf maturation derived from analysis of multiple C3 and C4 species of Flaveria.

Kümpers Britta M C BM Burgess Steven J SJ Reyna-Llorens Ivan I Smith-Unna Richard R Boursnell Chris C Hibberd Julian M JM

Journal of experimental botany 20170106 2

Most terrestrial plants use C3 photosynthesis to fix carbon. In multiple plant lineages a modified system known as C4 photosynthesis has evolved. To better understand the molecular patterns associated with induction of C4 photosynthesis, the genus Flaveria that contains C3 and C4 species was used. A base to tip maturation gradient of leaf anatomy was defined, and RNA sequencing was undertaken along this gradient for two C3 and two ...[more]

PMID: 28062590

Similar Datasets

Project description:C4 photosynthesis is a carbon-concentrating mechanism that evolved independently more than 60 times in a wide range of angiosperm lineages. Among other alterations, the evolution of C4 from ancestral C3 photosynthesis requires changes in the expression of a vast number of genes. Differential gene expression analyses between closely related C3 and C4 species have significantly increased our understanding of C4 functioning and evolution. In Chenopodiaceae, a family that is rich in C4 origins and photosynthetic types, the anatomy, physiology and phylogeny of C4, C2, and C3 species of Salsoleae has been studied in great detail, which facilitated the choice of six samples of five representative species with different photosynthetic types for transcriptome comparisons. mRNA from assimilating organs of each species was sequenced in triplicates, and sequence reads were de novo assembled. These novel genetic resources were then analyzed to provide a better understanding of differential gene expression between C3, C2 and C4 species. All three analyzed C4 species belong to the NADP-ME type as most genes encoding core enzymes of this C4 cycle are highly expressed. The abundance of photorespiratory transcripts is decreased compared to the C3 and C2 species. Like in other C4 lineages of Caryophyllales, our results suggest that PEPC1 is the C4-specific isoform in Salsoleae. Two recently identified transporters from the PHT4 protein family may not only be related to the C4 syndrome, but also active in C2 photosynthesis in Salsoleae. In the two populations of the C2 species S. divaricata transcript abundance of several C4 genes are slightly increased, however, a C4 cycle is not detectable in the carbon isotope values. Most of the core enzymes of photorespiration are highly increased in the C2 species compared to both C3 and C4 species, confirming a successful establishment of the C2 photosynthetic pathway. Furthermore, a function of PEP-CK in C2 photosynthesis appears likely, since PEP-CK gene expression is not only increased in S. divaricata but also in C2 species of other groups.

Dataset Information

Shared characteristics underpinning C4 leaf maturation derived from analysis of multiple C3 and C4 species of Flaveria.

Publications

Shared characteristics underpinning C4 leaf maturation derived from analysis of multiple C3 and C4 species of Flaveria.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets