Dataset Information

Dehydration Stress Memory: Gene Networks Linked to Physiological Responses During Repeated Stresses of Zea mays.

ABSTRACT: Stress memory refers to the observation that an initial, sub-lethal stress alters plants' responses to subsequent stresses. Previous transcriptome analyses of maize seedlings exposed to a repeated dehydration stress has revealed the existence of transcriptional stress memory in Zea mays. Whether drought-related physiological responses also display memory and how transcriptional memory translates into physiological memory are fundamental questions that are still unanswered. Using a systems-biology approach we investigate whether/how transcription memory responses established in the genome-wide analysis of Z. mays correlate with 14 physiological parameters measured during a repeated exposure of maize seedlings to dehydration stress. Co-expression network analysis revealed ten gene modules correlating strongly with particular physiological processes, and one module displaying strong, yet divergent, correlations with several processes suggesting involvement of these genes in coordinated responses across networks. Two processes key to the drought response, stomatal conductance and non-photochemical quenching, displayed contrasting memory patterns that may reflect trade-offs related to metabolic costs versus benefits of cellular protection. The main contribution of this study is the demonstration of coordinated changes in transcription memory responses at the genome level and integrated physiological responses at the cellular level upon repetitive stress exposures. The results obtained by the network-based systems analysis challenge the commonly held view that short-term physiological responses to stress are primarily mediated biochemically.

SUBMITTER: Virlouvet L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6066539 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Dehydration Stress Memory: Gene Networks Linked to Physiological Responses During Repeated Stresses of <i>Zea mays</i>.

Virlouvet Laetitia L Avenson Thomas J TJ Du Qian Q Zhang Chi C Liu Ning N Fromm Michael M Avramova Zoya Z Russo Sabrina E SE

Frontiers in plant science 20180724

Stress memory refers to the observation that an initial, sub-lethal stress alters plants' responses to subsequent stresses. Previous transcriptome analyses of maize seedlings exposed to a repeated dehydration stress has revealed the existence of transcriptional stress memory in <i>Zea mays</i>. Whether drought-related physiological responses also display memory and how transcriptional memory translates into physiological memory are fundamental questions that are still unanswered. Using a systems ...[more]

PMID: 30087686

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Project description:BACKGROUND: Pre-exposing plants to diverse abiotic stresses may alter their physiological and transcriptional responses to a subsequent stress, suggesting a form of "stress memory". Arabidopsis thaliana plants that have experienced multiple exposures to dehydration stress display transcriptional behavior suggesting "memory" from an earlier stress. Genes that respond to a first stress by up-regulating or down-regulating their transcription but in a subsequent stress provide a significantly different response define the 'memory genes' category. Genes responding similarly to each stress form the 'non-memory' category. It is unknown whether such memory responses exists in other Angiosperm lineages and whether memory is an evolutionarily conserved response to repeated dehydration stresses. RESULTS: Here, we determine the transcriptional responses of maize (Zea mays L.) plants that have experienced repeated exposures to dehydration stress in comparison with plants encountering the stress for the first time. Four distinct transcription memory response patterns similar to those displayed by A. thaliana were revealed. The most important contribution is the evidence that monocot and eudicot plants, two lineages that have diverged 140 to 200 M years ago, display similar abilities to 'remember' a dehydration stress and to modify their transcriptional responses, accordingly. The highly sensitive RNA-Seq analyses allowed to identify genes that function similarly in the two lineages, as well as genes that function in species-specific ways. Memory transcription patterns indicate that the transcriptional behavior of responding genes under repeated stresses is different from the behavior during an initial dehydration stress, suggesting that stress memory is a complex phenotype resulting from coordinated responses of multiple signaling pathways. CONCLUSIONS: Structurally related genes displaying the same memory responses in the two species would suggest conservation of the genes' memory during the evolution of plants' dehydration stress response systems. On the other hand, divergent transcription memory responses by genes encoding similar functions would suggest occurrence of species-specific memory responses. The results provide novel insights into our current knowledge of how plants respond to multiple dehydration stresses, as compared to a single exposure, and may serve as a reference platform to study the functions of memory genes in adaptive responses to water deficit in monocot and eudicot plants.

Project description:Arabidopsis thaliana plants that have experienced an initial exposure to dehydration stress (“trained plants”) have an increased ability to maintain leaf relative water content (RWC) during subsequent stresses than plants experiencing the stress for the first time and transcription of selected dehydration response genes is altered during successive exposures to dehydration stress. This physiological and transcriptional behavior of trained plants is consistent with a “memory “of an earlier stress. It is unknown whether such memory is present in other Angiosperm lineages and whether it is an evolutionarily conserved response to stress (see E-GEOD-48235). Here, we analyzed the behavior and transcriptomes of maize (Zea mays) plants experiencing multiple dehydration stresses and compare them with responses of the evolutionarily distant A. thaliana. We found structurally related genes in maize that displayed the same memory-type responses as in A. thaliana, providing evidence of the conservation of function and transcriptional memory in the evolution of plants’ dehydration stress response systems. Similar to A. thaliana, trained Z. mays plants retained higher RWC during dehydration stress than untrained plants, due in part to maintaining reduced stomatal conductance, despite full recovery of RWC, after the first stress. Divergent transcriptional memory responses were also expressed, suggesting diversification of function among stress memory genes. Some dehydration stress memory genes were also shared with other stress and hormone responding pathways, indicating complex and dynamic interactions between different plant signaling networks. The results provide new insight into how plants respond to multiple dehydration stresses and provide a platform for studies of the functions of memory genes in adaptive responses to water deficit in monocot and eudicot plants . For each condition (water, S1, and S3) the transcriptome was sequenced for two replicates. The watered condition is considered the control.

Project description:Maize (Zea mays L.) is the second most commonly produced and consumed crop after wheat globally and is adversely affected by high heat, which is a significant abiotic stress factor. This study was carried out to determine the physiological and biochemical responses of hybrid corn varieties under heat stress (‘HS’) compared to control (‘C’) conditions during the 2020 and 2021 growing seasons. The experiment was conducted under natural conditions in the Southeastern region of Turkey, where the most intense temperatures are experienced. This experiment used split plots in randomized blocks with three replications, with ‘HS’ and ‘C’ growing conditions applied to the main plots and the different hybrid corn varieties (FAO 650) planted on the sub plots. Mean values of days to 50% tasseling (DT, day), grain yield (GY, kg ha−1), leaf water potential (LWP, %), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a, mg g−1), cell membrane damage (CMD, %), and total phenol content (TPC, μg g−1) were significantly different between years, growing conditions, and hybrid corn varieties. Changes in the climate played a significant role in the differences between the years and growing conditions (GC), while the genetic characteristics of the different corn varieties explained the differences in outcomes between them. The values of DT, GY, LWP, Chl-a, CMD, and TPC ranged from 49.06–53.15 days, 9,173.0–10,807.2 kg ha−1, 78.62–83.57%, 6.47–8.62 mg g−1, 9.61–13.54%, and 232.36–247.01 μg g−1, respectively. Significant correlations were recorded between all the parameters. Positive correlations were observed between all the variables except for CMD. The increased damage to cell membranes under ‘HS’ caused a decrease in the other measured variables, especially GY. In contrast, the GY increased with decreased CMD. CMD was important in determining the stress and tolerance level of corn varieties under ‘HS’ conditions. The GY and other physiological parameters of ADA 17.4 and SYM-307 candidate corn varieties surpassed the control hybrid corn cultivars. The results revealed that the ADA 17.4 and SYM-307 cultivars might have ‘HS’-tolerate genes.

Project description:BackgroundTrihelix transcription factors play important roles in triggering plant growth and imparting tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses. However, a systematical analysis of the trihelix transcription factor family under heat and drought stresses in maize has not been reported.MethodsPlantTFDB and TBtools were employed to identify the trihelix domain-containing genes in the maize genome. The heat-regulated transcriptome data for maize were obtained from NCBI to screen differentially expressed ZmTHs genes through statistical analysis. The basic protein sequences, chromosomal localization, and subcellular localization were analyzed using Maize GDB, Expasy, SOMPA, TBtools, and Plant-mPLoc. The conserved motifs, evolutionary relationships, and cis-elements, were analyzed by MEME, MEGA7.0 and PlantCARE software, respectively. The tissue expression patterns of ZmTHs and their expression profiles under heat and drought stress were detected using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR).ResultsA total of 44 trihelix family members were discovered, and members were distributed over 10 chromosomes in the maize genome. A total of 11 genes were identified that were regulated by heat stress; these were unevenly distributed on chromosomes 1, 2, 4, 5, and 10. ZmTHs encoded a total of 16 proteins, all of which were located in the nucleus; however, ZmTH04.1 was also distributed in the chloroplast. The protein length varied from 206 to 725 amino acids; the molecular weight ranged from 22.63 to 76.40 kD; and the theoretical isoelectric point (pI) ranged from 5.24 to 11.2. The protein's secondary structures were mainly found to be random coils and α-helices, with fewer instances of elongation chains and β-rotations. Phylogenetic relationship analysis showed that these can be divided into five sub-groups. The conserved domain of ZmTHs was GT1 or MyB_DNA-Bind_4. The protein and gene structure of ZmTHs differed greatly among the subfamilies, while the structures within the subfamilies were similar. The promoter of ZmTHs contained abundant tissue-specific expression cis-acting elements and abiotic stress response elements. qRT-PCR analysis showed that ZmTHs expression levels were significantly different in different tissues. Furthermore, the expression of ZmTH08 was dramatically up-regulated by heat stress, while the expression of ZmTH03, ZmTH04, ZmTH05, ZmTH06, ZmTH07, ZmTH09, ZmTH10, and ZmTH11 were down-regulated by heat stress. Upon PEG-simulated drought stress, ZmTH06 was significantly up-regulated, while ZmTH01 and ZmTH07 were down-regulated.ConclusionsWe performed a genome-wide, systematic identification and analysis of differentially expressed trihelix genes under heat and drought stresses in maize.

Dataset Information

Dehydration Stress Memory: Gene Networks Linked to Physiological Responses During Repeated Stresses of Zea mays.

Publications

Dehydration Stress Memory: Gene Networks Linked to Physiological Responses During Repeated Stresses of <i>Zea mays</i>.

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