Dataset Information

Coupled influence of precipitation regimes and seedling emergence time on the reproductive strategy in Chloris virgata.

ABSTRACT: Precipitation regime and seedling emergence time both influence plant growth and reproduction. However, little attention has been given to the effects of these combined factors on the reproductive strategy of Chloris virgata, which is a vital species in Songnen grassland. Here, we simulated the changes in the precipitation regime and seedling emergence time to evaluate tiller traits and seed production. The results showed that tiller number behaved similarly among three precipitation regimes when sowed on 15 May (T1), while it increased significantly with precipitation regimes when sowed on 15 June (T2) and 15 July (T3). Tiller number decreased significantly with the seedling emergence time under the same water supply treatment. The proportional allocation of reproductive tiller number to total tiller number was significantly higher at T3 than at T1 and T2. Seed number remained similar under different precipitation regimes at T2 and T3, whereas it was significantly lower under low precipitation than under other water levels at T1. Seed number reached the maximum values at T2 under the same level of precipitation treatment. Seed size was significantly lower under low precipitation compared to other water supply treatments and the lowest values in seed size, about 0.5 mg, occurred at T2 under all the precipitation regimes. The lowest values in spike number were under low precipitation at all seedling emergence times. Seed yield exhibited similar trends with seed size under different precipitation regimes, while the greatest gains in these values were at T1 under all the precipitation regimes. Our findings showed that simulated precipitation regimes and seedling emergence time affected the reproductive strategy of C. virgata. Typical and high precipitation, as well as early seedling emergence, will improve the seed yield and seed quality in this species.

SUBMITTER: Wang Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7017796 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Coupled influence of precipitation regimes and seedling emergence time on the reproductive strategy in <i>Chloris virgata</i>.

Wang Ying Y Chen Jiawei J Huang Yige Y Mu Zhongsheng Z Wang Changfu C

PeerJ 20200210

Precipitation regime and seedling emergence time both influence plant growth and reproduction. However, little attention has been given to the effects of these combined factors on the reproductive strategy of <i>Chloris virgata</i>, which is a vital species in Songnen grassland. Here, we simulated the changes in the precipitation regime and seedling emergence time to evaluate tiller traits and seed production. The results showed that tiller number behaved similarly among three precipitation regi ...[more]

PMID: 32095337

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Project description:Plants in Mongolian grasslands are exposed to short, dry summers and long, cold winters. These plants should be prepared for fast germination and growth activity in response to the limited summer rainfall. The wild plant species adapted to the Mongolian grassland environment may allow us to explore useful genes, as a source of unique genetic codes for crop improvement. Here, we identified the Chloris virgata Dornogovi accession as the fastest germinating plant in major Mongolian grassland plants. It germinated just 5 h after treatment for germination initiation and showed rapid growth, especially in its early and young development stages. This indicates its high growth potential compared to grass crops such as rice and wheat. By assessing growth recovery after animal bite treatment (mimicked by cutting the leaves with scissors), we found that C. virgata could rapidly regenerate leaves after being damaged, suggesting high regeneration potential against grazing. To analyze the regulatory mechanism involved in the high growth potential of C. virgata, we performed RNA-seq-based transcriptome analysis and illustrated a comprehensive gene expression map of the species. Through de novo transcriptome assembly with the RNA-seq reads from whole organ samples of C. virgata at the germination stage (2 days after germination, DAG), early young development stage (8 DAG), young development stage (17 DAG), and adult development stage (28 DAG), we identified 21,589 unified transcripts (contigs) and found that 19,346 and 18,156 protein-coding transcripts were homologous to those in rice and Arabidopsis, respectively. The best-aligned sequences were annotated with gene ontology groups. When comparing the transcriptomes across developmental stages, we found an over-representation of genes involved in growth regulation in the early development stage in C. virgata. Plant development is tightly regulated by phytohormones such as brassinosteroids, gibberellic acid, abscisic acid, and strigolactones. Moreover, our transcriptome map demonstrated the expression profiles of orthologs involved in the biosynthesis of these phytohormones and their signaling networks. We discuss the possibility that C. virgata phytohormone signaling and biosynthesis genes regulate early germination and growth advantages. Comprehensive transcriptome information will provide a useful resource for gene discovery and facilitate a deeper understanding of the diversity of the regulatory systems that have evolved in C. virgata while adapting to severe environmental conditions.

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Dataset Information

Coupled influence of precipitation regimes and seedling emergence time on the reproductive strategy in Chloris virgata.

Publications

Coupled influence of precipitation regimes and seedling emergence time on the reproductive strategy in <i>Chloris virgata</i>.

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