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Mediation of seed provisioning in the transmission of environmental maternal effects in Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton).

ABSTRACT: Although maternal environmental effects are increasingly recognized as an important source of phenotypic variation with relevant impacts in evolutionary processes, their relevance in long-lived plants such as pine trees is largely unknown. Here, we used a powerful sample size and a strong quantitative genetic approach to analyse the sources of variation of early seedling performance and to identify seed mass (SM)-dependent and -independent maternal environmental effects in Maritime pine. We measured SM of 8924 individual seeds collected from 10 genotypes clonally replicated in two environments of contrasting quality (favourable and stressful), and we measured seedling growth rate and biomass allocation to roots and shoots. SM was extremely variable (up to 14-fold) and strongly determined by the maternal environment and the genotype of the mother tree. The favourable maternal environment led to larger cones, larger seeds and reduced SM variability. The maternal environment also determined the offspring phenotype, with seedlings coming from the favourable environment being 35% larger and with greater root/shoot ratio. Transgenerational plasticity appears, thus, to be a relevant source of phenotypic variation in the early performance of this pine species. Seed provisioning explained most of the effect of the maternal environment on seedling total biomass. Environmental maternal effects on seedling biomass allocation were, however, determined through SM-independent mechanisms, suggesting that other epigenetic regulation channels may be involved.

SUBMITTER: Zas R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3746824 | biostudies-other | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Mediation of seed provisioning in the transmission of environmental maternal effects in Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton).

Zas R R Cendán C C Sampedro L L

Heredity 20130508 3

Although maternal environmental effects are increasingly recognized as an important source of phenotypic variation with relevant impacts in evolutionary processes, their relevance in long-lived plants such as pine trees is largely unknown. Here, we used a powerful sample size and a strong quantitative genetic approach to analyse the sources of variation of early seedling performance and to identify seed mass (SM)-dependent and -independent maternal environmental effects in Maritime pine. We meas ...[more]

PMID: 23652562

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Project description:The significant morphological differences observed during embryo development in angiosperms and gymnosperms are expected to be the result of a differential control of gene expression. We used a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) cDNA microarray to analyze global transcriptional changes along zygotic embryogenesis in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster). A time-course analysis of the data obtained from the five embryo developmental groups used in this study led to the identification of 4,645 genes whose expression varied along P. pinaster embryogenesis. These transcripts were clustered into six distinct expression profiles. The grouping of these profiles in early, mid-embryogenesis and embryo maturation, according to the developmental period where most of the sequences were up-regulated, evidenced that characteristic transcriptional changes are associated to each developmental period. The application of a cut-off value of 1.95-fold change led to the identification of 1,838 differentially expressed transcripts that were categorized by biological process. Metabolism, interaction with the environment, oxidation-reduction and transport were some of the most represented categories. During early embryogenesis genes putatively involved in phytohormone-mediated signaling were identified, whereas in middle stages the overrepresented genes could be associated with cotyledon formation and induction of somatic embryogenesis. Genes associated with the synthesis of storage products were up-regulated in the latest stages of pine embryo development. It was also during this developmental period that the largest number of sequences putatively encoding transcription factors was identified. Pine immature zygotic embryos were pooled into five different developmental groups according to the collection date (Day0; Day5; Day11; Day15 and Day25). A common reference design was used. Total RNA was extracted from each sample. Three extractions were prepared per sample (biological replicates). A defined ammount from each RNA sample was pooled to use as reference. Messenger RNA was amplified for both test samples and reference. These were hybridized together in two separate experiments (technical replicates). In total, 30 slides were analyzed.

Project description:NAC transcription factors comprise a large plant-specific gene family involved in the regulation of diverse biological processes. Despite the growing number of studies on NAC transcription factors in various species, little information is available about this family in conifers. The goal of this study was to identify the NAC transcription family in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster), to characterize ATAF-like genes in response to various stresses and to study their molecular regulation.We have isolated two maritime pine NAC genes and using a transient expression assay in N. benthamiana leaves estudied the promoter jasmonate response.In this study, we identified 37 NAC genes from maritime pine and classified them into six main subfamilies. The largest group includes 12 sequences corresponding to stress-related genes. Two of these NAC genes, PpNAC2 and PpNAC3, were isolated and their expression profiles were examined at various developmental stages and in response to various types of stress. The expression of both genes was strongly induced by methyl jasmonate (MeJA), mechanical wounding, and high salinity. The promoter regions of these genes were shown to contain cis-elements involved in the stress response and plant hormonal regulation, including E-boxes, which are commonly found in the promoters of genes that respond to jasmonate, and binding sites for bHLH proteins. Using a transient expression assay in N. benthamiana leaves, we found that the promoter of PpNAC3 was rapidly induced upon MeJA treatment, while this response disappeared in plants in which the transcription factor NbbHLH2 was silenced.Our results suggest that PpNAC2 and PpNAC3 encode stress-responsive NAC transcription factors involved in the jasmonate response in pine. Furthermore, these data also suggest that the jasmonate signaling pathway is conserved between angiosperms and gymnosperms. These findings may be useful for engineering stress tolerance in pine via biotechnological approaches.

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Mediation of seed provisioning in the transmission of environmental maternal effects in Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton).

Publications

Mediation of seed provisioning in the transmission of environmental maternal effects in Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton).

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