Brassinosteroids application affects maize growth and gravitropic response by regulating gene expression in roots, shoots and leaves
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ABSTRACT: Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a class of plant-specific steroid hormones which play key roles in plant physiology and seem to actively participate to the regulation of plant responses to stress. For this reason, these compounds are also grouped among the category of plant biostimulants which could be provided to crops to improve their performances and induce abiotic stress tolerance. In this study, thanks to a combined physiological and molecular approach new insight on the effects of 24-epibrassinolide (EBL), a synthetic BR, on hydroponically grown maize seedlings were gained. To this aim, a preliminary assessment of the effect of different EBL concentrations and time of treatment on root elongation was conducted to identify the concentration to be used in subsequent experiments. A treatment with EBL 1nM and a time exposure of 48 hours were then selected to better assess the effects of this molecule also on shoot growth and on root gravitropic response. Afterwards, a RNAseq based untargeted approach was applied to obtain an overview of the transcriptomic regulation occurring in roots, shoot and leaves upon exogenous brassinosteroids applications. Our outcomes highlight a deep influence exerted by this molecule on plant growth and on root gravitropic response of maize seedlings. Moreover, thanks to the functional characterization of differentially regulated genes by means of Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway analyses, new knowledge on the BR response and signalling in plants were gained. Globally, this study provides useful information which could help for future agriculture applications of these categories of substances.
ORGANISM(S): Zea mays
PROVIDER: GSE141768 | GEO | 2020/12/01
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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