Project description:BackgroundUnderstanding the complexity of the vine plant's response to water deficit represents a major challenge for sustainable winegrowing. Regulation of water use requires a coordinated action between scions and rootstocks on which cultivars are generally grafted to cope with phylloxera infestations. In this regard, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach was applied on an 'ad hoc' association mapping panel including different Vitis species, in order to dissect the genetic basis of transpiration-related traits and to identify genomic regions of grape rootstocks associated with drought tolerance mechanisms. The panel was genotyped with the GrapeReSeq Illumina 20 K SNP array and SSR markers, and infrared thermography was applied to estimate stomatal conductance values during progressive water deficit.ResultsIn the association panel the level of genetic diversity was substantially lower for SNPs loci (0.32) than for SSR (0.87). GWAS detected 24 significant marker-trait associations along the various stages of drought-stress experiment and 13 candidate genes with a feasible role in drought response were identified. Gene expression analysis proved that three of these genes (VIT_13s0019g03040, VIT_17s0000g08960, VIT_18s0001g15390) were actually induced by drought stress. Genetic variation of VIT_17s0000g08960 coding for a raffinose synthase was further investigated by resequencing the gene of 85 individuals since a SNP located in the region (chr17_10,497,222_C_T) was significantly associated with stomatal conductance.ConclusionsOur results represent a step forward towards the dissection of genetic basis that modulate the response to water deprivation in grape rootstocks. The knowledge derived from this study may be useful to exploit genotypic and phenotypic diversity in practical applications and to assist further investigations.
Project description:Much is known about the physiological control of stomatal aperture as a means by which plants adjust to water availability. By contrast, the role played by the modulation of stomatal development to limit water loss has received much less attention. The control of stomatal development in response to water deprivation in the genus Populus is explored here. Drought induced declines in stomatal conductance as well as an alteration in stomatal development in two genotypes of Populus balsamifera. Leaves that developed under water-deficit conditions had lower stomatal indices than leaves that developed under well-watered conditions. Transcript abundance of genes that could hypothetically underpin drought-responsive changes in stomatal development was examined, in two genotypes, across six time points, under two conditions, well-watered and with water deficit. Populus homologues of STOMAGEN, ERECTA (ER), STOMATA DENSITY AND DISTRIBUTION 1 (SDD1), and FAMA had variable transcript abundance patterns congruent with their role in the modulation of stomatal development in response to drought. Conversely, there was no significant variation in transcript abundance between genotypes or treatments for the Populus homologues of YODA (YDA) and TOO MANY MOUTHS (TMM). The findings highlight the role that could be played by stomatal development during leaf expansion as a longer term means by which to limit water loss from leaves. Moreover, the results point to the key roles played by the regulation of the homologues of STOMAGEN, ER, SDD1, and FAMA in the control of this response in poplar.
Project description:Chlorophyll drives plant photosynthesis. Under stress conditions, leaf chlorophyll content changes dramatically, which could provide insight into plant photosynthesis and drought resistance. Compared to traditional methods of evaluating chlorophyll content, hyperspectral imaging is more efficient and accurate and benefits from being a nondestructive technique. However, the relationships between chlorophyll content and hyperspectral characteristics of wheat leaves with wide genetic diversity and different treatments have rarely been reported. In this study, using 335 wheat varieties, we analyzed the hyperspectral characteristics of flag leaves and the relationships thereof with SPAD values at the grain-filling stage under control and drought stress. The hyperspectral information of wheat flag leaves significantly differed between control and drought stress conditions in the 550-700 nm region. Hyperspectral reflectance at 549 nm (r = -0.64) and the first derivative at 735 nm (r = 0.68) exhibited the strongest correlations with SPAD values. Hyperspectral reflectance at 536, 596, and 674 nm, and the first derivatives bands at 756 and 778 nm, were useful for estimating SPAD values. The combination of spectrum and image characteristics (L*, a*, and b*) can improve the estimation accuracy of SPAD values (optimal performance of RFR, relative error, 7.35%; root mean square error, 4.439; R2, 0.61). The models established in this study are efficient for evaluating chlorophyll content and provide insight into photosynthesis and drought resistance. This study can provide a reference for high-throughput phenotypic analysis and genetic breeding of wheat and other crops.
Project description:Drought stress is a major obstacle to agricultural production. Stomata are central to efforts to improve photosynthesis and water use. They are targets for manipulation to improve both processes and the balance between them. An in-depth understanding of stomatal behavior and kinetics is important for improving photosynthesis and the WUE of crops. In this study, a drought stress pot experiment was performed, and a transcriptome analysis of the leaves of three contrasting, cultivated barley genotypes Lumley (Lum, drought-tolerant), Golden Promise (GP, drought-sensitive), and Tadmor (Tad, drought-tolerant), generated by high-throughput sequencing, were compared. Lum exhibited a different WUE at the leaf and whole-plant levels and had greater CO2 assimilation, with a higher gs under drought stress. Interestingly, Lum showed a slower stomatal closure in response to a light-dark transition and significant differences compared to Tad in stomatal response to the exogenous application of ABA, H2O2, and CaCl2. A transcriptome analysis revealed that 24 ROS-related genes were indeed involved in drought response regulation, and impaired ABA-induced ROS accumulation in Lum was identified using ROS and antioxidant capacity measurements. We conclude that different stomatal ROS responses affect stomatal closure in barley, demonstrating different drought regulation strategies. These results provide valuable insight into the physiological and molecular basis of stomatal behavior and drought tolerance in barley.
Project description:Abstract Increased evidence has shown that hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a novel gasotransmitter, could enhance drought resistance in plants by inducing stomatal closure, with concurrent enhancement of photosynthetic efficiency, but little is known about the mechanism behind this contradictory phenomenon. This study examined the regulating mechanism of H2S in response to drought stress from stomatal and non-stomatal factors in Chinese cabbage. The results showed that exogenous H2S could increase the accumulation of photosynthetic pigments and alleviate the damage caused by drought stress. It also regulated the expression in transcriptional level and the activity of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (BrRuBisCO) under drought stress. The large subunit of BrRuBisCO was found to be modified by S-sulfhydration, which might be the reason for its increased enzyme activity. The fluxes of Cl−, K+, and H+ in the guard cells were detected by non-invasive micro-test techniques while under drought stress. The results indicated that H2S signaling induced a transmembrane Cl− and H+ efflux and inhibited K+ influx, and the Cl− channel was the main responders for H2S-regulated stomatal movement. In conclusion, H2S signal not only activated the ion channel proteins located in the guard cell membrane to induce stomatal closure, but also regulated the transcriptional expression and the activity of RuBisCO, a non-stomatal factor to enhance the photosynthetic efficiency of leaves. There is therefore a beneficial balance between the regulation of H2S signaling on stomatal factors and non-stomatal factors due to drought stress, which needs to be better understood to apply it practically to increase crop yields.
Project description:Waxy starch has an important influence on the qualities of breads. Generally, grain weight and yield in waxy wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) are significantly lower than in bread wheat. In this study, we performed the first proteomic and phosphoproteomic analyses of starch granule-binding proteins by comparing the waxy wheat cultivar Shannong 119 and the bread wheat cultivar Nongda 5181. These results indicate that reduced amylose content does not affect amylopectin synthesis, but it causes significant reduction of total starch biosynthesis, grain size, weight and grain yield. Two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis identified 40 differentially expressed protein (DEP) spots in waxy and non-waxy wheats, which belonged mainly to starch synthase (SS) I, SS IIa and granule-bound SS I. Most DEPs involved in amylopectin synthesis showed a similar expression pattern during grain development, suggesting relatively independent amylose and amylopectin synthesis pathways. Phosphoproteome analysis of starch granule-binding proteins, using TiO2 microcolumns and LC-MS/MS, showed that the total number of phosphoproteins and their phosphorylation levels in ND5181 were significantly higher than in SN119, but proteins controlling amylopectin synthesis had similar phosphorylation levels. Our results revealed the lack of amylose did not affect the expression and phosphorylation of the starch granule-binding proteins involved in amylopectin biosynthesis.
Project description:To identify genes involved in the OsDIS1-mediated drought-responsive pathway, we performed microarray analysis of the OsDIS1 overexpression and wild-type plants under both normal and drought stress conditions using the Agilent rice Genechip. Seven-day-old plants of the OsDIS1 overexpression line 9-4-2 as well as the wild-type plants were used in the drought treatment. OsLEA3 was used as a positive control for the drought treatment. Genes with more than two-fold changes in the overexpression plants compared with the wild-type plants were selected. The expression pattern of some differentially expressed genes was further confirmed by real-time PCR. The OsDIS1 overexpression 9-4-2 plants and the wild-type plants were cultured on 1/2 MS medium plus 3% sucrose for seven days. About half of the plants were sampled as the untreated control for RNA isolation, and the rest were transferred with 1/2 MS medium onto filter papers to induce drought stress. When the leaves of the OsDIS1 overexpression plants began to show drought stress phenotypes, we collected leaves for RNA isolation. OsLEA3 was used as a positive control for the drought treatment.
Project description:Abscisic acid (ABA) is an important phytohormone responsible for activating drought resistance, but the regulation mechanism of exogenous ABA on tea plants under drought stress was rarely reported. Here, we analyzed the effects of exogenous ABA on genes and metabolites of tea leaves under drought stress using transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis. The results showed that the exogenous ABA significantly induced the metabolic pathways of tea leaves under drought stress, including energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism and flavonoids biosynthesis. In which, the exogenous ABA could clearly affect the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism and flavonoid biosynthesis. Meanwhile, it also increased the contents of flavone, anthocyanins, flavonol, isoflavone of tea leaves under drought stress, including, kaempferitrin, sakuranetin, kaempferol, and decreased the contents of glycerophospholipids, glycerolipids and fatty acids of tea leaves under drought stress. The results suggested that the exogenous ABA could alleviate the damages of tea leaves under drought stress through inducing the expression of the genes and altering the contents of metabolites in response to drought stress. This study will be helpful to understand the mechanism of resilience to abiotic stress in tea plant and provide novel insights into enhancing drought tolerance in the future.