Project description:Application of mass spectrometry enables the detection of metabolic differences between groups of related organisms. Differences in the metabolic fingerprints of wild-type Solanum lycopersicum and three monogenic mutants, ripening inhibitor (rin), non-ripening (nor) and Colourless non-ripening (Cnr), of tomato are captured with regard to ripening behaviour. A high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry system coupled to liquid chromatography produced a time series of the ripening behaviour at discrete intervals with a focus on changes post-anthesis. Internal standards and quality controls were used to ensure system stability. The raw data of the samples and reference compounds including study protocols have been deposited in the open metabolomics database MetaboLights via the metadata annotation tool Isatab to enable efficient re-use of the datasets, such as in metabolomics cross-study comparisons or data fusion exercises.
Project description:To investigate the role of Serine/Arginine-rich proteins RS2Z35 and RS2Z36 in tomato heat stress response and thermotolerance, we established single and double knockouts of the respective splicing factor(s) in tomato We then performed gene expression and splicing analysis using data obtained from RNA-seq of wildtype, single knockout and double knockout plants under control and heat stress conditions (1 h 40°C)
Project description:Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are molecular chaperones primarily involved in maintenance of protein homeostasis. Their function has been best characterized in heat stress (HS) response during which Hsps are transcriptionally controlled by heat stress transcription factors (Hsfs). The role of Hsfs and Hsps in HS-response in tomato was initially examined by transcriptome analysis using the Massive Analysis of cDNA Ends (MACE) method. Approximately 9.6% of all genes expressed in leaves are enhanced in response to HS, including a subset of Hsfs and Hsps. The underlying Hsp-Hsf networks with potential functions in stress responses or developmental processes were further explored by meta-analysis of existing microarray datasets. We identified clusters with differential transcript profiles with respect to abiotic stresses, plant organs and developmental stages. The composition of two clusters points toward two major chaperone networks. One cluster consisted of constitutively expressed plastidial chaperones and other genes involved in chloroplast protein homeostasis. The second cluster represents genes strongly induced by heat, drought and salinity stress, including HsfA2 and many stress-inducible chaperones, but also potential targets of HsfA2 not related to protein homeostasis. This observation attributes a central regulatory role to HsfA2 in controlling different aspects of abiotic stress response and tolerance in tomato.