Project description:Wheat is one of the most significant crops in terms of human consumption in the world. In a climate change scenario, extreme weather event such as heatwaves will be more frequent especially during the grain-filling (GF) stage and could affect grain weight and quality of crops. Molecular mechanisms underlying the response to short heat stress (HS) have been widely reported for the hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum) but the regulatory heat stress mechanisms in tetraploid durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) remain partially understood. In this work, we performed a transcriptomic analysis of durum wheat grains to HS during early GF to identify key HS response genes and their predicted regulatory networks under glasshouse conditions.
Project description:Pistachio is a sustainable nut crop with exceptional climate resilience and nutritional value. To advance pistachios as a future food source and establish a model system for hard-shelled fruits, we generated essential knowledge and resources for the scientific community. We include a new chromosome-scale reference genome assembly and annotation of the most widely grown pistachio cultivar (Pistacia vera ‘Kerman’) and a spatiotemporal developmental study of the hull, shell, and kernel. Our study defined four distinct stages of pistachio growth and maturation by integrating tissue-level physiological and molecular data from thousands of nuts across twenty-four time points over three growing seasons. Transcriptional and metabolic changes in the kernel elucidate nutritional quality, such as the accumulation of unsaturated fatty acids, vital for shelf life and dietary value. This work yields new knowledge that will inform other woody crops and facilitate further improvement of pistachio as a globally significant, sustainable, and nutritious crop.
Project description:Plants represent the nutritional basis of virtually all life on earth and protein-rich foods from crop plants are a global megatrend essential for sustaining an increasing human population and counteracting climate change. While the genomes of crops are increasingly elucidated, little is known about crop proteomes – the entirety of proteins that execute and control nearly every aspect of life. To address this shortcoming we optimized a protocol for mapping the proteome of different crops such as Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) fruit and included four technical replicates and three biological replicates from different tomato plants to demonstrate the robustness of the workflow.
Project description:Changing climate impacts all aspects of plant physiology, photosynthesis being particularly affected. Weather extremes result in imbalances between light capture and its assimilation, leading to photoinhibition of photosynthesis, which affects plant growth and crop yields. The Plastid Terminal Oxidase (PTOX) has been suggested as a photoprotective safety valve for photosynthesis. However, a photoprotective activity has only been observed in a small number of species and its mode of activation remains elusive. Previous attempts to induce photoprotective PTOX activity in additional species have failed. Here, we show for the first time that photoprotection by PTOX can be transferred to non-extremophile species, and that can reduce photoinhibition and ROS production under stress. Our findings provide a basis for new approaches to redesign photosynthesis using PTOX, to help crops face the challenges raised by the current climate change scenario.
Project description:Global warming has shifted climate zones poleward or upward. However, understanding the responses and mechanism of microbial community structure and functions relevant to natural climate zone succession is challenged by the high complexity of microbial communities. Here, we examined soil microbial community in three broadleaved forests located in the Wulu Mountain (WLM, temperate climate), Funiu Mountain (FNM, at the border of temperate and subtropical climate zones), or Shennongjia Mountain (SNJ, subtropical climate).Soils were characterized for geochemistry, Illumina sequencing was used to determine microbial taxonomic communities and GeoChips 5.0 were used to determine microbial functional genes.
2017-01-10 | GSE92233 | GEO
Project description:Sequencing of ten cover crops rhizosphere