Project description:Lemna minor a small aquatic plant has been used extensively in ecotoxicolgical testing to elucidate substance-related effects to freshwater plants. They are free-floating freshwater macrophyte, very sensitive towards chemical exposure and easy to cultivate thus makes the plant suitable for laboratory testing. Here we present a rapid and reproducible data dependent proteomics approach for identifying growth related molecular signatures in lemna minor as an alternative to algae testing. For this, we have analyzed the proteome of lemna minor exposed to bentazon as a model substances for identifying growth related molecular perturbations. These fingerprints allow for a definition of potential biomarkers as tools in screening approaches and for integration in plant growth inhibition studies, for identifying suspect substances, such as in the Lemna sp. growth inhibition test (OECD TG 221).
Project description:Genome sequencing of UK duckweed panel including Lemna minor, Lemna japonica, Lemna minuta, Lemna turionifera and Spirodela polyrhiza accessions.
Project description:Lemna minor a small aquatic plant has been used extensively in ecotoxicolgical testing to elucidate substance-related effects to freshwater plants. They are free-floating freshwater macrophyte, very sensitive towards chemical exposure and easy to cultivate thus makes the plant suitable for laboratory testing. Here we present a rapid and reproducible data dependent proteomics approach for identifying growth related molecular signatures in lemna minor as an alternative to algae testing. For this, we have analyzed the proteome of lemna minor exposed to atorvastatin as a model substances for identifying growth related molecular perturbations. These fingerprints allow for a definition of potential biomarkers as tools in screening approaches and for integration in plant growth inhibition studies (OECD TG 221), for identifying suspect substances.
Project description:Background: The soil environment is responsible for sustaining most terrestrial plant life on earth, yet we know surprisingly little about the important functions carried out by diverse microbial communities in soil. Soil microbes that inhabit the channels of decaying root systems, the detritusphere, are likely to be essential for plant growth and health, as these channels are the preferred locations of new root growth. Understanding the microbial metagenome of the detritusphere and how it responds to agricultural management such as crop rotations and soil tillage will be vital for improving global food production. Methods: The rhizosphere soils of wheat and chickpea growing under + and - decaying root were collected for metagenomics sequencing. A gene catalogue was established by de novo assembling metagenomic sequencing. Genes abundance was compared between bulk soil and rhizosphere soils under different treatments. Conclusions: The study describes the diversity and functional capacity of a high-quality soil microbial metagenome. The results demonstrate the contribution of the microbiome from decaying root in determining the metagenome of developing root systems, which is fundamental to plant growth, since roots preferentially inhabit previous root channels. Modifications in root microbial function through soil management, can ultimately govern plant health, productivity and food security.
Project description:The Lemnaceae (duckweeds) are the world’s smallest but fastest growing flowering plants, with a drastically reduced morphology and predominant clonal reproductive habit capable of continuous exponential growth. Here, we present assemblies of 10 Lemna chromosome sets by single molecule nanopore sequencing and chromosome conformation capture. Dynamics of genome evolution in the family are revealed by syntenic comparisons with Wolffia and Spirodela, and diversification of these genera was found to coincide with the “Azolla event”, in which blooms of aquatic macrophytes reduced atmospheric CO2 from greenhouse levels found in the Eocene to those of the current ice age. Orthologous gene comparisons with other aquatic and terrestrial plants uncovered candidate genes for the unique metabolic and developmental features of the family, such as frequent hybrid polyploidy, lack of stomatal closure in high CO2, and accumulation of calcium oxalate, a promising candidate for carbon sequestration. Loss of a spermine-triggered gene network accounts for drastic reduction in stature and preferentially adaxial stomata, a feature of floating aquatic plants. Strikingly, Lemnaceae genomes have selectively lost some of the genes required for RNA interference, including Argonaute genes required for post-zygotic reproductive isolation (the triploid block) and reduced gamete formation. Triploid hybrids arise commonly among Lemna, presumably by hybridization with unreduced gametes, and we have found mutations in highly-conserved ZMM crossover pathway genes that could support polyploid meiosis. Rapid but stable clonal propagation makes Lemna an ideal platform for protein and starch micro-cropping, and for sequestration of dissolved nutrients and atmospheric CO2. Facile regeneration of transgenic fronds from tissue culture, aided by reduced epigenetic silencing, makes Lemna a powerful biotechnological platform, as exemplified by our recent engineering of high-oil Lemna lines that out-perform with oil seed crops.