Project description:Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic, widely-distributed, environmentally persistent, and carcinogenic byproducts of carbon-based fuel combustion. Previously, plant studies have shown that PAHs induce oxidative stress, reduce growth, and cause leaf deformation as well as tissue necrosis. To understand the transcriptional changes that occur during these processes, we performed microarray experiments on Arabidopsis thaliana L. under phenanthrene treatment, and compared the results to published Arabidopsis microarray data representing a variety of stress and hormone treatments. In addition, to probe hormonal aspects of PAH stress, we assayed transgenic ethylene-inducible reporter plants as well as ethylene pathway mutants under phenanthrene treatment. Results: Microarray results revealed numerous perturbations in signaling and metabolic pathways that regulate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and responses related to pathogen defense. A number of glutathione S-transferases that may tag xenobiotics for transport to the vacuole were upregulated. Comparative microarray analyses indicated that the phenanthrene response was closely related to other ROS conditions, including pathogen defense conditions. The ethylene-inducible transgenic reporters were activated by phenanthrene. Mutant experiments showed that PAH inhibits growth through an ethylene-independent pathway, as PAH-treated ethylene-insensitive etr1-4 mutants exhibited a greater growth reduction than WT. Further, phenanthrene-treated, constitutive ethylene signaling mutants had longer roots than the untreated control plants, indicating that the PAH inhibits parts of the ethylene signaling pathway. Conclusions: This study identified major physiological systems that participate in the PAH-induced stress response in Arabidopsis. At the transcriptional level, the results identify specific gene targets that will be valuable in finding lead compounds and engineering increased tolerance. Collectively, the results open a number of new avenues for researching and improving plant resilience and PAH phytoremediation.
Project description:Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic, widely-distributed, environmentally persistent, and carcinogenic byproducts of carbon-based fuel combustion. Previously, plant studies have shown that PAHs induce oxidative stress, reduce growth, and cause leaf deformation as well as tissue necrosis. To understand the transcriptional changes that occur during these processes, we performed microarray experiments on Arabidopsis thaliana L. under phenanthrene treatment, and compared the results to published Arabidopsis microarray data representing a variety of stress and hormone treatments. In addition, to probe hormonal aspects of PAH stress, we assayed transgenic ethylene-inducible reporter plants as well as ethylene pathway mutants under phenanthrene treatment. Results: Microarray results revealed numerous perturbations in signaling and metabolic pathways that regulate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and responses related to pathogen defense. A number of glutathione S-transferases that may tag xenobiotics for transport to the vacuole were upregulated. Comparative microarray analyses indicated that the phenanthrene response was closely related to other ROS conditions, including pathogen defense conditions. The ethylene-inducible transgenic reporters were activated by phenanthrene. Mutant experiments showed that PAH inhibits growth through an ethylene-independent pathway, as PAH-treated ethylene-insensitive etr1-4 mutants exhibited a greater growth reduction than WT. Further, phenanthrene-treated, constitutive ethylene signaling mutants had longer roots than the untreated control plants, indicating that the PAH inhibits parts of the ethylene signaling pathway. Conclusions: This study identified major physiological systems that participate in the PAH-induced stress response in Arabidopsis. At the transcriptional level, the results identify specific gene targets that will be valuable in finding lead compounds and engineering increased tolerance. Collectively, the results open a number of new avenues for researching and improving plant resilience and PAH phytoremediation. Arabidopsis thaliana (ecotype Columbia) plants were long-day grown with +/- 0.25 mM phenanthrene in sterile plates at 23C for 21d before harvest. At least 20 plants were pooled prior to each mRNA extraction.
Project description:Plants have evolved shoot elongation mechanisms to escape from diverse environmental stresses such as flooding and vegetative shade. The apparent similarity in growth responses suggests possible convergence of the signalling pathways. Shoot elongation is mediated by passive ethylene accumulating in flooded plant organs and by changes in light quality and quantity under vegetation shade. Here we study hypocotyl elongation as a proxy for shoot elongation and delineated Arabidopsis hypocotyl length kinetics in response to ethylene and shade. Based on these kinetics, we further investigated ethylene and shade-induced genome-wide gene expression changes in hypocotyls and cotyledons separately. Both treatments induced a more extensive transcriptome reconfiguration in the hypocotyls compared to the cotyledons. Bioinformatics analyses suggested contrasting regulation of growth promotion- and photosynthesis-related genes. These analyses also suggested an induction of auxin, brassinosteroid and gibberellin signatures and the involvement of several candidate regulators in the elongating hypocotyls. Pharmacological and mutant analyses confirmed the functional involvement of several of these candidate genes and physiological control points in regulating stress-escape responses to different environmental stimuli. We discuss how these signaling networks might be integrated and conclude that plants, when facing different stresses, utilise a conserved set of transcriptionally regulated genes to modulate and fine tune growth. 1 day old Arabidopsis seedlings were subjected to control, ethylene and shade conditions. Hypocotyl and cotyledon tissues were harvested at 1.5 h, 13.5 h and 25.5 h of treatment time respectively. Microarray hybridization was carried out with 3 biological replicates (collected over 3 independent experiments) of each sample using the Affymetrix Arabidopsis Gene 1.1 ST platform.
Project description:Plants have evolved shoot elongation mechanisms to escape from diverse environmental stresses such as flooding and vegetative shade. The apparent similarity in growth responses suggests possible convergence of the signalling pathways. Shoot elongation is mediated by passive ethylene accumulating in flooded plant organs and by changes in light quality and quantity under vegetation shade. Here we study hypocotyl elongation as a proxy for shoot elongation and delineated Arabidopsis hypocotyl length kinetics in response to ethylene and shade. Based on these kinetics, we further investigated ethylene and shade-induced genome-wide gene expression changes in hypocotyls and cotyledons separately. Both treatments induced a more extensive transcriptome reconfiguration in the hypocotyls compared to the cotyledons. Bioinformatics analyses suggested contrasting regulation of growth promotion- and photosynthesis-related genes. These analyses also suggested an induction of auxin, brassinosteroid and gibberellin signatures and the involvement of several candidate regulators in the elongating hypocotyls. Pharmacological and mutant analyses confirmed the functional involvement of several of these candidate genes and physiological control points in regulating stress-escape responses to different environmental stimuli. We discuss how these signaling networks might be integrated and conclude that plants, when facing different stresses, utilise a conserved set of transcriptionally regulated genes to modulate and fine tune growth.
Project description:Background: Cell walls (CWs) are protein-rich polysaccharide matrices essential for plant growth and environmental acclimationadaptation. The CW constitutes the first physical barrier as well as a primary source of sugars for plant microbes, such as the vascular pathogen Fusarium oxysporum (Fo). Fo colonizes roots, advancing through the plant primary CWs towards the vasculature, where it grows causing devastation in many crops. The pathogenicity of Fo and other vascular microbes relies on their capacity to reach and colonize the xylem. However, little is known about the root-microbe interaction before the pathogen reaches the vasculature and the role of the plant CW during this process. Results: Using the pathosystem Arabidopsis-Fo5176, we show dynamic transcriptional changes in both fungus and root during their interaction. One of the earliest plant responses to Fo5176 was the downregulation of primary CW synthesis genes. We observed enhanced resistance to Fo5176 in Arabidopsis mutants impaired in primary CW cellulose synthesis. Previous studies showed an induction of ectopic lignification, accumulation of defense-related phytohormones, and dwarfism in primary CW cellulose synthesis deficient plants, potentially explaining their resistance to Fo5176. We confirmed that Arabidopsis roots deposit lignin in response to Fo5176 infection but we show that lignin-deficient mutants were as susceptible as wildtype plants to Fo5176. Genetic impairment of jasmonic acid biosynthesis and signaling did not alter Arabidopsis response to Fo5176, whereas impairment of ethylene signaling did increase vasculature colonization by Fo5176. AbolishingThis ethylene signaling interruption attenuated the observed resistance while maintaining the dwarfism observed in primary CW cellulose-deficient mutants. Conclusions: Our study provides significant insights on the dynamic root-vascular pathogen interaction at the transcriptome level and the vital role of primary CW cellulose during defense response to these pathogens. These findings represent an essential resource for the generation of plant resistance to Fo that can be transferred to other vascular pathosystems.
Project description:Background: Cell walls (CWs) are protein-rich polysaccharide matrices essential for plant growth and environmental acclimationadaptation. The CW constitutes the first physical barrier as well as a primary source of sugars for plant microbes, such as the vascular pathogen Fusarium oxysporum (Fo). Fo colonizes roots, advancing through the plant primary CWs towards the vasculature, where it grows causing devastation in many crops. The pathogenicity of Fo and other vascular microbes relies on their capacity to reach and colonize the xylem. However, little is known about the root-microbe interaction before the pathogen reaches the vasculature and the role of the plant CW during this process. Results: Using the pathosystem Arabidopsis-Fo5176, we show dynamic transcriptional changes in both fungus and root during their interaction. One of the earliest plant responses to Fo5176 was the downregulation of primary CW synthesis genes. We observed enhanced resistance to Fo5176 in Arabidopsis mutants impaired in primary CW cellulose synthesis. Previous studies showed an induction of ectopic lignification, accumulation of defense-related phytohormones, and dwarfism in primary CW cellulose synthesis deficient plants, potentially explaining their resistance to Fo5176. We confirmed that Arabidopsis roots deposit lignin in response to Fo5176 infection but we show that lignin-deficient mutants were as susceptible as wildtype plants to Fo5176. Genetic impairment of jasmonic acid biosynthesis and signaling did not alter Arabidopsis response to Fo5176, whereas impairment of ethylene signaling did increase vasculature colonization by Fo5176. AbolishingThis ethylene signaling interruption attenuated the observed resistance while maintaining the dwarfism observed in primary CW cellulose-deficient mutants. Conclusions: Our study provides significant insights on the dynamic root-vascular pathogen interaction at the transcriptome level and the vital role of primary CW cellulose during defense response to these pathogens. These findings represent an essential resource for the generation of plant resistance to Fo that can be transferred to other vascular pathosystems.
Project description:We report that CBP20 phosphorylation can regulate root growth in ethylene. We examined the small RNA expression in roots and shoots of wild type (Col) and cbp20 mutant (in Col background). Ethylene is one of the most essential hormones for plant developmental processes and stress responses. EIN2 is a key factor in ethylene signaling pathway and its function is regulated by phosphorylation. However, the phosphorylation regulation in the ethylene signaling pathway is largely unknown. Here we report the phosphorylation of CBP20 is regulated by ethylene, and the phosphorylation is involved in root elongation. The constitutive phosphorylation format of CBP20 rescues the cbp20 root ethylene hyposensitive phenotype, while the constitutive de-phosphorylation format of CBP20 is unable to rescue the root phenotype of cbp20 in response to ethylene. Genome wide study on ethylene regulated gene expression and microRNA expression in the roots and shoots of both Col and cbp20, together with the result of genetics validation suggest that ethylene induced phosphorylation of CBP20 is involved in root growth and one pathway is through the regulation of microRNAs and their target genes in roots.