Project description:In this series of experiments, we wanted to study the transcriptional responses of plants to different levels of water limitation. For mild drought stress, we controlled water potential (a scientific concept for dryness of soil) by using an automated watering system. This system adds water to soil based on the pF values reported by a pF sensor in soil. pF is a classical and widely used index of water potential that was first defined by Schofield (1935). For severe stress conditions, we withheld watering or even dried plants on a lab bench. Here, the transcriptional profiles were compared between well-watered and Sds-treated rice seedling shoots.<br>Sds (Severe dehydration stress in soil containers): We designated Sds as a term that means a severe drought stress causing dehydration of plants in our experiments (The plants were dehydrated at the sampling point). The drought stress was achieved by withholding water from plants grown in soil containers.
Project description:In this series of experiments, we wanted to study the transcriptional responses of plants to different levels of water limitation. For mild drought stress, we controlled water potential (a scientific concept for dryness of soil) by using an automated watering system. This system adds water to soil based on the pF values reported by a pF sensor in soil. pF is a classical and widely used index of water potential that was first defined by Schofield (1935). For severe stress conditions, we withheld watering or even dried plants on a lab bench. Here, the transcriptional profiles were compared between well-watered and Sds-treated rice seedling shoot basal region.<br>Sds (Severe dehydration stress in soil containers): We designated Sds as a term that means a severe drought stress causing dehydration of plants in our experiments (The plants were dehydrated at the sampling point). The drought stress was achieved by withholding water from plants grown in soil containers.
Project description:A cultivation facility that can assist users in controlling the soil water condition is needed for accurately phenotyping plants under drought stress in an artificial environment. Here we report the Internet of Things (IoT)-based pot system controlling optional treatment of soil water condition (iPOTs), an automatic irrigation system that mimics the drought condition in a growth chamber. The Wi-Fi-enabled iPOTs system allows water supply from the bottom of the pot, based on the soil water level set by the user, and automatically controls the soil water level at a desired depth. The iPOTs also allows users to monitor environmental parameters, such as soil temperature, air temperature, humidity, and light intensity, in each pot. To verify whether the iPOTs mimics the drought condition, we conducted a drought stress test on rice varieties and near-isogenic lines, with diverse root system architecture, using the iPOTs system installed in a growth chamber. Similar to the results of a previous drought stress field trial, the growth of shallow-rooted rice accessions was severely affected by drought stress compared with that of deep-rooted accessions. The microclimate data obtained using the iPOTs system increased the accuracy of plant growth evaluation. Transcriptome analysis revealed that pot positions in the growth chamber had little impact on plant growth. Together, these results suggest that the iPOTs system represents a reliable platform for phenotyping plants under drought stress.
Project description:With frequent fluctuations in global climate, plants often experience co-occurring dry-wet cycles and pathogen infection and this combination adversely affects plant survival. In the past, some studies indicated that morpho-physiological responses of plants to the combined stress are different from the individual stressed plants. However, interaction of drought stressed or drought recovered plants with pathogen has not been widely studied at molecular level. Such studies are important to understand the defense pathways that operate as part of combined stress tolerance mechanism. In this study, Arabidopsis plants were exposed to individual drought stress (soil drying at 40% FC, D), Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato DC3000 (PStDC3000), infection and their combination. Plants recovered from drought stress were also exposed to PStDC3000. Beside we have also infiltrated P. syringae pv tabaci (PSta, non-host pathogen) individually or in combination with drought stress. Using Affymetrix WT gene 1.0 ST array, global transcriptome profiling of plants leaves under individual drought stress and pathogen infection was compared with their combination. Results implicate that plants exposed to combined drought and pathogen stress experience a new state of stress where each combination of stressor and their timing defines the plant responses and thus should be studied explicitly. Global transcriptional analysis in Arabidopsis leaves exposed to individual and combined drought and pathogen stress.
Project description:Plant drought stress response and resistance are complex biological processes that merit systems-level analyses to dissect drought stress encountered by crops in the field. We have used gene expression profiling of Arabidopsis plants subjected to a controlled, sublethal, moderate drought (mDr) treatment to characterize early and late response to drought. We have also compared these profiles to those from plants treated with soil water deficit (progressive) drought (pDr) to reveal acclimation responses in plants.
Project description:This was a comparative transcriptome analysis by using high throughput sequencing. To assess the effects of drought stress and NF-Y transcription factors ZmNF-YA1 and ZmNF-YB16 on maize, leaves from wild-type (W22), zmnf-ya1 (m67) mutant, wild-type (B104) and ZmNF-YB16 overexpression (OE) plants grow under well-watered and drought stress conditions were collected and RNAseq was performed. We tracked the gene expression events of inbred maize lines W22 or B104 seedlings in response to drought stress to evaluate how drought stress affects the gene expression program in maize. At the same time, we analyzed the effects of drought stress on gene expression in zmnf-ya1 and ZmNF-YB16 OE plants to investigate whether and how ZmNF-YA1 and ZmNF-YB16 confer drought stress tolerance in maize. Maize plants were grown under well-watered conditions until the V4 stage (zmnf-ya1 and W22) or V9 stage (ZmNF-YB16 OE and B104), and then half of them were exposed to drought stress treatment. Water loss in the soil and the electrolyte leakage from leaf cells were used to assess drought stress in plants. Leaves from 3-4 plants were pooled for each sample, and two replicates were used. RNA was extracted from small strips of leaf lamina excised from the first fully expanded leaf of the plants.
Project description:The drought stress is one of key adverse environmental factors limiting plant growth and development, even threating global crop productivity in many arid and semi-arid regions. Drought stress usually causes huge economic losses for tobacco industries. Understanding how plants respond and adapt to the drought stress helps generate engineered plants with enhanced drought resistance. In this study, integrative analyses of multiple time point-related transcriptome and metabolome generated from K326 and its derived mutant 28 (M28) with contrasting drought tolerance. We found that dramatic changes of gene expression profiles between M28 and K326 before and after drought treatment.
Project description:Heat shock factors (Hsfs) are known to regulate heat and drought stress response by controlling the expression of heat shock proteins and oxidative stress responsive genes. Loss-of-function of OsHSFA2e gene resulted in increased sensitivity of rice plants to drought and heat stress. To identify the targets of OsHSFA2e and dissect the stress response pathway regulated by it, we performed transcriptome profiling of Oshsfa2e mutant plants under drought stress as well as well-watered conditions by RNA-sequencing.
Project description:The members of bHLH transcription factor superfamily are known to play key role in plant development and abiotic stress response. Loss-of-function of OsbHLH148 gene resulted in increased sensitivity of rice plants to drought stress. To identify the targets of OsbHLH148 and dissect the drought stress response pathway regulated by it, we performed transcriptome profiling of Osbhlh148 mutant plants under drought stress as well as well-watered conditions by RNA-sequencing.