Project description:Root exudates contain specialised metabolites that affect the plant’s root microbiome. How host-specific microbes cope with these bioactive compounds, and how this ability shapes root microbiomes, remains largely unknown. We investigated how maize root bacteria metabolise benzoxazinoids, the main specialised metabolites of maize. Diverse and abundant bacteria metabolised the major compound in the maize rhizosphere MBOA and formed AMPO. AMPO forming bacteria are enriched in the rhizosphere of benzoxazinoid-producing maize and can use MBOA as carbon source. We identified a novel gene cluster associated with AMPO formation in microbacteria. The first gene in this cluster, bxdA encodes a lactonase that converts MBOA to AMPO in vitro. A deletion mutant of the homologous bxdA genes in the genus Sphingobium, does not form AMPO nor is it able to use MBOA as a carbon source. BxdA was identified in different genera of maize root bacteria. Here we show that plant-specialised metabolites select for metabolisation-competent root bacteria. BxdA represents a novel benzoxazinoid metabolisation gene whose carriers successfully colonize the maize rhizosphere and thereby shape the plant’s chemical environmental footprint
Project description:The goal of this study was to optimize protein extraction methods to study root-associated bacteria in maize. For this we inoculated sterile maize plants with a synthetic community composed of seven different bacteria (Ben Niu et al. PNAS 2017, vol 114, n 12). Then, we extracted proteins from maize roots using eight different protein extraction methods in triplicates. These methods were a combination of different extraction buffers (SDS or Triton-based) and mechanical disruption methods (bead-beating, N2 grinding, glass homogenizer and freeze-thaw cycles). We found that vortexing maize roots with glass beads in PBS yielded the highest numbers of microbial protein identification.
Project description:Low phosphate concentrations are frequently a constraint for maize growth and development, and therefore, enormous quantities of phosphate fertilizer are expended in maize cultivation, which increases the cost of planting. Low phosphate stress not only increases root biomass but can also cause significant changes in root morphology. Low phosphate availability has been found to favor lateral root growth over primary root growth by dramatically reducing primary root length and increasing lateral root elongation and lateral root density in Arabdopsis. While in our assay when inbred line Q319 subjected to phosphate starvation, The numbers of lateral roots and lateral root primordia were decreased after 6 days of culture in a low phosphate solution (LP) compared to plants grown under normal conditions (sufficient phosphate, SP), and these differences were increased associated with the stress caused by phosphate starvation. However, the growth of primary roots appeared not to be sensitive to low phosphate levels. This is very different to Arabidopsis. To elucidate how low phosphate levels regulate root modifications, especially lateral root development, a transcriptomic analysis of the 1.0-1.5 cm lateral root primordium zone (LRZ) of maize Q319 treated after 2 and 8 days by low phosphate was completed respectively. The present work utilized an Arizona Maize Oligonucleotide array 46K version slides, which contained 46,000 maize 70-mer oligonucleotides designated by TIGR ID, and the sequence information is available at the website of the Maize Oligonucleotide Array Project as the search item representing the >30,000 identifiable unique maize genes (details at http://www.maizearray.org). Keywords: low phosphate, Lateral Root Primordium Zone, maize
Project description:As an important adaptation to drought stress, several agronomic species, such as soybean and maize, can maintain the primary root substantial elongation rates at low water potentials, whereas shoot growth stops completely. In soybean, kinematic characterization of the spatial patterns of cell expansion within the root elongation zone showed that at low water potentials, elongation rates were preferentially maintained toward the root apex but were progressively inhibited at more basal locations, resulting in a shortened growth zone. To explore the molecular mechanism of root elongation in response to water stress, we set out to examine the expression of soybean genes in different root regions after 5 hours (5h) and 48 hours (48h) water stress treatment using the Affymetrix Soybean GeneChip containing 37,500 G. max probe sets.
Project description:The root system is fundamental for maize growth and yield. The primary root system is the most important structure of maize seedlings and is the first organ that emerges at germination, providing water and nutrients for the growing seedlings. However, it is difficult to characterize them at single cell level, due to their complex and heterogeneous cell types. In this study, we profiled the transcriptomes of more than 7000 cells derived from maize root tips of seedlings grown on media with (nitrate+) or without nitrate (nitrate-).
Project description:Low phosphate concentrations are frequently a constraint for maize growth and development, and therefore, enormous quantities of phosphate fertilizer are expended in maize cultivation, which increases the cost of planting. Low phosphate stress not only increases root biomass but can also cause significant changes in root morphology. Low phosphate availability has been found to favor lateral root growth over primary root growth by dramatically reducing primary root length and increasing lateral root elongation and lateral root density in Arabdopsis. While in our assay when inbred line Q319 subjected to phosphate starvation, The numbers of lateral roots and lateral root primordia were decreased after 6 days of culture in a low phosphate solution (LP) compared to plants grown under normal conditions (sufficient phosphate, SP), and these differences were increased associated with the stress caused by phosphate starvation. However, the growth of primary roots appeared not to be sensitive to low phosphate levels. This is very different to Arabidopsis. To elucidate how low phosphate levels regulate root modifications, especially lateral root development, a transcriptomic analysis of the 1.0-1.5 cm lateral root primordium zone (LRZ) of maize Q319 treated after 2 and 8 days by low phosphate was completed respectively. The present work utilized an Arizona Maize Oligonucleotide array 46K version slides, which contained 46,000 maize 70-mer oligonucleotides designated by TIGR ID, and the sequence information is available at the website of the Maize Oligonucleotide Array Project as the search item representing the >30,000 identifiable unique maize genes (details at http://www.maizearray.org). Keywords: low phosphate, Lateral Root Primordium Zone, maize Two-condition experiment, low phosphate treated lateral root primordium zone of maize root vs. normal cultrued lateral root primordium zone. Biological replicates: 9 control, 9 treated, independently grown and harvested. One replicate per array.