Project description:Background: With the increasing interest in metabolic engineering of plants using various genetic manipulation and gene editing technologies in order to enhance their growth, nutritional value and environmental adaptation, a major concern is the potential of broad and distant effects of manipulating the target gene or the metabolic step in the resulting plant. A comprehensive transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of the product may shed some useful light in this regard. The present study used these techniques with plant cell cultures to analyze the effects of genetic manipulation of a single step in the biosynthesis of polyamines because of their well-known roles in plant growth, development and stress responses [PMID 19383098] The transcriptomes and metabolomes of a control and a high putrescine producing (HP) cell line of poplar (Populus nigra x maximowiczii) were compared using microarrays and GC/MS. The HP cells expressed an ornithine decarboxylase transgene and accumulated several-fold higher concentrations of putrescine, with only small changes in spermidine and spermine. The results show that up-regulation of a single step in the polyamine biosynthetic pathway (i.e. ornithine→putrescine) altered the expression of a broad spectrum of genes; many of them were involved in transcription, translation, membrane transport, osmoregulation, shock/stress/wounding, and cell wall metabolism. More than half of the 200 detected metabolites were significantly altered (P <0.05) in the HP cells on any day of analysis; the most noteworthy differences were in organic acids, carbohydrates and nitrogen-containing metabolites. The results provide valuable information about the role of polyamines in regulating nitrogen and carbon use pathways in cell cultures of high putrescine producing transgenic cells of poplar vs. their low putrescine counterparts. The results underscore the complexity of cellular responses to genetic perturbation of a single metabolic step related to nitrogen metabolism in plants. Combined with recent studies from our lab regarding increased putrescine production causing an increased flux of glutamate into ornithine, with accompanied increase in glutamate production by additional nitrogen and carbon assimilation; the results may be useful in designing transgenic plants with increased nitrogen use efficiency, especially in plants intended for non-food/feed applications (e.g. increased biomass production or for biofuels).
Project description:Background: With the increasing interest in metabolic engineering of plants using various genetic manipulation and gene editing technologies in order to enhance their growth, nutritional value and environmental adaptation, a major concern is the potential of broad and distant effects of manipulating the target gene or the metabolic step in the resulting plant. A comprehensive transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of the product may shed some useful light in this regard. The present study used these techniques with plant cell cultures to analyze the effects of genetic manipulation of a single step in the biosynthesis of polyamines because of their well-known roles in plant growth, development and stress responses [PMID 19383098] The transcriptomes and metabolomes of a control and a high putrescine producing (HP) cell line of poplar (Populus nigra x maximowiczii) were compared using microarrays and GC/MS. The HP cells expressed an ornithine decarboxylase transgene and accumulated several-fold higher concentrations of putrescine, with only small changes in spermidine and spermine. The results show that up-regulation of a single step in the polyamine biosynthetic pathway (i.e. ornithineâputrescine) altered the expression of a broad spectrum of genes; many of them were involved in transcription, translation, membrane transport, osmoregulation, shock/stress/wounding, and cell wall metabolism. More than half of the 200 detected metabolites were significantly altered (P <0.05) in the HP cells on any day of analysis; the most noteworthy differences were in organic acids, carbohydrates and nitrogen-containing metabolites. The results provide valuable information about the role of polyamines in regulating nitrogen and carbon use pathways in cell cultures of high putrescine producing transgenic cells of poplar vs. their low putrescine counterparts. The results underscore the complexity of cellular responses to genetic perturbation of a single metabolic step related to nitrogen metabolism in plants. Combined with recent studies from our lab regarding increased putrescine production causing an increased flux of glutamate into ornithine, with accompanied increase in glutamate production by additional nitrogen and carbon assimilation; the results may be useful in designing transgenic plants with increased nitrogen use efficiency, especially in plants intended for non-food/feed applications (e.g. increased biomass production or for biofuels). 12 two-channel arrays directly comparing RNA from control and high putrescine producing (HP) cell lines of Populus nigra x maximowiczii at 3 and 5 days of growth. Three independent biological replicates derived from cells grown in three independent replicate cultures were used. In addition, each sample and time point included dye swap reciprocal two-color experiments for each biological replicate. Thus, six data points per cDNA are included (three biological replicates with two technical replicates each). Please note that experiments were technically carried out as dual channel (eg, Cy3 and Cy5-labeled samples hybridized to the same array; barcode ID for each array is indicated in the sample title and raw data file names) but two idependent raw data files were generated from each slide (one for Cy3, the other for Cy5) and processed as though they are single channel (Cy3 and Cy5 signals are calculated and provided for each sample record). Therfore, each sample record is represented as single channel sample.
Project description:Transcriptome Profiling of Black Poplar under Boron Toxicity Revealed Genetic Regulation of Boron Uptake, Transport and Detoxification
Project description:P. maximowiczii × P. trichocarpa and P. nigra × P. maximowiczii plants were grown in the field, each pure and mixed with Robinia pseudoacacia, at two locations differing in soil nutrient levels. After 3 years of growing, samples of developing xylem were harvested and analyzed by RNA-seq.
Project description:The classification and identification of species in Populus has remained a formidable challenge due to widespread interspecies hybridization. The complete chloroplast genome of Populus maximowiczii was obtained by Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology, with a typical quadripartite structure and 37.0% GC content. The chloroplast genome of P. maximowiczii was 156,892 in length, including a large single-copy region (LSC: 84,988 bp), a small single-copy region (SSC: 16,630 bp), and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs: each 27,637 bp in length). A total of 131 genes were annotated, including 86 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNAs, and 8 rRNAs. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that 43 species belonging to Populus were classified into monophyly, with P. cathayana being the closest relatives to P. maximowiczii. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into understanding the phylogeny of Populus.
Project description:BackgroundNAC (NAM, ATAF1–2, and CUC2) family is one of the largest plant-specific transcription factor families known to play significant roles in plant development processes and stress responses.ResultsIn the study, a total of 112 NACs were identified to be differentially expressed in the comparisons of leaves and stems, leaves and roots, roots and stems of Populus simonii×P. nigra among 289 members by RNA-Seq. And 148, 144 and 134 NACs were detected to be salt-responsive in the roots, stems and leaves under 150?mM NaCl stress, respectively. Among them, a total of 53 salt-responsive NACs were shared across the three tissues. Under salt stress, 41/37 NACs were identified to be up/down-regulated in the leaves of Populus simonii × P.nigra among 170 non-redundant NACs by RT-qPCR, which was similar with RNA-Seq results. The expression pattern analysis of 6 NACs including four randomly up-regulated genes (NAC86, NAC105, NAC139 and NAC163) and two down-regulated genes (NAC15 and NAC149) indicated a few NACs showed specific temporal and spatial expression patterns in the three tissues of Populus simonii×P.nigra. Based on transcriptome screening and phylogenic analysis of differentially expressed NACs in different tissues under salt stress, 18 potential NACs associated with wood formation and 20 involved in stress responses were identified in Populus simonii×P.nigra.ConclusionsThe study further gains an understanding of the connection of tissue specificity and gene function in poplar, and lays the foundation of functional analysis of poplar NACs in stress responses.
Project description:A dwarf mutant (dwf1) was obtained among 15 transgenic lines, when TaLEA (Tamarix androssowii late embryogenesis abundant gene) was introduced into Populus simonii × Populus nigra by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Under the same growth conditions, dwf1 height was significantly reduced compared with the wild type and the other transgenic lines. Because only one transgenic line (dwf1) displayed the dwarf phenotype, we considered that T-DNA insertion sites may play a role in the mutant formation. The mechanisms underlying this effect were investigated using TAIL-PCR (thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR) and microarrays methods. According to the TAIL-PCR results, two flanking sequences located on chromosome IV and VIII respectively, were cloned. The results indicated the integration of two independent T-DNA copies. We searched for the potential genes near to the T-DNA insertions. The nearest gene was a putative poplar AP2 transcription factor (GI: 224073210). Expression analysis showed that AP2 was up-regulated in dwf1 compared with the wild type and the other transgenic lines. According to the microarrays results, a total of 537 genes involved in hydrolase, kinase and transcription factor activities, as well as protein and nucleotide binding, showed significant alterations in gene expression. These genes were expressed in more than 60 metabolic pathways, including starch, sucrose, galactose and glycerolipid metabolism and phenylpropanoids and flavonoid biosyntheses. Our transcriptome and T-DNA insertion sites analyses might provide some useful insights into the dwarf mutant formation.
Project description:Laccases were proposed to catalyze the oxidative polymerization of monolignols. We identified 49 laccase gene models in Populus trichocarpa, of which 29 were predicted to be targets of ptr-miR397a. We overexpressed Ptr-MIR397a in transgenic P. trichocarpa. In each of all 9 transgenic lines tested, 17 PtrLACs were down-regulated as analyzed by RNA-seq. Transgenic lines with severe reduction in the expression of these laccase genes resulted in an approximately 40% decrease in the total laccase activity. Overexpression of Ptr-MIR397a in these transgenic lines also reduced lignin content, whereas levels of all monolignol biosynthetic gene transcripts remained unchanged. A hierarchical genetic regulatory network (GRN) built by a bottom-up Graphic Gaussian Model algorithm provides additional support for a role of ptr-miR397a as a negative regulator of laccases for lignin biosynthesis. Full transcriptome based differential gene expression in the overexpressed transgenics and protein domain analyses implicate previously unidentified transcription factors and their targets in an extended hierarchical GRN including ptr-miR397a and laccases that coregulate lignin biosynthesis in wood formation. Ptr-miR397a, laccases and other regulatory components of this network may provide additional strategies for genetic manipulation of lignin content.