Project description:To understand the function of AtbZIP17 in heat stress responses at reproductive stage, we performed RNA-seq analysis of heat-stressed flowers (stage 1-12) in WT and bzip17 mutant (SALK_104326) plants with 38°C for 6 hours, and the control plants were kept at 22°C.
Project description:To reveal genome-wide direct targets of AtbZIP17, we carried out Chromatin immuno-precipitation coupled with high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) experiments with heat-stressed MYC-bZIP17 expressing seedling plants. For ChIP-seq, 13-day-old 35Spro::MYC-bZIP17 seedlings grown at 22°C were placed at 42°C for 2 h.
Project description:Floral organs are extremely sensitive to stress during anthesis and lead to severe yield loss. Rice anthers and pollinated pistils of two cultivars with contrasting tolerance to heat and drought stress under variable conditions, including control, heat, combined heat and drought stress, were used to explore gene expression pattern in male and female reproductive organs during anthesis under control and stress conditions. More gene regulation was induced by combined drought and heat stress than heat in anthers of both cultivars. N22 showed less regulation under combined stress than Moroberekan. The overlap of regulated genes between two cultivars was rather low, indicated the distinct molecular stress responses. We used whole genome microarrays to explore gene expression pattern and molecular mechanisms in male and female reproductive organs during anthesis under control and stress conditions in two rice cultivars, sought to identify the key transcripts that play roles in inducing heat and drought tolerance during reproduction in rice.
Project description:Elevated temperature occurring at reproductive stage has great impact on gametophyte development and therefore ultimate fruit or seed set in plants, the underlying molecular mechanisms are less understood. We investigated the effect of elevated temperature stress on reproductive development in Arabidopsis with tissue-specific transcriptome profiling and observed distinct response patterns between vegetative and reproductive tissues. Heat stress exposure affected reproductive developmental programs including early phases of anther/ovule development and meiosis process, and genes participating in the unfolded protein response (UPR) were enriched among the heat up-regulated reproductive tissue-specific genes. We found that the bzip28bzip60 double mutant defective in UPR were sensitive to elevated temperature stress in terms of reduced silique length and fertility comparing to the wild-type plants. Comparison of heat responsiveness between the wild-type and bzip28zip60 plants identified 521 genes that were regulated by bZIP28 and bZIP60 upon heat stress at reproductive stage, most of which were non-canonical UPR genes. Further ChIP-Seq data revealed 133 direct targets of bZIP28 in Arabidopsis seedlings subjected to heat stress, of which 39 target genes were up-regulated by heat stress at reproductive stage. Our results provide novel insights into heat responsiveness in reproductive tissues and demonstrate the protective roles of UPR for maintaining fertility upon heat stress in plants.
Project description:Drought and heat are major abiotic stresses frequently coinciding to threaten rice production. Despite hundreds of stress-related genes being identified, only a few have been confirmed to confer resistance to multiple stresses in crops. Here we report ONAC023, a hub stress regulator that integrates the regulations of both drought and heat tolerance in rice. ONAC023 positively regulates drought and heat tolerance at both seedling and reproductive stages. Notably, the functioning of ONAC023 is obliterated without stress treatment and can be triggered by drought and heat stresses at two layers. Besides the stress-induced expression, ONAC023 also exhibits cytoplasm-nucleus transport via a remorin-importin-α-assisted pathway regulated by the stress-dependent dephosphorylation of OsREM1.5. Under drought or heat stress, the nuclear ONAC023 can target and promote the expression of diverse genes, such as OsPIP2;7, PGL3, OsFKBP20-1b, and OsSF3B1, which are involved in various processes including water transport, reactive oxygen species homeostasis, and alternative splicing. These results manifest that ONAC023 is fine-tuned to positively regulate drought and heat tolerance through the integration of multiple stress-responsive processes. Our findings provide not only an underlying connection between drought and heat responses, but also a promising candidate for engineering multi-stress-resilient rice.
Project description:Elevated temperature occurring at reproductive stage has great impact on gametophyte development and therefore ultimate fruit or seed set in plants, the underlying molecular mechanisms are less understood. We investigated the effect of elevated temperature stress on reproductive development in Arabidopsis with tissue-specific transcriptome profiling and observed distinct response patterns between vegetative and reproductive tissues. Heat stress exposure affected reproductive developmental programs including early phases of anther/ovule development and meiosis process, and genes participating in the unfolded protein response (UPR) were enriched among the heat up-regulated reproductive tissue-specific genes. We found that the bzip28bzip60 double mutant defective in UPR were sensitive to elevated temperature stress in terms of reduced silique length and fertility comparing to the wild-type plants. Comparison of heat responsiveness between the wild-type and bzip28zip60 plants identified 521 genes that were regulated by bZIP28 and bZIP60 upon heat stress at reproductive stage, most of which were non-canonical UPR genes. Further ChIP-Seq data revealed 133 direct targets of bZIP28 in Arabidopsis seedlings subjected to heat stress, of which 39 target genes were up-regulated by heat stress at reproductive stage. Our results provide novel insights into heat responsiveness in reproductive tissues and demonstrate the protective roles of UPR for maintaining fertility upon heat stress in plants.