Project description:Transcriptional profiling of 4 maize varieties comparing genetic root response under control temperature conditions with genetic root response under low temperature conditions
Project description:This was a comparative transcriptome analysis by using high throughput sequencing. To assess the effects of heat stress on maize we used a controlled environment facility called the Enviratron to simulate field conditions. For our experiments, maize plants were subjected to conditions simulating normal diurnal rhythms of light and temperature, with increasing maximal daily temperature (MDT). Maize plants were grown continuously under four different temperature regimes with simulated morning temperatures ramped up over 6 hr to the MDT of 31°C, 33°C, 35°C or 37°C and simulated evening/night time temperatures ramped down over 8 hr to 10°C below the MDT. We tracked the gene expression events of maize W22 seedlings grow under different temperatures (MDT of 31°C, 33°C, 35°C or 37°C) to evaluate how different MDTs affect the program of gene expression in maize. At the same time, we analyzed the effects of temperature on gene expression in bzip60-2 and W22 V4 plants (20 DAG) and V5 plants (27 DAG) in the Enviratron as the temperature reached its MDT to investigate whether and how bZIP60 confers heat stress tolerance in maize. RNA was extracted from small strips of leaf lamina excised from the first fully expanded leaf of V4 and V5 W22 plants (at 20 and 27 DAG, respectively). Plants were sampled in triplicates.
Project description:Abiotic stress causes disturbances in the cellular homeostasis. Re-adjustment of balance in carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus metabolism therefore plays a central role in stress adaptation. However, it is currently unknown which parts of the primary cell metabolism follow common patterns under different stress conditions and which represent specific responses. To address these questions, changes in transcriptome, metabolome and ionome were analyzed in maize source leaves from plants suffering low temperature, low nitrogen (N) and low phosphorus (P) stress. The selection of maize as study object provided data directly from an important crop species and the so far underexplored C4 metabolism. Growth retardation was comparable under all tested stress conditions. The only primary metabolic pathway responding similar to all stresses was nitrate assimilation, which was down-regulated. The largest group of commonly regulated transcripts followed the expression pattern: down under low temperature and low N, but up under low P. Several members of this transcript cluster could be connected to P metabolism and correlated negatively to different phosphate concentration in the leaf tissue. Accumulation of starch under low temperature and low N stress, but decrease in starch levels under low under low P conditions indicated that only low P treated leaves suffered carbon starvation. In conclusion, maize employs very different strategies for management of nitrogen and phosphorus metabolism under stress. While nitrate assimilation was regulated depending on demand by growth processes, phosphate concentrations changed depending on availability, thus building up reserves under excess conditions. Carbon and energy metabolism of the C4 maize leaves were particularly sensitive to P starvation.
Project description:ZmDREB2A is a DREB2-type transcription factor cloned from maize, whose transcript was upregulated by drought, high salt, low temperature and heat stresses. The ZmDREB2A gene possesses two kinds of transcription forms by alternative splicing. Only the functional form was studied to be highly induced by stresses. Transgenic plants overexpressing ZmDREB2A (35S:ZmDREB2A) showed dwarfism and enhanced drought stress tolerance. Microarray analysis of two independent transgenic plants revealed that in addition to genes encoding LEA proteins, some genes related to heat shock and detoxification were also upregulated. Experiments on termotolerance tests of these transgenic plants showed overexpressing ZmDREB2A gene also improved plant tolerance to heat stress.
Project description:Low temperature is one of the major abiotic stresses limiting rice growth and productivity, it is urgent to reveal the genetic and molecular mechanisms of plant responses to low temperature stress and to search for useful genetic resources for improving low-temperature tolerance. the 8 accessions from China Core Collection include 4 cold tolerance accessions, 3 sensitivity accessions and 1 intermediate type accession. We used microarrays to detail variation of the gene expression after cold treatment and screen more cold-response genes in rice.
Project description:Earlier findings indicated that light plays a critical role in the development of frost tolerance in winter cereals. However, the exact mechanism is still poorly understood. In the present work the effects of light during the cold acclimation period were studied in chilling-sensitive maize plants. The results show that although exposure to relatively high light intensities during cold acclimation at 15 °C causes various stress symptoms, it enhances the effectiveness of acclimation to chilling conditions (5 °C in the light). Interestingly, certain stress responses were light-dependent not only in the leaves, but also in the roots. A microarray study was also conducted to achieve a better understanding of the interaction of low temperature and light intensity during the cold hardening period. Numerous genes significantly differentially expressed were observed in almost all assimilation and metabolic pathways. Acclimation at moderately low temperature and low light intensity reduced the level of soluble sugars, while chilling increased it. Greater accumulation during hardening was detected at relatively high light intensity. It seems that the photoinhibition induced by low temperature is a necessary evil for cold acclimation processes in plants.
Project description:Five SAGE libraries were generated from A. thaliana leaf tissue collected at time points ranging from 30 minutes to one week of low temperature treatment (4°C). Over 240,000 high quality SAGE tags, corresponding to 16,629 annotated genes, provided a comprehensive survey of changes in the transcriptome in response to low temperature, from perception of the stress to acquisition of freezing tolerance. Keywords: SAGE; time course; stress response; cold acclimation; freezing tolerance