A comparative genomic analysis of plant hormone related genes in different species

Characterization of the transcriptional responses of Armillaria gallica 012m to GA3

Gastrodia elata needs to establish a symbiotic relationship with Armillaria strains to obtain nutrients and energy. However, the signaling cross talk between G. elata and Armillaria strains is still unclear. During our experiment, we found that the vegetative mycelium of Armillaria gallica 012m grew significantly better in the media containing gibberellic acid (GA3) than the blank control group (BK). To explore the response mechanism, we performed an RNA-sequencing experiment to profile the transcriptome changes of A. gallica 012m cultured in the medium with exogenous GA3. The transcriptome-guided differential expression genes (DEGs) analysis of GA3 and BK showed that a total of 1309 genes were differentially expressed, including 361 upregulated genes and 948 downregulated genes. Some of those DEGs correlated with the biological process, including positive regulation of chromosome segregation, mitotic metaphase/anaphase transition, attachment of mitotic spindle microtubules to kinetochore, mitotic cytokinesis, and nuclear division. These analyses explained that GA3 actively promoted the growth of A. gallica to some extent. Further analysis of protein domain features showed that the deduced polypeptide contained 41 candidate genes of GA receptor, and 27 of them were expressed in our samples. We speculate that GA receptors exist in A. gallica 012m. Comparative studies of proteins showed that the postulated GA receptor domains of A. gallica 012m have a higher homologous correlation with fungi than others based on cluster analysis.

Electrophysiological, Morphologic, and Transcriptomic Profiling of the Ogura-CMS, DGMS and Maintainer Broccoli Lines

To better serve breeding of broccoli, the electrophysiological, morphological and transcriptomic profiling of the isogenic Ogura-CMS, DGMS and their maintainer fertile lines, were carried out by scanning electron microscopy, investigation of agronomic traits and RNA-sequencing analysis. The agronomic traits of plant height, length of the largest leaf, plant spread angle, single head weight, head width and stem diameter showed stronger performance in Ogura-CMS broccoli than in DGMS line or maintainer fertile line. However, the Ogura-CMS broccoli was poorer in the seed yield and seed germination than in the DGMS line and maintainer fertile line. Additionally, the DGMS broccoli had longer maturation and flowering periods than the Ogura-CMS and maintainer fertile lines. There were obvious differences in the honey gland, happening in the male sterility and fertile lines of broccoli. Additionally, the mechanism regulating Ogura-CMS and DGMS in broccoli was investigated using florets transcriptome analyses of the Ogura-CMS, DGMS and maintainer fertile lines. As a result, a total of 2670 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected, including 1054 up- and 1616 downregulated genes in the Ogura-CMS and DGMS lines compared to the maintainer fertile line. A number of functionally known genes involved in plant hormones (auxin, salicylic acid and brassinosteroid), five Mitochondrial Oxidative Phosphorylation (OXPHOS) genes of atp8, LOC106319879, LOC106324734, LOC106314622 and LOC106298585, and three upregulated genes (Lhcb1, Lhcb3 and Lhcb5) associated with the photosynthesis-antenna protein pathway, were obviously detected to be highly associated with reproductive development including flowering time, maturity and reproductive period in the Ogura-CMS and DGMS broccoli comparing to their maintainer fertile line. Our research would provide a comprehensive foundation for understanding the differences of electrophysiological, morphological and transcriptomic profiles in the Ogura-CMS, DGMS and maintainer broccoli, and as well as being beneficial to exploring the mechanism of male sterility in Brassica crops.

Seed Priming With Melatonin Promotes Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Triticale hexaploide L. Under PEG-6000 Induced Drought Stress

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine, MT) can mitigate abotic stress, including drought stress on a number of crops. However, it is unclear whether and how seed priming with melatonin alleviates the effects of drought stress on seed germination and seedling growth of triticale (Triticale hexaploide L.). In this study, we investigated the effects of seed priming with MT on seed germination, protective enzyme activity, superoxide anion, and hydrogen peroxide in triticale under PEG-6000 induced drought stress. Seed priming with 20 μM MT alleviated the adverse effects of PEG-6000 induced drought stress on seed germination and seedling growth. Triticale seeds primed with 20 μM MT exhibited improved germination potential, germination rate, germ and radicle length. Specifically, MT priming increased the germination rate by 57.67% compared with unprimed seeds. Seed priming with melatonin also alleviated the adverse effects of PEG-6000 induced drought stress on triticale seedlings. MT pretreatment with 20 μM significantly increased the net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, plant height, leaf area, and relative chlorophyll concentration, enhanced the activities of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase, and decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malonaldehyde content in the seeds (germ and radicle) and seedlings (leaf and root). Collectively, these results suggest that seed priming with melatonin promotes ROS scavenging capacity and enhances energy supply and antioxidant enzyme activities to alleviate the adverse effects of drought stress in triticale.

Identification of Multiple Stress Responsive Genes by Sequencing a Normalized cDNA Library from Sea-Land Cotton (Gossypium barbadense L.)

Background

Plants often face multiple stresses including drought, extreme temperature, salinity, nutrition deficiency and biotic stresses during growth and development. All the stresses result in a series of physiological and metabolic reactions and then generate reversible inhibition of metabolism and growth and can cause seriously irreversible damage, even death. At each stage of cotton growth, environmental stress conditions pose devastating threats to plant growth and development, especially yield and quality. Due to the complex stress conditions and unclear molecular mechanisms of stress response, there is an urgent need to explore the mechanisms of cotton response against abiotic stresses.

Methodology and Principal Findings

A normalized cDNA library was constructed using Gossypium barbadense Hai-7124 treated with different stress conditions (heat, cold, salt, drought, potassium and phosphorus deficit and Verticillium dahliae infection). Random sequencing of this library generated 6,047 high-quality expressed sequence tags (ESTs). The ESTs were clustered and assembled into 3,135 uniESTs, composed of 2,497 contigs and 638 singletons. The blastx results demonstrated 2,746 unigenes showing significant similarity to known genes, 74 uniESTs displaying significant similarity to genes of predicted proteins, and 315 uniESTs remain uncharacterized. Functional classification unveiled the abundance of uniESTs in binding, catalytic activity, and structural molecule activity. Annotations of the uniESTs by the plant transcription factor database (PlantTFDB) and Plant Stress Protein Database (PSPDB) disclosed that transcription factors and stress-related genes were enriched in the current library. The expression of some transcription factors and specific stress-related genes were verified by RT-PCR under various stress conditions.

Conclusions/Significance

Annotation results showed that a huge number of genes respond to stress in our study, such as MYB-related, C2H2, FAR1, bHLH, bZIP, MADS, and mTERF. These results will improve our knowledge of stress tolerance in cotton. In addition, they are also helpful in discovering candidate genes related to stress tolerance. The publicly available ESTs from G. barbadense are a valuable genomic resource that will facilitate further molecular study and breeding of stress-tolerant cotton.

Dynamic transcriptional profiling provides insights into tuberous root development in Rehmannia glutinosa

Rehmannia glutinosa, an herb of the Scrophulariaceae family, is widely cultivated in the Northern part of China. The tuberous root has well-known medicinal properties; however, yield and quality are threatened by abiotic and biotic stresses. Understanding the molecular process of tuberous root development may help identify novel targets for its control. In the present study, we used Illumina sequencing and de novo assembly strategies to obtain a reference transcriptome that is relevant to tuberous root development. We then conducted RNA-seq quantification analysis to determine gene expression profiles of the adventitious root (AR), thickening adventitious root (TAR), and the developing tuberous root (DTR). Expression profiling identified a total of 6794 differentially expressed unigenes during root development. Bioinformatics analysis and gene expression profiling revealed changes in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, starch and sucrose metabolism, and plant hormone biosynthesis during root development. Moreover, we identified and allocated putative functions to the genes involved in tuberous root development, including genes related to major carbohydrate metabolism, hormone metabolism, and transcription regulation. The present study provides the initial description of gene expression profiles of AR, TAR, and DTR, which facilitates identification of genes of interest. Moreover, our work provides insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying tuberous root development and may assist in the design and development of improved breeding schemes for different R. glutinosa varieties through genetic manipulation.

Dissecting out the crosstalk between salinity and hormones in roots of Arabidopsis

Phytohormones are chemical messengers that play a leading role in regulating the vital activity of plants, including transcription, posttranscriptional pre-mRNA splicing, translation, and posttranslational modifications by interacting with specific protein receptors. Plant hormones are synthesized in one tissue and act on specific target sites in other tissues at vanishingly low concentrations. High salinity is one of the main factors limiting Arabidopsis growth and productivity. In this study, phytohormones including abscisic acid, auxin, ethylene, and cytokinin responsive genes regulating salinity stress in Arabidopsis roots were monitored using microarray data. We identified phytohormone responsive genes on the basis of their expression pattern at genomic level at various time points. Using publicly available microarray data, we analyzed the effect of salt stress on the transcription of phytohormone responsive genes. Gene ontology (GO) analysis of phytohormone responsive genes showed their role in important biological processes such as signal transduction, hormone metabolism, biosynthetic process, and gene expression. Gene enrichment terms also reveal that transcription regulator activity is the main class of ABA responsive genes under salinity stress. We conclude that expression of ABA responsive genes involves induction of several transcription factors under salt stress treatment in Arabidopsis roots.

AHD2.0: an update version of Arabidopsis Hormone Database for plant systematic studies

Phytohormone studies enlightened our knowledge of plant responses to various changes. To provide a systematic and comprehensive view of genes participating in plant hormonal regulation, an online accessible database Arabidopsis Hormone Database (AHD) has been developed, which is a collection of hormone related genes of the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana (AHRGs). Recently we updated our database from AHD to a new version AHD2.0 by adding several pronounced features: (i) updating our collection of AHRGs based on most recent publications as well as constructing elaborate schematic diagrams of each hormone biosynthesis and signaling pathways; (ii) adding orthologs of sequenced plants listed in OrthoMCL-DB to each AHRG in the updated database; (iii) providing predicted miRNA splicing site(s) for each AHRG; (iv) integrating genes that genetically interact with each AHRG according to literatures mining; (v) providing links to a powerful online analysis platform WebLab for the convenience of in-time bioinformatics analysis and (vi) providing links to widely used protein databases and integrating more expression profiling information that would facilitate users for a more systematic and integrative analysis related to phytohormone research.