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Ramos-Muñoz M, Blanco-Sánchez M, Pías B, Escudero A, Matesanz S. Transgenerational plasticity to drought: contrasting patterns of non-genetic inheritance in two semi-arid Mediterranean shrubs. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2024; 134:101-116. [PMID: 38488820 PMCID: PMC11161564 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcae039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Intra- and transgenerational plasticity may provide substantial phenotypic variation to cope with environmental change. Since assessing the unique contribution of the maternal environment to the offspring phenotype is challenging in perennial, outcrossing plants, little is known about the evolutionary and ecological implications of transgenerational plasticity and its persistence over the life cycle in these species. We evaluated how intra- and transgenerational plasticity interplay to shape the adaptive responses to drought in two perennial Mediterranean shrubs. METHODS We used a novel common garden approach that reduced within-family genetic variation in both the maternal and offspring generations by growing the same maternal individual in two contrasting watering environments, well-watered and drought, in consecutive years. We then assessed phenotypic differences at the reproductive stage between offspring reciprocally grown in the same environments. KEY RESULTS Maternal drought had an effect on offspring performance only in Helianthemum squamatum. Offspring of drought-stressed plants showed more inflorescences, less sclerophyllous leaves and higher growth rates in both watering conditions, and heavier seeds under drought, than offspring of well-watered maternal plants. Maternal drought also induced similar plasticity patterns across maternal families, showing a general increase in seed mass in response to offspring drought, a pattern not observed in the offspring of well-watered plants. In contrast, both species expressed immediate adaptive plasticity, and the magnitude of intragenerational plasticity was larger than the transgenerational plastic responses. CONCLUSIONS Our results highlight that adaptive effects associated with maternal drought can persist beyond the seedling stage and provide evidence of species-level variation in the expression of transgenerational plasticity. Such differences between co-occurring Mediterranean species in the prevalence of this form of non-genetic inheritance may result in differential vulnerability to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Ramos-Muñoz
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Mario Blanco-Sánchez
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Beatriz Pías
- Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, C/José Antonio Nováis 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Adrián Escudero
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Silvia Matesanz
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
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Colzi I, Gonnelli C, Vergata C, Golia G, Coppi A, Castellani MB, Giovino A, Buti M, Sabato T, Capuana M, Aprile A, De Bellis L, Cicatelli A, Guarino F, Castiglione S, Ioannou AG, Fotopoulos V, Martinelli F. Transgenerational effects of chromium stress at the phenotypic and molecular level in Arabidopsis thaliana. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 442:130092. [PMID: 36303345 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we describe the results obtained in a study of the transgenerational phenotypic effects of chromium (Cr) stress on the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. The F1 generation derived from parents grown under chronic and medium chronic stress showed significantly higher levels of the maximal effective concentration (EC50) compared with F1 plants generated from unstressed parents. Moreover, F1 plants from Cr-stressed parents showed a higher germination rate when grown in the presence of Cr. F1 plants derived from parents cultivated under chronic Cr stress displayed reduced hydrogen peroxide levels under Cr stress compared to controls. At lower Cr stress levels, F1 plants were observed to activate promptly more genes involved in Cr stress responses than F0 plants, implying a memory effect linked to transgenerational priming. At higher Cr levels, and at later stages, F1 plants modulated significantly fewer genes than F0 plants, implying a memory effect leading to Cr stress adaptation. Several bHLH transcription factors were induced by Cr stress in F1 but not in F0 plants, including bHLH100, ORG2 and ORG3. F1 plants optimized gene expression towards pathways linked to iron starvation response. A model of the transcriptional regulation of transgenerational memory to Cr stress is presented here, and could be applied for other heavy metal stresses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Colzi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Italy.
| | | | | | | | - Andrea Coppi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Italy.
| | | | - Antonio Giovino
- CREA Consiglio per la ricerca in Agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria, Centro di Ricerca Difesa e Certificazione, Bagheria, Italy.
| | - Matteo Buti
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Italy.
| | | | - Maurizio Capuana
- Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council, Italy.
| | - Alessio Aprile
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
| | - Luigi De Bellis
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
| | - Angela Cicatelli
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, University of Salerno, Italy.
| | | | | | - Andreas G Ioannou
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, 3603 Lemesos, Cyprus.
| | - Vasileios Fotopoulos
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, 3603 Lemesos, Cyprus.
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Li G, Zhao Y, Liu F, Shi M, Guan Y, Zhang T, Zhao F, Qiao Q, Geng Y. Transcriptional memory of gene expression across generations participates in transgenerational plasticity of field pennycress in response to cadmium stress. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:953794. [PMID: 36247570 PMCID: PMC9561902 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.953794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Transgenerational plasticity (TGP) occurs when maternal environments influence the expression of traits in offspring, and in some cases may increase fitness of offspring and have evolutionary significance. However, little is known about the extent of maternal environment influence on gene expression of offspring, and its relationship with trait variations across generations. In this study, we examined TGP in the traits and gene expression of field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) in response to cadmium (Cd) stress. In the first generation, along with the increase of soil Cd concentration, the total biomass, individual height, and number of seeds significantly decreased, whereas time to flowering, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and content of reduced glutathione significantly increased. Among these traits, only SOD activity showed a significant effect of TGP; the offspring of Cd-treated individuals maintained high SOD activity in the absence of Cd stress. According to the results of RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis, 10,028 transcripts were identified as Cd-responsive genes. Among them, only 401 were identified as transcriptional memory genes (TMGs) that maintained the same expression pattern under normal conditions in the second generation as in Cd-treated parents in the first generation. These genes mainly participated in Cd tolerance-related processes such as response to oxidative stress, cell wall biogenesis, and the abscisic acid signaling pathways. The results of weighted correlation network analysis showed that modules correlated with SOD activity recruited more TMGs than modules correlated with other traits. The SOD-coding gene CSD2 was found in one of the modules correlated with SOD activity. Furthermore, several TMGs co-expressed with CSD2 were hub genes that were highly connected to other nodes and critical to the network's topology; therefore, recruitment of TMGs in offspring was potentially related to TGP. These findings indicated that, across generations, transcriptional memory of gene expression played an important role in TGP. Moreover, these results provided new insights into the trait evolution processes mediated by phenotypic plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gengyun Li
- College of Horticulture and Landscape, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Centre for Invasion Biology, Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Yuewan Zhao
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Centre for Invasion Biology, Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Fei Liu
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Centre for Invasion Biology, Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Minnuo Shi
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Centre for Invasion Biology, Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Yabin Guan
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Centre for Invasion Biology, Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Ticao Zhang
- College of Chinese Material Medica, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, China
| | - Fangqing Zhao
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Centre for Invasion Biology, Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- Beijing Institute of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Qin Qiao
- College of Horticulture and Landscape, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China
- School of Agriculture, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Yupeng Geng
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Centre for Invasion Biology, Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
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Waterman R, Sultan SE. Transgenerational effects of parent plant competition on offspring development in contrasting conditions. Ecology 2021; 102:e03531. [PMID: 34496058 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Conditions during a parent's lifetime can induce phenotypic changes in offspring, providing a potentially important source of variation in natural populations. Yet, to date, biotic factors have seldom been tested as sources of transgenerational effects in plants. In a greenhouse experiment with the generalist annual Polygonum persicaria, we tested for effects of parental competition on offspring by growing isogenic parent plants either individually or in competitive arrays and comparing their seedling progeny in contrasting growth environments. Offspring of competing vs. non-competing parents showed significantly altered development, resulting in greater biomass and total leaf area, but only when growing in neighbor or simulated canopy shade, rather than sunny dry conditions. A follow-up experiment in which parent plants instead competed in dry soil found that offspring in dry soil had slightly reduced growth, both with and without competitors. In neither experiment were effects of parental competition explained by changes in seed provisioning, suggesting a more complex mode of regulatory inheritance. We hypothesize that parental competition in moist soil (i.e., primarily for light) confers specific developmental effects that are beneficial for light-limited offspring, while parental competition in dry soil (i.e., primarily for belowground resources) produces offspring of slightly lower overall quality. Together, these results indicate that competitive conditions during the parental generation can contribute significantly to offspring variation, but these transgenerational effects will depend on the abiotic resources available to both parents and progeny.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Waterman
- Biology Department, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459, USA.,Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48823, USA
| | - Sonia E Sultan
- Biology Department, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459, USA
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Wiszniewska A, Kamińska I, Hanus-Fajerska E, Sliwinska E, Koźmińska A. Distinct co-tolerance responses to combined salinity and cadmium exposure in metallicolous and non-metallicolous ecotypes of Silene vulgaris. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2020; 201:110823. [PMID: 32540619 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.110823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
This study compared co-tolerance to salinity and cadmium and investigated its mechanisms in a facultative metallophyte Silene vulgaris originating from distinct habitats. Shoots of calamine (Cal) and non-metallicolous (N-Cal) ecotypes grown in vitro were exposed to 10 and 100 mM NaCl, 5 μM CdCl2 and their combinations. Stress effects were evaluated based on growth, oxidative stress parameters, and DNA content and damage. Tolerance mechanisms were assessed by analyzing non-enzymatic antioxidants, osmolytes and ion accumulation. Irrespective of the ecotype, Cd stimulated shoot proliferation (micropropagation coefficients MC = 15.2 and 12.1 for Cal and N-Cal, respectively, growth tolerance index GTI = 148.1 and 156.7%). In Cal ecotype this was attributed to an increase in glutathione content and reorganization of cell membrane structures under Cd exposure, whereas in N-Cal to enhanced synthesis of other non-enzymatic antioxidants, mainly carotenoids and ascorbate. Low salinity stimulated growth of Cal ecotype due to optimizing Cl- content. High salinity inhibited growth, especially in Cal ecotype, where it enhanced DNA damage and disturbed ionic homeostasis. Species-specific reaction to combined salinity and Cd involved a mutual inhibition of Na+, Cl- and Cd2+ uptake. N-Cal ecotype responded to combined stresses by enhancing its antioxidant defense, presumably induced by Cd, whereas the metallicolous ecotype triggered osmotic adjustment. The study revealed that in S. vulgaris Cd application ameliorated metabolic responses to simultaneous salinity exposure. It also shed a light on distinct strategies of coping with combined abiotic stresses in two ecotypes of the species showing high plasticity in environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina Wiszniewska
- Department of Botany, Physiology and Plant Protection, Faculty of Biotechnology and Horticulture, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. 29 Listopada 54, 31-425, Kraków, Poland.
| | - Iwona Kamińska
- Department of Botany, Physiology and Plant Protection, Faculty of Biotechnology and Horticulture, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. 29 Listopada 54, 31-425, Kraków, Poland
| | - Ewa Hanus-Fajerska
- Department of Botany, Physiology and Plant Protection, Faculty of Biotechnology and Horticulture, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. 29 Listopada 54, 31-425, Kraków, Poland
| | - Elwira Sliwinska
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Cytometry, Faculty of Agriculture and Biotechnology, UTP University of Science and Technology, Al. Kaliskiego 7, 85-796, Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Koźmińska
- Department of Botany, Physiology and Plant Protection, Faculty of Biotechnology and Horticulture, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. 29 Listopada 54, 31-425, Kraków, Poland
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Lampei C. Multiple simultaneous treatments change plant response from adaptive parental effects to within-generation plasticity, in Arabidopsis thaliana. OIKOS 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Christian Lampei
- Inst. of Plant Breeding, Seed Science and Population Genetics; Univ. of Hohenheim; Stuttgart Germany
- Inst. of Landscapes Ecology; Univ. of Münster; Heisenbergstr. 2 DE-48149 Münster Germany
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Dahro B, Wang F, Peng T, Liu JH. PtrA/NINV, an alkaline/neutral invertase gene of Poncirus trifoliata, confers enhanced tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses by modulating ROS levels and maintaining photosynthetic efficiency. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2016. [PMID: 27025596 DOI: 10.1016/j.envexpbot.2018.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 157] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alkaline/neutral invertase (A/N-INV), an enzyme that hydrolyzes sucrose irreversibly into glucose and fructose, is essential for normal plant growth,development, and stress tolerance. However, the physiological and/or molecular mechanism underpinning the role of A/N-INV in abiotic stress tolerance is poorly understood. RESULTS In this report, an A/N-INV gene (PtrA/NINV) was isolated from Poncirus trifoliata, a cold-hardy relative of citrus, and functionally characterized. PtrA/NINV expression levels were induced by cold, salt, dehydration, sucrose, and ABA, but decreased by glucose. PtrA/NINV was found to localize in both chloroplasts and mitochondria. Overexpression of PtrA/NINV conferred enhanced tolerance to multiple stresses, including cold, high salinity, and drought, as supported by lower levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), reduced oxidative damages, decreased water loss rate, and increased photosynthesis efficiency, relative to wild-type (WT). The transgenic plants exhibited higher A/N-INV activity and greater reducing sugar content under normal and stress conditions. CONCLUSIONS PtrA/NINV is an important gene implicated in sucrose decomposition, and plays a positive role in abiotic stress tolerance by promoting osmotic adjustment, ROS detoxification and photosynthesis efficiency. Thus, PtrA/NINV has great potential to be used in transgenic breeding for improvement of stress tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bachar Dahro
- Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
- Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Tishreen University, Lattakia, Syria
| | - Fei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Ting Peng
- Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Ji-Hong Liu
- Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
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