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Scialò E, Sicilia A, Continella A, Gentile A, Lo Piero AR. Transcriptome Profiling and Weighted Gene Correlation Network Analysis Reveal Hub Genes and Pathways Involved in the Response to Polyethylene-Glycol-Induced Drought Stress of Two Citrus Rootstocks. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:595. [PMID: 39194533 DOI: 10.3390/biology13080595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2024] [Revised: 08/02/2024] [Accepted: 08/06/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
Agriculture faces the dual challenge of increasing food production and safeguarding the environment. Climate change exacerbates this challenge, reducing crop yield and biomass due to drought stress, especially in semi-arid regions where Citrus plants are cultivated. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying drought tolerance in Citrus is crucial for developing adaptive strategies. Plants of two citrus rootstocks, Carrizo Citrange and Bitters (C22), were grown in aerated half-strength Hoagland's nutrient solution. Post-acclimation, the plants were exposed to a solution containing 0% (control) or 15% PEG-8000 for 10 days. Leaf malonyl dialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content were measured to assess the reached oxidative stress level. Total RNA was extracted, sequenced, and de novo-assembled. Weighted Gene Correlation Network Analysis (WGCNA) was conducted to examine the relationship between gene expression patterns and the levels of MDA and H2O2 used as oxidative stress indicators. Plant visual inspection and MDA and H2O2 contents clearly indicate that Bitters is more tolerant than Carrizo towards PEG-induced drought stress. RNA-Seq analysis revealed a significantly higher number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in Carrizo (6092) than in Bitters (320), with most being associated with drought sensing, ROS scavenging, osmolyte biosynthesis, and cell wall metabolism. Moreover, the WGCNA identified transcription factors significantly correlated with MDA and H2O2 levels, thus providing insights into drought-coping strategies and offering candidate genes for enhancing citrus drought tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuele Scialò
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 951213 Catania, Italy
| | - Angelo Sicilia
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 951213 Catania, Italy
| | - Alberto Continella
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 951213 Catania, Italy
| | - Alessandra Gentile
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 951213 Catania, Italy
| | - Angela Roberta Lo Piero
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 951213 Catania, Italy
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Yang J, Busta L, Jetter R, Sun Y, Wang T, Zhang W, Ni Y, Guo Y. Diversified chemical profiles of cuticular wax on alpine meadow plants of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. PLANTA 2023; 257:74. [PMID: 36879182 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-023-04107-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The alpine meadow plants showed great intra- and inter-genera variations of chemical profiles of cuticular waxes. Developing an understanding of wax structure-function relationships that will help us tackle global climate change requires a detailed understanding of plant wax chemistry. The goal in this study was to provide a catalog of wax structures, abundances, and compositions on alpine meadow plants. Here, leaf waxes from 33 plant species belonging to 11 families were sampled from alpine meadows of the east side of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Across these species, total wax coverage varied from 2.30 μg cm-2 to 40.70 μg cm-2, showing variation both within as well as between genera and suggesting that wax variation is subject to both environmental and genetic effects. Across all wax samples, more than 140 wax compounds belonging to 13 wax compound classes were identified, including both ubiquitous wax compounds and lineage-specific compounds. Among the ubiquitous compounds (primary alcohols, alkyl esters, aldehydes, alkanes, and fatty acids), chain length profiles across a wide range of species point to key differences in the chain length specificity of alcohol and alkane formation machinery. The lineage-specific wax compound classes (diols, secondary alcohols, lactones, iso-alkanes, alkyl resorcinols, phenylethyl esters, cinnamate esters, alkyl benzoates, and triterpenoids) nearly all consisted of isomers with varying chain lengths or functional group positions, making the diversity of specialized wax compounds immense. The comparison of species relationships between chemical data and genetic data highlighted the importance of inferring phylogenetic relationships from data sets that contain a large number of variables that do not respond to environmental stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianfeng Yang
- Qingdao Key Laboratory of Specialty Plant Germplasm Innovation and Utilization in Saline Soils of Coastal Beach, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, China
- College of Grassland Science, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, China
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China
| | - Lucas Busta
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN, 55812, USA
| | - Reinhard Jetter
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Yingpeng Sun
- Qingdao Key Laboratory of Specialty Plant Germplasm Innovation and Utilization in Saline Soils of Coastal Beach, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, China
| | - Tianyu Wang
- Qingdao Key Laboratory of Specialty Plant Germplasm Innovation and Utilization in Saline Soils of Coastal Beach, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, China
| | - Wenlan Zhang
- Qingdao Key Laboratory of Specialty Plant Germplasm Innovation and Utilization in Saline Soils of Coastal Beach, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, China
| | - Yu Ni
- College of Agronomy, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, China
| | - Yanjun Guo
- Qingdao Key Laboratory of Specialty Plant Germplasm Innovation and Utilization in Saline Soils of Coastal Beach, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, China.
- College of Grassland Science, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, China.
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Hura T, Hura K, Ostrowska A. Drought-Stress Induced Physiological and Molecular Changes in Plants 2.0. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24021773. [PMID: 36675285 PMCID: PMC9861665 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24021773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Plant adaptation to soil drought is a topic that is currently under investigation [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz Hura
- Polish Academy of Sciences, The Franciszek Górski Institute of Plant Physiology, Niezapominajek 21, 30-239 Kraków, Poland
- Correspondence: (T.H.); (K.H.); (A.O.)
| | - Katarzyna Hura
- Department of Plant Breeding, Physiology and Seed Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Economics, Agricultural University, ul. Podłużna 3, 30-239 Kraków, Poland
- Correspondence: (T.H.); (K.H.); (A.O.)
| | - Agnieszka Ostrowska
- Polish Academy of Sciences, The Franciszek Górski Institute of Plant Physiology, Niezapominajek 21, 30-239 Kraków, Poland
- Correspondence: (T.H.); (K.H.); (A.O.)
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Liang B, Wan S, Ma Q, Yang L, Hu W, Kuang L, Xie J, Huang Y, Liu D, Liu Y. A Novel bHLH Transcription Factor PtrbHLH66 from Trifoliate Orange Positively Regulates Plant Drought Tolerance by Mediating Root Growth and ROS Scavenging. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232315053. [PMID: 36499381 PMCID: PMC9740576 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232315053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2022] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Drought limits citrus yield and fruit quality worldwide. The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors (TFs) are involved in plant response to drought stress. However, few bHLH TFs related to drought response have been functionally characterized in citrus. In this study, a bHLH family gene, named PtrbHLH66, was cloned from trifoliate orange. PtrbHLH66 contained a highly conserved bHLH domain and was clustered closely with bHLH66 homologs from other plant species. PtrbHLH66 was localized to the nucleus and had transcriptional activation activity. The expression of PtrbHLH66 was significantly induced by polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG6000) and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments. Ectopic expression of PtrbHLH66 promoted the seed germination and root growth, increased the proline and ABA contents and the activities of antioxidant enzymes, but reduced the accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) under drought stress, resulting in enhanced drought tolerance of transgenic Arabidopsis. In contrast, silencing the PtrbHLH66 homolog in lemon plants showed the opposite effects. Furthermore, under drought stress, the transcript levels of 15 genes involved in ABA biosynthesis, proline biosynthesis, ROS scavenging and drought response were obviously upregulated in PtrbHLH66 ectopic-expressing Arabidopsis but downregulated in PtrbHLH66 homolog silencing lemon. Thus, our results suggested that PtrbHLH66 acted as a positive regulator of plant drought resistance by regulating root growth and ROS scavenging.
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Liu D, Guo W, Guo X, Yang L, Hu W, Kuang L, Huang Y, Xie J, Liu Y. Ectopic Overexpression of CsECR From Navel Orange Increases Cuticular Wax Accumulation in Tomato and Enhances Its Tolerance to Drought Stress. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:924552. [PMID: 35865286 PMCID: PMC9294922 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.924552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Drought stress often occurred in citrus to limit its growth, distribution, and fruit quality. Cuticular waxes play an important role in regulating plant tolerance to drought stress. Plant enoyl-CoA reductase (ECR) is involved in the biosynthesis of cuticular waxes and catalyzes the last step of very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) elongation. In this study, a putative ECR gene, named CsECR, was cloned from "Newhall" navel orange. CsECR protein has high identities with other plant ECR proteins and contained a conserved NADP/NAD-binding motif and three conserved functional sites. The highest expression of CsECR was observed in leaves, followed by stems, flavedos, ovaries, juice sacs, stigmas, stamens, albedos, and petals. Besides, the expression of CsECR was significantly induced by PEG6000 and ABA treatments. Ectopic overexpression of CsECR increased the contents of total waxes and aliphatic wax fractions (n-fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids, n-alkanes, alkenes, iso-, and anteiso-alkanes) in the leaves and fruits of the transgenic tomato. Furthermore, ectopic overexpression of CsECR reduced the cuticle permeability in the leaves and fruits of the transgenic tomato and increased its tolerance to drought stress. Taken together, our results revealed that CsECR plays an important role in plant response to drought stresses by regulating cuticular wax biosynthesis.
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