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Short AW, Sebastian JSV, Huang J, Wang G, Dassanayake M, Finnegan PM, Parker JD, Cao KF, Wee AKS. Comparative transcriptomics of the chilling stress response in two Asian mangrove species, Bruguiera gymnorhiza and Rhizophora apiculata. Tree Physiol 2024; 44:tpae019. [PMID: 38366388 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpae019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Low temperatures largely determine the geographic limits of plant species by reducing survival and growth. Inter-specific differences in the geographic distribution of mangrove species have been associated with cold tolerance, with exclusively tropical species being highly cold-sensitive and subtropical species being relatively cold-tolerant. To identify species-specific adaptations to low temperatures, we compared the chilling stress response of two widespread Indo-West Pacific mangrove species from Rhizophoraceae with differing latitudinal range limits-Bruguiera gymnorhiza (L.) Lam. ex Savigny (subtropical range limit) and Rhizophora apiculata Blume (tropical range limit). For both species, we measured the maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) as a proxy for the physiological condition of the plants and examined gene expression profiles during chilling at 15 and 5 °C. At 15 °C, B. gymnorhiza maintained a significantly higher Fv/Fm than R. apiculata. However, at 5 °C, both species displayed equivalent Fv/Fm values. Thus, species-specific differences in chilling tolerance were only found at 15 °C, and both species were sensitive to chilling at 5 °C. At 15 °C, B. gymnorhiza downregulated genes related to the light reactions of photosynthesis and upregulated a gene involved in cyclic electron flow regulation, whereas R. apiculata downregulated more RuBisCo-related genes. At 5 °C, both species repressed genes related to CO2 assimilation. The downregulation of genes related to light absorption and upregulation of genes related to cyclic electron flow regulation are photoprotective mechanisms that likely contributed to the greater photosystem II photochemical efficiency of B. gymnorhiza at 15 °C. The results of this study provide evidence that the distributional range limits and potentially the expansion rates of plant species are associated with differences in the regulation of photosynthesis and photoprotective mechanisms under low temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aidan W Short
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning 530004, China
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, 5289 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - John Sunoj V Sebastian
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning 530004, China
- State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China
| | - Jie Huang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Guannan Wang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University (LSU), 202 Life Science Bldg, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Maheshi Dassanayake
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University (LSU), 202 Life Science Bldg, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Patrick M Finnegan
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - John D Parker
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Smithsonian Institution, 647 Contees Wharf Road, Edgewater, MD 21037, USA
| | - Kun-Fang Cao
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning 530004, China
- State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China
| | - Alison K S Wee
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning 530004, China
- State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China
- School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Malaysia
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