Soybean Roots Grown under Heat Stress Show Global Changes in Their Transcriptional and Proteomic Profiles

Abstract

Heat stress is likely to be a key factor in the negative impact of climate change on crop production. Heat stress significantly influences the functions of roots, which provide support, water, and nutrients to other plant organs. Likewise, roots play an important role in the establishment of symbiotic associations with different microorganisms. Despite the physiological relevance of roots, few studies have examined their response to heat stress. In this study, we performed genome-wide transcriptomic and proteomic analyses on isolated root hairs, which are a single, epidermal cell type, and compared their response to stripped roots. On average, we identified 1849 and 3091 genes differentially regulated in root hairs and stripped roots, respectively, in response to heat stress. Our gene regulatory module analysis identified 10 key modules that might control the majority of the transcriptional response to heat stress. We also conducted proteomic analysis on membrane fractions isolated from root hairs and compared these responses to stripped roots. These experiments identified a variety of proteins whose expression changed within 3 h of application of heat stress. Most of these proteins were predicted to play a significant role in thermo-tolerance, as well as in chromatin remodeling and post-transcriptional regulation. The data presented represent an in-depth analysis of the heat stress response of a single cell type in soybean.

Metabolomic Profiling of Soybeans (Glycine max L.) Reveals the Importance of Sugar and Nitrogen Metabolism under Drought and Heat Stress

“…From a metabolomic standpoint, we found that several metabolites were downregulated during heat stress, complicating the homeostasis of the general metabolism of the soybean plant. A detailed combined proteomic-transcriptomic study using soybean roots, showed that proteins involved in amino acids, and lipid biosynthesis were severely affected under heat stress [79]. This study corroborates our metabolomics findings in response to heat stress.…”

Divergent cytosine DNA methylation patterns in single‐cell, soybean root hairs

“…Root hairs and stripped roots were isolated after 3 h of incubation as described by Wan et al (2005). This specific time was chosen based on earlier experiments that showed a strong, early transcriptional response to heat treatment after 3 h (Valdes-Lopez et al, 2016). Root hairs and stripped roots were harvested and isolated from two biological replications.…”

“…RNA-seq data of root hairs and stripped roots treated with or without heat stress (3 h) were obtained from Valdes-Lopez et al (2016). The raw sequence data were preprocessed using Trimmomatic (0.32) (Bolger et al, 2014) to remove any sequencing adaptors and to trim the low-quality regions of reads.…”

Legume genetic resources and transcriptome dynamics under abiotic stress conditions

“…japonicus , these CBF TFs participate in short‐term responses to cold stress rather than long‐term responses (Calzadilla et al, ). Also, a study of soybean exposed to heat stress has shown important changes in the expression of genes, including those encoding heat stress factors, AP2/EREBP, MAD box, and WRKY TFs (Valdés‐López et al, ).…”

“…In addition, a shift in cultivated land use toward legume production can potentially lower the carbon footprint for the production of proteins needed for human consumption, increase N use efficiency, and enhance soil fertility (Considine et al, ; Foyer et al, ; Song et al, ; Sosa‐Valencia et al, ). However, the sustainability of legume crop production is threatened by the increasing incidence of environmental stresses, including persistent drought, increasing soil salinity, heat waves, and soil nutritional deficiencies (Aranjuelo, Cabrerizo, Aparicio‐Tejo, & Arrese‐Igor, ; Kunert et al, ; Maqbool, Aslam, & Ali, ; Nasr Esfahani et al, ; Valdés‐López et al, ; Zhang et al, ). For these reasons, it is essential to intensify legume genetic enrichment programmes, by using advanced breeding approaches and techniques, to develop legume cultivars that possess genetic resilience to environmental stresses.…”