Stress-Related Gene Expression Reflects Morphophysiological Responses to Water Deficit

Abstract

(J.H.).Acclimation to water deficit (WD) enables plants to maintain growth under unfavorable environmental conditions, although the mechanisms are not completely understood. In this study, the natural variation of long-term acclimation to moderate and severe soil WD was investigated in 18 Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) accessions using PHENOPSIS, an automated phenotyping platform. Soil water content was adjusted at an early stage of plant development and maintained at a constant level until reproductive age was achieved. The accessions were selected based on the expression levels of ANNEXIN1, a drought-related marker. Severe WD conditions had a greater effect on most of the measured morphophysiological traits than moderate WD conditions. Multivariate analyses indicated that trait responses associated with plant size and water management drove most of the variation. Accessions with similar responses at these two levels were grouped in clusters that displayed different response strategies to WD. The expression levels of selected stress-response genes revealed large natural variation under WD conditions. Responses of morphophysiological traits, such as projected rosette area, transpiration rate, and rosette water content, were correlated with changes in the expression of stress-related genes, such as NINE-CIS-EPOXYCAROTENOID DIOXYGENASE3 and N-MYC DOWNREGULATED-LIKE1 (NDL1), in response to WD. Interestingly, the morphophysiological acclimation response to WD also was reflected in the gene expression levels (most notably those of NDL1, CHALCONE SYNTHASE, and MYB DOMAIN PROTEIN44) in plants cultivated under well-watered conditions. Our results may lead to the development of biomarkers and predictors of plant morphophysiological responses based on gene expression patterns.

Interactions Between Drought and Plant Genotype Change Epidemiological Traits of Cauliflower mosaic virus

“…The success of transmission from infected to healthy host plants is crucial for the survival of all plant viruses. Interestingly, we showed that a WD triggered a significant increase of transmission rate in Sha and Mr-0, two accessions among the most sensitive to WD as previously described ( Rymaszewski et al, 2017 ). These results are consistent with the earlier report of increased transmission of CaMV and Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) from B. rapa plants submitted to WD ( van Munster et al, 2017 ).…”

“…We selected nine natural accessions of A. thaliana (Mr-0, Col-0, Ct-1, Sha, Cvi-0, Mt-0, Bay-0, Ler-1 and Est-1) based on their contrasted responses to drought ( Rymaszewski et al, 2017 ). Three to five seeds were sown at soil surface in 225 ml pots filled with a 30:70 (v/v) mixture of clay and organic compost (Substrate SP 15% KLASMANN).…”

“…In the present study, we monitored the effect of WD on various important viral life traits, such as viral accumulation, virulence and transmission. In order to explore the genetic variability of these traits and their relationships we selected nine wild accessions of A. thaliana (L.) Heynh ( Brassicaceae ) with known contrasted responses to WD ( Rymaszewski et al, 2017 ). All accessions were infected with the Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV; Caulimoviridae ), a non-circulative virus transmitted by aphids, and grown under strictly controlled environmental conditions in the high throughput phenotyping platform PHENOPSIS ( Granier et al, 2006 ).…”

Quantitative proteome profile of water deficit stress responses in eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) leaves

“…Most associated proteins correlating with stomatal regulation function in phytochrome-mediated photomorphogenesis [ 48 ] (e.g., Potri.016G018300, FHY3 ; up-regulated ~31 fold) and circadian signaling [ 49 ] (e.g., Potri.004G168400, XCT ; up-regulated ~11 fold) that impact developmental and physiological processes, including chloroplast osmolarity [ 50 ] (e.g., Potri.002G105900, MSL2 ; up-regulated ~29 fold) and chloroplast development [ 51 ] (e.g., Potri.015G091700, TAC10 ; up-regulated ~16 fold). In addition, we identified a protein (Potri.011G112400, STO1 ; up-regulated ~15 fold) that is localized to the chloroplast stroma and thylakoid membrane, and recently implicated in stress responses that correlated with changes in morpho-physiological traits [ 52 ]. Interestingly, many of the above proteins have functions, for example, chlorophyll biosynthesis and recovery of chloroplast structure, that are very important for seedling photomorphogenesis [ 53 ].…”

Genome-Wide Association Study of Wood Anatomical and Morphological Traits in Populus trichocarpa

“…In sum, network and functional enrichment analyses suggest that the function of this GWAS gene is related to photosynthetic and respiration processes and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. One of the possible mechanisms by which plants respond to abiotic stresses, especially nutrient and water stress, is by changing morphology (e.g, leaf area and weight) and physiological processes (e.g., respiration) (Rymaszewski et al, 2017), thereby raising the expectation for coordinated responses of genes related to photosynthesis, oxidation reduction reactions, glycolysis, signaling, hormone metabolism, and stress responses, along with those controlling leaf morphology.…”