Transcriptional Regulation of Metabolic and Cellular Processes in Durum Wheat (Triticum turgidum subsp. durum) in the Face of Temperature Increasing

Abstract

The Yaqui Valley, Mexico, has been historically considered as an experimental field for semiarid regions worldwide since temperature is an important constraint affecting durum wheat cultivation. Here, we studied the transcriptional and morphometrical response of durum wheat at an increased temperature (+2 °C) for deciphering molecular mechanisms involved in the thermal adaptation by this crop. The morphometrical assay showed a significant decrease in almost all the evaluated traits (shoot/root length, biovolume index, and dry/shoot weight) except in the dry root weight and the root:shoot ratio. At the transcriptional level, 283 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained (False Discovery Rate (FDR) ≤ 0.05 and |log2 fold change| ≥ 1.3). From these, functional annotation with MapMan4 and a gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis with GOSeq were carried out to obtain 27 GO terms significantly enriched (overrepresented FDR ≤ 0.05). Overrepresented and functionally annotated genes belonged to ontologies associated with photosynthetic acclimation, respiration, changes in carbon balance, lipid biosynthesis, the regulation of reactive oxygen species, and the acceleration of physiological progression. These findings are the first insight into the regulation of the mechanism influenced by a temperature increase in durum wheat.

Genetic approaches to exploit landraces for improvement of Triticum turgidum ssp. durum in the age of climate change

“…For instance, sudden and extremely high temperature (T > 32°C) for a short duration (3 to 5 days) is referred to as a heat shock, while moderately high maximum temperature (20 to 30°C) for a longer duration is known as chronic heat stress (Li et al, 2013). In DW, the most sensitive stages to heat stress are anthesis and grain filling (Chaparro-Encinas et al, 2021). Heat stress alters membrane fluidity and enzyme activity which in turn hamper respiration and photosynthesis, and related processes (e.g.…”

A Survey of the Transcriptomic Resources in Durum Wheat: Stress Responses, Data Integration and Exploitation

“…A lower expression of transcripts involved in photosynthesis and reconfiguration of primary and secondary metabolism after water-stress was observed in three breeding lines with different yield stability after water stress [ 16 ]. On the opposite side, under heat stress, the transcriptional response of durum wheat seedlings showed an over-representation of genes related to photosynthetic acclimation, respiration, lipid biosynthesis, carbon balance, ROS regulation, and physiological progression acceleration [ 24 ]. In addition, an analysis of flag leaves of plants exposed to high temperature displayed an up-regulation of the expression for the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (Rubisco) large subunit and for Rubisco activase genes, while a down-regulation of genes involved in light reactions, carbohydrate metabolism, glycolysis, mitochondrial electron transport, nitrogen (N) metabolism, amino acid metabolism, cell modification and secondary metabolism was observed [ 32 ].…”

Halobacteria-Based Biofertilizers: A Promising Alternative for Enhancing Soil Fertility and Crop Productivity under Biotic and Abiotic Stresses—A Review

“…In other words, a growing demand for agricultural products has been observed, while the amount of cultivated land, the soil structure, and availability of natural resources has been steadily decreasing [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Thus, global agriculture’s capacity will no longer be able to sustain the increasing demand of nutriment supply without compromising environmental integrity and human health.…”