Transcriptome profiling reveals the genetic basis of alkalinity tolerance in wheat

Abstract

BackgroundSoil alkalinity shows significant constraints to crop productivity; however, much less attention has been paid to analyze the effect of soil alkalinity on plant growth and development. Shanrong No. 4 (SR4) is an alkalinity tolerant bread wheat cultivar selected from an asymmetric somatic hybridization between the bread wheat cultivar Jinan 177 (JN177) and tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum), which is a suitable material for studying alkalinity tolerant associate genes.ResultsThe growth of SR4 plant seedlings was less inhibited than that of JN177 when exposed to alkalinity stress conditions. The root cytosolic Na+/K+ ratio in alkalinity stressed SR4 was lower than in JN177, while alkalinity stressed SR4 contained higher level of nutrient elements than in JN177. SR4 plant seedlings accumulated less malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), it also showed higher activity of ROS scavenging enzymes than JN177 under alkalinity stress. The root intracellular pH decreased in both alkalinity stressed JN177 and SR4, however, it was much lower in SR4 than in JN177 under alkalinity stress. The transcriptomes of SR4 and JN177 seedlings exposed to alkalinity stress were analyzed by digital gene expression tag profiling method. Alkalinity stress conditions up- and down-regulated a large number of genes in the seedling roots that play the functions in the categories of transcription regulation, signal transduction and protein modification.ConclusionsSR4 expresses a superior tolerance to alkaline stress conditions which is due to its strong absorbing ability for nutrient ions, a strong regulating ability for intracellular and rhizosphere pH and a more active ROS scavenging ability.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-3421-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Small RNA and degradome sequencing used to elucidate the basis of tolerance to salinity and alkalinity in wheat

“…3 and No. 4 (SR3 and SR4), with the former being more tolerant of salinity than JN177 [ 12 , 13 ], and the latter more tolerant of alkalinity [ 14 ]. While SR3 out-performs SR4 in a neutral saline soil, the reverse is the case in an alkaline pH saline soil.…”

Role of TaALMT1 malate‐GABA transporter in alkaline pH tolerance of wheat

“…Improving alkaline tolerance of plants through molecular breeding is an attractive option to maintain crop productivity on alkaline soils and to achieve this goal alkaline tolerance mechanisms and the genes underlying these mechanisms need to be identified. In this respect, previous research has focused on the ability of plants to acidify the rhizosphere through enhanced activity of plasma membrane localized H + -ATPases (Fuglsang et al, 2007;Li, Xu, Liu, Zhang, & Lu, 2015;Xu et al, 2012;Xu et al, 2013;Yang et al, 2010), auxin regulation (Yu et al, 2017) and the ability to reduce excess ROS under alkali stress in rice (Guo et al, 2014;Zhang et al, 2017) and wheat (Meng et al, 2017). Here, we explore another potential tolerance mechanism-the exudation of organic compounds from roots to lower rhizospheric pH.…”

Genetic regulatory networks for salt-alkali stress in Gossypium hirsutum with differing morphological characteristics

“…SsMT2 gene, from alkaline-tolerant Suaeda salsa, plays an important role in reactive oxygen species scavenging and confers enhanced metal and oxidant tolerance to plants [15]. A superior tolerance wheat sample to alkaline stress conditions, is due to its strong absorbing ability for nutrient ions, a strong regulating ability for intracellular and rhizosphere pH and a more active reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging ability [16]. With the development of next generation sequence technology (NGS), more and more sequencing data were used for revealing the regulation mechanism of complex traits [17].…”