Transcriptomic Analysis of a Tertiary Relict Plant, Extreme Xerophyte Reaumuria soongorica to Identify Genes Related to Drought Adaptation

Shi, Yong; Xia, Yan; Zhao, Pengshan; Yin, Huajun; Zhao, Xinquan; Xiao, Hansong; Li, Xinrong; Chen, Guoxiong; Ma, Xiaofei

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0063993

Cited by 57 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Very low precipitation and high temperatures characterize the growing season in ACA, and there are substantial environmental differences between different regions (Chen et al., 2011; Hu et al., 2014). Although these environmental conditions are unfavorable for plant growth, R. soongarica is widespread in these areas (Liu et al., 1982; Shi et al., 2013). According to our data, the leaf area of this species was less than 0.15 cm 2 , which was smaller than that of most species in the world (Diaz et al., 2016; Wright et al., 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaf size variations in a dominant desert shrub, Reaumuria soongarica, adapted to heterogeneous environments

Fan

Yan

Chen

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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The climate in arid Central Asia (ACA) has changed rapidly in recent decades, but the ecological consequences of this are far from clear. To predict the impacts of climate change on ecosystem functioning, greater attention should be given to the relationships between leaf functional traits and environmental heterogeneity. As a dominant constructive shrub widely distributed in ACA, Reaumuria soongarica provided us with an ideal model to understand how leaf functional traits of desert ecosystems responded to the heterogeneous environments of ACA. Here, to determine the influences of genetic and ecological factors, we characterized species‐wide variations in leaf traits among 30 wild populations of R. soongarica and 16 populations grown in a common garden. We found that the leaf length, width, and leaf length to width ratio (L/W) of the northern lineage were significantly larger than those of other genetic lineages, and principal component analysis based on the in situ environmental factors distinguished the northern lineage from the other lineages studied. With increasing latitude, leaf length, width, and L/W in the wild populations increased significantly. Leaf length and L/W were negatively correlated with altitude, and first increased and then decreased with increasing mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP). Stepwise regression analyses further indicated that leaf length variation was mainly affected by latitude. However, leaf width was uncorrelated with altitude, MAT, or MAP. The common garden trial showed that leaf width variation among the eastern populations was caused by both local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity. Our findings suggest that R. soongarica preferentially changes leaf length to adjust leaf size to cope with environmental change. We also reveal phenotypic evidence for ecological speciation of R. soongarica. These results will help us better understand and predict the consequences of climate change for desert ecosystem functioning.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaf size variations in a dominant desert shrub, Reaumuria soongarica, adapted to heterogeneous environments

Fan

Yan

Chen

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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“…In plants, control of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis is complex and plays a significant role in pathogen resistance, anthocyanin biogenesis, and pharmacology (Jimene and Riguera 1994). In this transcriptome study, we identified most of the catabolic genes associated with phenylpropanoid synthesis, demonstrating an understanding of the precise pathway in plants (Shi et al 2013). Genetic, molecular, and biochemical evidence suggests that synthesis and catabolism of phenylpropanoid amino acids are regulated by previously undescribed coordinated mechanisms (Burkhard et al 2001;Grabherr et al 2011).…”

Section: Differentially Expressed Unigenes In Phenylpropanoid Biosyntmentioning

confidence: 72%

Transcriptome changes in the phenylpropanoid pathway in senescing leaves of Toona sinensis

Sui

Yang

et al. 2019

Acta Physiol Plant

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Toona sinensis is a deciduous tree native to eastern and southeastern Asia that has important culinary and cultural values. To expand current knowledge of the transcriptome and functional genomics in this species, a de novo transcriptome sequence analysis of young and mature leaf tissues of T. sinensis was performed using the Illumina platform. Over 8.1 Gb of data were generated, assembled into 64,541 unigenes, and annotated with known biological functions. Proteins involved in primary metabolite biosynthesis were identified based on similarities to known proteins, including some related to biosynthesis of carbohydrates, amino acids, lipids, and energy. Analysis of unigenes differentially expressed between young and mature leaves (transcriptomic libraries 'YL' and 'ML', respectively) showed that the KEGG pathways of phenylpropanoid, naringenin, lignin, cutin, suberin, and wax biosynthesis were significantly enriched in mature leaves. These results not only expand knowledge of transcriptome characteristics for this valuable species, but also provide a useful transcriptomic dataset to accelerate the researches on its metabolic mechanisms and functional genomics. This study can also further the understanding of unique aromatic metabolism and Chinese medicinal properties of T. sinensis.Acta Physiologiae Plantarum (2019) 41:126 Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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“…Also, 32 unigenes had identity to genes involved in ABA-dependent, while 8 unigenes had homology to some genes involved in ABA-independent pathways of drought tolerance. There was a 7.96% of unigenes that did not match any homologous genes in the known plant species [84]. Another study identified 1325 DEGs, including 379 upregulated DEGs and 946 downregulated DEGs under drought stress.…”

Section: Findings Of Novel Genes In Native Plants From Arid Land Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Native Plants to Arid Areas: A Genetic Reservoir for Drought-Tolerant Crops

Trejo‐Calzada¹,

Pedroza‐Sandoval²,

Arreola-Ávila³

et al. 2020

Drought - Detection and Solutions

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Droughts are common in arid areas. These cause important losses in crop production, while the increasing population demands more food and goods. Cultivars able to produce under drought conditions are required to avoid or reduce production losses. Plants have evolved different mechanisms to face drought, and many genes have been already discovered in model and cultivated plants that are involved in this trait. Some of these genes have been successfully transformed into cultivated plants for drought tolerance. Plants native to arid lands may possess variants of drought tolerance mechanisms as compared to mesophytic or model plants. Also, different drought-related genes can be revealed. Studies using high-throughput and bioinformatic tools may allow to discover new genes and give new insights on the mechanisms involved in drought tolerance. However, still scarce studies in plants native to arid lands show that there are many drought-related genes that have not been already characterized and potentially they may be novel genes. These novel genes may be used to improve crops for drought tolerance. Therefore, more physiological, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic studies are needed on plants native to the deserts. protein rd22, pectinesterase-2, LEA protein, and POD. Moreover, 74 DEGs were commonly upregulated in leaf tissues and 16 were downregulated. The induced genes included pectinesterase-2, non-specific lipid-transfer protein, delta-1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase, and ras-related protein rabc2a [90].

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Transcriptomic Analysis of a Tertiary Relict Plant, Extreme Xerophyte Reaumuria soongorica to Identify Genes Related to Drought Adaptation

Cited by 57 publications

References 76 publications

Leaf size variations in a dominant desert shrub, Reaumuria soongarica, adapted to heterogeneous environments

Leaf size variations in a dominant desert shrub, Reaumuria soongarica, adapted to heterogeneous environments

Transcriptome changes in the phenylpropanoid pathway in senescing leaves of Toona sinensis

Native Plants to Arid Areas: A Genetic Reservoir for Drought-Tolerant Crops

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