Simultaneous application of heat, drought and virus to Arabidopsis thaliana plants reveals significant shifts in signaling networks [triple_stress]

ABSTRACT: Considering global climate changes, incidences of combined drought and heat stress are likely to increase in the future and will considerably influence plant-pathogen interactions. Until now, little is known about plants exposed to simultaneously occurring abiotic and biotic stresses. To shed some light on molecular plant responses to multiple stress factors, a versatile multi-factorial test system, allowing simultaneous application of heat, drought and virus stress, was developed. Comparative analysis of single, double and triple stress responses by transcriptome and metabolome analysis revealed that gene expression under multi-factorial stress is not predictable from single stress treatments. Hierarchical cluster and principal component analysis identified heat as the major stress factor clearly separating heat-stressed from non-heat stressed plants. We identified 11 genes differentially regulated in all stress combinations as well as 23 genes specifically-regulated under triple stress. Furthermore, we showed that virus treated plants displayed enhanced expression of defense genes, which was abolished in plants additionally subjected to heat and drought stress. Triple stress also reduced expression of genes involved in the R-mediated disease response and increased the cytoplasmic protein response which was not seen under single stress conditions. These observations suggested that abiotic stress factors significantly altered TuMV-specific signaling networks which lead to a deactivation of defense responses and a higher susceptibility of plants. Collectively, our transcriptome and metabolome data provide a powerful resource to study plant responses during multi-factorial stress and allows identifying metabolic processes and functional networks involved in tripartite interactions of plants with their environment. Stress induced gene expression in Arabidopsis leaves was measured after exposure to single and combined abiotic and biotic stress. Plants were grown on soil for 21 days till virus infection. Eight days later controlled drought stress was applied. At the end of the treatments heat was applied for three days. Four biological replicates have been hybridized for each treatment.

ORGANISM(S): Arabidopsis thaliana

SUBMITTER: Christian Prasch 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-46757 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress