Environmental and anthropogenic drivers of watercress (Nasturtium officinale) communities in char-lands and water channels across the Swat River Basin: implication for conservation planning
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Khan N
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10569500 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Flooding stress is a major environmental threat for many terrestrial plants. The detrimental effects of flooding stress, however, vary between different plant species. Whereas many crops are rather sensitive to flooding, some wild species from flood-prone areas are well adapted to excess water conditions. Morphological adaptations like adventitious roots and aerenchyma formation, or the ability to elongate rapidly the above-ground organs, allow these plants to thrive in water. The focus of this research is Nasturtium officinale, also known as watercress, which is an auto-tetraploid, dicotyledonous and stem-growing Brassicaceae species. Its natural habitat is near rivers and streams, but absent from stagnant water. Submergence induces underwater elongation of stems and growth suppression of petioles in Nasturtium officinale. By using the RNA sequencing technique, we aimed to uncover the underlying mechanisms for these contrasting responses. Combining submergence experiments with hormone manipulations revealed that ABA degradation is required for stem elongation.
2019-12-04 | GSE138020 | GEO
Project description:BackgroundWatercress (Nasturtium officinale R. Br.) is an aquatic herb species that is a rich source of secondary metabolites such as glucosinolates. Among these glucosinolates, watercress contains high amounts of gluconasturtiin (2-phenethyl glucosinolate) and its hydrolysis product, 2-phennethyl isothiocyanate, which plays a role in suppressing tumor growth. However, the use of N. officinale as a source of herbal medicines is currently limited due to insufficient genomic and physiological information.ResultsTo acquire precise information on glucosinolate biosynthesis in N. officinale, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptome and metabolome of different organs of N. officinale. Transcriptome analysis of N. officinale seedlings yielded 69,570,892 raw reads. These reads were assembled into 69,635 transcripts, 64,876 of which were annotated to transcripts in public databases. On the basis of the functional annotation of N. officinale, we identified 33 candidate genes encoding enzymes related to glucosinolate biosynthetic pathways and analyzed the expression of these genes in the leaves, stems, roots, flowers, and seeds of N. officinale. The expression of NoMYB28 and NoMYB29, the main regulators of aliphatic glucosinolate biosynthesis, was highest in the stems, whereas the key regulators of indolic glucosinolate biosynthesis, such as NoDof1.1, NoMYB34, NoMYB51, and NoMYB122, were strongly expressed in the roots. Most glucosinolate biosynthetic genes were highly expressed in the flowers. HPLC analysis enabled us to detect eight glucosinolates in the different organs of N. officinale. Among these glucosinolates, the level of gluconasturtiin was considerably higher than any other glucosinolate in individual organs, and the amount of total glucosinolates was highest in the flower.ConclusionsThis study has enhanced our understanding of functional genomics of N. officinale, including the glucosinolate biosynthetic pathways of this plant. Ultimately, our data will be helpful for further research on watercress bio-engineering and better strategies for exploiting its anti-carcinogenic properties.
| S-EPMC5442658 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) is a rich source of secondary metabolites with disease-preventing and/or health-promoting properties. Herein, we have utilized extraction procedures to isolate fractions of polyphenols, glucosinolates and isothiocyanates to determine their identification, and quantification. In doing so, we have utilized reproducible analytical methodologies based on liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry by either positive or negative ion mode. Due to the instability and volatility of isothiocyanates, we followed an ammonia derivatization protocol which converts them into respective ionizable thiourea derivatives. The analytes' content distribution map was created on watercress flowers, leaves and stems. We have demonstrated that watercress contains significantly higher levels of gluconasturtiin, phenethyl isothiocyanate, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside and isorhamnetin, among others, with their content decreasing from flowers (82.11 ± 0.63, 273.89 ± 0.88, 1459.30 ± 12.95 and 289.40 ± 1.37 ng/g of dry extract respectively) to leaves (32.25 ± 0.74, 125.02 ± 0.52, 1197.86 ± 4.24 and 196.47 ± 3.65 ng/g of det extract respectively) to stems (9.20 ± 0.11, 64.7 ± 0.9, 41.02 ± 0.18, 65.67 ± 0.84 ng/g of dry extract respectivbely). Pearson's correlation analysis has shown that the content of isothiocyanates doesn't depend only on the bioconversion of individual glucosinolates but also on other glucosinolates of the same group. Overall, we have provided comprehensive analytical data of the major watercress metabolites thereby providing an opportunity to exploit different parts of watercress for potential therapeutic applications.
| S-EPMC9706002 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Based on the established efficient regeneration system for watercress in our laboratory, we optimized the processes of pretreatment, co-culture, and differentiation culture. Through GFP fluorescence and PCR identification, we successfully obtained transgenic watercress with the DR5 gene, which allowed us to investigate the distribution details of auxin in the growth process of watercress. Our findings provide an effective method for gene function research and lay the foundation for innovative utilization of germplasm resources of watercress.
| S-EPMC10747978 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Watercress (Nasturtium officinale R. Br.) is a cruciferous plant consumed by people worldwide. This vegetable contains numerous health-benefiting compounds; however, gene information and metabolomic profiling of individual parts for this plant species are scarce. In this study, we investigated the expression patterns of phenylpropanoid biosynthetic genes and the content of phenylpropanoids in different parts of watercress. We identified 11 genes encoding enzymes related to the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway and analyzed the expression patterns of these genes in the leaves, stems, roots, flowers, and seeds of watercress. The result showed that most of the genes were expressed at the highest levels in the flowers. HPLC analysis performed in samples from these same parts revealed the presence of seven phenylpropanoid-derived compounds. The content of total phenylpropanoids was the highest in flowers, followed by that in the leaves, whereas the lowest level was generally detected in the stems. Rutin was the most abundant phenylpropanoid in all plant segments, while quercetin was detected only in the flowers and roots. This study provides useful information for further molecular and functional research involving N. officinale and closely related species.
| S-EPMC7237559 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The main compounds in both extracts were gluconasturtiin, 4-methoxyglucobrassicin and rutoside, the amounts of which were, respectively, determined as 182.93, 58.86 and 23.24 mg/100 g dry weight (DW) in biomass extracts and 640.94, 23.47 and 7.20 mg/100 g DW in plant herb extracts. The antioxidant potential of all the studied extracts evaluated using CUPRAC (CUPric Reducing Antioxidant Activity), FRAP (Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma), and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) assays was comparable. The anti-inflammatory activity of the extracts was tested based on the inhibition of 15-lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase-1, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and phospholipase A2. The results demonstrate significantly higher inhibition of COX-2 for in vitro cultured biomass compared with the herb extracts (75.4 and 41.1%, respectively). Moreover, all the studied extracts showed almost similar antibacterial and antifungal potential. Based on these findings, and due to the fact that the growth of in vitro microshoots is independent of environmental conditions and unaffected by environmental pollution, we propose that biomass that can be rapidly grown in RITA® bioreactors can serve as an alternative source of bioactive compounds with valuable biological properties.
| S-EPMC7696031 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) is a nutrient-dense salad crop with high antioxidant capacity and glucosinolate concentration and with the potential to contribute to nutrient security as a locally grown outdoor aquatic crop in northern temperate climates. However, phosphate-based fertilizers used to support plant growth contribute to the eutrophication of aquatic habitats, often pristine chalk streams, downstream of farms, increasing pressure to minimize fertilizer use and develop a more phosphorus-use efficient (PUE) crop. Here, we grew genetically distinct watercress lines selected from a bi-parental mapping population on a commercial watercress farm either without additional phosphorus (P-) or under a commercial phosphate-based fertilizer regime (P+), to decipher effects on morphology, nutritional profile, and the transcriptome. Watercress plants sustained shoot yield in P- conditions, through enhanced root biomass, but with shorter stems and smaller leaves. Glucosinolate concentration was not affected by P- conditions, but both antioxidant capacity and the concentration of sugars and starch in shoot tissue were enhanced. We identified two watercress breeding lines, with contrasting strategies for enhanced PUE: line 60, with highly plastic root systems and increased root growth in P-, and line 102, maintaining high yield irrespective of P supply, but less plastic. RNA-seq analysis revealed a suite of genes involved in cell membrane remodeling, root development, suberization, and phosphate transport as potential future breeding targets for enhanced PUE. We identified watercress gene targets for enhanced PUE for future biotechnological and breeding approaches enabling less fertilizer inputs and reduced environmental damage from watercress cultivation.
| S-EPMC10662076 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Watercress (Nasturtium officinale R. Br.) is a nutrient intense, leafy crop that is consumed raw or in soups across the globe, but for which, currently no genomic resources or breeding programme exists. Promising morphological, biochemical and functional genomic variation was identified for the first time in a newly established watercress germplasm collection, consisting of 48 watercress accessions sourced from contrasting global locations. Stem length, stem diameter and anti-oxidant (AO) potential varied across the accessions. This variation was used to identify three extreme contrasting accessions for further analysis. Variation in global gene expression was investigated using an Affymetrix Arabidopsis ATH1 microarray gene chip, using the commercial control (C), an accession selected for dwarf phenotype with a high AO potential (dwarfAO, called 'Boldrewood') and one with high AO potential alone. A set of transcripts significantly differentially expressed between these three accessions, were identified, including transcripts involved in the regulation of growth and development and those involved in secondary metabolism. In particular, when differential gene expression was compared between C and dwarfAO, the dwarfAO was characterised by increased expression of genes encoding glucosinolates, which are known precursors of phenethyl isothiocyanate, linked to the anti-carcinogenic effects well-documented in watercress. This study provides the first analysis of natural variation across the watercress genome and has identified important underpinning information for future breeding for enhanced anti-carcinogenic properties and morphology traits in this nutrient-intense crop.
| S-EPMC4591680 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Watercress (Nasturtium officinale R. Br.) is an important aquatic herb species belonging to the Brassicaceae family. It has various medicinal properties and has been utilized for the treatment of cancer and other diseases; however, currently available genomic information regarding this species is limited. Here, we performed the first comprehensive analysis of the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway (CBP) genes of N. officinale, which were identified from next-generation sequencing data. We identified and characterized 11 putative carotenoid pathway genes; among these, nine full and two partial open reading frames were determined. These genes were closely related to CBP genes of the other higher plants in the phylogenetic tree. Three-dimensional structure analysis and multiple alignments revealed several distinct conserved motifs, including aspartate or glutamate residues, carotene-binding motifs, and dinucleotide-binding motifs. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction results showed that the CBP was expressed in a tissue-specific manner: expression levels of NoPSY, NoPDS, NoZDS-p, NoCrtISO, NoLCYE, NoCHXE-p, and NoCCD were highest in the flower, whereas NoLCYB, NoCHXB, NoZEP, and NoNCED were highest in the leaves. Stems, roots, and seeds did not show a significant change in the expression compared to the leaves and flowers. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis of the same organs showed the presence of seven distinct carotenoid compounds. The total carotenoid content was highest in the leaves followed by flowers, seeds, stems, and roots. Among the seven individual carotenoids, the levels of six carotenoids (i.e., 13-Z-β-carotene, 9-Z-β-carotene, E-β-carotene, lutein, violaxanthin, and β-cryptoxanthin) were highest in the leaves. The highest content was observed for lutein, followed by E-β-carotene, and 9-Z-β-carotene; these carotenoids were much higher in the leaves compared to the other organs. The results will be useful references for further molecular genetics and functional studies involving this species and other closely related species.
| S-EPMC8756599 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The MYB60 gene belongs to the R2R3-MYB subfamily, which includes the MYB31/30/96/94 genes. Although these genes have been shown to respond to heat and drought stresses, their role in flavonoid synthesis remains unclear. In this study, NoMYB60 was cloned from watercress and its structure and function were analyzed. Sequence structure analysis showed that NoMYB60 had a highly conserved R2R3 DNA-binding region at the N-terminus. Under the treatment of ABA, SA or MeJA, the expression level of NoMYB60 first significantly increased and then decreased, indicating that ABA, SA and MeJA positively regulated NoMYB60. The subcellular localization of NoMYB60-GFP indicated that NoMYB60 was localized in the nuclear region, which is consistent with the molecular characterization of the transcription factor. Gene silencing experiments were also performed to further test the function of NoMYB60. The result showed that virus-induced silencing of NoMYB60 affected the expression of enzyme genes in flavonoid synthesis pathways and promoted the synthesis of flavonoids. Moreover, we discovered that NoMYB60 interacts with NoBEH1/2. In this study, provides a reference for research on the regulation mechanism of flavonoid synthesis in Cruciferae and other crops.
| S-EPMC9690578 | biostudies-literature