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Transcriptome profiling and physiological studies reveal a major role for aromatic amino acids in mercury stress tolerance in rice seedlings.

ABSTRACT: Mercury (Hg) is a serious environmental pollution threat to the planet. The accumulation of Hg in plants disrupts many cellular-level functions and inhibits growth and development, but the mechanism is not fully understood. To gain more insight into the cellular response to Hg, we performed a large-scale analysis of the rice transcriptome during Hg stress. Genes induced with short-term exposure represented functional categories of cell-wall formation, chemical detoxification, secondary metabolism, signal transduction and abiotic stress response. Moreover, Hg stress upregulated several genes involved in aromatic amino acids (Phe and Trp) and increased the level of free Phe and Trp content. Exogenous application of Phe and Trp to rice roots enhanced tolerance to Hg and effectively reduced Hg-induced production of reactive oxygen species. Hg induced calcium accumulation and activated mitogen-activated protein kinase. Further characterization of the Hg-responsive genes we identified may be helpful for better understanding the mechanisms of Hg in plants.

SUBMITTER: Chen YA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4026224 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Transcriptome profiling and physiological studies reveal a major role for aromatic amino acids in mercury stress tolerance in rice seedlings.

Chen Yun-An YA Chi Wen-Chang WC Trinh Ngoc Nam NN Huang Li-Yao LY Chen Ying-Chih YC Cheng Kai-Teng KT Huang Tsai-Lien TL Lin Chung-Yi CY Huang Hao-Jen HJ

PloS one 20140519 5

Mercury (Hg) is a serious environmental pollution threat to the planet. The accumulation of Hg in plants disrupts many cellular-level functions and inhibits growth and development, but the mechanism is not fully understood. To gain more insight into the cellular response to Hg, we performed a large-scale analysis of the rice transcriptome during Hg stress. Genes induced with short-term exposure represented functional categories of cell-wall formation, chemical detoxification, secondary metabolis ...[more]

PMID: 24840062

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Project description:Aromatic amino acids (AAAs) synthesized in plants via the shikimate pathway can serve as precursors for a wide range of secondary metabolites that are important for plant defense. The goals of the current study were to test the effect of increased AAAs on primary and secondary metabolic profiles and to reveal whether these plants are more tolerant to abiotic stresses (oxidative, drought and salt) and to Phelipanche egyptiaca (Egyptian broomrape), an obligate parasitic plant. To this end, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants were transformed with a bacterial gene (AroG) encode to feedback-insensitive 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthase, the first enzyme of the shikimate pathway. Two sets of transgenic plants were obtained: the first had low expression of the AroG protein, a normal phenotype and minor metabolic changes; the second had high accumulation of the AroG protein with normal, or deleterious morphological changes having a dramatic shift in plant metabolism. Metabolic profiling analysis revealed that the leaves of the transgenic plants had increased levels of phenylalanine (up to 43-fold), tyrosine (up to 24-fold) and tryptophan (up to 10-fold) compared to control plants having an empty vector (EV) and wild type (WT) plants. The significant increase in phenylalanine was accompanied by higher levels of metabolites that belong to the phenylpropanoid pathway. AroG plants showed improved tolerance to salt stress but not to oxidative or drought stress. The most significant improved tolerance was to P. aegyptiaca. Unlike WT/EV plants that were heavily infected by the parasite, the transgenic AroG plants strongly inhibited P. aegyptiaca development, and only a few stems of the parasite appeared above the soil. This delayed development of P. aegyptiaca could be the result of higher accumulation of several phenylpropanoids in the transgenic AroG plants and in P. aegyptiaca, that apparently affected its growth. These findings indicate that high levels of AAAs and their related metabolites have the potential of controlling the development of parasitic plants.

Dataset Information

Transcriptome profiling and physiological studies reveal a major role for aromatic amino acids in mercury stress tolerance in rice seedlings.

Publications

Transcriptome profiling and physiological studies reveal a major role for aromatic amino acids in mercury stress tolerance in rice seedlings.

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