Project description:Plant-derived smoke plays a key role in seed germination and plant growth. To investigate the effect of plant-derived smoke on chickpea, a gel-free/label-free proteomic technique was used. Germination percentage, root/shoot length, and fresh biomass were increased in chickpea treated with 2000 ppm plant-derived smoke within 6 days. On treatment with 2000 ppm plant-derived smoke for 6 days, the abundance of 90 proteins including glycolysis-related proteins significantly changed in chickpea root. Proteins related to signaling and transport were increased; however, proteins related to protein metabolism, cell, and cell wall were decreased. The sucrose synthase for starch degradation was increased and total soluble sugar was induced in chickpea. Similarly, the proteins for nitrate pathway were increased and nitrate content was improved in chickpea. On the other hand, although secondary metabolism related proteins were decreased, flavonoid contents were increased in chickpea. Based on proteomic and immuno-blot analyses, proteins related to redox homeostasis were decreased and increased in root and shoot, relatively. Furthermore, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase was increased; while, phosphotransferase and phosphoglyceromutase were decreased in glycolysis. These results suggest that plant-derived smoke improves early stage of growth in chickpea with the balance of many cascades such as glycolysis, redox homeostasis, and secondary metabolism.
Project description:A cultivation facility that can assist users in controlling the soil water condition is needed for accurately phenotyping plants under drought stress in an artificial environment. Here we report the Internet of Things (IoT)-based pot system controlling optional treatment of soil water condition (iPOTs), an automatic irrigation system that mimics the drought condition in a growth chamber. The Wi-Fi-enabled iPOTs system allows water supply from the bottom of the pot, based on the soil water level set by the user, and automatically controls the soil water level at a desired depth. The iPOTs also allows users to monitor environmental parameters, such as soil temperature, air temperature, humidity, and light intensity, in each pot. To verify whether the iPOTs mimics the drought condition, we conducted a drought stress test on rice varieties and near-isogenic lines, with diverse root system architecture, using the iPOTs system installed in a growth chamber. Similar to the results of a previous drought stress field trial, the growth of shallow-rooted rice accessions was severely affected by drought stress compared with that of deep-rooted accessions. The microclimate data obtained using the iPOTs system increased the accuracy of plant growth evaluation. Transcriptome analysis revealed that pot positions in the growth chamber had little impact on plant growth. Together, these results suggest that the iPOTs system represents a reliable platform for phenotyping plants under drought stress.
Project description:Soybean is an important crop with abundant protein, vegetable oil, and several phytochemicals. Meanwhile, plant-derived smoke plays a key role in plant growth. To investigate the effect of plant-derived smoke on the growth of soybean, a gel-free/label-free proteomic technique was used. The length of root including hypocotyl increased in soybean treated with 2000 ppm plant-derived smoke within 4 days. On treatment with plant-derived smoke, ribosome-related proteins increased and proteasome-related proteins decreased in roots including hypocotyl. Because arginase increased and arginosuccinate synthase/glutamine synthase decreased, the relationship between plant-derived smoke and arginine metabolism was confirmed. Metabolites related to amino acids, carboxylic acids, and sugars were mostly altered with the treatment of smoke. Amino acids related to lipid synthesis and protein phosphorylation increased; while those related to arginine metabolism intensively changed in smoke-treated soybean. In addition, nitric oxide significantly increased as well. On the other hand, under flooding stress, plant-derived smoke induced sacrifice-for-survival-mechanism-driven degradation of root tip in soybean, which promoted lateral root development during soybean recovery after flooding. These results suggest that plant-derived smoke improves early stage of growth in soybean with the balance of arginine synthesis/degradation and regulates soybean tolerance towards flooding.
Project description:The potato is susceptible to water stress at all stages of development. We examined four clones of tetraploid potato, Cardinal, Desirée, Clone 37 FB and Mije, from the germplasm bank of the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) in Chile. Water stress was applied by suspending irrigation at the beginning of tuberization. Stomatal conductance, tuber and plant fresh and dry weight was used to categorize water stress tolerance. Cardinal had high susceptibility to water stress. Desirée was less suscepetible than Cardinal and had some characteristics of tolerance. Mije had moderate and Clon 37 FB high tolerance. Differential gene expression in leaves from plants with and without water stress were examined using transcriptome sequencing. Water stress susceptible Cardinal had the fewest differentially expressed genes at 101, compared to Desirée at 1867, Clon 37 FB at 1179 and Mije at 1010. Water stress tolerance was associated with up-regulation of expression of transcription factor genes and genes involved in osmolyte and polyamine biosynthesis. Increased expression of genes encoding late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) and dehydrin proteins along with decreased expression of genes involved in nitrate assimilation and amino acid metabolism were found for clones showing water stress tolerance. The results also show that water deficit was associated with reduced biotic stress responses. Additionally, heat shock protein genes were differentially expressed in all clones except for highly susceptible Cardinal. Together the gene expression study demonstrates variation in the molecular pathways and biological processes in response to water stress contributing to tolerance and susceptibility.
Project description:). In this study we describe the effect of drought combined or not with S-deficiency on pea productivity, nutrient partitioning between plant parts and seed quality traits. A moderate water stress was applied at the beginning of the reproductive phase, a period during which drought frequently occurs in the field. Sharp differences in the plant and seed characteristic in response to the combined stress compared to individual stresses were observed, highlighting synergistic effects on reproductive processes and antagonistic effects on seed protein composition, which could be explained by changes in the sink strength of the seeds for nitrogen.
Project description:Several fungi have been reported to form intimate bonds with plants. These close mutual relationships can provide physiological benefits to the interacting organisms, including the improvement of nutrient assimilation or enhanced stress tolerance. The root-colonizing fungus Fusarium sp. strain K-23 is known to successfully colonize tomato roots. Previous studies highlighted the promotion of plant biomass production and stress tolerance of tomato plants infected with the K-23. However, up to data, nothing is known about the effect of this fungus on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We here report the comparative analysis of the effect of mock- and K-23-infected wild-type Arabidopsis plants (Col-0) in the abscence and presence of moderate salt stress conditions (50 mM NaCl). Our data provide evidence for a profound effect of K-23 on root hair elongation through the activation of a regulatory network that includes several plant hormones. Intriguingly, the fungus suppresses gibberellic acid biosynthesis which, in turn, promotes root hair elongation.
Project description:Smoke released from burning vegetation functions as an important environmental signal promoting the germination of many plant species following a fire . It not only promotes the germination of species from fire-prone habitats, but several species from non-fire-prone areas also respond, including some crops. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of smoke-water led to the identification of a highly active butenolide compound, 3-methyl-2H-furo[2,3-c]pyran-2-one. Several hypotheses have arisen regarding the molecular background of smoke and butenolide action. Contrary to the efforts to unravel the mode of action of smoke, the mechanism is still largely unknown. In this paper we demonstrate that although smoke-water and butenolide treatment of maize kernels results in a similar physiological response, the gene and protein expression patterns are quite different. Treatment with smoke-water enhanced the ubiquitination of proteins and activated protein-degradation-related genes. This effect was completely absent from butenolide-treated kernels, in which a specific aquaporin gene was distinctly upregulated. These findings indicate that other bioactive compounds present in smoke-water may act together, leading to accelerated protein turnover. The results highlight the importance of protein degradation and aquaporins in the seed germination process. Besides their obvious use in the sustainable agricultural practice, smoke and butenolide can be used in studies to gain further insight into the transcriptional changes during germination.