Project description:We investigated root associated fungi in young Norway spruce (Picea abies) cuttings rooted from slow- and fast-growing trees showing variable growth rate in long-term field experiments and compared their roots’ gene expression patterns five and 18 months after adventitious root initiation. Gene expression patterns of adventitious roots could not be systematically linked with the growth phenotype at the initiation of root formation, and thus fundamental differences in the receptiveness of fungal symbionts could not be assumed.
Project description:Conifer-specific responses to elicitation with the chemical elicitor chitosan have been investigated using a transcriptome analysis in Norway spruce using a cell suspension culture system that has been previously described (Phillips, Walter et al. 2007). This study has demonstrated that the early events following chitosan elicitation include calcium mediated signaling and an oxidative response that have not previously been described in intact trees. Keywords: stress response
Project description:An attractive objective in the breeding of forest trees is to reduce the content of lignin or alter the lignin composition. However, for long-lived forest trees, such as conifers, it is time consuming and expensive to wait until mature wood is formed for estimating how different ligninfication genes affect cell wall differentiation. The aim of this work was to examine the possibility of detecting changes in global gene expression and of genes involved in lignin biosynthesis already in embryogenic cultures carrying the native Norway spruce cinnamoyl CoA reductase (CCR) gene in antisense orientation. Several genes, including genes regulating phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and peroxidase, regulating different pathways associated with lignin biosynthesis were affected but the transcript abundances of genes regulating lignin biosynthesis were not affected. Functional assignment defined by Gene Ontology terms, which provide functional classification for genes and gene products representing their corresponding biological process, cellular component and molecular function showed that transformation with asCCR affects a broad spectrum of functional categories, especially processes taking place in the cell wall. Furthermore, many changes in genes related to chromatin, DNA and chromosome take place. Keywords: transgenic Norway spruce, embryogenic culture
Project description:Monolignol transport during lignification is a partially solved puzzle: both the mechanism(s) and the transported form of monolignols are unknown in developing xylem of trees. We tested a hypothesis of an active, plasma membrane (PM)-localized transport of monolignol monomers, dimers, and/or glucosidic forms with membrane vesicles prepared of developing xylem, phloem, and lignin-forming, tissue-cultured cells of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.), as well as of a control material, non-lignifying tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) BY-2 cells. Xylem and BY-2 vesicles transported both coniferin and p-coumaryl alcohol glucoside, but inhibitor assays suggested this transport being over the tonoplast. Based on similar inhibitor assays, lignin-forming, tissue42 cultured cells of spruce had coniferin transport putatively localizing on PM. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis of membrane proteins isolated from spruce developing xylem, phloem and tissue-cultured cells revealed multiple transporters. These were compared to a transporter gene set that was gained by a correlation analysis with a selected set of spruce monolignol biosynthesis genes. Biochemical membrane vesicle assays showed no support for the ABC-transporter-mediated monolignol transport but point to secondary active transporters (such as MFS- or MATE-transporters). In contrast, proteomic and co-expression analyses suggest a role for ABC-transporters and MFS-transporters.
Project description:In order to test Norway spruce radiosensitivity to gamma radiation, 6 days old seedlings were exposed for 48 h to 60-Co source at dose rates 1, 10, 40 or 100 mGy/h.
Project description:Photosystem II (PSII) complexes are organized into large supercomplexes with variable amounts of light-harvesting proteins (Lhcb). A typical PSII supercomplex in plants is formed by four trimers of Lhcb proteins (LHCII trimers), which are bound to the PSII core dimer via monomeric antenna proteins. However, the architecture of PSII supercomplexes in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) is different, most likely due to a lack of two Lhcb proteins, Lhcb6 and Lhcb3. Interestingly, the spruce PSII supercomplex shares similar structural features with its counterpart in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Kouřil et al.: New Phytol. 210, 808-814, 2016). Here we present a single-particle electron microscopy study of isolated PSII supercomplexes from Norway spruce that revealed binding of a variable amount of LHCII trimers to the PSII core dimer at positions that have never been observed in any other plant species so far. The largest spruce PSII supercomplex, which was found to bind 8 LHCII trimers, is even larger than the current largest known PSII supercomplex from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We have also shown that the spruce PSII supercomplexes can form various types of PSII megacomplexes, which were also identified in intact grana membranes. Some of these large PSII supercomplexes and megacomplexes were identified also in Pinus sylvestris, another representative of Pinaceae family. The structural variability and complexity of LHCII organization in Pinaceae seems to be related to the absence of Lhcb6 and Lhcb3 in this family and may be beneficial for the optimization of light-harvesting under varying environmental conditions.