Project description:Arabidopsis seeds expressing the castor fatty acid hydroxylase accumulate hydroxylated fatty acids up to 17% of total fatty acids in seed triacylglycerols, however total seed oil is also reduced up to 50%. Investigations into the cause of the reduced oil phenotype through in vivo [14C]acteate and [3H]2O metabolic labeling of developing seeds surprisingly revealed that the rate of de novo fatty acid synthesis within the transgenic seeds was approximately half that of control seeds. Addition of castor phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (PDAT) increased hydroxylated fatty acid content of the seed oil, increased the rate of fatty acid synthesis, and mostly restored seed oil levels. RNAseq analysis indicated no changes in expression of fatty acid synthesis genes in hydroxylase-expressing plants. Transcript profiles of Arabidopsis developing seeds of three lines, at three stages of development were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina.
Project description:Arabidopsis seeds expressing the castor fatty acid hydroxylase accumulate hydroxylated fatty acids up to 17% of total fatty acids in seed triacylglycerols, however total seed oil is also reduced up to 50%. Investigations into the cause of the reduced oil phenotype through in vivo [14C]acteate and [3H]2O metabolic labeling of developing seeds surprisingly revealed that the rate of de novo fatty acid synthesis within the transgenic seeds was approximately half that of control seeds. Addition of castor phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (PDAT) increased hydroxylated fatty acid content of the seed oil, increased the rate of fatty acid synthesis, and mostly restored seed oil levels. RNAseq analysis indicated no changes in expression of fatty acid synthesis genes in hydroxylase-expressing plants.
Project description:In order to identify differentially expressed genes in developing seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana three different stages of seed development were analysed (9-10, 10-11 and 12-13 days after flower opening) for two Arabidopsis thaliana accessions, Col-0 and C24. For each stage and accession three biological replicates were analysed.
Project description:Production of morphologically and physiologically variable seeds is an important strategy that helps plants to survive in unpredictable natural conditions. However, the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and most agronomically essential crops yield visually homogenous seeds. Using automated phenotype analysis, we observed that in Arabidopsis small seeds tend to have higher primary and secondary dormancy levels when compared to large ones. Transcriptomic analysis revealed distinct gene expression profiles between large and small seeds. Large seeds had higher expression of translation-related genes implicated in germination competence. In contrast, small seeds showed elevated expression of many positive regulators of dormancy, including a key regulator of this process – the DOG1 gene. Differences in DOG1 expression were associated with differential production of its alternative cleavage and polyadenylation isoforms where in small seeds proximal poly(A) site is selected resulting in a short mRNA isoform. Furthermore, single-seed RNA-seq analysis demonstrated that large seeds resemble DOG1 knockout mutant seeds. Finally, on the single seed level, the expression of genes affected by seed size was correlated with the expression of genes positioning seeds on the path towards germination. Our results demonstrate an unexpected link between seed size and dormancy phenotypes in a species producing highly homogenous seed pools, suggesting that the correlation between seed morphology and physiology is more widespread than initially assumed.
Project description:ra14-04_nced - abaseed - Identification of abscisic acid (ABA) signaling factors and targets in Arabidopsis developing seeds by comparing ABA deficient and wild type genotypes. Transcriptome comparison of developing seeds harvested at 14 DAP from two ABA-deficient mutants (nced2 nced5 nced9 and nced2 nced5 nced6 nced9) and wild type (Columbia-0).
Project description:H2A.X is an H2A variant histone in eukaryotes, unique for its ability to respond to DNA damage, initiating the DNA repair pathway. H2A.X replacement within the histone octamer is mediated by the FAcilitates Chromatin Transactions (FACT) complex, a key chromatin remodeler. FACT is required for DEMETER (DME)-mediated DNA demethylation at certain loci in Arabidopsis thaliana female gametophytes during reproduction. Here, we sought to investigate whether H2A.X is involved in DME- and FACT-mediated DNA demethylation during reproduction. H2A.X is encoded by two genes in Arabidopsis genome, HTA3 and HTA5. We generated h2a.x double mutants, which displayed a normal growth profile, whereby flowering time, seed development, and root tip organization, S-phase progression and proliferation were all normal. However, h2a.x mutants were more sensitive to genotoxic stress, consistent with previous reports. H2A.X fused to Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) under the H2A.X promoter was highly expressed especially in newly developing Arabidopsis tissues, including in male and female gametophytes, where DME is also expressed. We examined DNA methylation in h2a.x developing seeds and seedlings using whole genome bisulfite sequencing, and found that CG DNA methylation is decreased genome-wide in h2a.x mutant seeds. Hypomethylation was most striking in transposon bodies, and occurred on both parental alleles in the developing endosperm, but not the embryo or seedling. h2a.x-mediated hypomethylated sites overlapped DME targets, but also included other loci, predominately located in heterochromatic transposons and intergenic DNA. Our genome-wide methylation analyses suggest that H2A.X could function in preventing access of the DME demethylase to non-canonical sites. Alternatively, H2A.X may be involved in recruiting methyltransferases to those sites. Overall, our data show that H2A.X is required to maintain DNA methylation homeostasis in the unique chromatin environment of the Arabidopsis endosperm.
Project description:This series analyses germinating Arabidopsis seeds with both temporal and spatial detail, revealing two transcriptional phases that are separated with respect to testa rupture. Performed as part of the ERA-NET Plant Genomics grant vSEED.