Project description:Sugarcane is a very efficient crop to produce ethanol. In recent years, extensive efforts have been made in order to increase sugarcane yields. To reach this goal, molecular biology tools have been used comprehensively, identifying genes, pathways and genetic polymorphisms. However, some important molecular components, like microRNAs, have not been deeply investigated. MicroRNAs are an important class of endogenous small, noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcription level and play fundamental roles in diverse aspects of animal and plant biology. Plant genomes harbor numerous miRNA genes that regulate many protein-coding genes to influence key processes ranging from development, metabolism, and responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. There is wide range of pests and diseases that affect sugarcane, yet the mechanisms that regulate pathogen interactions with sugarcane have not been thoroughly investigated. To gain knowledge on the physiological responses to pathogens mediated by microRNAs in sugarcane, we screened the transcriptoma of sugarcane plants infected with Acidovorax avenae subsp avenae, the causal agent of red stripe disease in sugarcane, and detected several microRNAs modulated in the presence of the pathogen. Furthermore, we validated with qPCR a number of microRNA expression patterns observed by bioinformatics analysis. In addition, we observed high expression levels of several star microRNAs, in numbers larger than the mature microRNAs in some cases. Interestingly, sof-miR408 was consistently down-regulated in the presence of several pathogens, but not in the presence beneficial microbes. This result indicates that the sugarcane senses pathogenic or beneficial microorganisms differentially and triggers specific epigenetic regulatory mechanisms accordingly Screenning of sRNA transcriptome of sugarcane plants infected with Acidovorax avenae subsp avenae after seven days
Project description:This study investigated the transcriptomic response of rice pathogen Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae (Aaa) strain RS-1 to ß-lactam antibiotics in particular Ampicillin (Amp) and the result highlights the importance of Amp-induced differentially expressed genes in the virulence of Aaa strain RS-1.
Project description:Sugarcane is a very efficient crop to produce ethanol. In recent years, extensive efforts have been made in order to increase sugarcane yields. To reach this goal, molecular biology tools have been used comprehensively, identifying genes, pathways and genetic polymorphisms. However, some important molecular components, like microRNAs, have not been deeply investigated. MicroRNAs are an important class of endogenous small, noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcription level and play fundamental roles in diverse aspects of animal and plant biology. Plant genomes harbor numerous miRNA genes that regulate many protein-coding genes to influence key processes ranging from development, metabolism, and responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. There is wide range of pests and diseases that affect sugarcane, yet the mechanisms that regulate pathogen interactions with sugarcane have not been thoroughly investigated. To gain knowledge on the physiological responses to pathogens mediated by microRNAs in sugarcane, we screened the transcriptoma of sugarcane plants infected with Acidovorax avenae subsp avenae, the causal agent of red stripe disease in sugarcane, and detected several microRNAs modulated in the presence of the pathogen. Furthermore, we validated with qPCR a number of microRNA expression patterns observed by bioinformatics analysis. In addition, we observed high expression levels of several star microRNAs, in numbers larger than the mature microRNAs in some cases. Interestingly, sof-miR408 was consistently down-regulated in the presence of several pathogens, but not in the presence beneficial microbes. This result indicates that the sugarcane senses pathogenic or beneficial microorganisms differentially and triggers specific epigenetic regulatory mechanisms accordingly
Project description:Determining how a bacterial pathogen responds to its host and other bacterial species by altering gene expression is key to understand its pathogenesis and environmental adaption. Here, we used RNA-Seq to comprehensively and quantitatively assess the transcriptional response of the rice bacterial pathogen Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae strain RS-1 cultivated in vitro, in vivo and in co-culture with rice rhizobacterium Burkholderia seminalis R456. Results revealed a surprisingly large number of regulatory differences between these conditions indicating adaptation of A. avenae subsp. avenae to specific ecological conditions. In particular, a number of potential virulence factors such as type 3 secretion system proteins were specifically expressed under in vivo conditions, whereas genes whose protein products are involved in inter-bacterial interaction such as auxin efflux carrier, small mechanosensitive ion channel protein, and ureidoglycolate hydrolase were among those specifically up-regulated under co-culture conditions. In addition, global genomic analysis of strain RS-1 identified 406 putative non-coding (nc) RNA genes. Interestingly, 8 ncRNA genes that were uniquely expressed under in vivo may be linked to pathogenicity while 4 ncRNA genes that were uniquely expressed under coculture conditions may be involved in adaption to co-cultivation with B. seminalis. Expression data obtained by RNA-Seq were also confirmed for selected genes by quantitative real-time PCR and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis as well as knockout analysis.
Project description:Salt stress is a primary cause of crop losses worldwide, and it has been the subject of intense investigation to unravel the complex mechanisms responsible for salinity tolerance. MicroRNA is implicated in many developmental processes and in responses to various abiotic stresses, playing pivotal roles in plant adaptation. Deep sequencing technology was chosen to determine the small RNA transcriptome of Saccharum sp cultivars grown on saline conditions. We constructed four small RNAs libraries prepared from plants grown on hydroponic culture submitted to 170mM NaCl and harvested after 1h, 6hs and 24hs. Each library was sequenced individually and together generated more than 50 million short reads. Ninety-eight conserved miRNAs and 33 miRNAs* were identified by bioinformatics. Several of the microRNA showed considerable differences of expression in the four libraries. To confirm the results of the bioinformatics-based analysis, we studied the expression of the 10 most abundant miRNAs and 1 miRNA* in plants treated with 170mM and with a severe treatment of 340mM NaCl. The results showed that 11 selected miRNAs had higher expression in samples treated with severe salt treatment compared to the mild one. We also investigated the regulation of the same miRNAs in shoots of four cultivars grown on soil treated with 170mM NaCl. Cultivars could be grouped according to miRNAs expression in response to salt stress. Furthermore, the majority of the predicted target genes had an inverse regulation with their correspondent microRNAs. The targets encode a wide range of proteins, including transcription factors, metabolic enzymes and genes involved in hormone signaling pathways of, probably assisting the plants to develop tolerance. Our work provides insights into the regulatory functions of miRNAs, thereby expanding our knowledge on potential salt-stressed regulated genes. Screenning of sRNA transcriptome of sugarcane plants infected with Acidovorax avenae subsp avenae after seven days
Project description:Determining how a bacterial pathogen responds to its host and other bacterial species by altering gene expression is key to understand its pathogenesis and environmental adaption. Here, we used RNA-Seq to comprehensively and quantitatively assess the transcriptional response of the rice bacterial pathogen Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae strain RS-1 cultivated in vitro, in vivo and in co-culture with rice rhizobacterium Burkholderia seminalis R456. Results revealed a surprisingly large number of regulatory differences between these conditions indicating adaptation of A. avenae subsp. avenae to specific ecological conditions. In particular, a number of potential virulence factors such as type 3 secretion system proteins were specifically expressed under in vivo conditions, whereas genes whose protein products are involved in inter-bacterial interaction such as auxin efflux carrier, small mechanosensitive ion channel protein, and ureidoglycolate hydrolase were among those specifically up-regulated under co-culture conditions. In addition, global genomic analysis of strain RS-1 identified 406 putative non-coding (nc) RNA genes. Interestingly, 8 ncRNA genes that were uniquely expressed under in vivo may be linked to pathogenicity while 4 ncRNA genes that were uniquely expressed under coculture conditions may be involved in adaption to co-cultivation with B. seminalis. Expression data obtained by RNA-Seq were also confirmed for selected genes by quantitative real-time PCR and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis as well as knockout analysis. Aaa strain RS-1 and B. seminalis strain R456 was isolated from diseased rice plants (Li et al., 2011; Xie et al., 2011) and rice rhizosphere (Zhang et al., 2007; Li et al., 2011), respectively, in our previous studies, and were stored in 20-30% sterile glycerol at -80°C. The samples of Aaa strain RS-1 for in vitro and in vivo analysis were prepared as described before (Ibrahim et al., 2012). The co-culture analysis of Aaa strain RS-1 with B. seminalis strain R456 were conducted according to Ruiz et al. (2009) and Di Cagno et al. (2009). Briefly, Aaa strain RS-1 and B. seminalis strain R456 was inoculated and incubated in chambers of a double culture vessel apparatus separated by a 0.4-μm membrane filter (Millipore Isopore™). In order to avoid the possible contamination during in vivo and co-culture operation, all bacterial samples were further confirmed based on the sequence analysis of 16S-rRNA (Li et al., 2011). Then samples were processed for RNA harvesting, mRNA purification and cDNA synthesis.