Project description:In multicellular systems changes to the patterning of gene expression drive modifications in cell function and trait evolution. One striking example is found in more than sixty plant lineages where compartmentation of photosynthesis between cell types allowed evolution of the efficient C4 pathway from the ancestral C3 state. The molecular events enabling this transition are unclear. We used single nuclei sequencing to generate a cell level expression atlas for C3 rice and C4 sorghum during photomorphogenesis. In both species a conserved cistrome was identified for each cell type and initiation of photosynthesis gene expression was conditioned by cell identity. Photosynthesis genes switching expression from mesophyll in rice to bundle sheath in sorghum acquire hallmarks of bundle sheath identity. The sorghum bundle sheath has also acquired gene networks associated with C3 guard cells. We conclude C4 photosynthesis is based on rewiring in cis that exapts cell identity networks of C3 plants.
Project description:Zea mays is a C4 plant that utilizes two distinct cell types, mesophyll (M) and bundle sheath (BS), to cooperatively fix carbon. Regulation of M and BS cell differentiation is poorly understood. Here, we explore the transcriptional networks of M and BS cells by microarray analysis. The maize mutant bundle sheath defective2 lacks the accumulation of Rubisco small and large subunits (Roth et al 1996; Brutnell et al 1999) and cannot perform the Calvin Cycle (Smith et al 1998). Therefore, this mutant provides an opportunity to study M and BS cell differentiation in a perturbed BS background, potentially revealing regulons important to cell identity. M and BS cells were independently isolated from mutant and wild-type siblings. Transcriptional profiling was then performed in a cell specific manner between mutant and wild-type.
Project description:The biotrophic fungus Ustilago maydis causes smut disease on maize (Zea mays L.), which is characterized by immense plant tumours. To establish disease and reprogram organ primordia to tumours, U. maydis deploys effector proteins in an organ-specific manner. However, the cellular contribution to leaf tumours remains unknown. We investigated leaf tumour formation on the tissue- and cell type-specific level. Cytology and metabolite analysis were deployed to understand the cellular basis for tumourigenesis. Laser-capture microdissection was performed to gain a cell-type specific transcriptome of U. maydis during tumour formation. In-vivo visualization of plant DNA synthesis identified bundle sheath cells as the origin of hyperplasic tumour cells, while mesophyll cells become hypertrophic tumour cells. Cell type specific transcriptome profiling of U. maydis revealed tailored expression of fungal effector genes. Moreover, U. maydis See1 was identified the first cell type specific fungal effector, being required for induction of cell cycle reactivation in bundle sheath cells. Identification of distinct cellular mechanisms in two different leave cell types, and See1 as an effector for induction of proliferation of bundle-sheath cells, are major steps in understanding U. maydis-induced tumor formation. Moreover, the cell-type specific U. maydis transcriptome data is a valuable resource to the scientific community.
2018-02-13 | GSE105770 | GEO
Project description:Analysis of translation in mesophyll and bundle sheath enriched fractions of maize
Project description:Freshwater is a limited and dwindling global resource; therefore, efficient water use is required for food crops that have high water demands, such as rice, or for the production of sustainable energy biomass. We show here that expression of the Arabidopsis HARDY (HRD) gene in rice improves water use efficiency, the ratio of biomass produced to the water used, by enhancing photosynthetic assimilation and reducing transpiration. These drought tolerant low-water-consuming rice plants exhibit increased shoot biomass under well irrigated conditions and an adaptive increase in root biomass under drought stress. The HRD gene, an AP2/ERF-like transcription factor, identified by a gain-of-function Arabidopsis mutant hrd-D having roots with enhanced strength, branching, and cortical cells, exhibits drought resistance and salt tolerance, accompanied by an enhancement in the expression of abiotic stress associated genes. Although HRD overexpression in Arabidopsis produces thicker leaves with more chloroplast-bearing mesophyll cells, in rice there is an increase in leaf biomass and bundle sheath cells that probably contribute to the enhanced photosynthesis assimilation and efficiency. HRD overexpression was also studied for clues of molecular mechanisms involved using microarrays. The results exemplify application of a gene identified from the model plant Arabidopsis for the improvement of water use efficiency coincident with drought resistance in the crop plant rice. Keywords: Genetic modification transcription factor overexpression mutant