Project description:This study utilized next generation sequencing technology (RNA-Seq) to examine the transcriptome of sorghum plants challenged with osmotic stress and exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) to elucidate those genes and gene networks that contribute to sorghum's tolerance to water-limiting environments with a long-term aim of developing strategies to improve plant productivity under drought. We examined the mRNA of 9 day old Sorghum bicolor (BTx623) from 2 tissue types (roots and shoots) for 2 treatments (20 uM ABA and 20% PEG) with corresponding controls (0.2M NaOH and H2O) for 27 hrs prior to harvesting, each done in triplicate biological replicates - resulting in 24 unique runs
Project description:Background: Roots are essential for plant growth and serve a variety of functions, such as anchoring the plant to the ground and absorbing water and nutrients. OsERF106MZ is a salinity-induced gene that is expressed in germinating seeds and the roots of rice seedlings. However, the roles of OsERF106MZ in root growth remain poorly understood. Results: Histochemical staining of GUS (β-glucuronidase) activity in transgenic rice seedlings harboring OsERF106MZp::GUS indicated that OsERF106MZ is mainly expressed in the exodermis, sclerenchyma layer, and vascular system of roots. Overexpression of OsERF106MZ in rice seedlings leads to an increase in the length of primary roots (PRs). The expression of the ABA (abscisic acid) biosynthetic gene, OsAO3, is downregulated in OsERF106MZ-overexpressing roots under normal conditions, while the expression of OsNPC3, an AtNPC4 homolog involved in ABA sensitivity, is reduced in OsERF106MZ-overexpressin roots under both normal and NaCl-treated conditions. Under normal conditions, OsERF106MZ-overexpressing roots have a significantly low level of ABA; moreover, exogenous application of 1.0 µM ABA can suppress the OsERF106MZ-mediated promotion of root growth. Meanwhile, OsERF106MZ-overexpressing roots display less sensitivity to the ABA-mediated inhibition of root growth, when they are treated with ABA at 5.0 µM under normal conditions or exposed to NaCl-treated conditions. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-qPCR and luciferase (LUC) reporter assays showed that OsERF106MZ can bind directly to the sequence containing the GCC-box in the promoter region of OsAO3 gene and repress its expression. Conclusion: OsERF106MZ may play a role in maintaining root growth for resource uptake when rice seeds are sprouted under salinity stress, which is arrived at by alleviating the ABA-mediated inhibition of root growth.
Project description:In this study, we combined the analyses of the transcriptome, small RNAs (sRNAs), and the degradome in Populus × euramericana “Neva”roots to identify key regulatory miRNA-targeted circuits under different para-hydroxybenzoic acid concentration treatments.
