Project description:Root exudates contain specialised metabolites that affect the plant’s root microbiome. How host-specific microbes cope with these bioactive compounds, and how this ability shapes root microbiomes, remains largely unknown. We investigated how maize root bacteria metabolise benzoxazinoids, the main specialised metabolites of maize. Diverse and abundant bacteria metabolised the major compound in the maize rhizosphere MBOA and formed AMPO. AMPO forming bacteria are enriched in the rhizosphere of benzoxazinoid-producing maize and can use MBOA as carbon source. We identified a novel gene cluster associated with AMPO formation in microbacteria. The first gene in this cluster, bxdA encodes a lactonase that converts MBOA to AMPO in vitro. A deletion mutant of the homologous bxdA genes in the genus Sphingobium, does not form AMPO nor is it able to use MBOA as a carbon source. BxdA was identified in different genera of maize root bacteria. Here we show that plant-specialised metabolites select for metabolisation-competent root bacteria. BxdA represents a novel benzoxazinoid metabolisation gene whose carriers successfully colonize the maize rhizosphere and thereby shape the plant’s chemical environmental footprint
Project description:Several reports have described the involvement of miRNAs in abiotic stresses. However, their role in biotic stress or to beneficial microbes has not been fully explored. In order to understand on the epigenetic regulation in plant in response to nitrogen-fixing bacteria association, we analyzed the sRNA regulation in maize hybrids (Zea mays M-bM-^@M-^S UENF 506-8) inoculated with the beneficial diazotrophic bacteria (Herbaspirillum seropedicae). Deep sequencing analysis was carried out to identify the sRNAs regulated in maize during association with diazotrophic bacteria. For this analysis, maize plants were germinated in wet paper and put in hydroponic system with HoaglandM-bM-^@M-^Ys solution and then inoculated with H. seropedicae for seven days. Mock and inoculated plants were collected and total RNA from a pool of samples was extracted with Trizol reagent. The two sRNA libraries were sequenced by Illumina. The sequences were filtered to remove adaptors and contaminants rRNA and tRNAs, and sequences with 18-28 nt in length were selected. To identify the miRNAs present in these libraries, we used two strategies using the same website (http://srna-tools.cmp.uea.ac.uk): one to identify novel miRNAs using the maize genome (verson 2) and miRCat pipeline; and other to identify conserved miRNAs using the miRBase database (release 13.0, http://microrna.sanger.ac.uk) and miRProf pipeline. We identified 17 novel putative miRNAs candidates and mapped the precursor of these miRNAs in the maize genome. Furthermore, we identified 25 conserved miRNAs families and the differential expressions were analyzed with miRProf pipeline. The bioinformatics analysis of four up-regulated miRNAs (miR397, miR398, miR408 and miR528) in inoculated plant was validated using stemM-bM-^@M-^Sloop RT-PCR assay. Our findings contribute to increase the knowledge of the molecular relation between plants and endophytic bacteria. Screenning of sRNA transcriptome of maize plants inoculated with Herbaspirillum seropedicae after seven days
Project description:Root microbiota is important for plant growth and fitness. Little is known about whether and how the assembly of root microbiota may be controlled by epigenetic regulation, which is crucial for gene transcription and genome stability. Here we show that dysfunction of the histone demethylase IBM1 (INCREASE IN BONSAI METHYLATION 1) in Arabidopsis thaliana substantially reshaped the root microbiota, with the majority of the significant amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) being decreased. Transcriptome analyses of plants grown in soil and in sterile growth-medium jointly disclosed salicylic acid (SA)-mediated autoimmunity and production of the defense metabolite camalexin in the ibm1 mutants. Analyses of genome-wide histone modifications and DNA methylation highlighted epigenetic modifications permissive for transcription at several important defense regulators. Consistently, ibm1 mutants showed increased resistance to the pathogen Pseudomonas syringae DC3000 with stronger immune responses. In addition, ibm1 showed substantially impaired plant growth-promotion in response to beneficial bacteria; the impairment was partially mimicked by exogenous application of SA to wild type plants, and by a null mutation of AGP19 that is important for cell expansion and that is repressed with DNA hyper methylation in ibm1. IBM1-dependent epigenetic regulation imposes strong and broad impacts on plant-microbe interactions and thereby shapes the assembly of root microbiota.
Project description:Several reports have described the involvement of miRNAs in abiotic stresses. However, their role in biotic stress or to beneficial microbes has not been fully explored. In order to understand on the epigenetic regulation in plant in response to nitrogen-fixing bacteria association, we analyzed the sRNA regulation in maize hybrids (Zea mays – UENF 506-8) inoculated with the beneficial diazotrophic bacteria (Herbaspirillum seropedicae). Deep sequencing analysis was carried out to identify the sRNAs regulated in maize during association with diazotrophic bacteria. For this analysis, maize plants were germinated in wet paper and put in hydroponic system with Hoagland’s solution and then inoculated with H. seropedicae for seven days. Mock and inoculated plants were collected and total RNA from a pool of samples was extracted with Trizol reagent. The two sRNA libraries were sequenced by Illumina. The sequences were filtered to remove adaptors and contaminants rRNA and tRNAs, and sequences with 18-28 nt in length were selected. To identify the miRNAs present in these libraries, we used two strategies using the same website (http://srna-tools.cmp.uea.ac.uk): one to identify novel miRNAs using the maize genome (verson 2) and miRCat pipeline; and other to identify conserved miRNAs using the miRBase database (release 13.0, http://microrna.sanger.ac.uk) and miRProf pipeline. We identified 17 novel putative miRNAs candidates and mapped the precursor of these miRNAs in the maize genome. Furthermore, we identified 25 conserved miRNAs families and the differential expressions were analyzed with miRProf pipeline. The bioinformatics analysis of four up-regulated miRNAs (miR397, miR398, miR408 and miR528) in inoculated plant was validated using stem–loop RT-PCR assay. Our findings contribute to increase the knowledge of the molecular relation between plants and endophytic bacteria.