Project description:We report the discovery of a beta-glucosidase gene (Pgβglu-1) whose expression underpins natural resistance to a major forest pest, the spruce budworm (SBW) in white spruce (Picea glauca (Voss.) Moench). We performed a microarray experiment to compare resistant (R) and non-resistant (N-R) trees. Pgβglu-1 transcripts levels uniquely were up to 1000 times higher in phenotypically resistant trees and correlated with accumulation of acetophenones compounds that reduce SBW development. These resistance traits were heritable, temporally correlated with the emergence of the most damaging larval stages and were highly variable in the natural population across a large geographic area. The recombinant gene product specifically catalyzed the release of biologically active acetophenones from their glucoside precursors. SBW outbreaks have become more frequent and intense; therefore, the phenotypic diversity resulting from variation in Pgβglu-1 expression may be a key for the adaptability of spruce populations.
Project description:We report the discovery of a beta-glucosidase gene (PgM-NM-2glu-1) whose expression underpins natural resistance to a major forest pest, the spruce budworm (SBW) in white spruce (Picea glauca (Voss.) Moench). We performed a microarray experiment to compare resistant (R) and non-resistant (N-R) trees. PgM-NM-2glu-1 transcripts levels uniquely were up to 1000 times higher in phenotypically resistant trees and correlated with accumulation of acetophenones compounds that reduce SBW development. These resistance traits were heritable, temporally correlated with the emergence of the most damaging larval stages and were highly variable in the natural population across a large geographic area. The recombinant gene product specifically catalyzed the release of biologically active acetophenones from their glucoside precursors. SBW outbreaks have become more frequent and intense; therefore, the phenotypic diversity resulting from variation in PgM-NM-2glu-1 expression may be a key for the adaptability of spruce populations. Transcriptome profiling was carried out with needles from 7 resistant and 7 non-resistant trees (harvested on June 17th, 2010), and 3 samples per tree (n=42) with a custom microarray developed for spruce species and comprising oligonucleotide probes for 23,853 unique P. glauca gene sequences (Raherison et al., 2012).
Project description:We performed RNA-Seq based gene expression analysis of Arabidopsis Col-0 plants grown in presence of SynComCol-0 (eubiotic bacterial community), SynCommfec (dysbiotic bacterial community) and Axenic conditions in GnotoPot plant gnotobiotic growth system. SynCom preparation was done by mixing equal ratio of the each strain measured based on optical density of (OD600) in 10 mM MgCl2 and adjusting to the final combined OD600 of 0.04. Plants were grow in GnotoPots as described in (Chen et al, Nature 2020). We identified genes differentially enriched in response to presence of eubiotic and dysbiotic bacterial communities. Our results suggested that in presence of dysbiotic community there is over abundance of gene expression for immunity/defense-related genes in SynCommfec compared SynComCol-0 colonized plants.
Project description:Total bacterial DNA was isolated from water and sediment samples from a local watershed and 16S rRNA sequences were analyzed using the Illumina MiSeq v3 platform in order to generate snapshots of bacterial community profiles. A total of 56 samples were collected that represent water and sediment samples from 14 sample sites over two different time points (November 18 and 25, 2011).