Project description:Wheat is one of the most significant crops in terms of human consumption in the world. In a climate change scenario, extreme weather event such as heatwaves will be more frequent especially during the grain-filling (GF) stage and could affect grain weight and quality of crops. Molecular mechanisms underlying the response to short heat stress (HS) have been widely reported for the hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum) but the regulatory heat stress mechanisms in tetraploid durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) remain partially understood. In this work, we performed a transcriptomic analysis of durum wheat grains to HS during early GF to identify key HS response genes and their predicted regulatory networks under glasshouse conditions.
Project description:Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum subsp. durum) is widely grown for pasta production, and more recently, is gaining additional interest due to its resilience to warm, dry climates and its use as an experimental model for wheat research. To enable further research into endosperm development and storage reserve synthesis, we generated a high-quality transcriptomics dataset from developing endosperms of durum variety Kronos, to complement the extensive mutant resources available for this variety. Endosperms were dissected from grains harvested at eight timepoints during grain development (6 to 30 days post anthesis (dpa)), then RNA sequencing was used to profile the transcriptome at each stage. The largest changes in gene expression profile were observed between the earlier timepoints, prior to 15 dpa. We detected a total of 29,925 genes that were significantly differentially expressed between at least two timepoints, and clustering analysis revealed nine distinct expression patterns. Overall, we provide a valuable resource for studying endosperm development in this increasingly important crop species.
Project description:We have employed whole genome microarray expression profiling as a discovery platform to identify genes to alter the transcript accumulation levels in grass-clump dwarf lines, which are synthetic hexaploid lines from triploid hybrids crossed between tetraploid wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum cv. Langdon or T. turgidum ssp. carthlicum) and diploid wheat progenitor Aegilops tauschii (KU2025). No up-regulation of defense-related genes was observed under the normal temperature, and down-regulation of wheat APETALA1-like MADS-box genes, considered to act as flowering promoters, was found in the grass-clump dwarf lines. Together with small RNA sequencing analysis of the grass-clump dwarf line, unusual expression of the miR156/SPLs module could explain the grass-clump dwarf phenotype.
Project description:Gene expression levels of newly synthetic triploid wheat (ABD), its chromosome-doubled hexaploid (AABBDD), stable synthetic hexaploid (AABBDD), and their parents, Triticum turgidum (accession KU124, AABB) and Aegilops tauschii (accession KU2074, DD) were compared to understand genome-wide change of gene expressions during the course of amphidiploidization and genome stabilization. Stable synthetic hexaploid which were maintained through self-pollinations for 13 generations using the same combinations of the parents for production of synthetic common wheat.
Project description:We have employed whole genome microarray expression profiling as a discovery platform to identify genes to alter the transcript accumulation levels in a grass-clump dwarf line, which is a synthetic hexaploid line from triploid hybrids crossed between tetraploid wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum cv. Langdon) and a diploid wheat relative Aegilops umbellulata (KU-4052). Up-regulation of metabolic and catabolic processes-related genes for cell wall-associated molecules was observed, and down-regulation of wheat APETALA1-like MADS-box genes, considered to act as flowering promoters, was found in the grass-clump dwarf line. Unusual expression of the branching-related SPLs and flowering time regulation-related MADS-box genes could explain the grass-clump dwarf phenotype.
Project description:Background: MicroRNAs are endogenous small noncoding RNAs that play critical roles in plant abiotic stress responses. The interaction between miRNA-mRNA targets and their regulatory pathways in response to water deficit stress has been investigated in many plant species. However, the miRNA transcriptome of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum) is poorly characterised, with little known about miRNA functions related to water deficit stress. Yield loss in durum wheat can be exacerbated due to minimal rainfall in the early reproductive stages of development during Spring in Australia. This study describes genotypic differences in the miRNAome between water deficit tolerant/sensitive durum, using flag leaf and developing head tissue, and more specifically identifies miRNAs associated with water deficit stress. Results: Small RNA libraries (96 in total) were constructed from flag leaf and developing head tissues of four durum genotypes (Tamaroi, Yawa, EGA Bellaroi, Tjilkuri), with or without water deficit stress. Illumina sequencing and subsequent analysis detected 110 conserved miRNAs and 159 novel candidate miRNA hairpins. Statistical analysis of the abundance of sequencing reads revealed 66 conserved miRNAs and five novel miRNA hairpins showing differential expression under water deficit stress. During stress, several conserved and novel miRNAs showed unambiguous inverted regulatory profiles between the durum genotypes studied. Several miRNAs were also identified to have different abundance in the flag leaf compared to the developing head regardless of treatment. Predicted mRNA targets from four novel durum miRNAs were characterised using Gene Ontology (GO) which revealed functions common to stress responses and plant development. Conclusion: For the first time, we present a comprehensive study of the miRNA transcriptome of flag leaf and developing head tissues in different durum genotypes under water deficit stress. The identification of differentially expressed miRNAs provides molecular evidence that miRNAs are potential determinants of water stress tolerance in durum wheat. GO analysis of predicted targets contributes to the understanding of genotype-specific physiological responses leading to stress tolerance capacity. Further functional analysis of specific stress responsive miRNAs identified, and their interaction with mRNA targets is ongoing and will assist in developing future durum wheat varieties with enhanced water deficit stress tolerance.