Metabolome and water homeostasis analysis of Thellungiella salsuginea suggests that dehydration tolerance is a key response to osmotic stress in this halophyte

Thellungiella salsuginea, a Brassicaceae species closely related to Arabidopsis thaliana, is tolerant to high salinity. The two species were compared under conditions of osmotic stress to assess the relationships between stress tolerance, the metabolome, water homeostasis and growth performance. A broad range of metabolites were analysed by metabolic fingerprinting and profiling, and the results showed that, despite a few notable differences in raffinose and secondary metabolites, the same metabolic pathways were regulated by salt stress in both species. The main difference was quantitative: Thellungiella had much higher levels of most metabolites than Arabidopsis whatever the treatment. Comprehensive quantification of organic and mineral solutes showed a relative stability of the total solute content regardless of the species or treatment, meaning that little or no osmotic adjustment occurred under stress. The reduction in osmotic potential observed in plants under stress was found to result from a passive loss of water. Thellungiella shoots contain less water than Arabidopsis shoots, and have the ability to lose more water, which could contribute to maintain a water potential gradient between soil and plant. Significant differences between Thellungiella and Arabidopsis were also observed in terms of the physicochemical properties of their metabolomes, such as water solubility and polarity. On the whole, the Thellungiella metabolome appears to be more compatible with dehydration. Osmotic stress was also found to impact the metabolome properties in both species, increasing the overall polarity. Together, the results suggest that Thellungiella copes with osmotic stress by tolerating dehydration, with its metabolic configuration lending itself to osmoprotective strategies rather than osmo-adjustment.     

转辽宁碱蓬SlNAC4拟南芥差异表达基因分析

以实验室前期获得的转SlNAC4基因拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)和野生型拟南芥为材料, 通过基因芯片技术检测其基因表达谱。结果表明, 与野生型拟南芥相比, 转SlNAC4基因拟南芥中差异表达的基因共有3 094个。 通过GO分析, 发现与非生物胁迫相关的差异基因共有195个, 与生长发育相关的差异基因共有47个, 其中包含MYB和WRKY转录因子基因。KEGG分析表明, 差异表达基因主要涉及植物激素信号转导和油菜素内酯合成等信号通路。进一步选择部分差异表达基因进行实时荧光定量PCR分析, 所得结果与芯片检测结果一致。该研究结果表明, SlNAC4可直接或间接地调控多个下游基因的表达, 进而调控植物的生长发育, 提高其抗逆性。     

环境胁迫下植物MAPK多叠级联响应

植物MAP(mitogen-activated protein)激酶涉及植物的生长发育、对内源和外界环境刺激的反应.MAP激酶能将胞外感受器引起的刺激传递到胞内引起细胞的反应.拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)作为模式植物,其全部的MAP激酶已经列出并进行了分类.根据已分类的拟南芥MAP激酶家族,已经分离出大量的MAP激酶基因,并将它们进行分类,发现它们大多能被包括病原、创伤、温度、干旱、盐、渗透、紫外线辐射、臭氧和活性氧等胁迫刺激激活.通过研究在不同环境胁迫下的功能和信号路径,发现植物MAP激酶信号传递系统是复杂且相互交错的.需要开发一些新的工具和策略去阐明MAPK信号传递路径,以及如何利用MAPK系统去改善农作物对生物和非生物胁迫的抗性.