Arabidopsis Non-Coding RNA Regulation in Abiotic  Stress Responses

Plants are constantly challenged by changing environmental conditions that include abiotic stresses. These are limiting their development and productivity and are subsequently threatening our food security, especially when considering the pressure of the increasing global population. Thus, there is an urgent need for the next generation of crops with high productivity and resilience to climate change. The dawn of a new era characterized by the emergence of fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies has redefined the ideological boundaries of research and applications in plant sciences. Recent technological advances and machine learning (ML)-based computational tools and omics data analysis approaches are allowing scientists to derive comprehensive metabolic descriptions and models for the target plant species under specific conditions. Such accurate metabolic descriptions are imperatively essential for devising a roadmap for the next generation of crops that are resilient to environmental deterioration. By synthesizing the recent literature and collating data on metabolomics studies on plant responses to abiotic stresses, in the context of the 4IR era, we point out the opportunities and challenges offered by omics science, analytical intelligence, computational tools and big data analytics. Specifically, we highlight technological advancements in (plant) metabolomics workflows and the use of machine learning and computational tools to decipher the dynamics in the chemical space that define plant responses to abiotic stress conditions.

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Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the Histone Deacetylase Gene Family in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10010019 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 19

Author(s):

Peng Jin ◽

Shiqi Gao ◽

Long He ◽

Miaoze Xu ◽

Tianye Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Abiotic Stress ◽

Gene Family ◽

Mosaic Virus ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Viral Infections ◽

Phylogenetic Analyses ◽

Plant Viruses ◽

Gene Family Evolution ◽

Yellow Mosaic Virus ◽

Wheat Yellow Mosaic Virus

Histone acetylation is a dynamic modification process co-regulated by histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). Although HDACs play vital roles in abiotic or biotic stress responses, their members in Triticumaestivum and their response to plant viruses remain unknown. Here, we identified and characterized 49 T. aestivumHDACs (TaHDACs) at the whole-genome level. Based on phylogenetic analyses, TaHDACs could be divided into 5 clades, and their protein spatial structure was integral and conserved. Chromosomal location and synteny analyses showed that TaHDACs were widely distributed on wheat chromosomes, and gene duplication has accelerated the TaHDAC gene family evolution. The cis-acting element analysis indicated that TaHDACs were involved in hormone response, light response, abiotic stress, growth, and development. Heatmaps analysis of RNA-sequencing data showed that TaHDAC genes were involved in biotic or abiotic stress response. Selected TaHDACs were differentially expressed in diverse tissues or under varying temperature conditions. All selected TaHDACs were significantly upregulated following infection with the barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV), Chinese wheat mosaic virus (CWMV), and wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV), suggesting their involvement in response to viral infections. Furthermore, TaSRT1-silenced contributed to increasing wheat resistance against CWMV infection. In summary, these findings could help deepen the understanding of the structure and characteristics of the HDAC gene family in wheat and lay the foundation for exploring the function of TaHDACs in plants resistant to viral infections.

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Genome-Wide Analysis of Poplar SQUAMOSA-Promoter-Binding Protein (SBP) Family under Salt Stress

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12040413 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 413

Author(s):

Qing Guo ◽

Li Li ◽

Kai Zhao ◽

Wenjing Yao ◽

Zihan Cheng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Salt Stress ◽

Abiotic Stress ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Growth And Development ◽

Binding Protein ◽

Gene Segment ◽

Gene Expression Pattern ◽

Genome Wide Analysis ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Squamosa Promoter Binding Protein

SQUAMOSA promoter binding protein (SBP) is a kind of plant-specific transcription factor, which plays a crucial role in stress responses and plant growth and development by activating and inhibiting the transcription of multiple target genes. In this study, a total of 30 SBP genes were identified from Populus trichocarpa genome and randomly distributed on 16 chromosomes in poplar. According to phylogenetic analysis, the PtSBPs can be divided into six categories, and 14 out of the genes belong to VI. Furthermore, the SBP genes in VI were proved to have a targeting relationship with miR156. The homeopathic element analysis showed that the promoters of poplar SBP genes mainly contain the elements involved in growth and development, abiotic stress and hormone response. In addition, there existed 10 gene segment duplication events in the SBP gene duplication analysis. Furthermore, there were four poplar and Arabidopsis orthologous gene pairs among the poplar SBP members. What is more, poplar SBP gene family has diverse gene expression pattern under salt stress. As many as nine SBP members were responding to high salt stress and six members possibly participated in growth development and abiotic stress. Yeast two-hybrid experiments indicated that PtSBPs can form heterodimers to interact in the transcriptional regulatory networks. The genome-wide analysis of poplar SBP family will contribute to function characterization of SBP genes in woody plants.

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6S RNA regulation of relA alters ppGpp levels in early stationary phase

Microbiology ◽

10.1099/mic.0.043992-0 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 156 (12) ◽

pp. 3791-3800 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Amy T. Cavanagh ◽

Pete Chandrangsu ◽

Karen M. Wassarman

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Stationary Phase ◽

Regulation Of Transcription ◽

Early Stationary Phase ◽

Rna Regulation ◽

Global Regulators ◽

Expression Of Genes ◽

Non Coding Rna ◽

6S Rna ◽

Altered Regulation

6S RNA is a small, non-coding RNA that interacts directly with σ 70-RNA polymerase and regulates transcription at many σ 70-dependent promoters. Here, we demonstrate that 6S RNA regulates transcription of relA, which encodes a ppGpp synthase. The 6S RNA-dependent regulation of relA expression results in increased ppGpp levels during early stationary phase in cells lacking 6S RNA. These changes in ppGpp levels, although modest, are sufficient to result in altered regulation of transcription from σ 70-dependent promoters sensitive to ppGpp, including those promoting expression of genes involved in amino acid biosynthesis and rRNA. These data place 6S RNA as another player in maintaining appropriate gene expression as cells transition into stationary phase. Independent of this ppGpp-mediated 6S RNA-dependent regulation, we also demonstrate that in later stationary phase, 6S RNA continues to downregulate transcription in general, and specifically at a subset of the amino acid promoters, but through a mechanism that is independent of ppGpp and which we hypothesize is through direct regulation. In addition, 6S RNA-dependent regulation of σ S activity is not mediated through observed changes in ppGpp levels. We suggest a role for 6S RNA in modulating transcription of several global regulators directly, including relA, to downregulate expression of key pathways in response to changing environmental conditions.

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