Transcriptome-IPMS analysis reveals a tissue-dependent miR156/SPL13 regulatory mechanism in alfalfa drought tolerance

BMC Genomics

Justin Renaud¹  Susanne E. Kohalmi²  Abdelali Hannoufa³  Biruk A. Feyissa³  Vida Nasrollahi³ 

[1] Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1391 Sandford Street, N5V 4T3, London, Ontario, Canada;Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, N6A3K7, London, Ontario, Canada;Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, N6A3K7, London, Ontario, Canada;Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1391 Sandford Street, N5V 4T3, London, Ontario, Canada;

关键词: Alfalfa;    Drought;    IPMS;    Medicago sativa;    miR156;    SPL13;    Transcriptome;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12864-020-07118-4

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundWe previously reported on the interplay between miR156/SPL13 and WD40–1/DFR to improve response to drought stress in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Here we aimed to investigate whether the role of miR156/SPL13 module in drought response is tissue-specific, and to identify SPL13-interacting proteins. We analyzed the global transcript profiles of leaf, stem, and root tissues of one-month old RNAi-silenced SPL13 (SPL13RNAi) alfalfa plants exposed to drought stress and conducted protein-protein interaction analysis to identify SPL13 interacting partners.ResultTranscript analysis combined with weighted gene co-expression network analysis showed tissue and genotype-specific gene expression patterns. Moreover, pathway analysis of stem-derived differentially expressed genes (DEG) revealed upregulation of genes associated with stress mitigating primary and specialized metabolites, whereas genes associated with photosynthesis light reactions were silenced in SPL13RNAi plants. Leaf-derived DEG were attributed to enhanced light reactions, largely photosystem I, II, and electron transport chains, while roots of SPL13RNAi plants upregulated transcripts associated with metal ion transport, carbohydrate, and primary metabolism. Using immunoprecipitation combined with mass spectrometry (IPMS) we showed that SPL13 interacts with proteins involved in photosynthesis, specialized metabolite biosynthesis, and stress tolerance.ConclusionsWe conclude that the miR156/SPL13 module mitigates drought stress in alfalfa by regulating molecular and physiological processes in a tissue-dependent manner.

【 授权许可】

CC BY