Genome-Wide Expression Analysis of Root Tips in Contrasting Rice Genotypes Revealed Novel Candidate Genes for Water Stress Adaptation

Frontiers in Plant Science

Armin Soleymaniniya¹  Saeed Irian²  Naghmeh Hadidi³  Parisa Koobaz⁴  Ghasem Hosseini Salekdeh⁵  Paul A. Haynes⁵  Parisa Yazdanpanah⁶  Somayeh Abdirad⁶  Ahmad Majd⁶  Mohammad Reza Ghaffari⁷  Amirhossein Sadri⁷  Mehrbano Kazemi⁷  Zahra-Sadat Shobbar⁷  Laleh Karimi Farsad⁷  Zahra Ghorbanzadeh⁷  Parisa Daryani⁷  Mehdi Mirzaei⁸ 

[1] Department of Biotechnology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran;Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran;Department of Clinical Research and Electronic Microscope, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran;Department of Molecular Physiology, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Karaj, Iran;Department of Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran;Department of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Karaj, Iran;Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia;

关键词: rice;    root tip;    water stress;    root system architecture;    RNAseq;    transcriptome;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpls.2022.792079

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Root system architecture (RSA) is an important agronomic trait with vital roles in plant productivity under water stress conditions. A deep and branched root system may help plants to avoid water stress by enabling them to acquire more water and nutrient resources. Nevertheless, our knowledge of the genetics and molecular control mechanisms of RSA is still relatively limited. In this study, we analyzed the transcriptome response of root tips to water stress in two well-known genotypes of rice: IR64, a high-yielding lowland genotype, which represents a drought-susceptible and shallow-rooting genotype; and Azucena, a traditional, upland, drought-tolerant and deep-rooting genotype. We collected samples from three zones (Z) of root tip: two consecutive 5 mm sections (Z1 and Z2) and the following next 10 mm section (Z3), which mainly includes meristematic and maturation regions. Our results showed that Z1 of Azucena was enriched for genes involved in cell cycle and division and root growth and development whereas in IR64 root, responses to oxidative stress were strongly enriched. While the expansion of the lateral root system was used as a strategy by both genotypes when facing water shortage, it was more pronounced in Azucena. Our results also suggested that by enhancing meristematic cell wall thickening for insulation purposes as a means of confronting stress, the sensitive IR64 genotype may have reduced its capacity for root elongation to extract water from deeper layers of the soil. Furthermore, several members of gene families such as NAC, AP2/ERF, AUX/IAA, EXPANSIN, WRKY, and MYB emerged as main players in RSA and drought adaptation. We also found that HSP and HSF gene families participated in oxidative stress inhibition in IR64 root tip. Meta-quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis revealed that 288 differentially expressed genes were colocalized with RSA QTLs previously reported under drought and normal conditions. This finding warrants further research into their possible roles in drought adaptation. Overall, our analyses presented several major molecular differences between Azucena and IR64, which may partly explain their differential root growth responses to water stress. It appears that Azucena avoided water stress through enhancing growth and root exploration to access water, whereas IR64 might mainly rely on cell insulation to maintain water and antioxidant system to withstand stress. We identified a large number of novel RSA and drought associated candidate genes, which should encourage further exploration of their potential to enhance drought adaptation in rice.

【 授权许可】

Unknown