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The dynamics of touch-responsive gene expression in cereals

Darwish, Essam LU ; Ghosh, Ritesh LU orcid ; Bentzer, Johan LU ; Tsardakas Renhuldt, Nikos LU orcid ; Proux-Wera, Estelle ; Kamal, Nadia ; Spannagl, Manuel ; Hause, Bettina ; Sirijovski, Nick LU and Van Aken, Olivier LU (2023) In Plant Journal 116(1). p.282-302
Abstract

Wind, rain, herbivores, obstacles, neighbouring plants, etc. provide important mechanical cues to steer plant growth and survival. Mechanostimulation to stimulate yield and stress resistance of crops is of significant research interest, yet a molecular understanding of transcriptional responses to touch is largely absent in cereals. To address this, we performed whole-genome transcriptomics following mechanostimulation of wheat, barley, and the recent genome-sequenced oat. The largest transcriptome changes occurred ±25 min after touching, with most of the genes being upregulated. While most genes returned to basal expression level by 1–2 h in oat, many genes retained high expression even 4 h post-treatment in barley and wheat.... (More)

Wind, rain, herbivores, obstacles, neighbouring plants, etc. provide important mechanical cues to steer plant growth and survival. Mechanostimulation to stimulate yield and stress resistance of crops is of significant research interest, yet a molecular understanding of transcriptional responses to touch is largely absent in cereals. To address this, we performed whole-genome transcriptomics following mechanostimulation of wheat, barley, and the recent genome-sequenced oat. The largest transcriptome changes occurred ±25 min after touching, with most of the genes being upregulated. While most genes returned to basal expression level by 1–2 h in oat, many genes retained high expression even 4 h post-treatment in barley and wheat. Functional categories such as transcription factors, kinases, phytohormones, and Ca2+ regulation were affected. In addition, cell wall-related genes involved in (hemi)cellulose, lignin, suberin, and callose biosynthesis were touch-responsive, providing molecular insight into mechanically induced changes in cell wall composition. Furthermore, several cereal-specific transcriptomic footprints were identified that were not observed in Arabidopsis. In oat and barley, we found evidence for systemic spreading of touch-induced signalling. Finally, we provide evidence that both the jasmonic acid-dependent and the jasmonic acid-independent pathways underlie touch-signalling in cereals, providing a detailed framework and marker genes for further study of (a)biotic stress responses in cereals.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Arabidopsis, barley, cereals, mechanical stimulation, oat, touch response, wheat
in
Plant Journal
volume
116
issue
1
pages
282 - 302
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85161589832
ISSN
0960-7412
DOI
10.1111/tpj.16269
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5865f172-c12b-499d-a71b-5a11698ca30e
date added to LUP
2023-08-22 15:18:54
date last changed
2023-10-26 14:46:14
@article{5865f172-c12b-499d-a71b-5a11698ca30e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Wind, rain, herbivores, obstacles, neighbouring plants, etc. provide important mechanical cues to steer plant growth and survival. Mechanostimulation to stimulate yield and stress resistance of crops is of significant research interest, yet a molecular understanding of transcriptional responses to touch is largely absent in cereals. To address this, we performed whole-genome transcriptomics following mechanostimulation of wheat, barley, and the recent genome-sequenced oat. The largest transcriptome changes occurred ±25 min after touching, with most of the genes being upregulated. While most genes returned to basal expression level by 1–2 h in oat, many genes retained high expression even 4 h post-treatment in barley and wheat. Functional categories such as transcription factors, kinases, phytohormones, and Ca<sup>2+</sup> regulation were affected. In addition, cell wall-related genes involved in (hemi)cellulose, lignin, suberin, and callose biosynthesis were touch-responsive, providing molecular insight into mechanically induced changes in cell wall composition. Furthermore, several cereal-specific transcriptomic footprints were identified that were not observed in Arabidopsis. In oat and barley, we found evidence for systemic spreading of touch-induced signalling. Finally, we provide evidence that both the jasmonic acid-dependent and the jasmonic acid-independent pathways underlie touch-signalling in cereals, providing a detailed framework and marker genes for further study of (a)biotic stress responses in cereals.</p>}},
  author       = {{Darwish, Essam and Ghosh, Ritesh and Bentzer, Johan and Tsardakas Renhuldt, Nikos and Proux-Wera, Estelle and Kamal, Nadia and Spannagl, Manuel and Hause, Bettina and Sirijovski, Nick and Van Aken, Olivier}},
  issn         = {{0960-7412}},
  keywords     = {{Arabidopsis; barley; cereals; mechanical stimulation; oat; touch response; wheat}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{282--302}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Plant Journal}},
  title        = {{The dynamics of touch-responsive gene expression in cereals}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/tpj.16269}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/tpj.16269}},
  volume       = {{116}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}