Since their domestication, Brassica oilseed species have undergone progressive transformation allied with the development of breeding and molecular technologies. The canola (Brassica napus) crop has rapidly expanded globally in the last 30 years with intensive innovations in canola varieties, providing for a wider range of markets apart from the food industry. The breeding efforts of B. napus, the main source of canola oil and canola meal, have been mainly focused on improving seed yield, oil quality, and meal quality along with disease resistance, abiotic stress tolerance, and herbicide resistance. The revolution in genetics and gene technologies, including genetic mapping, molecular markers, genomic tools, and gene technology, especially gene editing tools, has allowed an understanding of the complex genetic makeup and gene functions in the major bioprocesses of the Brassicales, especially Brassica oil crops. Here, we provide an overview on the contributions of these technologies in improving the major traits of B. napus and discuss their potential use to accomplish new improvement targets.
Haloxylon persicum is an endangered western Asiatic desert plant species, which survives under extreme environmental conditions. In this study, we focused on transcriptome analysis of H. persicum to understand the molecular mechanisms associated with drought tolerance. Two different periods of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced drought stress (48 h and 72 h) were imposed on H. persicum under in vitro conditions, which resulted in 18 million reads, subsequently assembled by de novo method with more than 8000 transcripts in each treatment. The N50 values were 1437, 1467, and 1524 for the control sample, 48 h samples, and 72 h samples, respectively. The gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis resulted in enrichment of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and plant hormone signal transduction pathways under PEG-induced drought conditions. The differential gene expression analysis (DGEs) revealed significant changes in the expression pattern between the control and the treated samples. The KEGG analysis resulted in mapping transcripts with 138 different pathways reported in plants. The differential expression of drought-responsive transcription factors depicts the possible signaling cascades involved in drought tolerance. The present study provides greater insight into the fundamental transcriptome reprogramming of desert plants under drought.
Although laparoscopic surgeries are associated with reduced surgical stress response and shortened post-operative recovery, intense pain and high analgesia requirements in the immediate post-operative period are often the chief complaints.
Osmotic stress is one of the most significant natural abiotic stresses that occur in the intertidal zones. Seaweeds may physiologically acclimate to changing osmolarity by altering their transcriptome. Here, we investigated the transcriptomic changes of Gracilaria changii (B. M. Xia et I. A. Abbott) I. A. Abbott, J. Zhang et B. M. Xia in response to hyper- and hypoosmotic stresses using a cDNA microarray approach. Microarray analysis revealed that 199 and 200 genes from ∼3,300 genes examined were up- and down-regulated by >2-fold in seaweed samples treated at 50 parts per thousand (ppt) artificial seawater (ASW) compared with those at 30 ppt ASW, respectively. The number of genes that were up- and down-regulated by >2-fold in seaweed samples treated at 10 ppt ASW compared with those at 30 ppt ASW were 154 and 187, respectively. A majority of these genes were only differentially expressed under hyper- or hypoosmotic conditions, whereas 67 transcripts were affected by both stresses. The findings of this study have shed light on the expression profiles of many transcripts during the acclimation of G. changii to hyperosmotic and hypoosmotic conditions. This information may assist in the prioritization of genes to be examined in future studies.
Proteomics is a rapidly growing area of biological research that is positively affecting plant science. Recent advances in proteomic technology, such as mass spectrometry, can now identify a broad range of proteins and monitor their modulation during plant growth and development, as well as during responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. In this review, we highlight recent proteomic studies of commercial crops and discuss the advances in understanding of the proteomes of these crops. We anticipate that proteomic-based research will continue to expand and contribute to crop improvement.
SIGNIFICANCE: Plant proteomics study is a rapidly growing area of biological research that is positively impacting plant science. With the recent advances in new technologies, proteomics not only allows us to comprehensively analyses crop proteins, but also help us to understand the functions of the genes. In this review, we highlighted recent proteomic studies in commercial crops and updated the advances in our understanding of the proteomes of these crops. We believe that proteomic-based research will continue to grow and contribute to the improvement of crops.
Separation of proteins based on the physicochemical properties with different molecular weight and isoelectric points would be more accurate. In the current research, the 45-day-old seedlings were treated with 0 (control) and 12 dS m(-1) of sodium chloride in the hydroponic system. After 15 days of salt exposure, the total protein of the fresh leaves and roots was extracted and analyzed using two-dimensional electrophoresis system (2-DE). The analysis led to the detection of 32 induced proteins (19 proteins in leaf and 13 proteins in the root) as well as 12 upregulated proteins (four proteins in leaf and eight proteins in the root) in the salt-treated plants. Of the 44 detected proteins, 12 were sequenced, and three of them matched with superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase and ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate oxygenase whereas the rest remained unknown. The three known proteins associate with plants response to environmental stresses and could represent the general stress proteins in the present study too. In addition, the proteomic feedback of different accessions of A. paniculata to salt stress can potentially be used to breed salt-tolerant varieties of the herb.
Salinity causes the adverse effects in all physiological processes of plants. The present study aimed to investigate the potential of salt stress to enhance the accumulation of the anticancer phytochemicals in Andrographis paniculata accessions. For this purpose, 70-day-old plants were grown in different salinity levels (0.18, 4, 8, 12, and 16 dSm(-1)) on sand medium. After inducing a period of 30-day salinity stress and before flowering, all plants were harvested and the data on morphological traits, proline content and the three anticancer phytochemicals, including andrographolide (AG), neoandrographolide (NAG), and 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide (DDAG), were measured. The results indicated that salinity had a significant effect on the aforementioned three anticancer phytochemicals. In addition, the salt tolerance index (STI) was significantly decreased, while, except for DDAG, the content of proline, the AG, and NAG was significantly increased (P ≤ 0.01). Furthermore, it was revealed that significant differences among accessions could happen based on the total dry weight, STI, AG, and NAG. Finally, we noticed that the salinity at 12 dSm(-1) led to the maximum increase in the quantities of AG, NAG, and DDAG. In other words, under salinity stress, the tolerant accessions were capable of accumulating the higher amounts of proline, AG, and NAG than the sensitive accessions.
Non-invasive measures of stress are crucial for captive and conservation management programs. The adrenal hormone dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS) has recently been adopted as a stress marker, but there is little investigation of its relationship to glucocorticoids (GC), well-known indicators of stress. This study examined the influence of age, reproductive state and environment on GC and DHEAS levels in orangutans, to test whether the GC/DHEAS ratio can provide an index of stress response in primates. We measured fecal GC (fGC) and fecal DHEAS (fDHEAS) concentrations in 7 captive orangutans from zoological parks in Japan and 22 wild orangutans from Danum Valley Conservation Area, Malaysia. We found that in a stressful condition (transportation), fDHEAS levels increased 2 days after the fGC response, which occurred 1 day after the stressor. One pregnant female had elevated levels of both hormones, and a higher fGC/fDHEAS ratio than baseline. Females in the first year of lactation had fGC levels and the fGC/fDHEAS ratio significantly higher than both baseline and females in the second and subsequent years of lactation. There was no effect of age on fGC levels, but the fGC/fDHEAS ratio was higher in infants than adults and adolescents. fDHEAS concentrations were lower in infants than juveniles, adolescents and adults, a phenomenon known as adrenarche, shared with humans and other great apes. We suggest that changes in DHEAS during orangutan life history are associated with changes in the dynamics of maintaining homeostasis that vary with age and reproductive state. The GC/DHEAS ratio index is useful to evaluate age-related abilities of responding to stressful challenges.
Microalgae showcase an extraordinary capacity for synthesizing high-value phytochemicals (HVPCs), offering substantial potential for diverse applications across various industries. Emerging research suggests that subjecting microalgae to abiotic stress during cultivation and the harvesting stages can further enhance the accumulation of valuable metabolites within their cells, including carotenoids, antioxidants, and vitamins. This study delves into the pivotal impacts of manipulating abiotic stress on microalgae yields, with a particular focus on biomass and selected HVPCs that have received limited attention in the existing literature. Moreover, approaches to utilising abiotic stress to increase HVPCs production while minimising adverse effects on biomass productivity were discussed. The present study also encompasses a techno-economic assessment (TEA) aimed at pinpointing significant bottlenecks in the conversion of microalgae biomass into high-value products and evaluating the desirability of various conversion pathways. The TEA methodology serves as a valuable tool for both researchers and practitioners in the quest to identify sustainable strategies for transforming microalgae biomass into high-value products and goods. Overall, this comprehensive review sheds light on the pivotal role of abiotic stress in microalgae cultivation, promising insights that could lead to more efficient and sustainable approaches for HVPCs production.
KEY MESSAGE: Morphological and transcriptomic evidences provide us strong support for the function of ANAC019 in reproductive development under drought stress. Plants are sensitive to drought conditions, particularly at the reproductive stage. Several studies have reported drought effects on crop reproductive development, but the molecular mechanism underlying drought response during reproduction is still unclear. A recent study showed that drought induces in Arabidopsis inflorescence increased expression of many genes, including ANAC019. However, the function of ANAC019 in drought response during reproductive development has not been characterized. Here, we report an investigation of the ANAC019 function in the response to drought during reproduction. ANAC019 is preferentially expressed in the inflorescence compared with the leaf, suggesting possible roles in regulating both stress response and flower development. The anac019 mutant was more sensitive to drought than WT plant, and exhibited a delay in recovery of floral organ development under prolonged drought stress. Moreover, many fewer genes were differentially expressed in the anac019 inflorescence under drought than that of WT, suggesting that the mutant was impaired in drought-induced gene expression. The genes affected by ANAC019 were associated with stress and hormone responses as well as floral development. In particular, the expression levels of several key drought-induced genes, DREB2A, DREB2B, ARF2, MYB21 and MYB24, were dramatically reduced in the absence of ANAC019, suggesting that ANAC019 is an upstream regulator these genes for drought response and flower development. These results provide strong support for the potential function of ANAC019 in reproductive development under drought stress.
Environmental stressors may influence chicken performance and susceptibility to pathogens, such as Salmonella enteritidis. This study was conducted to determine the effects of heat shock protein (Hsp)70 expression on resistance to Salmonella enteritidis infection in broiler chickens subjected to heat exposure. Chicks were divided into 3 feeding regimens: ad libitum feeding (control); 60% feed restriction on d 4, 5, and 6 (FR60); and 60% feed restriction on d 4, 5, and 6 plus 1,500 mg/kg of quercetin (FR60Q). On d 35, all of the chickens were individually inoculated with 1 mL of Salmonella enteritidis (1.5 × 10(8) cfu/bird) and exposed to an ambient temperature of 37 ± 1°C and 70% RH for 3 h/d. The FR60 and FR60Q chickens had significantly lower Salmonella enteritidis colonization and lower Hsp70 expression than that of the control chickens following the heat exposure period. The least colonization was observed in the FR60Q group (1.38 log(10) cfu/g in the spleen and 1.96 log(10) cfu/g in the cecal content) and the highest was in the control group (2.1 log(10) cfu/g in the spleen and 4.42 log(10) cfu/g in the cecal content). It appears that neonatal feed restriction can enhance resistance to Salmonella enteritidis colonization in heat-stressed broiler chicks, and the underlying mechanism could be associated with the lower expression of Hsp70.
Stressors may influence chicken susceptibility to pathogens such as Salmonella enterica. Feed withdrawal stress can cause changes in normal intestinal epithelial structure and may lead to increased attachment and colonization of Salmonella. This study aimed to investigate modulatory effects of epigenetic modification by feed restriction on S. enterica serovar Enteritidis colonization in broiler chickens subjected to feed withdrawal stress. Chicks were divided into four groups: ad libitum feeding; ad libitum feeding with 24-h feed withdrawal on day 42; 60% feed restriction on days 4, 5, and 6; and 60% feed restriction on days 4, 5, and 6 with 24-h feed withdrawal on day 42. Attachment of S. Enteritidis to ileal tissue was determined using an ex vivo ileal loop assay, and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) expression was evaluated using sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and western blotting. Feed withdrawal stress increased S. Enteritidis attachment to ileal tissue. However, following feed withdrawal the epigenetically modified chickens had significantly lower attachment of S. Enteritidis than their control counterparts. A similar trend with a very positive correlation was observed for Hsp70 expression. It appears that epigenetic modification can enhance resistance to S. Enteritidis colonization later in life in chickens under stress conditions. The underlying mechanism could be associated with the lower Hsp70 expression in the epigenetically modified chickens.
Sunflower production is significantly lower in arid and semi-arid regions due to various crop management problem. Conservation of tillage provides the most excellent opportunity to reduce degradation of soil reserves and increase soil productivity. The main objective of this study was to investigate the combined effects of conservation tillage and drought stress on growth and productivity of different sunflower hybrids. Experimental treatments included two sunflower hybrids ('NK-Senji' and 'S-278'), two drought stress treatments (i.e., well-watered and drought stress at flowering and grain filling stages) and three tillage practices (i.e., conservation, minimum and deep tillage). The results indicated that morphological and physiological parameters, and yield-related traits were significantly (P≤0.05) affected by all individual factors; however, their interactive effects were non-significant. Among sunflower hybrids, 'NK-Senji' performed better for morphological, physiological, and yield-related traits than 'S-278'. Similarly, conservation tillage observed better traits compared to the rest of the tillage practices included in the study. Nonetheless, conservation tillage improved growth and yield-related traits of hybrid 'NK-Senji' under drought stress. Hence, it is concluded that conservation tillage can improve the productivity of sunflower under low moisture availability. Therefore, conservation tillage could be suggested in the areas of lower water ability to improve sunflower production. Nonetheless, sunflower hybrids or varieties need thorough testing for their adaptability to conservation tillage and low moisture availability before making recommendations.
Wheat is an important global staple food crop; however, its productivity is severely hampered by changing climate. Erratic rain patterns cause terminal drought stress, which affect reproductive development and crop yield. This study investigates the potential and zinc (Zn) and silicon (Si) to ameliorate terminal drought stress in wheat and associated mechanisms. Two different drought stress levels, i.e., control [80% water holding capacity (WHC) was maintained] and terminal drought stress (40% WHC maintained from BBCH growth stage 49 to 83) combined with five foliar-applied Zn-Si combinations (i.e., control, water spray, 4 mM Zn, 40 mM Si, 4 mM Zn + 40 mM Si applied 7 days after the initiation of drought stress). Results revealed that application of Zn and Si improved chlorophyll and relative water contents under well-watered conditions and terminal drought stress. Foliar application of Si and Zn had significant effect on antioxidant defense mechanism, proline and soluble protein, which showed that application of Si and Zn ameliorated the effects of terminal drought stress mainly by regulating antioxidant defense mechanism, and production of proline and soluble proteins. Combined application of Zn and Si resulted in the highest improvement in growth and antioxidant defense. The application of Zn and Si improved yield and related traits, both under well-watered conditions and terminal drought stress. The highest yield and related traits were recorded for combined application of Zn and Si. For grain and biological yield differences among sole and combined Zn-Si application were statistically non-significant (p>0.05). In conclusion, combined application of Zn-Si ameliorated the adverse effects of terminal drought stress by improving yield through regulating antioxidant mechanism and production of proline and soluble proteins. Results provide valuable insights for further cross talk between Zn-Si regulatory pathways to enhance grain biofortification.
Recent achievements in plant microRNA (miRNA), a large class of small and non-coding RNAs, are very exciting. A wide array of techniques involving forward genetic, molecular cloning, bioinformatic analysis, and the latest technology, deep sequencing have greatly advanced miRNA discovery. A tiny miRNA sequence has the ability to target single/multiple mRNA targets. Most of the miRNA targets are transcription factors (TFs) which have paramount importance in regulating the plant growth and development. Various families of TFs, which have regulated a range of regulatory networks, may assist plants to grow under normal and stress environmental conditions. This present review focuses on the regulatory relationships between miRNAs and different families of TFs like; NF-Y, MYB, AP2, TCP, WRKY, NAC, GRF, and SPL. For instance NF-Y play important role during drought tolerance and flower development, MYB are involved in signal transduction and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, AP2 regulate the floral development and nodule formation, TCP direct leaf development and growth hormones signaling. WRKY have known roles in multiple stress tolerances, NAC regulate lateral root formation, GRF are involved in root growth, flower, and seed development, and SPL regulate plant transition from juvenile to adult. We also studied the relation between miRNAs and TFs by consolidating the research findings from different plant species which will help plant scientists in understanding the mechanism of action and interaction between these regulators in the plant growth and development under normal and stress environmental conditions.
Silicon (Si) plays an important role in reducing plant susceptibility against a variety of different biotic and abiotic stresses; and also has an important regulatory role in soil to avoid heavy metal toxicity and providing suitable growing conditions for plants. A full-length cDNAs of 696bp of serine-rich protein was cloned from mangrove plant (Rhizophora apiculata) by amplification of cDNA ends from an expressed sequence tag homologous to groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), submitted to NCBI (KF211374). This serine-rich protein gene encodes a deduced protein of 223 amino acids. The transcript titre of the serine-rich protein was found to be strongly enriched in roots compared with the leaves of two month old mangrove plants and expression level of this serine-rich protein was found to be strongly induced when the mangrove seedlings were exposed to SiO2. Expression of the serine-rich protein transgenic was detected in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana, where the amount of serine increased from 1.02 to 37.8mg/g. The same trend was also seen in Si content in the roots (14.3%) and leaves (7.4%) of the transgenic A. thaliana compared to the wild-type plants under Si treatment. The biological results demonstrated that the accumulation of the serine amino acid in the vegetative tissues of the transgenic plants enhanced their ability to absorb and accumulate more Si in the roots and leaves and suggests that the serine-rich protein gene has potential for use in genetic engineering of different stress tolerance characteristics.
Drought tolerance is an important quantitative trait with multipart phenotypes that are often further complicated by plant phenology. Different types of environmental stresses, such as high irradiance, high temperatures, nutrient deficiencies, and toxicities, may challenge crops simultaneously; therefore, breeding for drought tolerance is very complicated. Interdisciplinary researchers have been attempting to dissect and comprehend the mechanisms of plant tolerance to drought stress using various methods; however, the limited success of molecular breeding and physiological approaches suggests that we rethink our strategies. Recent genetic techniques and genomics tools coupled with advances in breeding methodologies and precise phenotyping will likely reveal candidate genes and metabolic pathways underlying drought tolerance in crops. The WRKY transcription factors are involved in different biological processes in plant development. This zinc (Zn) finger protein family, particularly members that respond to and mediate stress responses, is exclusively found in plants. A total of 89 WRKY genes in japonica and 97 WRKY genes in O. nivara (OnWRKY) have been identified and mapped onto individual chromosomes. To increase the drought tolerance of rice (Oryza sativa L.), research programs should address the problem using a multidisciplinary strategy, including the interaction of plant phenology and multiple stresses, and the combination of drought tolerance traits with different genetic and genomics approaches, such as microarrays, quantitative trait loci (QTLs), WRKY gene family members with roles in drought tolerance, and transgenic crops. This review discusses the newest advances in plant physiology for the exact phenotyping of plant responses to drought to update methods of analysing drought tolerance in rice. Finally, based on the physiological/morphological and molecular mechanisms found in resistant parent lines, a strategy is suggested to select a particular environment and adapt suitable germplasm to that environment.
Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in soil after oxygen. It is not an essential element for plant growth and formation but plays an important role in increasing plant tolerance towards different kinds of abiotic and biotic stresses. The molecular mechanism of Si absorption and accumulation may differ between plants, such as monocotyledons and dicotyledons. Silicon absorption and accumulation in mangrove plants are affected indirectly by some proteins rich in serine and proline amino acids. The expression level of the genes responsible for Si absorption varies in different parts of plants. In this study, Si is mainly observed in the epidermal roots' cell walls of mangrove plants compared to other parts. The present work was carried out to discover further information on Si stress responsive genes in Rhizophora apiculata, using the suppression subtractive hybridization technique. To construct the cDNA library, two-month-old seedlings were exposed to 0.5, 1, and 1.5 mM SiO2 for 15 hrs and for 1 to 6 days resulting in a total of 360 high quality ESTs gained. Further examination by RT-PCR and real-time qRT-PCR showed the expression of a candidate gene of serine-rich protein.