Location: Plant Gene Expression Center
Title: Transcriptomic analysis of field-droughted sorghum from seeding to maturity reveals biotic and metabolic responsesAuthor
VAROQUAUX, NELLE - University Of California | |
COLE, BENJAMIN - Joint Genome Institute | |
GAO, CHENG - University Of California | |
PIERROZ, GRADY - University Of California | |
BAKER, CHRISTOPHER - University Of California | |
PATEL, DHRUV - University Of California | |
MADERA, MARY - University Of California | |
JEFFERS, TIM - University Of California | |
HOLLINGSWORTH, JOY - Kearney Agricultural Center | |
SIEVERT, JULIE - Kearney Agricultural Center | |
YOSHINAGA, YUKO - University Of California | |
OWITI, JUDITH - University Of California | |
SINGAN, VASANTH - Joint Genome Institute | |
DEGRAAF, STEPHANIE - University Of California | |
XU, LING - University Of California | |
BLOW, MATTHEW - Joint Genome Institute | |
HARRISON, MARIA - University Of California | |
VISEL, AXEL - Joint Genome Institute | |
JANSSON, CHRISTER - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | |
NIYOGI, KRISHNA - University Of California | |
HUTMACHER, ROBERT - Kearney Agricultural Center | |
Coleman-Derr, Devin | |
O'MALLEY, RONAN - Joint Genome Institute | |
TAYLOR, JOHN - University Of California | |
DAHLBERG, JEFFREY - Kearney Agricultural Center | |
VOGEL, JOHN - Joint Genome Institute | |
LEMAUX, PEGGY - University Of California | |
PURDOM, ELIZABETH - University Of California |
Submitted to: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 10/31/2019 Publication Date: 12/26/2019 Citation: Varoquaux, N., Cole, B., Gao, C., Pierroz, G., Baker, C., Patel, D., Madera, M., Jeffers, T., Hollingsworth, J., Sievert, J., Yoshinaga, Y., Owiti, J., Singan, V., Degraaf, S., Xu, L., Blow, M., Harrison, M., Visel, A., Jansson, C., Niyogi, K., Hutmacher, R., Coleman-Derr, D.A., O'Malley, R., Taylor, J., Dahlberg, J., Vogel, J., Lemaux, P., Purdom, E. 2019. Transcriptomic analysis of field-droughted sorghum from seeding to maturity reveals biotic and metabolic responses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 116(52):27124–27132. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1907500116. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1907500116 Interpretive Summary: Drought dramatically impacts crop growth and productivity, causing losses estimated at 2.9 billion dollars annually. While the physiological responses of plants to drought have been extensively studied in model organisms under controlled laboratory or greenhouse conditions, results from these studies typically translate poorly to field-grown plants, suggesting a complex interaction between environmental factors and drought responses. Thus, a better mechanistic understanding of drought responses in the field is needed to developeffective drought mitigation strategies. Technical Abstract: Here we provide the first field-based, temporal transcriptomic study of sorghum. We profiled over 350 transcriptomes sampled weekly from leaves and roots, two genotypes (the pre-flowering drought tolerantRTx430 and the stay-green type BTx642), under control watering and two different drought regimes. We present here the first transcriptomic study to look at the recovery from pre-flowering drought, by reintroducing water after anthesis, and the effects of post-flowering drought, by removing water after anthesis. Our weekly time series reveals that within a week of drought exposure sorghum detects and adapts to pre-and post-flowering drought stresses, ultimately influencing the gene expression of over 40% of the genome. This transcriptomic response includes genes involved in critical functions, such as biotic defense and abiotic stress responses, and photosynthesis. We demonstrate that the stay-green genotype, BTx642, maintains high levels of photosynthetic gene expression during post-flowering drought, compared to RTx430. This study is the largest transcriptome survey of field-grown sorghum, and, paired with soil, rhizosphere, and root microbiomes, represents an unparalleled resource for studying drought tolerance in agronomically-relevant settings. |