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Plant Response to Abiotic Stress—3rd Edition

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2024) | Viewed by 6959

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Prof. Dr. Shaoliang Chen

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Key Laboratory of Forest and Flower Genetics and Breeding of Ministry of Education, College of Biological Science and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: plant response; abiotic stress; plant biology
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Dear Colleagues,

Adverse conditions caused by drought, salt, toxic metals, and extreme temperatures can restrain the growth and development of plants. Environmental abiotic stresses are becoming increasingly frequent and persistent due to global climate change. Plants have evolved complex and sophisticated mechanisms with which to overcome adverse conditions. For example, plant cells initiate signaling transduction in response to abiotic stress, resulting in downstream responses such as specific gene transcription and protein expression. A variety of signaling molecules are involved in the regulation of plant adaptations to diverse environmental stresses, such as abscisic acid, calcium ions, hydrogen sulfide, nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide, extracellular ATP, ethylene, etc. These signaling molecules mitigate stress-elicited damage at the cellular, tissue, and whole-plant levels. In the majority of cases, stressed plants benefit from signal-mediated water, reactive oxygen species, and ionic homeostasis. More importantly, these signaling molecules form a network in higher plants, with the aim of combatting abiotic stress. In addition to stress-elicited signals, several signaling molecules can also be produced by plant–microbe interactions. For example, the symbiosis of soil fungus with plant roots leads to the production of signals that aid plants in tolerating a stressful environment.

The genetic and transcriptomic bases for physiological acclimation are stress-sensing and signaling networks that activate target genes. Therefore, genetic engineering can be utilized to strengthen signaling networks and improve the stress tolerance of economically important plants. Moreover, other biotechnological approaches, such as mycorrhizations with arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungus, have great potential for improving the water and mineral nutrition of stressed plants.

All types of articles, including original research and reviews, are welcome.

This Special Issue is supervised by Prof. Dr. Shaoliang Chen and assisted by our Assistant Guest Editor Dr. Lin Chen (Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China)

Prof. Dr. Shaoliang Chen
Guest Editor

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Keywords

drought stress
salt stress
toxic metals stress
abiotic stress
plant response

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 15779 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of ACA/ECAs in Capsicum annuum L.

by Yuxuan Qian, Jing Tong, Ning Liu, Baoju Wang and Zhanhui Wu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(23), 12822; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252312822 - 28 Nov 2024

Viewed by 788

Abstract

Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is a popular vegetable in people’s daily lives. During pepper growth, calcium (Ca) is an essential macronutrient, and calcium-transporting ATPase (ACA/ECA) is a vital protein for calcium transport. However, reports on the ACA/ECA gene family in the pepper genome are lacking. Hence, we used various bioinformatics methods to identify the ACA/ECA gene family in pepper. We identified eleven CaACA/ECA-family genes in pepper. The chromosomal distribution, phylogenetic evolution, characteristics, gene collinearity, gene and protein structures, cis-acting elements, and specific expression patterns of CaACA/ECAs were analyzed, revealing evolutionary relationships and correlations between CaACA/ECAs and other species (Arabidopsis, rice, and tomato). The experimental results indicate that CaACA/ECAs are stable and hydrophobic proteins, with each of the eleven CaACA/ECA proteins containing all ten motifs. Eleven CaACA/ECA genes are unevenly distributed on the eight chromosomes, and they substantially differ in the number of exons. We found a close correlation between the ACA/ECAs of pepper, Arabidopsis, and tomato. The CaACA/ECA genes contain various plant-hormone-, growth-, and stress-related cis-acting elements. The qRT-PCR results indicate that the expression levels of the eleven CaACA/ECAs exhibit differential temporal expression patterns under various exogenous Ca²⁺ concentrations. These results provide a theoretical basis for further studying the function of the pepper ACA/ECA gene family and valuable information for identifying and screening genes for pepper stress tolerance breeding. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Response to Abiotic Stress—3rd Edition)

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24 pages, 7903 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Populus trichocarpa EXPA6 Facilitates Radial and Longitudinal Transport of Na⁺ under Salt Stress

by Zhe Liu, Kexin Yin, Ying Zhang, Caixia Yan, Ziyan Zhao, Jing Li, Yi Liu, Bing Feng, Rui Zhao, Jian Liu, Kaiyue Dong, Jun Yao, Nan Zhao, Xiaoyang Zhou and Shaoliang Chen

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(17), 9354; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25179354 - 29 Aug 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1068

Abstract

Expansins are cell wall (CW) proteins that mediate the CW loosening and regulate salt tolerance in a positive or negative way. However, the role of Populus trichocarpa expansin A6 (PtEXPA6) in salt tolerance and the relevance to cell wall loosening is still unclear in poplars. PtEXPA6 gene was transferred into the hybrid species, Populus alba × P. tremula var. glandulosa (84K) and Populus tremula × P. alba INRA ‘717-1B4’ (717-1B4). Under salt stress, the stem growth, gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, activity and transcription of antioxidant enzymes, Na⁺ content, and Na⁺ flux of root xylem and petiole vascular bundle were investigated in wild-type and transgenic poplars. The correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to analyze the correlations among the characteristics and principal components. Our results show that the transcription of PtEXPA6 was downregulated upon a prolonged duration of salt stress (48 h) after a transient increase induced by NaCl (100 mM). The PtEXPA6-transgenic poplars of 84K and 717-1B4 showed a greater reduction (42–65%) in stem height and diameter growth after 15 days of NaCl treatment compared with wild-type (WT) poplars (11–41%). The Na⁺ accumulation in roots, stems, and leaves was 14–83% higher in the transgenic lines than in the WT. The Na⁺ buildup in the transgenic poplars affects photosynthesis; the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT); and the transcription of PODa2, SOD [Cu-Zn], and CAT1. Transient flux kinetics showed that the Na⁺ efflux of root xylem and leaf petiole vascular bundle were 1.9–3.5-fold greater in the PtEXPA6-transgenic poplars than in the WT poplars. PtEXPA6 overexpression increased root contractility and extensibility by 33% and 32%, indicating that PtEXPA6 increased the CW loosening in the transgenic poplars of 84K and 717-1B4. Noteworthily, the PtEXPA6-promoted CW loosening was shown to facilitate Na⁺ efflux of root xylem and petiole vascular bundle in the transgenic poplars. We conclude that the overexpression of PtEXPA6 leads to CW loosening that facilitates the radial translocation of Na⁺ into the root xylem and the subsequent Na⁺ translocation from roots to leaves, resulting in an excessive Na⁺ accumulation and consequently, reducing salt tolerance in transgenic poplars. Therefore, the downregulation of PtEXPA6 in NaCl-treated Populus trichocarpa favors the maintenance of ionic and reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis under long-term salt stress. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Response to Abiotic Stress—3rd Edition)

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16 pages, 8325 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transcriptome-Wide Identification of Dark- and Salt-Induced Senescence-Related NAC Gene Family Members in Alfalfa

by Xiangxue Duan, Daicai Tian, Peiran Gao, Yue Sun, Xiaojing Peng, Jiangqi Wen, Hongli Xie, Zeng-Yu Wang and Maofeng Chai

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(16), 8908; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25168908 - 15 Aug 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1438

Abstract

Leaves are a key forage part for livestock, and the aging of leaves affects forage biomass and quality. Preventing or delaying premature leaf senescence leads to an increase in pasture biomass accumulation and an improvement in alfalfa quality. NAC transcription factors have been reported to affect plant growth and abiotic stress responses. In this study, 48 NAC genes potentially associated with leaf senescence were identified in alfalfa under dark or salt stress conditions. A phylogenetic analysis divided MsNACs into six subgroups based on similar gene structure and conserved motif. These MsNACs were unevenly distributed in 26 alfalfa chromosomes. The results of the collinearity analysis show that all of the MsNACs were involved in gene duplication. Some cis-acting elements related to hormones and stress were screened in the 2-kb promoter regions of MsNACs. Nine of the MsNAC genes were subjected to qRT-PCR to quantify their expression and Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression to verify their functions. The results indicate that Ms.gene031485, Ms.gene032313, Ms.gene08494, and Ms.gene77666 might be key NAC genes involved in alfalfa leaf senescence. Our findings extend the understanding of the regulatory function of MsNACs in leaf senescence. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Response to Abiotic Stress—3rd Edition)

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18 pages, 10785 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genome-Wide Identification of the Brassinosteroid Signal Kinase Gene Family and Its Profiling under Salinity Stress

by Biao Shi, Youwu Wang, Liang Wang and Shengwei Zhu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(15), 8499; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25158499 - 4 Aug 2024

Viewed by 1450

Abstract

Alfalfa (Medicago L.) is a high-quality perennial leguminous forage with the advantages of salt tolerance, mowing tolerance, high protein content, and other economically valuable characteristics. As the sixth class of plant hormones, brassinosteroids (BRs) play indispensable roles in modulating a variety of plant growth, maturation, and environmental adaptation processes, thereby influencing vegetal expansion and development. Brassinosteroid signal kinases (BSKs) are key cytoplasmic receptor kinases downstream of the BR signaling transduction pathway, participating in plant growth, development, and stress regulation. However, the phylogenetic and expression pattern analyses of the BSK gene family among the five alfalfa species have rarely been reported; in this study, 52 BSK family members were found in the genomes of the five subspecies, and phylogenetic trees were constructed according to protein sequences, allowing us to categorize all BSKs into seven distinct groups. Domain, conserved motif, and exon–intron structural analyses showed that most BSK members were relatively conserved, except for MtBSK3-2, MtBSK7-1, and MtBSK7-2, which may be truncated members. Intra-species collinearity and Ka/Ks analyses showed that purifying selection influenced BSK genes during evolution; most of the cis-acting elements in the promoter region were associated with responses, such as light, defense, and stress, anaerobic induction, MeJA, and abscisic acid. Expression pattern analysis indicated that the majority of alfalfa genes exhibited downregulation after reaching a peak at 0.5 h after treatment with 250 mM NaCl, especially for MsBSK14, MsBSK15, MsBSK17, MsBSK19, and MsBSK21; meanwhile, MsBSK4, MsBSK7, and MsBSK9 increased and were highly expressed at 12 h, demonstrating significantly altered expression patterns under salt stress; furthermore, MsBSK4, MsBSK7, and MsBSK9 exhibited expression specifically in the leaves. qRT-PCR analysis confirmed the expression trends for MsBSK4, MsBSK7, MsBSK9, MsBSK14, MsBSK15, and MsBSK16 matched the transcriptome data. However, the trends for MsBSK17, MsBSK19, and MsBSK21 diverged from the transcriptome data. Our study may provide a foundation for further functional analyses of BSK genes in growth, development, and salt stress tolerance in alfalfa. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Response to Abiotic Stress—3rd Edition)

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14 pages, 3646 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genome-Wide Analysis of C/S1-bZIP Subfamilies in Populus tomentosa and Unraveling the Role of PtobZIP55/21 in Response to Low Energy

by Jiangting Wu, Mengyan Zhou, Yao Cheng, Xin Chen, Shuaixu Yan and Shurong Deng

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(10), 5163; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25105163 - 9 May 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1335

Abstract

C/S1 basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors are essential for plant survival under energy deficiency. However, studies on the responses of C/S1-bZIPs to low energy in woody plants have not yet been reported. In this study, members of C/S1-bZIP subfamilies in Populus tomentosa were systematically analyzed using bioinformatic approaches. Four C-bZIPs and 10 S1-bZIPs were identified, and their protein properties, phylogenetic relationships, gene structures, conserved motifs, and uORFs were systematically investigated. In yeast two-hybrid assays, direct physical interactions between C-bZIP and S1-bZIP members were observed, highlighting their potential functional synergy. Moreover, expression profile analyses revealed that low energy induced transcription levels of most C/S1-bZIP members, with bZIP55 and bZIP21 (a homolog of bZIP55) exhibiting particularly significant upregulation. When the expression of bZIP55 and bZIP21 was co-suppressed using artificial microRNA mediated gene silencing in transgenic poplars, root growth was promoted. Further analyses revealed that bZIP55/21 negatively regulated the root development of P. tomentosa in response to low energy. These findings provide insights into the molecular mechanisms by which C/S1-bZIPs regulate poplar growth and development in response to energy deprivation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Response to Abiotic Stress—3rd Edition)

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