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Background: Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) is an herbaceous weed that maintains a perennial growth pattern through seasonal production of abundant underground adventitious buds (UABs) on the crown and lateral roots. During the normal growing season, differentiation of bud to shoot growth is inhibited by physiological factors external to the affected structure; a phenomenon referred to as paradormancy. Initiation of shoot growth from paradormant UABs can be accomplished through removal of the aerial shoots (hereafter referred to as paradormancy release). Results: In this study, phytohormone abundance and the transcriptomes of paradormant UABs vs. shoot-induced growth at 6, 24, and 72 h after paradormancy release were compared based on hormone profiling and RNA-seq analyses. Results indicated that auxin, abscisic acid (ABA), and flavonoid signaling were involved in maintaining paradormancy in UABs of leafy spurge. However, auxin, ABA, and flavonoid levels/signals decreased by 6 h after paradormancy release, in conjunction with increase in gibberellic acid (GA), cytokinin, jasmonic acid (JA), ethylene, and brassinosteroid (BR) levels/signals. Twenty four h after paradormancy release, auxin and ABA levels/signals increased, in conjunction with increase in GA levels/signals. Major cellular changes were also identified in UABs at 24 h, since both principal component and Venn diagram analysis of transcriptomes clearly set the 24 h shoot-induced growth apart from other time groups. In addition, increase in auxin and ABA levels/signals and the down-regulation of 40 over-represented AraCyc pathways indicated that stress-derived cellular responses may be involved in the activation of stress-induced re-orientation required for initiation of shoot growth. Seventy two h after paradormancy release, auxin, cytokinin, and GA levels/signals were increased, whereas ABA, JA, and ethylene levels/signals were decreased. Conclusion: Combined results were consistent with different phytohormone signals acting in concert to direct cellular changes involved in bud differentiation and shoot growth. In addition, shifts in balance of these phytohormones at different time points and stress-related cellular responses after paradormancy release appear to be critical factors driving transition of bud to shoot growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) is a perennial weed that is considered glyphosate tolerant, which is partially attributed to escape through establishment of new vegetative shoots from an abundance of underground adventitious buds. Leafy spurge plants treated with sub-lethal concentrations of foliar-applied glyphosate produce new vegetative shoots with reduced main stem elongation and increased branching. Processes associated with the glyphosate-induced phenotype were determined by RNAseq using aerial shoots derived from crown buds of glyphosate-treated and -untreated plants. Comparison between transcript abundance and accumulation of shikimate or phytohormones (abscisic acid, auxin, cytokinins, and gibberellins) from these same samples was also done to reveal correlations. Results: Transcriptome assembly and analyses confirmed differential abundance among 12,918 transcripts (FDR ≤ 0.05) and highlighted numerous processes associated with shoot apical meristem maintenance and stem growth, which is consistent with the increased number of actively growing meristems in response to glyphosate. Foliar applied glyphosate increased shikimate abundance in crown buds prior to decapitation of aboveground shoots, which induces growth from these buds, indicating that 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate (EPSPS) the target site of glyphosate was inhibited. However, abundance of shikimate was similar in a subsequent generation of aerial shoots derived from crown buds of treated and untreated plants, suggesting EPSPS is no longer inhibited or abundance of shikimate initially observed in crown buds dissipated over time. Overall, auxins, gibberellins (precursors and catabolites of bioactive gibberellins), and cytokinins (precursors and bioactive cytokinins) were more abundant in the aboveground shoots derived from glyphosate-treated plants. Conclusion: Based on the overall data, we propose that the glyphosate-induced phenotype resulted from complex interactions involving shoot apical meristem maintenance, hormone biosynthesis and signaling (auxin, cytokinins, gibberellins, and strigolactones), cellular transport, and detoxification mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) is a herbaceous perennial weed and dormancy in both buds and seeds is an important survival mechanism. Bud dormancy in leafy spurge exhibits three well-defined phases of para-, endo- and ecodormancy; however, seed dormancy for leafy spurge is classified as physiological dormancy that requires after-ripening and alternating temperature for maximal germination. Overlaps in transcriptome profiles between different phases of bud and seed dormancy have not been determined. Thus, we compared various phases of dormancy between seeds and buds to identify common genes and molecular processes, which should provide new insights about common regulators of dormancy. Results Cluster analysis of expression profiles for 201 selected genes indicated bud and seed samples clustered separately. Direct comparisons between buds and seeds are additionally complicated since seeds incubated at a constant temperature of 20°C for 21 days (21d C) could be considered paradormant (Para) because seeds may be inhibited by endospermgenerated signals, or ecodormant (Eco) because seeds germinate after being subjected to alternating temperature of 20:30°C. Since direct comparisons in gene expression between buds and seeds were problematic, we instead examined commonalities in differentially expressed genes associated with different phases of dormancy. Comparison between buds and seeds ('Para to Endo buds' and '21d C to 1d C seeds'), using endodormant buds (Endo) and dormant seeds (1d C) as common baselines, identified transcripts associated with cell cycle (HisH4), stress response/transcription factors (ICE2, ERFB4/ABR1), ABA and auxin response (ABA1, ARF1, IAA7, TFL1), carbohydrate/protein degradation (GAPDH_1), and transport (ABCB2). Comparison of transcript abundance for the 'Eco to Endo buds' and '21d C to 1d C seeds' identified transcripts associated with ABA response (ATEM6), auxin response (ARF1), and cell cycle (HisH4). These results indicate that the physiological state of 21d C seeds is more analogous to paradormant buds than that of ecodormant buds. Conclusion Combined results indicate that common molecular mechanisms associated with dormancy transitions of buds and seeds involve processes associated with ABA and auxin signaling and transport, cell cycle, and AP2/ERF transcription factors or their up-stream regulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dormancy of buds is a critical developmental process that allows perennial plants to survive extreme seasonal variations in climate. Dormancy transitions in underground crown buds of the model herbaceous perennial weed leafy spurge were investigated using a 23 K element cDNA microarray. These data represent the first large-scale transcriptome analysis of dormancy in underground buds of an herbaceous perennial species. Crown buds collected monthly from August through December, over a five year period, were used to monitor the changes in the transcriptome during dormancy transitions., Results: Nearly 1,000 genes were differentially-expressed through seasonal dormancy transitions. Expected patterns of gene expression were observed for previously characterized genes and physiological processes indicated that resolution in our analysis was sufficient for identifying shifts in global gene expression., Conclusion: Gene ontology of differentially-expressed genes suggests dormancy transitions require specific alterations in transport functions (including induction of a series of mitochondrial substrate carriers, and sugar transporters), ethylene, jasmonic acid, auxin, gibberellic acid, and abscisic acid responses, and responses to stress (primarily oxidative and cold/drought). Comparison to other dormancy microarray studies indicated that nearly half of the genes identified in our study were also differentially expressed in at least two other plant species during dormancy transitions. This comparison allowed us to identify a particular MADS-box transcription factor related to the DORMANCY ASSOCIATED MADS-BOX genes from peach and hypothesize that it may play a direct role in dormancy induction and maintenance through regulation of FLOWERING LOCUS T.