1. LEA gene expression, RNA stability and pigment accumulation in three closely related Linderniaceae species differing in desiccation tolerance
- Author
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Ilona Juszczak and Dorothea Bartels
- Subjects
Chlorophyll ,0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,RNA Stability ,Plant Science ,Photosynthesis ,01 natural sciences ,Ribosome ,Anthocyanins ,Desiccation tolerance ,Magnoliopsida ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Species Specificity ,Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ,Stress, Physiological ,Pigment accumulation ,Gene expression ,Genetics ,RNA, Messenger ,Plant Proteins ,Dehydration ,biology ,RuBisCO ,Water ,RNA ,Pigments, Biological ,General Medicine ,Adaptation, Physiological ,Droughts ,030104 developmental biology ,chemistry ,Biochemistry ,Craterostigma ,RNA, Plant ,biology.protein ,Genetic Phenomena ,Agronomy and Crop Science ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
Desiccation-tolerant plants (Craterostigma plantagineum and Lindernia brevidens) evolved a highly efficient strategies to prevent dehydration-induced irreversible damage. The protection system involves synthesis of LEA proteins, decrease of photosynthetic activity and activation of antioxidant systems. The regulation of these processes requires joint action of multiple proteins. Here, we present comparative analyses of accumulation of transcripts encoding components of the protection machinery, such as selected LEA proteins, enzymes of the chlorophyll degradation pathway and anthocyanin biosynthesis enzymes in total and polysomal RNA pools. The analyses revealed that desiccation-tolerant plants recruit mRNAs to ribosomes with higher efficiency than the desiccation-sensitive species L. subracemosa. Desiccation-tolerant species accumulated high amounts of LEA transcripts during dehydration and precisely controlled the amounts of chlorophyll keeping it at a level sufficient to activate photosynthesis after rehydration. In contrast, mRNA of L. subracemosa was prone to dehydration-induced degradation, decomposition of the photosynthetic apparatus and degradation of free chlorophyll. Thus, the results of the studies point to differences in the control of gene expression and degradation of chlorophyll in desiccation-tolerant versus desiccation-sensitive species when the plants were subjected to dehydration.
- Published
- 2017
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