Transcriptional regulation and expression network responding to cadmium stress in a Cd-tolerant perennial grass Poa Pratensis

Jingping Xian; Yong Wang; Kuiju Niu; Huiling Ma; Xiang Ma

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126158

Transcriptional regulation and expression network responding to cadmium stress in a Cd-tolerant perennial grass Poa Pratensis

Chemosphere. 2020 Jul:250:126158. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126158. Epub 2020 Feb 8.

Authors

Jingping Xian¹, Yong Wang², Kuiju Niu², Huiling Ma³, Xiang Ma⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Pratacultural Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem, Ministry of Education, Pratacultural Engineering Laboratory of Gansu Province, Sino-U.S. Center for Grazingland Ecosystem Sustainability, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730070, China; School of Science and Technology, Xinxiang University, Xinxiang, Henan, 453000, China.
² College of Pratacultural Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem, Ministry of Education, Pratacultural Engineering Laboratory of Gansu Province, Sino-U.S. Center for Grazingland Ecosystem Sustainability, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730070, China.
³ College of Pratacultural Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem, Ministry of Education, Pratacultural Engineering Laboratory of Gansu Province, Sino-U.S. Center for Grazingland Ecosystem Sustainability, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730070, China. Electronic address: mahl@gsau.edu.cn.
⁴ Academy of Animal Sciences and Veterinary, Qinghai University, Xining, 810016, PR China; Key Laboratory of Superior Forage Germplasm in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Qinghai Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Xining, 810016, China.

PMID: 32092564
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126158

Abstract

Kentucky bluegrass has good capability to absorb and accumulate cadmium (Cd) through developed root system, thus having potential phytoremediation function in Cd contaminated soils. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of Cd tolerance and accumulation in this species will be crucial to generating novel Cd-tolerance cultivars through genetic improvement, while it has not well documented yet. In the present study, comparative transcriptome analysis was performed for the seedlings of high Cd-tolerant genotype (M) and low Cd-tolerant genotype (R) under Cd stress. A total of 7022 up-regulated and 1033 down-regulated transcripts were identified in M genotype, whereas, only 850 up-regulated and 846 down-regulated transcripts were detected in R. Further transcriptional regulation analysis in M genotype showed that Dof, MADS25, BBR-BPC, B3, bZIP23 and MYB30 might be the hub transcription factors in response to Cd stress due to the orchestrated multiple functional genes associated with carbohydrate, lipid and secondary metabolism, as well as signal transduction. Differential expressed genes involved in auxin, ethylene, brassinosteroid and ABA signalling formed signal transduction cascades, which interacted with hub transcription factors, thereby finally orchestrated the expression of multiple genes associated with cell wall and membrane stability, cell elongation and Cd tolerance, including IAAs, ARFs, SnRK2, PP2C, PIFs, BES1/BZR1, CCR, CAD, FATB, fabF and HACD. Additionally, post-transcriptional modification of CIPKs, MAPKs, WAXs, UBCs, and E3 ubiquitin ligases were identified and also involved in plant signalling pathways and abiotic resistance. The study could contribute to our understanding the transcriptional regulation and complex internal network associated with Cd tolerance in Kentucky bluegrass.

Keywords: Cd stress; Expression network; Signal transduction; Transcription factors; Transcriptional regulation.

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Physiological*
Cadmium / metabolism
Cadmium / physiology*
Gene Expression Profiling
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
Poa / metabolism
Poa / physiology*
Seedlings / metabolism
Stress, Physiological / genetics*
Transcriptome

Substances

Cadmium