Comparative Analysis of the Transcriptional Response of Tolerant and Sensitive Wheat Genotypes to Drought Stress in Field Conditions

Abstract

Drought stress is one of the most adverse environmental limiting factors for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) productivity worldwide. For better understanding of the molecular mechanism of wheat in response to drought, a comparative transcriptome approach was applied to investigate the gene expression change of two wheat cultivars, Jimai No. 47 (drought-tolerant) and Yanzhan No. 4110 (drought-sensitive) in the field under irrigated and drought-stressed conditions. A total of 3754 and 2325 differential expressed genes (DEGs) were found in Jimai No. 47 and Yanzhan No. 4110, respectively, of which 377 genes were overlapped, which could be considered to be the potential drought-responsive genes. GO (Gene Ontology) analysis showed that these DEGs of tolerant genotype were significantly enriched in signaling transduction and MAP (mitogen-activated protein) kinase activity, while that of sensitive genotype was involved in photosynthesis, membrane protein complex, and guard cell differentiation. Furthermore, 32 and 2 RNA editing sites were identified in drought-tolerant and sensitive genotypes under drought compared to irrigation, demonstrating that RNA editing also plays an important role in response to drought in wheat. This study investigated the gene expression pattern and RNA editing sites of two wheat cultivars with contrasting tolerance in field condition, which will contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of drought tolerance in wheat and beyond.

Genome-wide investigation and functional analysis of RNA editing sites in wheat

“…The 12 different types of RESs found in non-coding regions including the 3 0 -UTR and 5 0 -UTR, rRNA, Upstream and downstream of genes, tRNAs, and translated regions (S12 File). RNA editing sites are widely found in protein-coding regions, causing alterations in protein structure and function [9,20,60]. We found hundreds of RNA editing sites across all genotypes and provide a useful data set for future researchers.…”

“…Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major staple food crop grown in both irrigated and rainfed locations around the world, accounting for 17 percent of arable land and provides important food calories, especially to the 4.5 billion people who live in poor countries [20][21][22]. Wheat yield is predicted to be reduced by 6.0 percent for every ˚C rise in global temperature, because of climate variation, as well as more frequent exposure to extended drought periods [22][23][24][25][26].…”

Comparative transcriptome profiling of a resistant vs susceptible bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar in response to water deficit and cold stress

“…Gene expression profiling allows identifying candidate genes for targeted breeding. Full-genome measurements of gene expression under drought conditions were carried out by various researchers using microarrays (Qin et al, 2008;Aprile et al, 2009;Li et al, 2012) and RNA-seq (Lv et al, 2018;Iquebal et al, 2019). It was shown that in drought conditions, wheat activates the metabolism of sucrose and starch (Poersch-Bortolon et al, 2016).…”

Molecular Genetics, Genomics, and Biotechnology in Crop Plant Breeding

“…More than 60% of food production is based on rain-fed agriculture, making it sensitive to annual fluctuations in climate [13]. This calls for genetic improvements for drought tolerance.…”