Differentially expressed genes and proteins upon drought acclimation in tolerant and sensitive genotypes of Coffea canephora

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying drought acclimation in coffee plants by the identification of candidate genes (CGs) using different approaches. The first approach used the data generated during the Brazilian Coffee expressed sequence tag (EST) project to select 13 CGs by an in silico analysis (electronic northern). The second approach was based on screening macroarrays spotted with plasmid DNA (coffee ESTs) with separate hybridizations using leaf cDNA probes from drought-tolerant and susceptible clones of Coffea canephora var. Conilon, grown under different water regimes. This allowed the isolation of seven additional CGs. The third approach used two-dimensional gel electrophoresis to identify proteins displaying differential accumulation in leaves of drought-tolerant and susceptible clones of C. canephora. Six of them were characterized by MALDI-TOF-MS/MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption-time of flight-tandem mass spectrometry) and the corresponding proteins were identified. Finally, additional CGs were selected from the literature, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed to analyse the expression of all identified CGs. Altogether, >40 genes presenting differential gene expression during drought acclimation were identified, some of them showing different expression profiles between drought-tolerant and susceptible clones. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that factors involved a complex network of responses probably involving the abscisic signalling pathway and nitric oxide are major molecular determinants that might explain the better efficiency in controlling stomata closure and transpiration displayed by drought-tolerant clones of C. canephora.

Dry matter and macronutrient accumulation in fruits of Conilon coffee with different ripening cycles

“…Some studies have indicated that a severe water deficit leads to decreased foliar concentration of P in arabica coffee (Worku & Astatkie, 2010) and may also impair the metabolism of coffee plants Marraccini et al, 2012). However, that was not observed in this study as the crop was properly irrigated.…”

Wood density, but not leaf hydraulic architecture, is associated with drought tolerance in clones of Coffea canephora

“…Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve our understanding of the mechanisms that govern drought tolerance in coffee plants to facilitate the selection of promising genotypes that withstand severe drought spells and produce adequate yields when the water supply is restricted. However, studies exploring mechanisms associated with drought tolerance in robusta coffee have primarily been limited to physiological approaches (e.g., Lima et al 2002;DaMatta et al 2003;Pinheiro et al 2004Pinheiro et al , 2005Marracini et al 2012), and virtually nothing has been reported about structure-function relationships.…”

Emerging roles for carbonic anhydrase in mesophyll conductance and photosynthesis

“…In rapeseed ( Brassica napus L.), βCA1 was downregulated during drought, both at the transcriptional level and by phosphorylation of the substrate‐binding active region (Wang et al , ). Water stress has been further confirmed to have negative impacts on the activities of CA, Rubisco and photosynthesis‐related proteins in other species, including durum wheat ( Triticum durum Desf., Guliyev et al , ), coffee ( Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner, Marraccini et al , ) and grapevine ( Vitis vinifera L., Król and Weidner, ).…”