In silico selection ofArabidopsis thalianaecotypes with enhanced stress tolerance

Abstract

Climate models predict increased occurrences of combined abiotic and biotic stress. Unfortunately, most studies on plant stress responses include single or double stress scenarios only. Recently, we established a multi-factorial system in Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) to study the influence of simultaneously applied heat, drought, and virus. Our transcriptome analysis revealed that gene expression under multi-factorial stress is not predictable from single stress treatments. Combined heat and drought stress reduced expression of defense genes and genes involved in R-mediated disease responses, which correlated with increased susceptibility of Arabidopsis to virus infection. Eleven genes were found to be differentially regulated under all stress conditions. Assuming that regulated expression of these genes is important for plant fitness, Arabidopsis ecotypes were clustered according to their expression. Interestingly, ecotypes showing a close correlation to stressed Col-0 prior stress treatment showed improved growth under stress conditions. This result suggests a functional relevance of these genes in stress tolerance.

Integration between ROS Regulatory Systems and Other Signals in the Regulation of Various Types of Heat Responses in Plants

“…We can, therefore, expect that heat stress simultaneously occurring with other biotic or abiotic stresses might cause detrimental effects on crop yield in the future. Furthermore, several transcriptome analyses demonstrated that unique mechanisms governing the responses of plants to stress combinations could not be easily predicted from studies focusing on individual stress factors [ 127 , 128 , 129 ], supporting the necessity of research focusing on stress combinations.…”

The impact of multifactorial stress combination on plants, crops, and ecosystems: how should we prepare for what comes next?

“…The changes in weather patterns, as well as other human activities, could also cause the introduction of different invasive species, such as weeds or parasitic plants, that would further alter the balance within different ecosystems and/or agricultural fields (e.g., López‐Tirado & Gonzalez‐Andújar, 2023; Piwowarczyk & Kolanowska, 2023; Ramesh et al., 2017). These environmental ‘biotic stress’ conditions could occur in different combinations with the abiotic stresses described above inflicting heavy losses to agricultural production and intensifying the risk of forest fires, famine, wars, migration, and other destabilizing events (e.g., Canadell et al., 2021; Challinor et al., 2014; Mourtzinis et al., 2015; Prasch & Sonnewald, 2013a, 2013b; Savary & Willocquet, 2020; Sharma et al., 2023; Zandalinas, Fritschi, et al., 2021).…”

Natural variation inArabidopsis thalianaidentifies GlyoxalaseI;2 as key for the detoxification of glucose-derived reactive carbonyl species

“…By studying genes associated with environmental changes, it is possible to identify those responsible for stress tolerance in the natural variants of Arabidopsis thaliana . Ecotypes of this model plant have been used to link genes to cold (Barah et al ., 2013), drought (Bouzid et al ., 2019), and heat (Barah et al ., 2013) stresses, and even genes associated with viral infections (Prasch and Sonnewald, 2013).…”