Natural Genetic Variation in Selected Populations of Arabidopsis thaliana Is Associated with Ionomic Differences

Abstract

Controlling elemental composition is critical for plant growth and development as well as the nutrition of humans who utilize plants for food. Uncovering the genetic architecture underlying mineral ion homeostasis in plants is a critical first step towards understanding the biochemical networks that regulate a plant's elemental composition (ionome). Natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana provide a rich source of genetic diversity that leads to phenotypic differences. We analyzed the concentrations of 17 different elements in 12 A. thaliana accessions and three recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations grown in several different environments using high-throughput inductively coupled plasma- mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Significant differences were detected between the accessions for most elements and we identified over a hundred QTLs for elemental accumulation in the RIL populations. Altering the environment the plants were grown in had a strong effect on the correlations between different elements and the QTLs controlling elemental accumulation. All ionomic data presented is publicly available at www.ionomicshub.org.

Natural Variation of Arabidopsis Root Architecture Reveals Complementing Adaptive Strategies to Potassium Starvation

“…Thus, their phenotype in low K is probably not the result of similar overall stress responses. A direct connection to K transport might be suggested when looking at shoot K measured by Buescher et al (2010). Mt-0, the only strategy II member in the study, had the highest shoot K concentration among 12 accessions.…”

“…Our study included the accessions Bay-0 and Sha, which have been extensively used in natural variation and QTL studies, among others for flowering time (Loudet et al, 2002), root architecture (Loudet et al, 2005), partial resistance to Pseudomonas syringae (Perchepied et al, 2006), phosphate starvation (Reymond et al, 2006;Svistoonoff et al, 2007), sulfate content (Loudet et al, 2007), shoot mineral content (Buescher et al, 2010), and growth on acidic soil (Poormohammad Kiani et al, 2012). As they cluster very closely in low K (Fig.…”

“…Harada and Leigh (2006) provided a list of candidate cation transporter genes within their intervals, including important K transporters such as AKT1 (CHR2.1), SKOR (CHR3.1), HAK5 (CHR4.1), and several members of the TPK family (CHR5.2 and CHR5.3). Recently, ionomics have become a standard tool in the study of natural variation and stress responses, providing researchers with data for multiple elements at a time (Salt et al, 2008;Buescher et al, 2010;Prinzenberg et al, 2010). Buescher et al (2010) not only compared natural accessions but also mapped shoot mineral contents for several RIL populations in various environments.…”

“…Recently, ionomics have become a standard tool in the study of natural variation and stress responses, providing researchers with data for multiple elements at a time (Salt et al, 2008;Buescher et al, 2010;Prinzenberg et al, 2010). Buescher et al (2010) not only compared natural accessions but also mapped shoot mineral contents for several RIL populations in various environments. In a large Bay-0 3 Sha population, loci for K content were mapped to regions corresponding to CHR1.2, CHR1.3, CHR2.2, and CHR5.3.…”

Integration of Experiments across Diverse Environments Identifies the Genetic Determinants of Variation in Sorghum bicolor Seed Element Composition

“…This diverse collection of sorghum germplasm contains genetic variation with undiscovered impact on seed element composition (Das et al, 1997). Mapping quantitative trait loci for seed element concentration has been successful in a number of species, including Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana; Vreugdenhil et al, 2004;Waters and Grusak, 2008;Buescher et al, 2010), rice (Oryza sativa; Norton et al, 2010;Zhang et al, 2014), wheat (Triticum aestivum; Shi et al, 2008;Peleg et al, 2009), and maize (Zea mays; Simic et al, 2012;Baxter et al, 2013Baxter et al, , 2014. Genome-wide association (GWA) mapping is well suited for uncovering the genetic basis for complex traits, including seed element accumulation.…”