Responses of Manila Grass (Zoysia matrella) to chilling stress: From transcriptomics to physiology

Abstract

Manila grass (Zoysia matrella), a warm-season turfgrass, usually wilts and browns by late autumn because of low temperature. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms regarding Manila grass responses to cold stress, we performed transcriptome sequencing of leaves exposed to 4˚C for 0 (CK), 2h (2h_CT) and 72h (72h_CT) by Illumina technology. Approximately 250 million paired-end reads were obtained and de novo assembled into 82,605 unigenes. A total of 34,879 unigenes were annotated by comparing their sequence to public protein databases. At the 2h-and 72h-cold time points, 324 and 5,851 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, respectively. Gene ontology (GO) and metabolism pathway (KEGG) enrichment analyses of DEGs indicated that auxin, gibberellins, ethylene and calcium took part in the cold signal transduction in the early period. And in the late cold period, electron transport activities, photosynthetic machinery and activity, carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolism, redox equilibrium and hormone metabolism were disturbed. Low temperature stress triggered high light, drought and oxidative stress. At the physiological level, cold stress induced a decrease in water content, an increase in levels of total soluble sugar, free proline and MDA, and changes in bioactive gibberellins levels, which supported the changes in gene expression. The results provided a large set of sequence data of Manila grass as well as molecular mechanisms of the grass in response to cold stress. This information will be helpful for future study of molecular breeding and turf management.

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of NYC1 gene enhances chlorophyll retention and reduces tillering in Zoysia matrella (L.) Merrill

“…Nevertheless, the aabb mutant genotype displayed gradual chlorophyll decline, indicating the potential upregulation of other genes involved in photosynthesis, carbon assimilation, ROS production, and hormone synthesis under cold conditions and reduced photoperiods (Teng et al 2016 , 2021 ). This observation aligns with a recent RNA-seq analysis of zoysiagrass under cold stress, which revealed the down-regulation of genes associated with chlorophyll biosynthesis and chlorophyll a / b binding, alongside the upregulation of six genes related to chlorophyll catabolism (Wei et al 2015 ; Long et al 2020 ). The combination of low temperature with high light has the potential to induce chronic photoinhibition of PSII in warm-season plants (Allen and Ort 2001 ).…”

A Survey of Enhanced Cold Tolerance and Low-Temperature-Induced Anthocyanin Accumulation in a Novel Zoysia japonica Biotype

“…Whole transcriptome analysis based on next-generation sequencing technologies has developed as a useful approach for finding and identifying genes involved in abiotic stress resistance in recent years, drastically enhancing our understanding of the interaction between plant and environment. To date, the NCBI database holds 11 transcriptomic BioProjects for Zoysia species, including 8 for Z. japonica , 2 for Z. matrella [ 7 , 8 ], and 1 for Z. macrostachya [ 9 ]. Among the eight transcriptomic studies on Z. japonica , two focused on spike pigmentation [ 10 ], one on responses to pathogen invasion [ 11 ], and the others on responses to abiotic stresses, including aluminum, wounding [ 12 ], salt [ 13 , 14 ] and low-temperature [ 15 ].…”

“…Anthocyanins may scavenge ROS as an efficient antioxidant by neutralizing radicals with their hydroxyl groups to preserve normal cellular redox homeostasis; hence, plants often generate anthocyanins to reduce oxidative damage caused by low-temperature stress [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Low-temperature responsive networks in zoysiagrass have been investigated through physiological, biochemical, molecular, genetic and omic approaches [ 7 , 15 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. However, no studies have attempted to associate anthocyanin accumulation with cold tolerance in zoysiagrass.…”

Comparative transcriptome profiling provides insights into different photosynthetic responses in two tall fescue cultivars under low-light stress

“…Several RNA-Seq studies on Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis) [14], Manila Grass (Zoysia matrella) [15], and Japanese Lawn grass (Zoysia japonica) [16] focused on transcriptional changes in response to abiotic stress and associated pathways. In tall fescue, RNA-Seq was used to reveal resistance responses to cadmium (Cd) induced stress [17], investigate the transcriptome under water stress [18], explore two cultivars in response to plumbum (Pb)-induced stress [19], and analyze for thermotolerance [20].…”