Within- and among-leaf variations in photo-physiological functions, gene expression and DNA methylation patterns in the large-sized seagrass Posidonia oceanica

Ruocco, Miriam; Marín-Guirao, Lázaro; Procaccini, Gabriele

doi:10.1007/s00227-019-3482-8

Cited by 25 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…Although our study was based on clonal ramets that presented identical seven-locus microsatellite genotypes, the 10 heat-stressed ramets varied genetically at 1,079 SNPs generated by somatic mutations. Epigenetic differentiation between populations can be tightly linked to genetic differentiation ( Ruocco et al, 2019b ). Accordingly, trans-acting SNPs appeared to explain the correlation between gene body methylation and latitude in Arabidopsis ( Herrera and Bazaga, 2010 ; Gáspár et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most mature leaf of 42 shoots (field transect samples), randomly chosen from the two to three connected ramets, was flash frozen in liquid nitrogen for subsequent DNA extraction ( Supplementary Table S1). Thus, recorded DNA methylation patterns are expected to reflect the average state of methylation of a mature leaf, along which global DNA methylation has been shown to vary with tissue age in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica (Ruocco et al, 2019b).…”

Section: Sampling and Cultivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By sampling entire leafs composed of young and mature tissue, we aimed to standardize variation in tissue maturity among shoots, since tissue maturity can affect methylation patterns (Lynch et al, 1993;Lynch and Lande, 1998). None of the shoots had been reproductive at the time of sampling, so that variation in reproductive status is unlikely to explain the recorded methylome variation among shoots (Ruocco et al, 2019b).The change in depth of 3 meters and, thus, gradual changes in environmental factors along the sampled transect may not have been extreme enough to impose a result. The disagreement between methylome variation and transect position may also result from recent uprooting and re-settling of some shoots.…”

Section: Methylome Variation Of Functional Relevancementioning

confidence: 99%

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The Seagrass Methylome Is Associated With Variation in Photosynthetic Performance Among Clonal Shoots

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sampling and Cultivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methylome Variation Of Functional Relevancementioning

confidence: 99%

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The Seagrass Methylome Is Associated With Variation in Photosynthetic Performance Among Clonal Shoots

et al. 2020

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“…This is exacerbated in canopy-forming species, where the strong light-attenuation gradient from the top to the meadow bottom parallels the vertical leaf-age gradient, thus influencing molecular and photo-physiological patterns across the leaf (e.g. Alcoverro et al, 1998; Dalla Via et al, 1998; Enríquez et al, 2002; Ralph et al, 2005; Marín-Guirao et al, 2015; Ruocco et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential Leaf Age-Dependent Thermal Plasticity in the Keystone Seagrass Posidonia oceanica

et al. 2019

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Introduction: Gene-expression patterns and their upstream regulatory mechanisms (e.g. epigenetic) are known to modulate plant acclimatability and thus tolerance to heat stress. Within species, thermal plasticity (i.e. temperature-sensitive phenotypic plasticity) and differential thermo-tolerance are recognized among different genotypes, development stages, organs or tissues. Leaf age and lifespan have been demonstrated to strongly affect photosynthetic thermo-tolerance in terrestrial species, whereas there is no information available for marine plants. Materials and Methods: Here, we investigated how an intense warming event affects molecular and photo-physiological functions in the large-sized seagrass Posidonia oceanica, at fine spatial resolution. Plants were exposed for one week at 34°C in a controlled-mesocosm system. Subsequent variations in the expression of 12 target genes and global DNA methylation level were evaluated in three leaf-age sections (i.e. basal, medium and high) established along the longitudinal axis of youngest, young and fully mature leaves of the shoot. Targeted genes were involved in photosynthesis, chlorophyll biosynthesis, energy dissipation mechanisms, stress response and programmed cell death. Molecular analyses paralleled the assessment of pigment content and photosynthetic performance of the same leaf segments, as well as of plant growth inhibition under acute warming. Results: Our data revealed, for the first time, the presence of variable leaf age-dependent stress-induced epigenetic and gene-expression changes in seagrasses, underlying photo-physiological and growth responses to heat stress. An investment in protective responses and growth arrest was observed in immature tissues; while mature leaf sections displayed a higher ability to offset gene down-regulation, possibly through the involvement of DNA methylation changes, although heat-induced damages were visible at photo-physiological level. Discussion: Overall, mature and young leaf tissues exhibited different strategies to withstand heat stress and thus a variable thermal plasticity. This should be taken in consideration when addressing seagrass response to warming and other stressors, especially in large-sized species, where sharp age differences are present within and among leaves, and other gradients of environmental factors (e.g. light) could be at play. Molecular and physiological evaluations conducted only on adult leaf tissues, as common practice in seagrass research, could give inadequate estimates of the overall plant state, and should not be considered as a proxy for the whole shoot.

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“…All RT-qPCR reactions were conducted in triplicate, and each assay included three no-template negative controls. The relative quantification of the transcript levels was obtained following [ 87 ]. In detail, the negative differences in the cycles to cross the threshold value between the RG and the respective GOI (−ΔCT) were calculated according to Equation (1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

m6A RNA Methylation in Marine Plants: First Insights and Relevance for Biological Rhythms

Ruocco

Ambrosino

Jahnke

et al. 2020

IJMS

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Circadian regulations are essential for enabling organisms to synchronize physiology with environmental light-dark cycles. Post-transcriptional RNA modifications still represent an understudied level of gene expression regulation in plants, although they could play crucial roles in environmental adaptation. N6-methyl-adenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent mRNA modification, established by “writer” and “eraser” proteins. It influences the clockwork in several taxa, but only few studies have been conducted in plants and none in marine plants. Here, we provided a first inventory of m6A-related genes in seagrasses and investigated daily changes in the global RNA methylation and transcript levels of writers and erasers in Cymodocea nodosa and Zostera marina. Both species showed methylation peaks during the dark period under the same photoperiod, despite exhibiting asynchronous changes in the m6A profile and related gene expression during a 24-h cycle. At contrasting latitudes, Z. marina populations displayed overlapping daily patterns of the m6A level and related gene expression. The observed rhythms are characteristic for each species and similar in populations of the same species with different photoperiods, suggesting the existence of an endogenous circadian control. Globally, our results indicate that m6A RNA methylation could widely contribute to circadian regulation in seagrasses, potentially affecting the photo-biological behaviour of these plants.

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Within- and among-leaf variations in photo-physiological functions, gene expression and DNA methylation patterns in the large-sized seagrass Posidonia oceanica

Cited by 25 publications

References 77 publications

The Seagrass Methylome Is Associated With Variation in Photosynthetic Performance Among Clonal Shoots

The Seagrass Methylome Is Associated With Variation in Photosynthetic Performance Among Clonal Shoots

Differential Leaf Age-Dependent Thermal Plasticity in the Keystone Seagrass Posidonia oceanica

m6A RNA Methylation in Marine Plants: First Insights and Relevance for Biological Rhythms

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