Plant molecular response to combined drought and nematode stress

• Main Author: Atkinson, Nicola Jane
• Other Authors: Urwin, P. E.
• Published: University of Leeds 2011
• Subjects: 571.217
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.546091

Plants are adapted to respond to precise environmental stress conditions, activating specific molecular and physiological changes in order to minimise damage. Response to multiple stresses is therefore different to that to individual stresses. Simultaneous biotic and abiotic stress conditions are of particular interest, as the molecular signalling pathways controlling each interact and antagonise one another. Understanding such processes is crucial for developing broad-spectrum stress-tolerant crops. This study characterised the molecular response of plants to the concurrent stresses of drought (abiotic stress) and infection with plant-parasitic nematodes (biotic stress). Drought stress increased susceptibility to infection with Heterodera schachtii in Arabidopsis thaliana. The whole-genome transcriptome response to these stresses was analysed using microarrays. Each stress induced a particular subset of differentially expressed genes. A novel programme of gene expression was activated specifically in response to a combination of drought and nematode stress, involving 2394 differentially regulated genes. A diverse range of processes was found to be important in the response to multiple stresses, including plant hormone signalling, activation of transcription factors, cell wall modification, production of secondary metabolites, amino acid metabolism and pathogen defence signalling. Ten multiple stress-induced candidate genes were selected and their functions investigated using over-expression lines and loss-of-function mutants. Altered susceptibility to drought stress (TCP9, AZI1, RALFL8) and nematode infection (TCP9, RALFL8, ATMGL, AZI1) was observed in several of these lines. The effect of combined drought and nematode infection on nutritional parameters of tomato fruits was analysed. Drought stress lengthened flowering time and negatively affected carotenoid accumulation. Infection with Meloidogyne incognita reduced yield and ripening time and had a positive effect on the accumulation of phenolic compounds. The stresses in combination increased fruit sugar content. This work comprises the first whole-genome transcriptome study into combined abiotic and biotic stress. The results highlight the importance of studying stress factors in combination.