School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Waite Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, Urrbrae, SA, 5064, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 11;11(1):3613. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-83074-7.
Water-deficit stress negatively affects wheat yield and quality. Abiotic stress on parental plants during reproduction may have transgenerational effects on progeny. Here we investigated the transgenerational influence of pre-anthesis water-deficit stress by detailed analysis of the yield components, grain quality traits, and physiological traits in durum wheat. Next-generation sequencing analysis profiled the small RNA-omics, mRNA transcriptomics, and mRNA degradomics in first generation progeny. Parental water-deficit stress had positive impacts on the progeny for traits including harvest index and protein content in the less stress-tolerant variety. Small RNA-seq identified 1739 conserved and 774 novel microRNAs (miRNAs). Transcriptome-seq characterised the expression of 66,559 genes while degradome-seq profiled the miRNA-guided mRNA cleavage dynamics. Differentially expressed miRNAs and genes were identified, with significant regulatory patterns subject to trans- and inter-generational stress. Integrated analysis using three omics platforms revealed significant biological interactions between stress-responsive miRNA and targets, with transgenerational stress tolerance potentially contributed via pathways such as hormone signalling and nutrient metabolism. Our study provides the first confirmation of the transgenerational effects of water-deficit stress in durum wheat. New insights gained at the molecular level indicate that key miRNA-mRNA modules are candidates for transgenerational stress improvement.
水分亏缺胁迫会对小麦的产量和品质产生负面影响。生殖过程中亲本植物受到非生物胁迫可能会对后代产生跨代效应。在这里，我们通过详细分析硬粒小麦的产量构成、籽粒品质性状和生理性状，研究了开花前水分亏缺胁迫的跨代影响。下一代测序分析对第一代后代的小 RNA 组学、mRNA 转录组学和 mRNA 降解组学进行了分析。在耐胁迫能力较弱的品种中，亲本水分亏缺胁迫对收获指数和蛋白质含量等性状对后代产生了积极影响。小 RNA-seq 鉴定了 1739 个保守和 774 个新的 microRNAs（miRNAs）。转录组测序分析了 66559 个基因的表达，而降解组测序分析了 miRNA 指导的 mRNA 切割动力学。鉴定了差异表达的 miRNA 和基因，具有显著的调控模式，受到跨代和代际胁迫的影响。利用三个组学平台进行的综合分析揭示了胁迫响应 miRNA 和靶标之间存在显著的生物学相互作用，通过激素信号转导和营养代谢等途径可能有助于跨代胁迫耐受性。我们的研究首次证实了水分亏缺胁迫在硬粒小麦中的跨代效应。在分子水平上获得的新见解表明，关键的 miRNA-mRNA 模块是跨代胁迫改良的候选者。
