Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Jagiellonska 28, 40-032, Katowice, Poland.
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, 11455 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada.
BMC Plant Biol. 2023 Sep 22;23(1):445. doi: 10.1186/s12870-023-04450-1.
Drought is a major environmental stress that affects crop productivity worldwide. Although previous research demonstrated links between strigolactones (SLs) and drought, here we used barley (Hordeum vulgare) SL-insensitive mutant hvd14 (dwarf14) to scrutinize the SL-dependent mechanisms associated with water deficit response.
We have employed a combination of transcriptomics, proteomics, phytohormonomics analyses, and physiological data to unravel differences between wild-type and hvd14 plants under drought. Our research revealed that drought sensitivity of hvd14 is related to weaker induction of abscisic acid-responsive genes/proteins, lower jasmonic acid content, higher reactive oxygen species content, and lower wax biosynthetic and deposition mechanisms than wild-type plants. In addition, we identified a set of transcription factors (TFs) that are exclusively drought-induced in the wild-type barley.
Critically, we resolved a comprehensive series of interactions between the drought-induced barley transcriptome and proteome responses, allowing us to understand the profound effects of SLs in alleviating water-limiting conditions. Several new avenues have opened for developing barley more resilient to drought through the information provided. Moreover, our study contributes to a better understanding of the complex interplay between genes, proteins, and hormones in response to drought, and underscores the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to studying plant stress response mechanisms.
干旱是一种影响全球作物生产力的主要环境胁迫。尽管先前的研究表明了独脚金内酯（SLs）与干旱之间的联系，但在这里，我们使用大麦（Hordeum vulgare）SL 不敏感突变体 hvd14（矮化 14）来仔细研究与水分亏缺响应相关的 SL 依赖性机制。
我们采用了转录组学、蛋白质组学、植物激素组学分析和生理数据相结合的方法，揭示了干旱条件下野生型和 hvd14 植物之间的差异。我们的研究表明，hvd14 的干旱敏感性与 ABA 响应基因/蛋白的诱导较弱、茉莉酸含量较低、活性氧含量较高、蜡生物合成和沉积机制较低有关，与野生型植物相比。此外，我们鉴定了一组在野生型大麦中仅受干旱诱导的转录因子（TFs）。
至关重要的是，我们解决了一系列由干旱诱导的大麦转录组和蛋白质组反应之间的相互作用，使我们能够了解 SLs 在缓解水分限制条件方面的深远影响。通过提供的信息，为开发更能耐受干旱的大麦提供了新的途径。此外，我们的研究有助于更好地理解基因、蛋白质和激素在应对干旱时的复杂相互作用，并强调了采用多学科方法研究植物应激反应机制的重要性。
