Ramirez-Gonzales Lorena, Cannarozzi Gina, Rindisbacher Abiel, Jäggi Lea, Schneider Regula, Weichert Annett, Plaza-Wüthrich Sonia, Chanyalew Solomon, Assefa Kebebew, Tadele Zerihun
Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, 3013 Bern, Switzerland.
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 2003, Ethiopia.
Plants (Basel). 2024 Nov 2;13(21):3086. doi: 10.3390/plants13213086.
The threat to world food security posed by drought is ever increasing. Tef [ (Zucc.) Trotter] is an allotetraploid cereal crop that is a staple food for a large population in the Horn of Africa. While the grain of tef provides quality food for humans, its straw is the most palatable and nutritious feed for livestock. In addition, the tef plant is resilient to several biotic and abiotic stresses, especially to drought, making it an ideal candidate to study the molecular mechanisms conferring these properties. The transcriptome expression of tef leaf collected from plants grown under drought conditions was profiled using RNA-Seq and key genes were verified using RT-qPCR. This study revealed that tef exhibits a complex molecular network involving membrane receptors and transcription factors that regulate drought responses. We identified target genes related to hormones like ABA, auxin, and brassinosteroids and genes involved in antioxidant activity. The findings were compared to physiological measurements such as changes in stomatal conductance and contents of proline, chlorophyll and carotenoid. The insights gained from this work could play vital role in enhancing drought tolerance in other economically important cereals such as maize and rice.
干旱对世界粮食安全构成的威胁日益增加。画眉草[（Zucc.）Trotter]是一种异源四倍体谷类作物，是非洲之角大量人口的主食。虽然画眉草的籽粒为人类提供优质食物，但其秸秆是牲畜最可口且营养丰富的饲料。此外，画眉草植株对多种生物和非生物胁迫具有抗性，尤其是对干旱具有抗性，这使其成为研究赋予这些特性的分子机制的理想候选植物。利用RNA测序对在干旱条件下生长的植株所采集的画眉草叶片转录组表达进行了分析，并使用逆转录定量聚合酶链反应对关键基因进行了验证。本研究表明，画眉草表现出一个复杂的分子网络，该网络涉及调节干旱反应的膜受体和转录因子。我们鉴定了与脱落酸、生长素和油菜素内酯等激素相关的靶基因以及参与抗氧化活性的基因。将这些研究结果与气孔导度以及脯氨酸、叶绿素和类胡萝卜素含量变化等生理测量结果进行了比较。从这项工作中获得的见解可能在提高玉米和水稻等其他经济上重要的谷类作物的耐旱性方面发挥重要作用。
