A cold change : how short low temperature exposure affects primary metabolism in leaves and stems of two eucalyptus species

Plants often modify their metabolism in order to regain homeostasis and maintain survival in the face of stressful conditions. Here, two species of eucalyptus, E. globulus and E. grandis (adapted and non-adapted to low temperature, respectively), were exposed to either 10 degrees C or 25 degrees C over 24 h, and changes in gene expression and metabolite levels were analyzed. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the dynamic of short period changes in the energy metabolism of source (leaves) and sink (stem) tissues in these contrasting species regarding low temperature. We expected to observe a distinct pattern on carbon metabolism and source-to-sink relationship between both species which would be related to their different vegetative responses when facing low temperatures. In that way, E. globulus plants showed a differential expression in leaves and stems of SnRK1 genes system (responsible for energy availability control in plants), that was strongly associated to the changes in carbon metabolism and the main difference between the response when both species face cold. Taken together, the results suggest that low temperatures (10 degrees C) are able to increase the sink strength of stem tissues and the carbon assimilation in leaves of E. globulus, supporting a higher vegetative growth rate. In E. grandis, on the other hand, exposure to 10 degrees C promoted a higher consumption of carbon skeletons without better growth rate as a counterpart, suggesting that under cold conditions, these two eucalyptus species differ in the way they coordinate the interaction between the activation of SnRK1 system and primary metabolism in source and sink tissues314429444CNPQ - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnológicoFAPESP – Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa Do Estado De São Paulo246374/2012-82014/01200-6; 2018/20572-2; 2011/51949-5Open access funding provided by Max Planck Society. We acknowledge Laerti Reis Roque, Luana Reis Roque, Dulcinéia Pereira de Souza, Änne Eckardt, Gudrun Wolter for exceptional technical assistance. This work was supported by funding from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, Grant Numbers 2014/01200-6 and 2018/20572-2 to A.P.D.-J.; 2011/51949-5 to P.M.) and the Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq Grant Number 246374/2012-8 to L.R.S.

The genetic architecture of photosynthesis and plant growth-related traits in tomato

To identify genomic regions involved in the regulation of fundamental physiological processes such as photosynthesis and respiration, a population of Solanum pennellii introgression lines was analyzed. We determined phenotypes for physiological, metabolic, and growth related traits, including gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. Data analysis allowed the identification of 208 physiological and metabolic quantitative trait loci with 33 of these being associated to smaller intervals of the genomic regions, termed BINs. Eight BINs were identified that were associated with higher assimilation rates than the recurrent parent M82. Two and 10 genomic regions were related to shoot and root dry matter accumulation, respectively. Nine genomic regions were associated with starch levels, whereas 12 BINs were associated with the levels of other metabolites. Additionally, a comprehensive and detailed annotation of the genomic regions spanning these quantitative trait loci allowed us to identify 87 candidate genes that putatively control the investigated traits. We confirmed 8 of these at the level of variance in gene expression. Taken together, our results allowed the identification of candidate genes that most likely regulate photosynthesis, primary metabolism, and plant growth and as such provide new avenues for crop improvement.Fil: de Oliveira Silva, Franklin Magnum. Universidade Federal de Viçosa; BrasilFil: Lichtenstein, Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Alseekh, Saleh. Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology; AlemaniaFil: Rosado Souza, Laise. Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology; AlemaniaFil: Conte, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Suguiyama, Vanessa Fuentes. Universidade Federal do ABC; BrasilFil: Lira, Bruno Silvestre. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Fanourakis, Dimitrios. Vegetable Crops and Plant Protection; GreciaFil: Usadel, Björn. RWTH Aachen University; Alemania. Forschungszentrum Jülich; AlemaniaFil: Bhering, Leonardo Lopes. Universidade Federal de Viçosa; BrasilFil: DaMatta, Fábio M.. Universidade Federal de Viçosa; BrasilFil: Sulpice, Ronan. National University of Ireland Galway; IrlandaFil: Araújo, Wagner L.. Universidade Federal de Viçosa; BrasilFil: Rossi, Magdalena. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: de Setta, Nathalia. Universidade Federal do ABC; BrasilFil: Fernie, Alisdair R.. Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology; AlemaniaFil: Carrari, Fernando Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Nunes Nesi, Adriano. Universidade Federal de Viçosa; Brasi