Early Transcriptomic Adaptation to Na2CO3 Stress Altered the Expression of a Quarter of the Total Genes in the Maize Genome and Exhibited Shared and Distinctive Profiles with NaCl and High pH Stresses

• Published in: Journal of integrative plant biology Vol. 55; no. 11; pp. 1147 - 1165
• Main Authors: Zhang, Li-Min, Liu, Xiang-Guo, Qu, Xin-Ning, Yu, Ying, Han, Si-Ping, Dou, Yao, Xu, Yao-Yao, Jing, Hai-Chun, Hao, Dong-Yun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China (Republic : 1949- ) Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2013; Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130124, China%Key Laboratory for Molecular Enzymology and Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China%The Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
• Subjects: ABC transporter; Adaptation, Physiological - drug effects; Adaptation, Physiological - genetics; Carbonates - pharmacology; Down-Regulation - drug effects; Down-Regulation - genetics; Fatty Acids - biosynthesis; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - drug effects; Gene Ontology; Genes, Plant - genetics; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration - drug effects; Maize (Zea mays L.) roots; Na2CO3 stress; RNA-Seq; saline and alkaline stress; Seedlings - drug effects; Seedlings - genetics; Signal Transduction - drug effects; Signal Transduction - genetics; Sodium Chloride - pharmacology; Sodium Hydroxide - pharmacology; Stress, Physiological - drug effects; Stress, Physiological - genetics; Transcriptome - genetics; transcriptomic adaptation; Up-Regulation - drug effects; Up-Regulation - genetics; Zea mays; Zea mays - drug effects; Zea mays - genetics; Zea mays - physiology; saline and alkaline stress; transcriptomic adaptation; Na2CO3 stress; RNA-Seq; Maize (Zea mays L.) roots
• ISSN: 1672-9072; 1744-7909
• DOI: 10.1111/jipb.12100

Sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) presents a huge challenge to plants by the combined damaging effects of Na+, high pH, and CO32‐. Little is known about the cellular responses to Na2CO3 stress. In this study, the transcriptome of maize (Zea mays L. cv. B73) roots exposed to Na2CO3 stress for 5 h was compared with those of NaCl and NaOH stresses. The expression of 8,319 genes, representing over a quarter of the total number of genes in the maize genome, was altered by Na2CO3 stress, and the downregulated genes (5,232) outnumbered the upregulated genes (3,087). The effects of Na2CO3 differed from those of NaCl and NaOH, primarily by downregulating different categories of genes. Pathways commonly altered by Na2CO3, NaCl, and NaOH were enriched in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids, ATP‐binding cassette (ABC) transporters, as well as the metabolism of secondary metabolites. Genes for brassinosteroid biosynthesis were specifically upregulated by Na2CO3, while genes involved in ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum and by N‐glycosylation, fatty acid biosynthesis, and the circadian rhythm were downregulated. This work provides the first holistic picture of early transcriptomic adaptation to Na2CO3 stress, and highlights potential molecular pathways that could be manipulated to improve tolerance in maize.