4.7 Article

Rubisco activase A (RcaA) is a central node in overlapping gene network of drought and salinity in Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and may contribute to combined stress tolerance

Journal

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
Volume 161, Issue -, Pages 248-258

Publisher

ELSEVIER FRANCE-EDITIONS SCIENTIFIQUES MEDICALES ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2021.02.016

Keywords

Abiotic stress; Meta-Analysis; Photosynthesis; Physiological response; RNA-Sequencing; Systems biology

Categories

Funding

  1. Higher education center of Eghlid, Iran [16]
  2. United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Postdoctoral Fellowship [2018-08122]

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Through meta-analysis and greenhouse experiments, this study identified the overlapping gene network and tolerance mechanisms of barley under drought and salinity stress, highlighting the significance of the photosynthesis pathway and the RcaA gene in the dual-stress response.
Co-occurrence of abiotic stresses, especially drought and salinity, is a natural phenomenon in field conditions and is worse for crop production than any single stress. Nowadays, rigorous methods of meta-analysis and systems biology have made it possible to perform cross-study comparisons of single stress experiments, which can uncover main overlapping mechanisms underlying tolerance to combined stress. In this study, a meta-analysis of RNA-Seq data was conducted to obtain the overlapping gene network of drought and salinity stresses in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), which identified Rubisco activase A (RcaA) as a hub gene in the dual-stress response. Thereafter, a greenhouse experiment was carried out using two barley genotypes with different abiotic stress tolerance and evaluated several physiochemical properties as well as the expression profile and protein activity of RcaA. Finally, machine learning analysis was applied to uncover relationships among combined stress tolerance and evaluated properties. We identified 441 genes which were differentially expressed under both drought and salinity stress. Results revealed that the photosynthesis pathway and, in particular, the RcaA gene are major components of the dual-stress responsive transcriptome. Comparative physiochemical and molecular evaluations further confirmed that enhanced photosynthesis capability, mainly through regulation of RcaA expression and activity as well as accumulation of proline content, have a significant association with combined drought and salinity stress tolerance in barley. Overall, our results clarify the importance of RcaA in combined stress tolerance and may provide new insights for future investigations.

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