Won-Gyu Choi1,2, Richard J Barker2, Su-Hwa Kim1,2, Sarah J Swanson2, Simon Gilroy2. 1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nevada-Reno, 1664 N. Virginia Street, Reno, NV, 89557, USA. 2. Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Birge Hall, 430 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Spaceflight provides a unique environment in which to dissect plant stress response behaviors and to reveal potentially novel pathways triggered in space. We therefore analyzed the transcriptomes of Arabidopsis thaliana plants grown on board the International Space Station to find the molecular fingerprints of these space-related response networks. METHODS: Four ecotypes (Col-0, Ws-2, Ler-0 and Cvi-0) were grown on orbit and then their patterns of transcript abundance compared to ground-based controls using RNA sequencing. KEY RESULTS: Transcripts from heat-shock proteins were upregulated in all ecotypes in spaceflight, whereas peroxidase transcripts were downregulated. Among the shared and ecotype-specific changes, gene classes related to oxidative stress and hypoxia were detected. These spaceflight transcriptional response signatures could be partly mimicked on Earth by a low oxygen environment and more fully by oxidative stress (H2 O2 ) treatments. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the spaceflight environment is associated with oxidative stress potentially triggered, in part, by hypoxic response. Further, a shared spaceflight response may be through the induction of molecular chaperones (such as heat shock proteins) that help protect cellular machinery from the effects of oxidative damage. In addition, this research emphasizes the importance of considering the effects of natural variation when designing and interpreting changes associated with spaceflight experiments.
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Spaceflight provides a unique environment in which to dissect plant stress response behaviors and to reveal potentially novel pathways triggered in space. We therefore analyzed the transcriptomes of Arabidopsis thaliana plants grown on board the International Space Station to find the molecular fingerprints of these space-related response networks. METHODS: Four ecotypes (Col-0, Ws-2, Ler-0 and Cvi-0) were grown on orbit and then their patterns of transcript abundance compared to ground-based controls using RNA sequencing. KEY RESULTS: Transcripts from heat-shock proteins were upregulated in all ecotypes in spaceflight, whereas peroxidase transcripts were downregulated. Among the shared and ecotype-specific changes, gene classes related to oxidative stress and hypoxia were detected. These spaceflight transcriptional response signatures could be partly mimicked on Earth by a low oxygen environment and more fully by oxidative stress (H2 O2 ) treatments. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the spaceflight environment is associated with oxidative stress potentially triggered, in part, by hypoxic response. Further, a shared spaceflight response may be through the induction of molecular chaperones (such as heat shock proteins) that help protect cellular machinery from the effects of oxidative damage. In addition, this research emphasizes the importance of considering the effects of natural variation when designing and interpreting changes associated with spaceflight experiments.
Authors: Raúl Herranz; Joshua P Vandenbrink; Alicia Villacampa; Aránzazu Manzano; William L Poehlman; Frank Alex Feltus; John Z Kiss; Francisco Javier Medina Journal: Front Plant Sci Date: 2019-11-26 Impact factor: 5.753
Authors: John Z Kiss; Chris Wolverton; Sarah E Wyatt; Karl H Hasenstein; Jack J W A van Loon Journal: Front Plant Sci Date: 2019-12-06 Impact factor: 5.753