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ARS Home » Plains Area » Manhattan, Kansas » Center for Grain and Animal Health Research » Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #178209
Title: NYLON FILTER ARRAYS REVEAL DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF ESTS IN WHEAT ROOTS UNDER ALUMINUM STRESS

Author
item XIAO, K - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIV
item Bai, Guihua
item CARVER, B - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Omics - A Journal Of Integrative Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2005
Publication Date: 6/1/2005
Citation: Xiao, K., Bai, G., Carver, B. 2005. Nylon filter arrays reveal differential expression of ests in wheat roots under aluminum stress. Omics - A Journal Of Integrative Biology. 47(7): 839-848.

Interpretive Summary: Aluminum toxicity in acid soil is a major constraint on wheat production in the southern Great Plains. Aluminum tolerant cultivars are known, but the mechanism of tolerance is not well characterized. In this study, a set of wheat lines differing in aluminum tolerance were derived from Atlas 66 (tolerant) and Century (susceptible). Gene expression analysis was conducted on roots that were placed under aluminum stress. Differentially expressed genes had putative functions in signal transduction, oxidative stress alleviation, membrane structure, transport, etc. Therefore, tolerance to aluminum toxicity in wheat may involve a complicated network of stress-related and metabolic pathways. Some of the differentially expressed genes could be useful as molecular markers.

Technical Abstract: Increased soil Aluminum (Al3+) toxicity has resulted in significant losses in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield with a gradual decline in soil pH in many regions of the world. Elucidating the expression patterns of Al-regulated wheat genes occurring under Al stress may lead to discovery of new genes and further understanding the molecular mechanisms of wheat tolerance to Al toxicity. To enrich differentially expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for Al tolerance, cDNA subtraction libraries were generated from Al-stressed roots of two wheat near-isogenic lines (NILs) contrasting in Al-tolerance gene(s) from the Al-tolerant cultivar Atlas 66, using suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH). Expression patterns of the ESTs were investigated with nylon filter arrays containing 614 cDNA clones from the subtraction library. Gene expression profiles indicated that 72 ESTs were up-regulated in the tolerant NIL in response to Al stress. These highly expressed ESTs showed high homology with genes involved in signal transduction, oxidative stress alleviation and membrane structure, transportation and other functions. Under Al stress, the Al-tolerant NIL may posses altered structure and function of the cell wall, plasma membrane, and mitochondrion. The wheat response to Al stress may involve complicated defense-related signaling and metabolic pathways, but genes related to malate exudation, an important physiological mechanism of Al tolerance, were not identified in this study.