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ARS Home » Plains Area » Sidney, Montana » Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory » Pest Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #363560
Research Project: Ecology and Management of Grasshoppers and Other Rangeland and Crop Insects in the Great Plains

Location: Pest Management Research

Title: Water deficit transcriptomic responses differ in the invasive Tamarix chinensis and T. ramosissima established in the southern and northern United States

Author
item SWAMINATHAN, PADMAPRIYA - South Dakota State University
item OHRTAMAN, MICHELLE - South Dakota State University
item CARINDER, ABIGAIL - South Dakota State University
item DEUJA, ANUP - South Dakota State University
item Gaskin, John
item FENNELL, ANNE - South Dakota State University
item CLAY, SHARON - South Dakota State University

Submitted to: Plants
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/2/2020
Publication Date: 1/9/2020
Citation: Swaminathan, P., Ohrtaman, M., Carinder, A., Deuja, A., Gaskin, J.F., Fennell, A., Clay, S. 2020. Water deficit transcriptomic responses differ in the invasive Tamarix chinensis and T. ramosissima established in the southern and northern United States. Plants. 9(1):86. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9010086.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9010086

Interpretive Summary: Tamarix species (saltcedar) species first were introduced from Asia to the southern United States as windbreak and ornamental plants but have expanded their range into native sites. To better control these species we need to understand how they have become good invaders. One invasive trait of this invasion is its ability to withstand drought. This research identifies the gene complexes that are utilized in two saltcedar species when they are stressed by drought. This information also helps us model how each of these species will react to changing climates.

Technical Abstract: Tamarix spp. (saltcedar) species first were introduced from Asia to the southern United States as windbreak and ornamental plants but have expanded their range into native sites. This study determined transcriptomic responses to water deficit (WD) in seedlings of two Tamarix species, T. chinensis and T. ramosissima, from established invasive stands in New Mexico and Montana, respectively. A de novo transcriptome was developed using Trinity and RNA sequences from water deficit and well-watered samples. Blast2GO analysis of the resulting 271,872 transcripts yielded 89,389 homologs. The de novo Tamarix (Tamaricaceae, Carophyllales order) transcriptome showed homology with 14,247 predicted genes of the Beta vulgaris subsp vulgaris (Amaranthaceae, Carophyllales order) genome assembly. There were 2068 and 669 differentially expressed genes (DEG) in T. chinensis and T. ramosissma, respectively and 332 were DEG in common between the two species. Network analysis shows a large biological process network of similar gene content for each of the species. There are two distinct molecular function ontology networks (binding and transcription factor related) in T. chinensis encompassing multiple up-regulated transcription factors (MYB and WRKY) and a cellular components network containing many down-regulated photosynthesis related genes