Transcriptome-wide mapping of pea seed ageing reveals a pivotal role for genes related to oxidative stress and programmed cell death

authored by: Hongying Chen, Daniel Osuna, Louise Colville, Oscar Lorenzo, Kai Graeber, Helge Küster, Gerhard Leubner-Metzger, Ilse Kranner
Abstract: Understanding of seed ageing, which leads to viability loss during storage, is vital for ex situ plant conservation and agriculture alike. Yet the potential for regulation at the transcriptional level has not been fully investigated. Here, we studied the relationship between seed viability, gene expression and glutathione redox status during artificial ageing of pea (Pisum sativum) seeds. Transcriptome-wide analysis using microarrays was complemented with qRT-PCR analysis of selected genes and a multilevel analysis of the antioxidant glutathione. Partial degradation of DNA and RNA occurred from the onset of artificial ageing at 60% RH and 50uC, and transcriptome profiling showed that the expression of genes associated with programmed cell death, oxidative stress and protein ubiquitination were altered prior to any sign of viability loss. After 25 days of ageing viability started to decline in conjunction with progressively oxidising cellular conditions, as indicated by a shift of the glutathione redox state towards more positive values (.2190 mV). The unravelling of the molecular basis of seed ageing revealed that transcriptome reprogramming is a key component of the ageing process, which influences the progression of programmed cell death and decline in antioxidant capacity that ultimately lead to seed viability loss.
Organisation(s): Institute of Plant Genetics
External Organisation(s): Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Universidad de Salamanca
University of Freiburg
Royal Holloway University of London
University of Innsbruck
Type: Article
Journal: PLOS ONE
Volume: 8
ISSN: 1932-6203
Publication date: 29.10.2013
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all), Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all), General
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0078471 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1371/annotation/f8467b75-4eef-4c44-ad20-eee34c784a66 (Access: Open)