Wood Formation under Severe Drought Invokes Adjustment of the Hormonal and Transcriptional Landscape in Poplar
Drought is a severe environmental stress that exerts negative effects on plant growth. In trees, drought leads to reduced secondary growth and altered wood anatomy. The mechanisms underlying wood stress adaptation are not well understood. Here, we investigated the physiological, anatomical, hormonal...
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/18/9899 |
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| author | Dade Yu Dennis Janz Krzysztof Zienkiewicz Cornelia Herrfurth Ivo Feussner Shaoliang Chen Andrea Polle |
| author_facet | Dade Yu Dennis Janz Krzysztof Zienkiewicz Cornelia Herrfurth Ivo Feussner Shaoliang Chen Andrea Polle |
| author_sort | Dade Yu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Drought is a severe environmental stress that exerts negative effects on plant growth. In trees, drought leads to reduced secondary growth and altered wood anatomy. The mechanisms underlying wood stress adaptation are not well understood. Here, we investigated the physiological, anatomical, hormonal, and transcriptional responses of poplar to strong drought. Drought-stressed xylem was characterized by higher vessel frequencies, smaller vessel lumina, and thicker secondary fiber cell walls. These changes were accompanied by strong increases in abscisic acid (ABA) and antagonistic changes in salicylic acid in wood. Transcriptional evidence supported ABA biosynthesis and signaling in wood. Since ABA signaling activates the fiber-thickening factor NST1, we expected upregulation of the secondary cell wall (SCW) cascade under stress. By contrast, transcription factors and biosynthesis genes for SCW formation were down-regulated, whereas a small set of cellulose synthase-like genes and a huge array of genes involved in cell wall modification were up-regulated in drought-stressed wood. Therefore, we suggest that ABA signaling monitors normal SCW biosynthesis and that drought causes a switch from normal to “stress wood” formation recruiting a dedicated set of genes for cell wall biosynthesis and remodeling. This proposition implies that drought-induced changes in cell wall properties underlie regulatory mechanisms distinct from those of normal wood. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:35:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4605d0ab704c42018ab5cd226c34df93 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:35:37Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-4605d0ab704c42018ab5cd226c34df932023-11-22T13:29:18ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672021-09-012218989910.3390/ijms22189899Wood Formation under Severe Drought Invokes Adjustment of the Hormonal and Transcriptional Landscape in PoplarDade Yu0Dennis Janz1Krzysztof Zienkiewicz2Cornelia Herrfurth3Ivo Feussner4Shaoliang Chen5Andrea Polle6Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Tree Breeding by Molecular Design, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaForest Botany and Tree Physiology, Büsgen-Institute, University of Goettingen, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyDepartment of Plant Biochemistry, Albrecht-Von-Haller Institute, University of Goettingen, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyDepartment of Plant Biochemistry, Albrecht-Von-Haller Institute, University of Goettingen, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyDepartment of Plant Biochemistry, Albrecht-Von-Haller Institute, University of Goettingen, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyBeijing Advanced Innovation Center for Tree Breeding by Molecular Design, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaBeijing Advanced Innovation Center for Tree Breeding by Molecular Design, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaDrought is a severe environmental stress that exerts negative effects on plant growth. In trees, drought leads to reduced secondary growth and altered wood anatomy. The mechanisms underlying wood stress adaptation are not well understood. Here, we investigated the physiological, anatomical, hormonal, and transcriptional responses of poplar to strong drought. Drought-stressed xylem was characterized by higher vessel frequencies, smaller vessel lumina, and thicker secondary fiber cell walls. These changes were accompanied by strong increases in abscisic acid (ABA) and antagonistic changes in salicylic acid in wood. Transcriptional evidence supported ABA biosynthesis and signaling in wood. Since ABA signaling activates the fiber-thickening factor NST1, we expected upregulation of the secondary cell wall (SCW) cascade under stress. By contrast, transcription factors and biosynthesis genes for SCW formation were down-regulated, whereas a small set of cellulose synthase-like genes and a huge array of genes involved in cell wall modification were up-regulated in drought-stressed wood. Therefore, we suggest that ABA signaling monitors normal SCW biosynthesis and that drought causes a switch from normal to “stress wood” formation recruiting a dedicated set of genes for cell wall biosynthesis and remodeling. This proposition implies that drought-induced changes in cell wall properties underlie regulatory mechanisms distinct from those of normal wood.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/18/9899droughtabscisic acidsecondary cell wallsphytohormonetranscriptional regulation |
| spellingShingle | Dade Yu Dennis Janz Krzysztof Zienkiewicz Cornelia Herrfurth Ivo Feussner Shaoliang Chen Andrea Polle Wood Formation under Severe Drought Invokes Adjustment of the Hormonal and Transcriptional Landscape in Poplar International Journal of Molecular Sciences drought abscisic acid secondary cell walls phytohormone transcriptional regulation |
| title | Wood Formation under Severe Drought Invokes Adjustment of the Hormonal and Transcriptional Landscape in Poplar |
| title_full | Wood Formation under Severe Drought Invokes Adjustment of the Hormonal and Transcriptional Landscape in Poplar |
| title_fullStr | Wood Formation under Severe Drought Invokes Adjustment of the Hormonal and Transcriptional Landscape in Poplar |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wood Formation under Severe Drought Invokes Adjustment of the Hormonal and Transcriptional Landscape in Poplar |
| title_short | Wood Formation under Severe Drought Invokes Adjustment of the Hormonal and Transcriptional Landscape in Poplar |
| title_sort | wood formation under severe drought invokes adjustment of the hormonal and transcriptional landscape in poplar |
| topic | drought abscisic acid secondary cell walls phytohormone transcriptional regulation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/18/9899 |
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