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Research article
Andrew D. L. Nelson
University of Arizona
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9896-1739
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Background Guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray) is a drought tolerant, rubber producing perennial shrub native to northern Mexico and the US Southwest. Hevea brasiliensis, currently the world’s only source of natural rubber, is grown as a monoculture, leaving it vulnerable to both biotic and abiotic stressors. Isolation of rubber from guayule occurs by mechanical harvesting of the entire plant. It has been reported that environmental conditions leading up to harvest have a profound impact on rubber yield. The link between rubber biosynthesis and drought, a common environmental condition in guayule’s native habitat, is currently unclear.
Results We took a transcriptomic and comparative genomic approach to determine how drought impacts rubber biosynthesis in guayule. We compared transcriptional profiles of stem tissue, the location of guayule rubber biosynthesis, collected from field-grown plants subjected to water-deficit (drought) and well-watered (control) conditions. Plants subjected to the imposed drought conditions displayed an increase in production of transcripts associated with defense responses and water homeostasis, and a decrease in transcripts associated with rubber biosynthesis. An evolutionary and comparative analysis of stress-response transcripts suggests that more anciently duplicated transcripts shared among the Asteraceae, rather than recently derived duplicates, are contributing to the drought response observed in guayule. In addition, we identified several deeply conserved long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) containing microRNA binding motifs. One lncRNA in particular, with origins at the base of Asteraceae, may be regulating the vegetative to reproductive transition observed in water-stressed guayule by acting as a miRNA sponge for miR166.
Conclusions These data represent the first genomic analyses of how guayule responds to drought like conditions in agricultural production settings. We identified an inverse relationship between stress-responsive transcripts and those associated with precursor pathways to rubber biosynthesis suggesting a physiological trade-off between maintaining homeostasis and plant productivity. We also identify a number of regulators of abiotic responses, including transcription factors and lncRNAs, that are strong candidates for future projects aimed at modulating rubber biosynthesis under water-limiting conditions common to guayules’ native production environment.
Keywords
Guayule, transcriptome, drought stress, rubber biosynthesis, lncRNAs, comparative genomic
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CURRENT STATUS: Published
View the published article at BMC Plant Biology.
Version 4
Posted 14 Nov, 2019
No community comments so far
Submission checks complete
On 14 Nov, 2019
Editorial decision: Accept
On 28 Oct, 2019
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 25 Oct, 2019
Editor assigned
On 24 Oct, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 23 Oct, 2019
Editor invited
On 23 Oct, 2019
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 20 Oct, 2019
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 30 Sep, 2019
Editor assigned
On 26 Sep, 2019
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 26 Sep, 2019
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 26 Sep, 2019
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 26 Sep, 2019
Review #1 received
Received 26 Sep, 2019
Review #2 received
Received 26 Sep, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 25 Sep, 2019
Editor invited
On 25 Sep, 2019
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 30 Aug, 2019
Review #1 received
Received 29 Aug, 2019
Review #2 received
Received 25 Aug, 2019
Review #3 received
Received 23 Aug, 2019
Review #4 received
Received 23 Aug, 2019
Reviewer #4 agreed
On 03 Aug, 2019
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 01 Aug, 2019
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 01 Aug, 2019
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 26 Jul, 2019
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 24 Jul, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 16 Jul, 2019
Editor invited
On 14 Jul, 2019
Editor assigned
On 14 Jul, 2019
First submitted
On 10 Jul, 2019
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PDF Downloads: ...
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Subject Areas
Plant Physiology and Morphology
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A new preprint design is coming!
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See the published version of this preprint at BMC Plant Biology.
This is a preprint, a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Andrew D. L. Nelson
University of Arizona
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9896-1739
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
View the published article at BMC Plant Biology.
Version 4
Posted 14 Nov, 2019
No community comments so far
Submission checks complete
On 14 Nov, 2019
Editorial decision: Accept
On 28 Oct, 2019
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 25 Oct, 2019
Editor assigned
On 24 Oct, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 23 Oct, 2019
Editor invited
On 23 Oct, 2019
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 20 Oct, 2019
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 30 Sep, 2019
Editor assigned
On 26 Sep, 2019
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 26 Sep, 2019
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 26 Sep, 2019
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 26 Sep, 2019
Review #1 received
Received 26 Sep, 2019
Review #2 received
Received 26 Sep, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 25 Sep, 2019
Editor invited
On 25 Sep, 2019
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 30 Aug, 2019
Review #1 received
Received 29 Aug, 2019
Review #2 received
Received 25 Aug, 2019
Review #3 received
Received 23 Aug, 2019
Review #4 received
Received 23 Aug, 2019
Reviewer #4 agreed
On 03 Aug, 2019
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 01 Aug, 2019
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 01 Aug, 2019
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 26 Jul, 2019
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 24 Jul, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 16 Jul, 2019
Editor invited
On 14 Jul, 2019
Editor assigned
On 14 Jul, 2019
First submitted
On 10 Jul, 2019
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Plant Physiology and Morphology
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published article at BMC Plant Biology.
Background Guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray) is a drought tolerant, rubber producing perennial shrub native to northern Mexico and the US Southwest. Hevea brasiliensis, currently the world’s only source of natural rubber, is grown as a monoculture, leaving it vulnerable to both biotic and abiotic stressors. Isolation of rubber from guayule occurs by mechanical harvesting of the entire plant. It has been reported that environmental conditions leading up to harvest have a profound impact on rubber yield. The link between rubber biosynthesis and drought, a common environmental condition in guayule’s native habitat, is currently unclear.
Results We took a transcriptomic and comparative genomic approach to determine how drought impacts rubber biosynthesis in guayule. We compared transcriptional profiles of stem tissue, the location of guayule rubber biosynthesis, collected from field-grown plants subjected to water-deficit (drought) and well-watered (control) conditions. Plants subjected to the imposed drought conditions displayed an increase in production of transcripts associated with defense responses and water homeostasis, and a decrease in transcripts associated with rubber biosynthesis. An evolutionary and comparative analysis of stress-response transcripts suggests that more anciently duplicated transcripts shared among the Asteraceae, rather than recently derived duplicates, are contributing to the drought response observed in guayule. In addition, we identified several deeply conserved long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) containing microRNA binding motifs. One lncRNA in particular, with origins at the base of Asteraceae, may be regulating the vegetative to reproductive transition observed in water-stressed guayule by acting as a miRNA sponge for miR166.
Conclusions These data represent the first genomic analyses of how guayule responds to drought like conditions in agricultural production settings. We identified an inverse relationship between stress-responsive transcripts and those associated with precursor pathways to rubber biosynthesis suggesting a physiological trade-off between maintaining homeostasis and plant productivity. We also identify a number of regulators of abiotic responses, including transcription factors and lncRNAs, that are strong candidates for future projects aimed at modulating rubber biosynthesis under water-limiting conditions common to guayules’ native production environment.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
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