Buffering the effects of a changing climate: Salsola tragus as a potential source of stress tolerance genes
Date
2024
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Abstract
The tumbleweed Salsola tragus is an allotetraploid C4 weedy member of the Salsola polyploid complex. Commonly referred to as Russian thistle, it develops a thorny habit during inflorescence, and commonly separates at an abscission layer near the soil to form a tumbleweed. This species is economically important to all land use types and is especially impactful in the Northwestern United States where it affects spring cereal production. The International Weeds Genomics Consortium recently completed a fully annotated reference genome assembly for each of the sub genomes in the somatic cells of this allotetraploid. Polyploids, in general, are overrepresented in the most troublesome weeds globally, and Salsola tragus is no exception. Recurrent formation of polyploids, increased activity of transposable elements, and increased mutation rates that follow genome duplication may lead to the de novo formation and selection of novel highly adapted alleles over time. We utilized the reference genome assembly for this species to align a stress-response transcriptome to investigate how this species responded to two selected abiotic stressors. Many expected response pathways are represented, including response to stress phytohormones, sodium-proton antiporters, calcium exchangers, and cold-responsive binding factors. In addition, several uncharacterized proteins were differentially overexpressed in the shoot and root tissues of this species. Identified genes from this species may present novel alleles for osmotic and temperature stress tolerance. Uncharacterized genes may represent novel stress response genes and can be used to improve the provided reference annotation for this species. These genes of interest may provide the scientific community with additional genomic resources to bolster crop production in this era of climate change.
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Rights Access
Embargo expires: 08/16/2025.
Subject
genomics
Russian thistle
transcriptomics
polyploid
abiotic stress
Salsola tragus