title: Salinity stress adaptation competence in the extremophile Thellungiella halophila in comparison with its relative Arabidopsis thaliana.
abstract: In stark contrast to Arabidopsis, a related species, Thellungiella halophila (Thellungiella salsuginea; salt cress), displays extreme tolerance to high salinity, low humidity and freezing. High nucleotide sequence identity permits the use of tools developed for Arabidopsis for Thellungiella transcript profiling, for which a microarray platform with >25,000 DNA elements (70-mer oligonucleotides) was used. Microarray transcript profiling and intensity analysis, quantitative RT-PCR, and metabolite profiles define genes and pathways that showed shared and divergent responses to salinity stress in the two species. Shared responses are exemplified by 40% of the regulated genes functioning in confining ribosomal functions, photosynthesis and cell growth, as well as activating osmolyte production, transport activities and abscisic acid-dependent pathways. An additional 60% of regulated genes distinguished Thellungiella from Arabidopsis. Analysis of the differences showed that Arabidopsis exhibited a global defense strategy that required bulk protein synthesis, while Thellungiella induced genes functioning in protein folding, post-translational modification and protein redistribution. At 150 mm NaCl, Thellungiella maintained unimpeded growth. Transcript intensity analyses and metabolite profiles supported the microarray results, pointing towards a stress-anticipatory preparedness in Thellungiella.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Qingqiu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Pinghua
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Shisong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Indu Rupassara
authors.forename: Hans J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Bohnert
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects*; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019607:Brassicaceae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D012965:Sodium Chloride