title: Transcriptome dynamics of Arabidopsis during sequential biotic and abiotic stresses.
abstract: In nature, plants have to cope with a wide range of stress conditions that often occur simultaneously or in sequence. To investigate how plants cope with multi-stress conditions, we analyzed the dynamics of whole-transcriptome profiles of Arabidopsis thaliana exposed to six sequential double stresses inflicted by combinations of: (i) infection by the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea, (ii) herbivory by chewing larvae of Pieris rapae, and (iii) drought stress. Each of these stresses induced specific expression profiles over time, in which one-third of all differentially expressed genes was shared by at least two single stresses. Of these, 394 genes were differentially expressed during all three stress conditions, albeit often in opposite directions. When two stresses were applied in sequence, plants displayed transcriptome profiles that were very similar to the second stress, irrespective of the nature of the first stress. Nevertheless, significant first-stress signatures could be identified in the sequential stress profiles. Bioinformatic analysis of the dynamics of co-expressed gene clusters highlighted specific clusters and biological processes of which the timing of activation or repression was altered by a prior stress. The first-stress signatures in second stress transcriptional profiles were remarkably often related to responses to phytohormones, strengthening the notion that hormones are global modulators of interactions between different types of stress. Because prior stresses can affect the level of tolerance against a subsequent stress (e.g. prior herbivory strongly affected resistance to B. cinerea), the first-stress signatures can provide important leads for the identification of molecular players that are decisive in the interactions between stress response pathways.
authors.affiliation: Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, PO Box 800.56, 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Coolen
authors.affiliation: Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, PO Box 800.56, 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Proietti
authors.affiliation: Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, PO Box 800.56, 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hickman
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nelson H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Davila Olivas
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ping-Ping
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, PO Box 800.56, 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands.|Bioinformatics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, PO Box 800.56, 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marcel C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Van Verk
authors.affiliation: Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, PO Box 800.56, 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Van Pelt
authors.affiliation: Keygene N.V., PO Box 216, 6700 AE, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Alexander H J
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Wittenberg
authors.affiliation: Keygene N.V., PO Box 216, 6700 AE, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Vos
authors.affiliation: Keygene N.V., PO Box 216, 6700 AE, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prins
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Joop J A
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Van Loon
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mark G M
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Aarts
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dicke
authors.affiliation: Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, PO Box 800.56, 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Corné M J
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Pieterse
authors.affiliation: Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, PO Box 800.56, 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Saskia C M
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Van Wees
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000378:metabolism; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018749:RNA, Plant
keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; Botrytis cinerea; Pieris rapae; RNA-Seq; combinatorial plant stress; drought stress; gene regulatory network; plant hormones; transcript profiling