GSE128049
Highly resolved systems biology to dissect the etioplast-to-chloroplast transition in tobacco leaves
Upon exposure to light, plant cells quickly acquire photosynthetic competence by converting pale etioplasts into green chloroplasts. This developmental transition involves the de novo biogenesis of the thylakoid system, and requires reprogramming of metabolism and gene expression. Etioplast-to-chloroplast differentiation involves massive changes in plastid ultrastructure, but how these changes are connected to specific changes in physiology, metabolism and expression of the plastid and nuclear genomes is poorly understood. Here a new experimental system in the dicotyledonous model plant tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) that allows us to study the leaf de-etiolation process at the systems level. We have determined the accumulation kinetics of photosynthetic complexes, pigments, lipids and soluble metabolites, and recorded the dynamic changes in plastid ultrastructure and in the nuclear and plastid transcriptomes. Our data describe the greening process at high temporal resolution, resolve distinct genetic and metabolic phases during de-etiolation, and reveal numerous candidate genes that may be involved in light-induced chloroplast development and thylakoid biogenesis. Overall design: Time-course transcriptome profiling by RNA-sequencing of de-etiolating tobacco leaves