Plant yield is an agronomic trait dependent on the transport of photosynthate from mature source leaves to sink tissues. Manipulating phloem transport may lead to increased yield, however in a previous study, Arabidopsis thaliana overexpressing sucrose transporter AtSUC2 in the phloem resulted in stunted growth and an apparent P-deficiency. In the course of further characterizing the phenotype and identifying the causative mutation, this research included 1) reverse genetics to test genes hypothesized to modulate carbon-phosphate interactions; 2) whole genome sequencing to identify all T-DNA insertions in plants displaying the phenotype; 3) genetic crosses and segregation analysis to isolate the causative mutation; and 4) transcriptomics to capture gene-expression profiles in plants displaying the phenotype. These phenotypes were traced to a T-DNA insertion located on chromosome 4. Transcriptomics by RNA-Seq and data analysis through bioinformatics pipelines suggest disruptions in metabolic and transport pathways that include phosphate, but do not support a direct role of well-established phosphate acquisition mechanisms. Gene At1G78690 is immediately downstream of the T-DNA insertion site and shows modestly increased expression relative to wild type plants. At1G78690 encodes O-acyl transferase, which is involved in processing N-acylphosphotidyl ethanolamine (NAPE) to N-acyl ethanolamine (NAE). Exogenous NAE application causes stunted growth in specific conditions. From the experiments described herein, At1G78690 emerges as the strongest candidate for causing the observed phenotypes.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1752397 |
Date | 12 1900 |
Creators | Shaikh, Mearaj Ahmed A J |
Contributors | Ayre, Brian G., Dixon, Richard, Shah, Jyoti, Dickstein, Rebecca, Azad, Rajeev |
Publisher | University of North Texas |
Source Sets | University of North Texas |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
Format | xiii, 123 pages, Text |
Rights | Public, Shaikh, Mearaj Ahmed A J, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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