Combined genomics revealed candidate genes associated with tolerance to
soil carbonate in Arabidopsis thaliana
Abstract
Carbonate-rich soils limit plant performance and crop production.
Previously, local adaptation to carbonated soils was detected in wild
Arabidopsis thaliana accessions, allowing the selection of two
demes with contrasting phenotypes: A1 (carbonate tolerant, c+) and T6
(carbonate sensitive, c-). Here, A1 (c+) and T6
(c-) seedlings were grown hydroponically under control
(pH 5.9) and bicarbonate conditions (10 mM NaHCO 3, pH
8.3) to obtain ionomic profiles and conduct transcriptomic analysis. In
parallel, A1 (c+) and T6 (c-) parental
lines and their progeny were cultivated on carbonated soil to evaluate
fitness and segregation patterns. To understand the genetic architecture
beyond the contrasted phenotypes a bulk segregant analysis sequencing
(BSA-Seq) was performed. Transcriptomics revealed 208 root and 2503 leaf
differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in A1 (c+)
vs T6 (c-) comparison under
bicarbonate stress, mainly involved in iron, nitrogen and carbon
metabolism, hormones, and glycosylates biosynthesis. Based on A1
(c+) and T6 (c-) genome contrasts and
BSA-Seq analysis, 69 genes were associated with carbonate tolerance.
Comparative analysis of genomics and trancriptomics discovered 18
candidate genes involved in bicarbonate stress responses. The screening
of the knock-out mutants of the candidates suggested that DAO1
(At1G14130), TBL19 (At5G15900), AHH (AT4G20070),
JAZ10 (AT5G13220), and INV-E (At5G22510) may have relevant
roles in soil carbonate tolerance.