Short Communication

Abiotic stress-induced oscillations in steady-state transcript levels of Group 3 LEA protein genes in the moss, Physcomitrella patens

Volume 8, Issue 1   January 2013
eLocation ID: e22535
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/psb.22535
Keywords: abiotic stress, gene expression, oscillations, osmotic stress, salt stress
Authors: Suhas Shinde, Rupali Shinde, Frances Downey and Carl K.-Y. Ng

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Abstract:
The moss, Physcomitrella patens is a non-seed land plant belonging to early diverging lineages of land plants following colonization of land in the Ordovician period in Earth’s history. Evidence suggests that mosses can be highly tolerant of abiotic stress. We showed previously that dehydration stress and abscisic acid treatments induced oscillations in steady-state levels of LEA (Late Embryogenesis Abundant) protein transcripts, and that removal of ABA resulted in rapid attenuation of oscillatory increases in transcript levels. Here, we show that other abiotic stresses like salt and osmotic stresses also induced oscillations in steady-state transcript levels and that the amplitudes of the oscillatory increases in steady-state transcript levels are reflective of the severity of the abiotic stress treatment. Together, our results suggest that oscillatory increases in transcript levels in response to abiotic stresses may be a general phenomenon in P. patens and that temporally dynamic increases in steady-state transcript levels may be important for adaptation to life in constantly fluctuating environmental conditions.

Received: September 26, 2012; Accepted: October 12, 2012; Published Online: December 6, 2012

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