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The Physical and Molecular Responses of Field Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) to Waterlogging

Combs-Giroir, Rachel Elizabeth
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6626-0903
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1713325903209738

Abstract Details

2024, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Translational Plant Sciences.
Field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) is a winter annual with extreme cold hardiness and seed oil properties desirable for sustainable aviation fuel production. Integration of pennycress as an off-season biofuel cash crop into Midwest corn and soybean rotations could lead to the production of 1 billion liters of seed oil annually, therefore boosting farmer revenue and offsetting carbon emissions. Pennycress fields are vulnerable to heavy spring precipitation events, which can lead to waterlogged soils where the root system is submerged under water. However, it is unknown if growth, development, or yield of pennycress is affected by waterlogging at the reproductive developmental stage which occurs during April. This work aimed to characterize the morphological and transcriptomic responses of pennycress under one week of waterlogging during the reproductive stage. This was done with two core pennycress lines: one is the reference genome (MN106), and one is commonly used for gene editing (SP32-10). Additionally, natural populations of pennycress with predicted variation in soil water availability were included. One week of waterlogging at the reproductive stage under controlled conditions significantly reduced total seed weight in seven accessions, including SP32-10, whereas three accessions did not have reduced seed weight, such as MN106. Therefore, natural phenotypic variation in waterlogging responses existed between the two core lines, so they were further investigated to determine the transcriptomic responses contributing to waterlogging tolerance. Twice as many genes were differentially expressed between waterlogged and control roots in MN106 (3,424 genes) compared to SP32-10 (1,767 genes) after one week of waterlogging at the reproductive stage. Functional enrichment analysis of upregulated differentially expressed genes in both lines revealed Gene Ontology (GO) terms associated with hypoxia and decreased oxygen, including genes involved in alcoholic fermentation and glycolysis. Compared to SP32-10, MN106 waterlogged roots exhibited stronger upregulation of genes involved in hypoxia and glycolysis, as well as strong downregulation of cell wall biogenesis genes. This indicates a better ability of MN106 to respond to the severe energy crisis invoked by waterlogging, possibly by strongly activating anaerobic responses and limiting growth to conserve energy. Lastly, to functionally test the roles of HRE2 and SUS1 in waterlogging tolerance, which were highly expressed in waterlogged roots, EMS mutagenesis lines were waterlogged at the reproductive stage for one week. These two mutant lines were highly sensitive to waterlogging and had significantly reduced seed weight compared to controls, supporting the involvement of these genes in the response and adaptation to low-oxygen stress in pennycress. This research has identified phenotypic and transcriptomic variation in waterlogging responses in pennycress, leading to the identification of candidate genes and pathways involved in waterlogging tolerance. This work provides a foundation for understanding root waterlogging responses in pennycress, which will be useful for breeding climate-resilient pennycress varieties to improve yield following flood events and to expand pennycress production onto marginal lands.
Andrea Gschwend (Advisor)
Alex Lindsey (Committee Member)
Daniel Jacobson (Committee Member)
Leah McHale (Committee Member)
Eric Stockinger (Committee Member)
Jonathan Fresnedo-Ramirez (Committee Member)
Genetics; Molecular Biology; Plant Biology

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Citations

  • Combs-Giroir, R. E. (2024). The Physical and Molecular Responses of Field Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) to Waterlogging [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1713325903209738

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Combs-Giroir, Rachel. The Physical and Molecular Responses of Field Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) to Waterlogging. 2024. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1713325903209738.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Combs-Giroir, Rachel. "The Physical and Molecular Responses of Field Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) to Waterlogging." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1713325903209738

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1713325903209738
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