Temporal and spatial transcriptomic and microRNA dynamics of CAM photosynthesis in pineapple

  • Ching M. Wai
  • , Robert VanBuren
  • , Jisen Zhang
  • , Lixian Huang
  • , Wenjing Miao
  • , Patrick P. Edger
  • , Won C. Yim
  • , Henry D. Priest
  • , Blake C. Meyers
  • , Todd Mockler
  • , J. Andrew C. Smith
  • , John C. Cushman
  • , Ray Ming

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

56 Scopus citations

Abstract

The altered carbon assimilation pathway of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthesis results in an up to 80% higher water-use efficiency than C3 photosynthesis in plants making it a potentially useful pathway for engineering crop plants with improved drought tolerance. Here we surveyed detailed temporal (diel time course) and spatial (across a leaf gradient) gene and microRNA (miRNA) expression patterns in the obligate CAM plant pineapple [Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.]. The high-resolution transcriptome atlas allowed us to distinguish between CAM-related and non-CAM gene copies. A differential gene co-expression network across green and white leaf diel datasets identified genes with circadian oscillation, CAM-related functions, and source-sink relations. Gene co-expression clusters containing CAM pathway genes are enriched with clock-associated cis-elements, suggesting circadian regulation of CAM. About 20% of pineapple microRNAs have diel expression patterns, with several that target key CAM-related genes. Expression and physiology data provide a model for CAM-specific carbohydrate flux and long-distance hexose transport. Together these resources provide a list of candidate genes for targeted engineering of CAM into C3 photosynthesis crop species.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)19-30
Number of pages12
JournalPlant Journal
Volume92
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2017

Keywords

  • Ananas comosus
  • CAM photosynthesis
  • circadian regulation
  • cis-element
  • stomata

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