Transcript profiling of Zea mays roots reveals gene responses to phosphate deficiency at the plant- and species-specific levels

• Published in: Journal of experimental botany 2008-06, Vol.59 (9), p.2479-2497
• Main Authors: Calderon-Vazquez, Carlos, Ibarra-Laclette, Enrique, Caballero-Perez, Juan, Herrera-Estrella, Luis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abiotic stress; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; ATP binding cassette transporters; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon - metabolism; Classical and quantitative genetics. Population genetics. Molecular genetics; Corn; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene expression regulation; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Generalities. Genetics. Plant material; Genes; Genetics and breeding of economic plants; Lipid Metabolism; maize; microarrays; Molecular genetics; Nitrogen - metabolism; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Phenotype; phosphate; Phosphates; Phosphates - deficiency; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Plant roots; Plant Roots - genetics; Plant Roots - metabolism; Plants; Research Papers; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; root; Signal Transduction; Species Specificity; Starvation; Transcription, Genetic; Zea mays; Zea mays - genetics; Zea mays - metabolism
• ISSN: 0022-0957; 1460-2431
• DOI: 10.1093/jxb/ern115

Maize (Zea mays) is the most widely cultivated crop around the world; however, it is commonly affected by phosphate (Pi) deficiency in many regions, particularly in acid and alkaline soils of developing countries. To cope with Pi deficiency, plants have evolved a large number of developmental and biochemical adaptations; however, for maize, the underlying molecular basis of these responses is still unknown. In this work, the transcriptional response of maize roots to Pi starvation at 1, 3, 6, and 10 d after the onset of Pi deprivation was assessed. The investigation revealed a total of 1179 Pi-responsive genes, of which 820 and 363 genes were found to be either up- or down-regulated, respectively, by 2-fold or more. Pi-responsive genes were found to be involved in various metabolic, signal transduction, and developmental gene networks. A large set of transcription factors, which may be potential targets for crop breeding, was identified. In addition, gene expression profiles and changes in specific metabolites were also correlated. The results show that several dicotyledonous plant responses to Pi starvation are conserved in maize, but that some genetic responses appear to be more specific and that Pi deficiency leads to a shift in the recycling of internal Pi in maize roots. Ultimately, this work provides a more comprehensive view of Pi-responses in a model for economically important cereals and also sets a framework to produce Pi-specific maize microarrays to study the changes in global gene expression between Pi-efficient and Pi-inefficient maize genotypes.