Construction of transcriptional regulatory pathways associated with hypoxia in Arabidopsis [thesis]

Fu-Chiun Hsu
Transcriptional control plays a major role in regulating hypoxic responses in plants. However, the transcriptional regulatory networks associated with hypoxia remain to be constructed. By transcriptomic analysis I show here that a novel systemic transcriptional reprogramming, which is mediated via the interplay of hormones, facilitates the survival of plants under flooding. A feasible strategy for identifying downstream targets of transcription factors (TFs) was developed. The downstream
more » ... s of a hypoxia-responsive TF, WRKY22, were constructed. The results also show that AtERF73/HRE1 (Arabidopsis thaliana Ethylene Response Factor 73/Hypoxia Responsive ERF 1) modulate ethylene-dependent and -independent responses during hypoxia. Transcriptomic analysis of Arabidopsis in both root and shoot tissues during flooding of roots indicates the existence of a systemic communication through transcriptional reprogramming. By functional classification of affected genes, a comprehensive managing program of carbohydrate metabolism was observed. Through transcriptional profiling in ethylene and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling mutants, ein2-5 and abi4-1, an alteration of long-distance hypoxic regulation was uncovered in ein2-5 and abi4-1. Moreover, genes involved in ABA biosynthesis were also found to be differentially regulated between shoots and roots. Many members of the WRKY TF family were highly induced by hypoxia. One of the early-induced WRKYs, WRKY22, which has the highest induced level, was chosen for identifying its downstream targets. Anoxic tolerance was affected in WRKY22 overexpressing (WRKY22-OX) and knock-out (wrky22-ko) lines. Comparison of differential gene expression profiles between the wild-type and WRKY22-OX and between the wild-type and wrky22-ko lines by microarray analysis identified novel hypoxia-responsive genes as WRKY22 targets. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) Copyright by FU-CHIUN HSU 2011 All Rights Reserved Graduate College
doi:10.17077/etd.mot9a1v8 fatcat:rl6d4oarznaf3apxok67br7yeq