Keywords
Arabidopsis thaliana, environmental stress, root development
Presentation Type
Event
Research Abstract
The climate is changing and as a consequence the environment is becoming hotter and drier. How different plants will react to these changes is unknown. Identification of genes involved in stress tolerance can help predict plant-environment interactions and lead to stress tolerant plants. The MOR gene (Modulator Of Root ROS, ROS = Reactive Oxygen Species) in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana encodes a transcription factor that may regulate stress responses, as mor mutants are drought tolerant. We hypothesized that MOR expression changes in response to different abiotic stress stimuli. We tested MOR expression in response to salt (NaCl), abscisic acid (ABA), osmotic stress (Mannitol), drought, and heat. For the first three stresses wild type seedlings were grown under our standard conditions and then transferred to a treatment for 24 hours. For drought stress plants were grown in soil and watering was withheld from mature plants for 10 days. With all samples a quantitative reverse transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) was run to find changes in gene expression. For heat stress, mutants and wild types plants were transferred in a 30°C environment and root growth was monitored daily. MOR gene expression did not change in the presence of salt or ABA but was slightly repressed by osmotic stress. However, drought stress strongly induced MOR. mor mutants showed less sensitivity to heat stress. Our data show that MOR is involved in drought and heat pathways, suggesting this gene is specific to certain types of stresses.
Session Track
Biotechnology
Recommended Citation
Luke Stepan, Rucha Karve, and Anjali Iyer-Pascuzzi,
"Regulation of MOR by Different Abiotic Stresses in Arabidopsis thaliana"
(August 7, 2014).
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium.
Paper 74.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/surf/2014/presentations/74
Regulation of MOR by Different Abiotic Stresses in Arabidopsis thaliana
The climate is changing and as a consequence the environment is becoming hotter and drier. How different plants will react to these changes is unknown. Identification of genes involved in stress tolerance can help predict plant-environment interactions and lead to stress tolerant plants. The MOR gene (Modulator Of Root ROS, ROS = Reactive Oxygen Species) in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana encodes a transcription factor that may regulate stress responses, as mor mutants are drought tolerant. We hypothesized that MOR expression changes in response to different abiotic stress stimuli. We tested MOR expression in response to salt (NaCl), abscisic acid (ABA), osmotic stress (Mannitol), drought, and heat. For the first three stresses wild type seedlings were grown under our standard conditions and then transferred to a treatment for 24 hours. For drought stress plants were grown in soil and watering was withheld from mature plants for 10 days. With all samples a quantitative reverse transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) was run to find changes in gene expression. For heat stress, mutants and wild types plants were transferred in a 30°C environment and root growth was monitored daily. MOR gene expression did not change in the presence of salt or ABA but was slightly repressed by osmotic stress. However, drought stress strongly induced MOR. mor mutants showed less sensitivity to heat stress. Our data show that MOR is involved in drought and heat pathways, suggesting this gene is specific to certain types of stresses.
