Browsing by Author "Dang Z"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Integrated transcriptome and proteome analyses reveal potential mechanisms in Stipa breviflora underlying adaptation to grazing
    (John Wiley and Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Chinese Grassland Society and Lanzhou University, 2024-03-14) Liu Y; Sun S; Zhang Y; Song M; Tian Y; Lockhart PJ; Zhang X; Xu Y; Dang Z; Matthew C
    Background: Long-term overgrazing has led to severe degradation of grasslands, posing a significant threat to the sustainable use of grassland resources. Methods: Based on the investigation of changes in functional traits and photosynthetic physiology of Stipa breviflora under no grazing, moderate grazing, and heavy grazing treatments, the changes in expression patterns of genes and proteins associated with different grazing intensities were assessed through integrative transcriptomic and proteomic analyses. Results: Differentially expressed genes and proteins were identified under different grazing intensities. They were mainly related to RNA processing, carbon metabolism, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis. These findings suggest that long-term grazing leads to molecular phenotypic plasticity, affecting various biological processes and metabolic pathways in S. breviflora. Correlation analysis revealed low correlation between the transcriptome and the proteome, indicating a large-scale regulation of gene expression at the posttranscriptional and translational levels during the response of S. breviflora to grazing. The expression profiles of key genes and proteins involved in photosynthesis and phenylpropanoid metabolism pathways suggested their synergistic response to grazing in S. breviflora. Conclusions: Our study provides insight into the adaptation mechanisms of S. breviflora to grazing and provides a scientific basis for the development of more efficient grassland protection and utilization practices.
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    RADseq-based population genomic analysis and environmental adaptation of rare and endangered recretohalophyte Reaumuria trigyna.
    (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2024-03-01) Dang Z; Li J; Liu Y; Song M; Lockhart PJ; Tian Y; Niu M; Wang Q; Varshney R
    Genetic diversity reflects the survival potential, history, and population dynamics of an organism. It underlies the adaptive potential of populations and their response to environmental change. Reaumuria trigyna is an endemic species in the Eastern Alxa and West Ordos desert regions in China. The species has been considered a good candidate to explore the unique survival strategies of plants that inhabit this area. In this study, we performed population genomic analyses based on restriction-site associated DNA sequencing to understand the genetic diversity, population genetic structure, and differentiation of the species. Analyses of 92,719 high-quality single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) indicated that overall genetic diversity of R. trigyna was low (HO = 0.249 and HE = 0.208). No significant genetic differentiation was observed among the investigated populations. However, a subtle population genetic structure was detected. We suggest that this might be explained by adaptive diversification reinforced by the geographical isolation of populations. Overall, 3513 outlier SNPs were located in 243 gene-coding sequences in the R. trigyna transcriptome. Potential sites under diversifying selection occurred in genes (e.g., AP2/EREBP, E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase, FLS, and 4CL) related to phytohormone regulation and synthesis of secondary metabolites which have roles in adaptation of species. Our genetic analyses provide scientific criteria for evaluating the evolutionary capacity of R. trigyna and the discovery of unique adaptions. Our findings extend knowledge of refugia, environmental adaption, and evolution of germplasm resources that survive in the Ordos area.
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    Transcriptome-Wide Gene Expression Plasticity in Stipa grandis in Response to Grazing Intensity Differences
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2021-11-02) Dang Z; Jia Y; Tian Y; Li J; Zhang Y; Huang L; Liang C; Lockhart PJ; Matthew C; Li FY; Hobza R
    Organisms have evolved effective and distinct adaptive strategies to survive. Stipa grandis is a representative species for studying the grazing effect on typical steppe plants in the Inner Mongolia Plateau. Although phenotypic (morphological and physiological) variations in S. grandis in response to long-term grazing have been identified, the molecular mechanisms underlying adaptations and plastic responses remain largely unknown. Here, we performed a transcriptomic analysis to investigate changes in gene expression of S. grandis under four different grazing intensities. As a result, a total of 2357 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified among the tested grazing intensities, suggesting long-term grazing resulted in gene expression plasticity that affected diverse biological processes and metabolic pathways in S. grandis. DEGs were identified in RNA-Seq and qRT-PCR analyses that indicated the modulation of the Calvin-Benson cycle and photorespiration metabolic pathways. The key gene expression profiles encoding various proteins (e.g., ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase, glycolate oxidase, etc.) involved in these pathways suggest that they may synergistically respond to grazing to increase the resilience and stress tolerance of S. grandis. Our findings provide scientific clues for improving grassland use and protection and identifying important questions to address in future transcriptome studies.