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Genetic variation of transgenerational plasticity of offspring germination in response to salinity stress and the seed transcriptome of Medicago truncatula

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Ecology and Evolution, April 2015
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Title
Genetic variation of transgenerational plasticity of offspring germination in response to salinity stress and the seed transcriptome of Medicago truncatula
Published in
BMC Ecology and Evolution, April 2015
DOI 10.1186/s12862-015-0322-4
Pubmed ID
Authors

Wendy T Vu, Peter L Chang, Ken S Moriuchi, Maren L Friesen

Abstract

Transgenerational plasticity provides phenotypic variation that contributes to adaptation. For plants, the timing of seed germination is critical for offspring survival in stressful environments, as germination timing can alter the environmental conditions a seedling experiences. Stored seed transcripts are important determinants of seed germination, but have not previously been linked with transgenerational plasticity of germination behavior. In this study we used RNAseq and growth chamber experiments of the model legume M. trucantula to test whether parental exposure to salinity stress influences the expression of stored seed transcripts and early offspring traits and test for genetic variation. We detected genotype-dependent parental environmental effects (transgenerational plasticity) on the expression levels of stored seed transcripts, seed size, and germination behavior of four M. truncatula genotypes. More than 50% of the transcripts detected in the mature, ungerminated seed transcriptome were annotated as regulating seed germination, some of which are involved in abiotic stress response and post-embryonic development. Some genotypes showed increased seed size in response to parental exposure to salinity stress, but no parental environmental influence on germination timing. In contrast, other genotypes showed no seed size differences across contrasting parental conditions but displayed transgenerational plasticity for germimation timing, with significantly delayed germination in saline conditions when parental plants were exposed to salinity. In genotypes that show significant transgenerational plastic germination response, we found significant coexpression networks derived from salt responsive transcripts involved in post-transcriptional regulation of the germination pathway. Consistent with the delayed germination response to saline conditions in these genotypes, we found genes associated with dormancy and up-regulation of abscisic acid (ABA). Our results demonstrate genetic variation in transgenerational plasticity within M. truncatula and show that parental exposure to salinity stress influences the expression of stored seed transcripts, seed weight, and germination behavior. Furthermore, we show that the parental environment influences gene expression to modulate biological pathways that are likely responsible for offspring germination responses to salinity stress.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 77 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United States 1 1%
Unknown 76 99%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 21 27%
Student > Master 16 21%
Researcher 12 16%
Student > Doctoral Student 4 5%
Student > Bachelor 4 5%
Other 10 13%
Unknown 10 13%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 49 64%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 9 12%
Environmental Science 3 4%
Unspecified 2 3%
Business, Management and Accounting 1 1%
Other 3 4%
Unknown 10 13%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 11 January 2016.
All research outputs
#16,046,765
of 25,373,627 outputs
Outputs from BMC Ecology and Evolution
#2,697
of 3,714 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#151,735
of 279,166 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Ecology and Evolution
#50
of 66 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,373,627 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 34th percentile – i.e., 34% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,714 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 12.5. This one is in the 24th percentile – i.e., 24% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 279,166 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 42nd percentile – i.e., 42% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 66 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 22nd percentile – i.e., 22% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.