Transcriptome-Wide Gene Expression Plasticity in <i>Stipa grandis</i> in Response to Grazing Intensity Differences
Organisms have evolved effective and distinct adaptive strategies to survive. <i>Stipa grandis</i> 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 <i...
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
| Publicado: |
MDPI AG
2021
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/0f857e66552e4f988fcb376664599cdc |
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| Sumario: | Organisms have evolved effective and distinct adaptive strategies to survive. <i>Stipa grandis</i> 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 <i>S. grandis</i> 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 <i>S. grandis</i> 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 <i>S. grandis</i>. 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 <i>S. grandis</i>. Our findings provide scientific clues for improving grassland use and protection and identifying important questions to address in future transcriptome studies. |
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