Page 236 - PC2019 Program & Proceedings

PLANT CANADA 2019

P45. Roadmap to potato suberin: an RNAseq approach
Bernards, M.; K. Woolfson
The University of Western, Ontario

Suberin is a heteropolymer comprising a cell wall-bound poly(phenolic) domain (SPPD) covalently
linked to a poly(aliphatic) domain (SPAD) that is deposited between the cell wall and plasma membrane.
Potato tuber skin contains suberin to protect against water loss and microbial infection. Wounding
triggers suberin biosynthesis in usually non-suberized tuber parenchyma, providing a model system to
study suberin production. Spatial and temporal coordination of SPPD and SPAD-related metabolism are
required for suberization, as the former is produced first after wounding, and the latter is synthesized later
into wound-healing. Many steps involved in suberin biosynthesis remain uncharacterized, and the
mechanism(s) that regulate and coordinate SPPD and SPAD production and assembly are not understood.
Here, we took an RNA-seq approach to study broader transcriptional changes that occur during wound-
healing. Our wound-healing transcriptome time-course illustrated that wounding leads to a substantial
reconfiguration of transcription, followed by fine-tuning of responses dominated by suberization.
Transcriptome analysis revealed that primary metabolic pathways demonstrate similar temporal
expression patterns during wound-healing, but suberin-specific steps display distinct patterns at entire
pathway and sub-branch levels. The observed transcriptional changes support a model in which wounding
initially alters primary metabolism required to fuel SPPD, and subsequent SPAD, production. Overall,
these findings offer further insight into the coordination and timing of metabolic and regulatory events
involved in wound-healing and associated suberization.

Mark Bernards (bernards@uwo.ca)

P46. Roadmap to potato suberin: an RNAseq approach
Bernards, M.; K. Woolfson
The University of Western Ontario

Suberin is a heteropolymer comprising a cell wall-bound poly(phenolic) domain (SPPD) covalently
linked to a poly(aliphatic) domain (SPAD) that is deposited between the cell wall and plasma membrane.
Potato tuber skin contains suberin to protect against water loss and microbial infection. Wounding
triggers suberin biosynthesis in usually non-suberized tuber parenchyma, providing a model system to
study suberin production. Spatial and temporal coordination of SPPD and SPAD-related metabolism are
required for suberization, as the former is produced first after wounding, and the latter is synthesized later
into wound-healing. Many steps involved in suberin biosynthesis remain uncharacterized, and the
mechanism(s) that regulate and coordinate SPPD and SPAD production and assembly are not understood.
Here, we took an RNA-seq approach to study broader transcriptional changes that occur during wound-
healing. Our wound-healing transcriptome time-course illustrated that wounding leads to a substantial
reconfiguration of transcription, followed by fine-tuning of responses dominated by suberization.
Transcriptome analysis revealed that primary metabolic pathways demonstrate similar temporal
expression patterns during wound-healing, but suberin-specific steps display distinct patterns at entire
pathway and sub-branch levels. The observed transcriptional changes support a model in which wounding
initially alters primary metabolism required to fuel SPPD, and subsequent SPAD, production. Overall,
these findings offer further insight into the coordination and timing of metabolic and regulatory events
involved in wound-healing and associated suberization.

Mark Bernards (bernards@uwo.ca)

Note: P45 and P46 are part of one large poster that requires two poster spots

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