Shin and her team have been using transcriptome profiling, a cutting-edge method of examining the genetic activity within plant cells under various conditions. In their latest study, published in Planta, the researchers turned their focus to the effects of cesium.
They compared the growth and gene expression of Arabidopsis thaliana, a commonly studied plant, under two stressful conditions: low potassium and the presence of cesium. Transcriptome analysis of root tissues grown under low potassium and cesium stress revealed significant changes in abscisic acid (ABA) metabolism and signaling.
Specifically, the analysis showed that ABA signaling was reduced during cesium stress but not during low-potassium stress. This led the researchers to theorize that if they could force ABA signaling to increase, it would make plants less vulnerable to cesium contamination.
As a proof of concept experiment, they tested mutant plants in which an important ABA regulator is inactive. In these plants, the usual brake on the ABA pathway is missing, meaning that their ABA signaling continues unchecked at high levels.
These mutants exhibited enhanced root growth under cesium stress, confirming the importance of ABA in overcoming cesium stress and emphasizing its critical role in plant resilience. "As shoot growth is related to root growth, we expect that overall growth can also be improved," says Shin, "although it will have to be tested in the laboratory."
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