Abstract
BackgroundThe use of mulberry leaves has long been limited to raising silkworms, but with the continuous improvement of mulberry (Morus alba) resource development and utilization, various mulberry leaf extension products have emerged. However, the fresh leaves of mulberry trees have a specific window of time for picking and are susceptible to adverse factors, such as drought stress. Therefore, exploring the molecular mechanism by which mulberry trees resist drought stress and clarifying the regulatory network of the mulberry drought response is the focus of the current work.ResultsIn this study, natural and drought-treated mulberry grafted seedlings were used for transcriptomic and proteomic analyses (CK vs. DS9), aiming to clarify the molecular mechanism of the mulberry drought stress response. Through transcriptome and proteome sequencing, we identified 9889 DEGs and 1893 DEPs enriched in stress-responsive GO functional categories, such as signal transducer activity, antioxidant activity, and transcription regulator activity. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that a large number of codifferentially expressed genes were enriched in flavonoid biosynthesis pathways, hormone signalling pathways, lignin metabolism and other pathways. Through subsequent cooperation analysis, we identified 818 codifferentially expressed genes in the CK vs. DS9 comparison group, including peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDHs), glutathione s-transferase (GST) and other genes closely related to the stress response. In addition, we determined that the mulberry gene MaWRKYIII8 (XP_010104968.1) underwent drought- and abscisic acid (ABA)-induced expression, indicating that it may play an important role in the mulberry response to drought stress.ConclusionsOur research shows that mulberry can activate proline and ABA biosynthesis pathways and produce a large amount of proline and ABA, which improves the drought resistance of mulberry. MaWRKYIII8 was up-regulated and induced by drought and exogenous ABA, indicating that MaWRKYIII8 may be involved in the mulberry response to drought stress. These studies will help us to analyse the molecular mechanism underlying mulberry drought tolerance and provide important gene information and a theoretical basis for improving mulberry drought tolerance through molecular breeding in the future.
Highlights
The use of mulberry leaves has long been limited to raising silkworms, but with the continuous improvement of mulberry (Morus alba) resource development and utilization, various mulberry leaf extension products have emerged
People have found that mulberry leaves are rich in a variety of compounds that are beneficial to the human body [4, 5], which can promote the maintenance of the human matrix in a healthy state and help the human body actively cope with hypertension, hyperglycaemia, atherosclerosis and other diseases [1, 6]
Phenotypic and physiological responses of mulberry leaves to drought stress Drought stress can cause irreversible damage to all parts of plant tissues, leading to premature senescence, atrophy and insufficient nutrition supply, which disrupts the progression of photosynthesis and plant respiration
Summary
The use of mulberry leaves has long been limited to raising silkworms, but with the continuous improvement of mulberry (Morus alba) resource development and utilization, various mulberry leaf extension products have emerged. A drought stress response network composed of many genes is widely distributed in plants and enables plants to make a variety of changes to mitigate the effects of drought [8, 10]. Arabidopsis CLE25 gene (AtCLE25) can be transported into leaves, stimulate the accumulation of ABA, cause stomatal closure, reduce water loss, and cope with drought [12]; SmWD40-170 is an important drought-responsive gene in Salvia miltiorrhiza; it regulates the metabolism of ABA to mediate the opening and closing of stomata to affect the drought resistance of plants [13]. The response proteins and metabolic pathways of drought tolerance in maize grains were studied by proteomic analysis, and important candidate genes were screened for subsequent functional validation [18]
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