An investigation of the role of Arabidopsis thaliana plant natriuretic peptide in planta

dc.contributor.advisorDenby, Katherine
dc.contributor.advisorGehring, Chris
dc.contributor.advisorIngle, Rob
dc.contributor.authorDonaldson, Lara Elizabeth
dc.date.accessioned2020-01-31T10:56:22Z
dc.date.available2020-01-31T10:56:22Z
dc.date.issued2009
dc.date.updated2020-01-31T10:55:43Z
dc.description.abstractThe sessile nature of plants demands that they respond appropriately to changes in their environment (stresses) in order to survive. Critical to survival is the maintenance of water and ion homeostasis. The mechanisms by which plants achieve this are poorly understood. Traditionally plant stress responses were thought to be communicated by five classical plant hormones - auxin, cytokine, gibberellic acid, absisic acid and ethylene. Nowadays a plethora of other molecules are known to fulfil this function including nitric oxide, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, brassinosteroids and peptide hormones. Plant natriuretic peptides have been proposed to be peptide hormones involved in maintaining water and ion homeostasis in plants. Evidence for this has been provided by studies of plant responses to exogenous natriuretic peptide treatment, however a demonstration of their function in planta remains outstanding. This study was undertaken to gain insight into the mechanisms regulating water and ion homeostasis in Arabdopsis by examining second messenger responses to stresses that perturb water and ion homeostasis; characterization of an Arabidopsis thaliana plant natriuretic peptide (atpnp-a) mutant and transcriptome analysis of AtPNP-A, in order to establish whether AtPNP-A plays a role in maintaining water and ion homeostasis in planta. Results indicated that recombinant AtPNP-A induces second messenger responses reminiscent of the response to NaCl, suggesting that AtPNP-A may play a signalling role in response to disturbances in water and ion homeostasis. In support of this, characterization of an atpnp-a mutant revealed that AtPNP-A is likely to be involved in processes that require adjustments to water and ion homeostasis including cell expansion, stomatal opening and NaCl and osmotic stress responses, consistent with reported responses to natriuretic peptide treatment. Furthermore, the atpnp-a mutant revealed a role for AtPNP-A in the defence response. Evidence to support this came from the computational analysis of AtPNP-A expression which correlates with genes involved in the defence response. Additionally, the transcriptome response to recombinant AtPNP-A treatment further implicated the involvement of AtPNP-A in the defence response. Therefore AtPNP-A is hypothesized to play a role in growth, abiotic and biotic stress responses that enables the plant to mount an integrated response to the environment.
dc.identifier.apacitationDonaldson, L. E. (2009). <i>An investigation of the role of Arabidopsis thaliana plant natriuretic peptide in planta</i>. (). ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30848en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationDonaldson, Lara Elizabeth. <i>"An investigation of the role of Arabidopsis thaliana plant natriuretic peptide in planta."</i> ., ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30848en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationDonaldson, L. 2009. An investigation of the role of Arabidopsis thaliana plant natriuretic peptide in planta.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Donaldson, Lara Elizabeth AB - The sessile nature of plants demands that they respond appropriately to changes in their environment (stresses) in order to survive. Critical to survival is the maintenance of water and ion homeostasis. The mechanisms by which plants achieve this are poorly understood. Traditionally plant stress responses were thought to be communicated by five classical plant hormones - auxin, cytokine, gibberellic acid, absisic acid and ethylene. Nowadays a plethora of other molecules are known to fulfil this function including nitric oxide, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, brassinosteroids and peptide hormones. Plant natriuretic peptides have been proposed to be peptide hormones involved in maintaining water and ion homeostasis in plants. Evidence for this has been provided by studies of plant responses to exogenous natriuretic peptide treatment, however a demonstration of their function in planta remains outstanding. This study was undertaken to gain insight into the mechanisms regulating water and ion homeostasis in Arabdopsis by examining second messenger responses to stresses that perturb water and ion homeostasis; characterization of an Arabidopsis thaliana plant natriuretic peptide (atpnp-a) mutant and transcriptome analysis of AtPNP-A, in order to establish whether AtPNP-A plays a role in maintaining water and ion homeostasis in planta. Results indicated that recombinant AtPNP-A induces second messenger responses reminiscent of the response to NaCl, suggesting that AtPNP-A may play a signalling role in response to disturbances in water and ion homeostasis. In support of this, characterization of an atpnp-a mutant revealed that AtPNP-A is likely to be involved in processes that require adjustments to water and ion homeostasis including cell expansion, stomatal opening and NaCl and osmotic stress responses, consistent with reported responses to natriuretic peptide treatment. Furthermore, the atpnp-a mutant revealed a role for AtPNP-A in the defence response. Evidence to support this came from the computational analysis of AtPNP-A expression which correlates with genes involved in the defence response. Additionally, the transcriptome response to recombinant AtPNP-A treatment further implicated the involvement of AtPNP-A in the defence response. Therefore AtPNP-A is hypothesized to play a role in growth, abiotic and biotic stress responses that enables the plant to mount an integrated response to the environment. DA - 2009 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Molecular and Cell Biology LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2009 T1 - An investigation of the role of Arabidopsis thaliana plant natriuretic peptide in planta TI - An investigation of the role of Arabidopsis thaliana plant natriuretic peptide in planta UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30848 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/30848
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationDonaldson LE. An investigation of the role of Arabidopsis thaliana plant natriuretic peptide in planta. []. ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, 2009 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30848en_ZA
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Science
dc.subjectMolecular and Cell Biology
dc.titleAn investigation of the role of Arabidopsis thaliana plant natriuretic peptide in planta
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
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