Genome wide association analysis reveals candidate genes controlling an
antagonistic effect of biotic and osmotic stress on Arabidopsis thaliana
growth
Abstract
While the response of Arabidopsis thaliana to either drought,
herbivory or fungal infection has been well-examined, the consequences
of exposure to a series of such (a)biotic stresses are not well studied.
This work reports on the genetic mechanisms underlying Arabidopsis
response to single osmotic stress, and to combinatorial stress, either
fungal infection using Botrytis cinerea or herbivory using
Pieris rapae caterpillars followed by an osmotic stress
treatment. Several small effect genetic loci associated with rosette dry
weight (DW), rosette water content (WC), and the projected rosette leaf
area (PLA) in response to combinatorial stress were mapped using
univariate and multi-environment genome wide association approaches. A
SNP associated with DROUGHT INDUCED 19 (DI19) was identified by
both approaches, supporting its potential involvement in the response to
combinatorial stress. Several SNPs were found to be in linkage
disequilibrium with known stress-responsive genes such as
PEROXIDASE 34 ( PRX34), BASIC LEUCINE ZIPPER 25 (
bZIP25), RESISTANCE METHYLATED GENE 1 ( RMG1), and
WHITE RUST RESISTANCE 4 (WRR4). An antagonistic effect between
biotic and osmotic stress was found for the prx34 and arf4
mutants, which suggests PRX34 and ARF4 to play an
important role in the response to the combinatorial stress.