@article{hornstein_charles_franklin_edwards_vintila_kleiner_sederoff_2024, title={<i>IPD3</i>, a master regulator of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis, affects genes for immunity and metabolism of non-host <i>Arabidopsis</i> when restored long after its evolutionary loss}, volume={114}, ISSN={["1573-5028"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-024-01422-3}, DOI={10.1007/s11103-024-01422-3}, abstractNote={AbstractArbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis (AM) is a beneficial trait originating with the first land plants, which has subsequently been lost by species scattered throughout the radiation of plant diversity to the present day, including the model Arabidopsis thaliana. To explore if elements of this apparently beneficial trait are still present and could be reactivated we generated Arabidopsis plants expressing a constitutively active form of Interacting Protein of DMI3, a key transcription factor that enables AM within the Common Symbiosis Pathway, which was lost from Arabidopsis along with the AM host trait. We characterize the transcriptomic effect of expressing IPD3 in Arabidopsis with and without exposure to the AM fungus (AMF) Rhizophagus irregularis, and compare these results to the AM model Lotus japonicus and its ipd3 knockout mutant cyclops-4. Despite its long history as a non-AM species, restoring IPD3 in the form of its constitutively active DNA-binding domain to Arabidopsis altered expression of specific gene networks. Surprisingly, the effect of expressing IPD3 in Arabidopsis and knocking it out in Lotus was strongest in plants not exposed to AMF, which is revealed to be due to changes in IPD3 genotype causing a transcriptional state, which partially mimics AMF exposure in non-inoculated plants. Our results indicate that molecular connections to symbiosis machinery remain in place in this nonAM species, with implications for both basic science and the prospect of engineering this trait for agriculture.}, number={2}, journal={PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY}, author={Hornstein, Eli D. and Charles, Melodi and Franklin, Megan and Edwards, Brianne and Vintila, Simina and Kleiner, Manuel and Sederoff, Heike}, year={2024}, month={Apr} }
 @article{budnick_franklin_utley_edwards_charles_hornstein_sederoff_2024, title={Long- and short-read sequencing methods discover distinct circular RNA pools in <i>Lotus japonicus</i>}, volume={1}, ISSN={["1940-3372"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.20429}, DOI={10.1002/tpg2.20429}, abstractNote={AbstractCircular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed single‐stranded RNAs, generated through a back‐splicing process that links a downstream 5′ site to an upstream 3′ end. The only distinction in the sequence between circRNA and their linear cognate RNA is the back splice junction. Their low abundance and sequence similarity with their linear origin RNA have made the discovery and identification of circRNA challenging. We have identified almost 6000 novel circRNAs from Lotus japonicus leaf tissue using different enrichment, amplification, and sequencing methods as well as alternative bioinformatics pipelines. The different methodologies identified different pools of circRNA with little overlap. We validated circRNA identified by the different methods using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and characterized sequence variations using nanopore sequencing. We compared validated circRNA identified in L. japonicus to other plant species and showed conservation of high‐confidence circRNA‐expressing genes. This is the first identification of L. japonicus circRNA and provides a resource for further characterization of their function in gene regulation. CircRNAs identified in this study originated from genes involved in all biological functions of eukaryotic cells. The comparison of methodologies and technologies to sequence, identify, analyze, and validate circRNA from plant tissues will enable further research to characterize the function and biogenesis of circRNA in L. japonicus.}, journal={PLANT GENOME}, author={Budnick, Asa and Franklin, Megan J. and Utley, Delecia and Edwards, Brianne and Charles, Melodi and Hornstein, Eli D. and Sederoff, Heike}, year={2024}, month={Jan} }
 @article{charles_edwards_ravishankar_calero_henry_rech_saravitz_you_ade_o'connor_et al._2023, title={Emergent molecular traits of lettuce and tomato grown under wavelength-selective solar cells}, volume={14}, ISSN={["1664-462X"]}, DOI={10.3389/fpls.2023.1087707}, abstractNote={The integration of semi-transparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) in greenhouses offers new agrivoltaic opportunities to meet the growing demands for sustainable food production. The tailored absorption/transmission spectra of ST-OSCs impacts the power generated as well as crop growth, development and responses to the biotic and abiotic environments. To characterize crop responses to ST-OSCs, we grew lettuce and tomato, traditional greenhouse crops, under three ST-OSC filters that create different light spectra. Lettuce yield and early tomato development are not negatively affected by the modified light environment. Our genomic analysis reveals that lettuce production exhibits beneficial traits involving nutrient content and nitrogen utilization while select ST-OSCs impact regulation of flowering initiation in tomato. These results suggest that ST-OSCs integrated into greenhouses are not only a promising technology for energy-neutral, sustainable and climate-change protected crop production, but can deliver benefits beyond energy considerations.}, journal={FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE}, author={Charles, Melodi and Edwards, Brianne and Ravishankar, Eshwar and Calero, John and Henry, Reece and Rech, Jeromy and Saravitz, Carole and You, Wei and Ade, Harald and O'Connor, Brendan and et al.}, year={2023}, month={Feb} }
 @article{edwards_hornstein_wilson_sederoff_2022, title={High-throughput detection of T-DNA insertion sites for multiple transgenes in complex genomes}, volume={23}, ISSN={["1471-2164"]}, DOI={10.1186/s12864-022-08918-6}, abstractNote={Abstract
                Background
                Genetic engineering of crop plants has been successful in transferring traits into elite lines beyond what can be achieved with breeding techniques. Introduction of transgenes originating from other species has conferred resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, increased efficiency, and modified developmental programs. The next challenge is now to combine multiple transgenes into elite varieties via gene stacking to combine traits. Generating stable homozygous lines with multiple transgenes requires selection of segregating generations which is time consuming and labor intensive, especially if the crop is polyploid. Insertion site effects and transgene copy number are important metrics for commercialization and trait efficiency.
              
                Results
                We have developed a simple method to identify the sites of transgene insertions using T-DNA-specific primers and high-throughput sequencing that enables identification of multiple insertion sites in the T1 generation of any crop transformed via Agrobacterium. We present an example using the allohexaploid oil-seed plant Camelina sativa to determine insertion site location of two transgenes.
              
                Conclusion
                This new methodology enables the early selection of desirable transgene location and copy number to generate homozygous lines within two generations.
              }, number={1}, journal={BMC GENOMICS}, author={Edwards, Brianne and Hornstein, Eli D. and Wilson, Nathan J. and Sederoff, Heike}, year={2022}, month={Oct} }
 @article{michelle c. d'aguillo_edwards_donohue_2019, title={Can the Environment have a Genetic Basis? A Case Study of Seedling Establishment in Arabidopsis thaliana}, volume={110}, ISSN={["1465-7333"]}, DOI={10.1093/jhered/esz019}, abstractNote={AbstractThe timing of seed germination determines the environment experienced by a plant’s most vulnerable life stage—the seedling. Germination is environmentally cued, and genotypes can differ in their sensitivity to environmental cues. When genotypes differ in their response to cues, and when cues accurately predict the postgermination environment, the postgermination environment experienced by seedlings can itself have a genetic basis and potential to evolve. We tested for genetic differences in the postgermination environment using Arabidopsis thaliana genotypes that vary in seed dormancy, a trait known to alter germination time. We dispersed seeds into the field in 5 seasonal cohorts over 1.5 years, observed germination timing for 5297 individuals, and measured the soil temperature and moisture experienced by individuals throughout their life cycle. We found that genotypes differed in the environments they experienced during seedling establishment. This environmental variation occurred because genotypes differed in their environmental sensitivity to germination cues, and pregermination cues were correlated with postgermination environments. Seeds exhibited temporal habitat selection by germinating into a nonrandom subset of environmental conditions available, and seed dormancy increased the consistency of habitat selection. Strikingly, the postgermination environment affected fitness by altering the probability of seedling survival such that genotypes that engaged in stronger habitat selection were less likely to reach reproduction. Our results suggest that environmentally cued development may be a widespread mechanism by which genotypes can differ in the environment they experience, introducing the possibility that the environment itself can be inherited and can evolve.}, number={4}, journal={JOURNAL OF HEREDITY}, author={Michelle C. D'Aguillo and Edwards, Brianne R. and Donohue, Kathleen}, year={2019}, month={Jun}, pages={467–478} }
 @article{edwards_burghardt_kovach_donohue_2017, title={Canalization of Seasonal Phenology in the Presence of Developmental Variation: Seed Dormancy Cycling in an Annual Weed}, volume={57}, ISSN={["1557-7023"]}, DOI={10.1093/icb/icx065}, abstractNote={Variation in the developmental timing in one life stage may ramify within and across generations to disrupt optimal phenology of other life stages. By focusing on a common mechanism of developmental arrest in plants-seed dormancy-we investigated how variation in flowering time influenced seed germination behavior and identified potential processes that can lead to canalized germination behavior despite variation in reproductive timing. We quantified effects of reproductive timing on dormancy cycling by experimentally manipulating the temperature during seed maturation and the seasonal timing of seed dispersal/burial, and by assessing temperature-dependent germination of un-earthed seeds over a seasonal cycle. We found that reproductive timing, via both seed-maturation temperature and the timing of dispersal, strongly influenced germination behavior in the weeks immediately following seed burial. However, buried seeds subsequently canalized their germination behavior, after losing primary dormancy and experiencing natural temperature and moisture conditions in the field. After the complete loss of primary dormancy, germination behavior was similar across seed-maturation and dispersal treatments, even when secondary dormancy was induced. Maternal effects themselves may contribute to the canalization of germination: first, by inducing stronger dormancy in autumn-matured seeds, and second by modifying the responses of those seeds to their ambient environment. Genotypes differed in dormancy cycling, with functional alleles of known dormancy genes necessary for the suppression of germination at warm temperatures in autumn through spring across multiple years. Loss of function of dormancy genes abolished almost all dormancy cycling. In summary, effects of reproductive phenology on dormancy cycling of buried seeds were apparent only as long as seeds retained primary dormancy, and a combination of genetically imposed seed dormancy, maternally induced seed dormancy, and secondary dormancy can mitigate variation in germination behavior imposed by variation in reproductive phenology.}, number={5}, journal={INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY}, author={Edwards, Brianne and Burghardt, Liana T. and Kovach, Katherine E. and Donohue, Kathleen}, year={2017}, month={Nov}, pages={1021–1039} }