Comprehensive analysis of global sugarcane transcriptome changes in response to drought

Abstract

Sugarcane is an economically important crop in Brazil. In order to meet the demand for sugar and ethanol, Brazil must expand the sugarcane planted area. However, suitable tillage areas are limited, resulting in the need of usage of adverse environments thereby subjecting the crop to severe abiotic conditions. Consequently, it is essential to develop plants with increased tolerance to these stresses, especially drought. The SUCEST project, combined with the sequencing of the sugarcane genome, started paving the way for future biotechnological studies. Now it is necessary to elucidate the relationship between gene expression and gene regulation and traits of agronomic interest in order to improve characteristics such as drought tolerance using molecular techniques. ChIP-Seq technology has been applied in the study of DNA-protein interactions in vivo, providing a powerful tool to elucidate transcriptional network architecture. Despite that, very little data regarding ChIP-Seq application to sugarcane is publicly available. Its use in sugarcane is even more challenging due an absence of a completely sequenced genome. However, in collaboration with several groups, we are close to get the first draft of the sugarcane genome, which will allow us to use ChIP-Seq for the analysis of DNA-protein interaction. We will carry out the study of genome sites that are target of RNA Polymerase II (RNPII) since it may allow the identification of active promoters expressed under different conditions and constitutes an interesting approach to study the transcriptional regulation of drought-related genes. The aim of this project is to define genomic sequences enriched in RNPII, understand its binding behaviors and identify active promoters and genes that are activated under drought conditions. In the long term, this project will generate tools to allow the scientific community to associate regulatory motifs with traits such as drought. (AU)