1. Publication
  2. Research Highlights
  3. 2023

Waterlogging due to rainfall alters gene expression patterns in the upper stem of oil palm

Related Research Project
Carbon recycling SATREPS Indonesia
Country
Indonesia Malaysia

Description

Palm oil accounts for approximately 36% of global vegetable oil production, making it the most abundant. However, the majority of this production occurs in Southeast Asia, specifically in Indonesia and Malaysia. The geographical concentration of production systems is considered vulnerable to climate change. To reveal the weather factors affecting oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), we comprehensively analyzed the gene expression levels of oil palm tissues collected over time (transcriptome analysis). By examining the relationship between meteorological factors and oil palm, we can unravel its physiological responses to environmental conditions. Understanding oil palm’s physiological responses to environmental factors can help identify vulnerabilities to climate change and contribute to sustainable oil palm plantation management.

At the research site in Lampung Province, Indonesia, samples were collected from the leaf and stem tissues of oil palm for transcriptome analysis over a time series (Figs. 1 and 2). Sampling was conducted approximately nine times over two years (T1 to T9). Notably, during sampling at T3 and T7, there were rainfall events exceeding 80 mm per day. The gene expression profiles of samples obtained from the oil palm stem tissues at T3 and T7 differed significantly from those at other time points (Fig. 3). However, there was no clear relationship between the gene expression profiles from both tissues and the daily average temperature or cumulative temperature. To investigate the gene expression patterns related to waterlogging, we categorized genes into those associated with waterlogging and those unrelated, based on homology searches with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. In the trunk tissues, the proportion of genes related to waterlogging showed significant expression variation in both upregulation and downregulation compared to other gene groups. Conversely, such a trend was not observed in leaf tissues (Fig. 4). The homology search results for A. thaliana and oil palm revealed substantial differences in gene expression levels related to low oxygen response and oxygen levels. Additionally, changes in gene expression related to ethylene response were evident, indicating stress responses to waterlogging (Fig. 5). These findings suggest that while mature oil palms exhibit resilience to temperature fluctuations, they are sensitive to stress responses in stem tissues under short-duration, heavy rainfall conditions, highlighting their vulnerability to waterlogging.
 

Figure, table

  1. Figs
Research project
Program name

Environment

Term of research

FY2021-2023

Responsible researcher

Tani Naoki ( Forestry Division )

KAKEN Researcher No.: 90343798

Arai Takamitsu ( Biological Resources and Post-harvest Division )

MIERUKA ID: 001768

Kondo Toshiaki ( Biological Resources and Post-harvest Division )

KAKEN Researcher No.: 40391106

Kosugi Akihiko ( Biological Resources and Post-harvest Division )

KAKEN Researcher No.: 70425544
MIERUKA ID: 001772

Irawati Denny ( Gadjah Mada University )

ORCID ID
0000-0002-7284-1437

Marsoem Sri Nugroho ( Gadjah Mada University )

ORCID ID
0000-0002-0108-9372

Lim Hui ( University of Tsukuba )

ほか
Publication, etc.

Lim et al. (2023) Frontiers in Plant Science 14: 1213496.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1213496

Japanese PDF

2023_A03_ja.pdf777.28 KB

English PDF

2023_A03_en.pdf772.46 KB

＊ Affiliation at the time of implementation of the study.

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