Profiling of Barley, Wheat, and Rye FPG and OGG1 Genes during Grain Germination

Abstract

This research is about the profiling of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and rye (Secale cereale L.) FPG and OGG1 genes during grain germination. During seed germination, reactive oxygen species accumulate, which leads to DNA damage. In the base excision repair (BER) system, the enzymes formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase (FPG) and 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1), among others, are responsible for repairing such damage. We decided to check how the expression of genes encoding these two enzymes changes in germinating grains. Spring varieties of barley, wheat, and rye from the previous growing season were used in the study. Expression level changes were checked using Real-Time PCR. After analyzing the obtained results, the maximum expression levels of FPG and OGG1 genes during germination were determined for barley, wheat, and rye. The results of the study show differences in expression levels specific to each species. The highest expression was observed at different time points for each of them. There were no differences in the highest expression for FPG and OGG1 within one species. In conclusion, the research provides information on how the level of FPG and OGG1 gene expression changes during the germination process in cereals. This is the first study looking at the expression levels of these two genes in cereals.

Keywords: 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase; BER; cereals; embryos germination; formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase; grains germination.

Figure 1

Expression profiles of the genes encoding FPG and OGG1 enzymes of DNA repair pathway in spring barley (a,b), wheat (c,d), and rye (e,f). Grains were germinated in water conditions and embryos for expression analysis of FPG (a,c,e) and OGG1 (b,d,f) genes were collected after 0.5 hours (h), 1 h, 3 h, 6 h, 9 h, 12 h, 15 h, 18 h, 21 h, and 24 h. The results present the mean with standard error (n = 3). Letters indicate significant differences (Table S1), revealed by Duncan’s test.

Figure 2

Phenotypic changes in 3-hour (h), 9 h, and 15 h grains of barley, wheat, and rye. Representative example of plant phenotype in six biological replicates, scale bar = 1 cm.