Insights into the adaptive stress response of Arabidopsis thaliana to thermal stress by ribosomal profiling. Arabidopsis thaliana

Environmental stress is detrimental to plants viability and requires an adequate reprogramming of cellular activities to maximize plant survival. We present a global analysis of the adaptive stress response of Arabidopsis thaliana to prolonged heat stress. We combine deep sequencing of RNA and ribosome protected fragments to provide genome wide map of adaptation to heat stress on at transcriptional and translational level. Our analysis shows that the genes with the highest upregulation upon heat stress are known heat-responsive gene, chaperons and other genes involved in protein folding control. Majority of these genes exhibits increase on both transcriptional and translational level. No translational inhibition or ribosome stalling was observed, which can be observed in the early thermal stress response, indicating that plants alter their cellular composition in order to adapt to the prolonged exposure to increased temperatures. Overall design: Comparing global transcriptional and translational control by RNA-Seq and Ribosome Profiling (mRNA-Seq of ribosome protected fragments – RPF).