Global transcriptome profiling of poplar bark during stored N remobilization

Seasonal nitrogen (N) storage and reuse is important to the N-use efficiency of temperate deciduous trees. In poplar, bark storage proteins (BSPs) accumulate in protein storage vacuoles of the bark parenchyma and xylem ray cells in the fall. During spring growth, N from stored BSPs is remobilized and utilized by growing shoots. The goal of this study is to investigate global gene expression changes in the bark during BSP remobilization and shoot regrowth under long-day conditions. Long-day (LD) grown poplar (Populus trichocarpa, Nisqually-1) plants were transferred to short-day (SD) for 8 weeks at 20°C followed by an addition 12 weeks of SD at 10°C (day) and 4°C (night). Following this treatment plants were then moved to LD and 20°C for 3 weeks for regrowth. Bark samples were collected from plants released from dormancy just prior to transfer to LD and at weekly intervals for 3 weeks after exposure to LD at 20°C.