cRNA hybridizations of 18 accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana under well-watered and mild soil drying

These data provide a basis for exploration of gene expression differences between physiologically diverse accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana. Recent studies have documented remarkable genetic variation among Arabidopsis thaliana accessions collected from diverse habitats and across its geographical range. Of particular interest are accessions with putatively locally adapted phenotypes – i.e., accessions with attributes that are likely adaptive under the climatic or habitat conditions of their sites of origin. These genotypes are especially valuable as they may provide insight into the genetic basis of adaptive evolution as well as allow the discovery of genes of ecological importance. Therefore we studied the physiology, genome content and gene expression of 18 physiologically diverse accessions. The gene expression studies were conducted under two levels of soil moisture and accompanied by physiological measurements to characterize early responses to soil moisture deficit. The basic experimental design involves 18 accessions crossed with two environmental levels (well-watered soil and mild soil drying) and 3 biological replicates per accession/treatment combination.

本数据集为探索生理多样性各异的拟南芥（Arabidopsis thaliana）生态型间的基因表达差异提供了研究基础。已有研究证实，从不同生境及拟南芥全地理分布范围内采集的生态型间存在显著遗传变异。尤为受关注的是那些具有推定本地适应性表型的生态型——即其性状在起源地的气候或生境条件下具备适应性的生态型。此类基因型极具研究价值，既可帮助解析适应性演化的遗传基础，也可助力发掘具有生态学重要性的基因。因此本研究针对18个生理多样性各异的拟南芥生态型，对其生理学特征、基因组组成及基因表达情况开展了系统分析。基因表达分析设置了两个土壤水分梯度处理，并同步开展生理学测定，以表征植株对土壤水分亏缺的早期响应。基础实验设计为：18个生态型分别与两种环境处理（充分供水土壤与轻度土壤干旱）组合，且每个生态型/处理组合设置3次生物学重复。