Transcriptional variation in response to salt stress in commonly used Arabidopsis thaliana accessions

Transcriptional variation is increasingly recognized as a component of genetic diversity and environmental adaptation. It can also provide insights into stress responsive determinants and underlying adaptive mechanisms. Prior studies showed phenotypic differences in response to salinity stress for two widely used Arabidopsis thaliana accessions, Wassilewskija-2 (Ws) and Columbia-0 (Col). This study examined changes in global gene expression in relation to differences in response to salt stress among Ws, Col, and the glabrous mutant of Col [Col(gl)]. Transcripts most highly affected by accession and salt stress were related to abiotic or biotic stress responses. Approximately 60% of salt-induced changes in Ws overlapped with changes in Col, suggesting common salt stress responses. However, a markedly greater number of genes was altered in the highly salt sensitive Col, likely reflecting both adaptive responses and salt injury. The Col(gl) transcriptome was least affected by salt. Many salt-responsive transcripts observed in Col were altered in Col(gl) prior to salt stress, indicating that even without salt, the gl1-1 mutation induced a suite of stress responsive genes. Regardless of salt stress, there were greater transcriptomic differences between Col and Col(gl) than between Col and Ws. The transcript expression differences between [Ws vs. Col] and [Col(gl) vs. Col] formed largely non-overlapping sets. Thus, although Ws, Col and Col(gl) are commonly and sometimes interchangeably used, here they displayed distinct responses. Collectively, their observed expression differences likely reflect a combination of adaptive traits, response to injury, or phenotypic buffering of mutational effects.