Tesis Doctorado
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Item Stress memory in the offspring of chenopodium quinoa willd (amaranthaceae) exposed to nitrogen deficiency.(Universidad de Concepción, 2025) Castro Oñate, Catalina Javiera; Bascuñán Godoy, Luisa Leticia; Coba de la Peña, TeodoroPlants have developed various strategies to cope with abiotic stress throughout their lives; however, environmental stress can have lasting effects, positively modifying the physiological responses of plants to subsequent stress episodes. This phenomenon known as preconditioning or stress memory. Interestingly, this memory can even be transmitted to their offspring, referred to as “intergenerational” or “transgenerational” stress memory. Chenopodium quinoa Willd. (Amaranthaceae) is a species known for its high tolerance to multiple stresses, including N deficit. In this thesis, we hypothesize that C. quinoa is able of transfer a “stress memory” to its offspring, induced by N deficiency. This “stress memory” is addressed through the study of the phenotype and physiological, biochemical, and molecular traits of mother plants (F0) and their progeny (F1 and F2) grown under optimal (HN) and deficient (LN) N conditions. The mother plants (F0) grown under LN conditions showed a significant reduction of photosynthesis and an increase in thermal dissipation, which was associated with yield reductions. In addition, changes in the metabolic composition of seeds were observed, which were associated with accelerated germination compared to seeds from plants grown at HN. Regarding the biometric and physiological responses of F1 seedlings (daughters), descendants of LN plants grown in LN (LNF0LNF1) presented a greater biomass and higher number of secondary roots, which were positively related to increased photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. Similarly, in the F2 generation (granddaughters), descendants of LN plants also showed greater shoot and root biomass when grown at LN, regardless of N conditions of their respective mother (F1) were grown (LNF0HNF1LNF2 or LNF0LNF1LNF2). Interestingly, in F2 although no changes in photosynthesis were observed, the reduction in thermal dissipation and the increase in photochemical efficiency (also observed in F1) suggests a transgenerational adjustment in energy use and dissipation mechanisms. Additional metabolomic studies in F1 and F2 highlighted a higher starch, terpene, lipid and flavonoid content in seedlings descended from LN plants, suggesting a greater C per unit of N than those descended from HN plants. The changes observed in F2 did not vary according to N condition of F1, suggesting that the ancestral environment (grandmother plants), and not only the maternal environment is playing a key role in offspring performance. Finally, we identified differentially expressed genes predominantly influenced by F0 N conditions. These include genes related to N acquisition and DNA methylation (NRT1.1, GLR2.1, SAM-dependent MTasa, QR, E2F TF3 and GRAS), which were up-regulated in the offspring of LNF0 mother plants in both generations (F1 and F2). The changes in the expression were related to physiological responses across generations. Additionally, through co-expression networks studies, key regulatory genes that modulate the expression of genes related to memory persistence and reversion were suggested. Taking together, the findings of this thesis reveal a differential performance between the offspring of F0 plants grown at optimal (HN) or low nitrogen (LN) conditions. These results support the conclusion that C. quinoa is capable of transmitting a “stress memory” to its progeny, modulating their physiological, metabolic, and transcriptomic responses. This inherited memory enhances the offspring’s capacity to cope with N deficient environments.