Comprehensive Understanding of the Interaction Among Stress Hormones Signalling Pathways by Gene Co-expression Network

Abstract

Background: Plants respond to various stresses at the same time. Recent studies show that interactions of various phytohormones can play important roles in response to stresses. Objective: Although many studies have been done about the effects of the individual hormones, little information exists about the crosstalk among the hormone signalling pathways in plants. Methods: In this work, the weighted gene co-expression network analysis method was used to define modules containing genes with highly correlated expression patterns in response to abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, and salicylic acid in Arabidopsis. Results: Results indicate that plant hormones cause major changes the expression profile and control diverse cell functions, including response to environmental stresses and external factors, cell cycle, and antioxidant activity. In addition, AtbHLH15 and HY5 transcription factors can participate in phytochrome pathways in response to the phytohormones. It is probable that some Type III WRKY transcription factors control the response to bacterium separately from the other stresses. The E2Fa/DPa transcription factor also regulates the cell cycle. Conclusion: In general, many processes and pathways in plants may be regulated using a combination of abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, and salicylic acid.