Functional Genomic Analysis of the Model Plant Arabidopsis thaliana in Response to Naphthenic Acids and Organic Compounds Isolated from Oil Sands Process-Affected Water
Abstract
The extraction of bitumen in the Alberta oil sands results in large volumes of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW). OSPW contains an acid extractable organic (AEO) fraction that consists of numerous compounds, including naphthenic acids (NAs). This research was aimed at a functional genomic characterization of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) in response to OSPW, AEO, and NAs. From this research, insight was gained into the phenotypic response of Arabidopsis to OSPW, AEO, and NAs in terms of germination and early seedling development. A microarray experiment illustrated how Arabidopsis responds to AEO at the transcriptome level, and provided insight into toxicity, possible degradation pathways, and mechanisms for dealing with the stress. In addition, a large population of plants with enhanced expression of individual genes was screened for growth on model/surrogate NAs to give insight into genes that may be involved in NA tolerance, sequestration, or degradation. This research provides a framework for future work on biosensing, phytoremediation, and metabolic pathways involved in degradation/sequestration of toxic organic acids in OSPW.
Description
Keywords
Botany, Biology--Molecular, Plant Physiology
Citation
Widdup, E. (2014). Functional Genomic Analysis of the Model Plant Arabidopsis thaliana in Response to Naphthenic Acids and Organic Compounds Isolated from Oil Sands Process-Affected Water (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26244