Biology subjects

Tyszka, A. S.

Publications and source records attributed to Tyszka, A. S..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Herbaria provide a valuable resource for obtaining informative mRNA

While DNA has built the framework for molecular insights from museum collections, the utility of archival RNA remains largely unexplored. Likely a consequence of the known instability of RNA relative to DNA, this has effectively precluded the use of herbaria for transcriptomics. Here, we challenge the assumption that herbaria cannot be used for transcriptomics by assembling transcriptomes from RNA extracted from herbarium specimens. Through systematic comparison of transcriptomes from fresh-collected, silica-dried, and archival specimens, we demonstrate the suitability of herbarium-derived RNA for transcriptomics. We show the practical applicability of archival mRNA by functionally validating a plant immune receptor synthesized from a specimen collected in 1956. These results contradict the community consensus regarding archival RNA and open the door to subsequent transcriptomic explorations of rare and extinct plant species. Our findings highlight the importance of preserving and utilizing the diversity embedded within herbarium collections.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2024

A Necrotizing Toxin Promotes Pseudomonas syringae Infection Across Evolutionarily Divergent Plant Lineages

The Pseudomonas syringae species complex harbors a diverse range of plant pathogenic bacteria. While much of the current understanding of P. syringae is centered on interactions with flowering plants, much less is known about infection in evolutionarily divergent non-flowering lineages. Here, we took a comparative evolutionary approach to understand how P. syringae infects distantly related plants. We identify broad host P. syringae isolates causing significant disease in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, the fern Ceratopteris richardii, and the flowering plant Nicotiana benthamiana, which last shared a common ancestor over 500 million years ago. We demonstrate that phytotoxin enriched isolates belonging to the phylogroup 2 clade of the P. syringae species complex are particularly virulent in non-flowering plants, relying on a combination of type-3 secreted effector proteins and the lipopeptide phytotoxin syringomycin. The application of purified syringomycin promotes necrosis in diverse host tissues and activates conserved genes associated with redox regulation and cell death. Toxin-deficient phylogroups normally unable to infect Marchantia thalli exhibit enhanced bacterial growth when supplemented with exogenous syringomycin, further highlighting its role as a host-range defining factor in Pseudomonas. Collectively our research reveals a key role for the lipopeptide syringomycin in promoting Pseudomonas colonization, which works in concert with type-3 effector proteins to antagonize an exceptionally wide spectrum of land plants.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Transcriptome data from silica-preserved leaf tissue reveals gene flow patterns in a Caribbean bromeliad

O_LITranscriptome sequencing is a cost-effective approach that allows researchers to study a broad range of questions. However, to preserve RNA for transcriptome sequencing, tissue is often kept under special conditions, such as immediate ultracold freezing. Here, we demonstrate that RNA can be obtained from six-month-old, field collected samples stored in silica gel at room temperature. Using these transcriptomes, we explore the evolutionary relationships of the genus Pitcairnia (Bromeliaceae) in the Dominican Republic and infer barriers to gene flow. C_LIO_LIWe extracted RNA from silica-dried leaf tissue from 19 Pitcairnia individuals collected across the Dominican Republic. We used a series of macro-and micro-evolutionary approaches to examine the relationships and patterns of gene flow among individuals. C_LIO_LIWe produced high-quality transcriptomes from silica-dried material and demonstrated that evolutionary relationships on the island match geography more closely than species delimitation methods. A population genetic examination indicates that a combination of ecological and geographic features are barriers to gene flow in Pitcairnia. C_LIO_LIHigh-quality transcriptomes can be obtained from silica-preserved tissue. The genetic diversity among Pitcairnia populations does not warrant classification as separate species, but the Dominican Republic contains several barriers to gene flow, notably the Cordillera Central mountain range. C_LI

evolutionary biology↗