EMBO J , IF:9.889 , 2021 Jan , V40 (1) : Pe104615 doi: 10.15252/embj.2020104615
BIC1 acts as a transcriptional coactivator to promote brassinosteroid signaling and plant growth.
National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.; State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
The BRASSINAZOLE-RESISTANT 1 (BZR1) transcription factor family plays an essential role in plant brassinosteroid (BR) signaling, but the signaling mechanism through which BZR1 and its homologs cooperate with certain coactivators to facilitate transcription of target genes remains incompletely understood. In this study, we used an efficient protein interaction screening system to identify blue-light inhibitor of cryptochromes 1 (BIC1) as a new BZR1-interacting protein in Arabidopsis thaliana. We show that BIC1 positively regulates BR signaling and acts as a transcriptional coactivator for BZR1-dependent activation of BR-responsive genes. Simultaneously, BIC1 interacts with the transcription factor PIF4 to synergistically and interdependently activate expression of downstream genes including PIF4 itself, and to promote plant growth. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrate that BIC1 and BZR1/PIF4 interdependently associate with the promoters of common target genes. In addition, we show that the interaction between BIC1 and BZR1 is evolutionally conserved in the model monocot plant Triticum aestivum (bread wheat). Together, our results reveal mechanistic details of BR signaling mediated by a transcriptional activation module BIC1/BZR1/PIF4 and thus provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the integration of BR and light signaling in plants.
PMID: 33280146
Autophagy , IF:9.77 , 2021 Jan : P1-14 doi: 10.1080/15548627.2021.1872886
ATI1 (ATG8-interacting protein 1) and ATI2 define a plant starvation-induced reticulophagy pathway and serve as MSBP1/MAPR5 cargo receptors.
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science , Rehovot, Israel.; Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna BioCenter (VBC) , Vienna, Austria.
Reticulophagy, the selective autophagy of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) components, is known to operate in eukaryotes from yeast and unicellular algae to animals and plants. Thus far, only ER-stress induced reticulophagy was reported and analyzed in plants. In this study we characterize a reticulophagy pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana that is triggered by dark-induced starvation but not by ER stress. This pathway is defined by the previously reported ATG8-interacting proteins, ATI1 and ATI2. We further identified the ER-localized MSBP1 (Membrane Steroid Binding Protein 1) as an ATI1- and ATI2-interacting protein and an autophagy cargo, and show that ATI1 and ATI2 serve as its cargo receptors. Together, these findings expand our knowledge on plant responses during energy deprivation and highlight the role of this special type of reticulophagy in this process. Abbreviations: AGO1: ARGONAUTE 1; ATI: ATG8-Interacting Protein; BiFC: Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation; BR: brassinosteroid; conA: concanamycin A; DMSO: dimethyl sulfoxid; DTT: dithiothreitol; ER: endoplasmic reticulum; GFP: green fluorescent protein; MAPR: Membrane-Associated Progesterone Binding Protein; MSBP: Membrane Steroid Binding Protein; SD: standard deviation; SE: standard error; TM: tunicamycin; TOR: target of rapamycin; Y2H: yeast two-hybrid.
PMID: 33487099
Curr Biol , IF:9.601 , 2021 Jan , V31 (1) : P228-237.e10 doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.10.011
Auxin-Regulated Reversible Inhibition of TMK1 Signaling by MAKR2 Modulates the Dynamics of Root Gravitropism.
Laboratoire Reproduction et Developpement des Plantes, Universite de Lyon, ENS de Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, CNRS, INRAE, 69342 Lyon, France; Department of Molecular Genetics, Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, Campus UAB, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Valles), 08193 Barcelona, Spain.; Laboratoire Reproduction et Developpement des Plantes, Universite de Lyon, ENS de Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, CNRS, INRAE, 69342 Lyon, France.; Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria.; Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium.; Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Lab of Plant Growth Analysis, Ghent University Global Campus, Songdomunhwa-Ro, 119, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21985, Republic of Korea.; Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.; Department of Molecular Genetics, Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, Campus UAB, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Valles), 08193 Barcelona, Spain.; Laboratoire Reproduction et Developpement des Plantes, Universite de Lyon, ENS de Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, CNRS, INRAE, 69342 Lyon, France. Electronic address: yvon.jaillais@ens-lyon.fr.
Plants are able to orient their growth according to gravity, which ultimately controls both shoot and root architecture.(1) Gravitropism is a dynamic process whereby gravistimulation induces the asymmetric distribution of the plant hormone auxin, leading to asymmetric growth, organ bending, and subsequent reset of auxin distribution back to the original pre-gravistimulation situation.(1-3) Differential auxin accumulation during the gravitropic response depends on the activity of polarly localized PIN-FORMED (PIN) auxin-efflux carriers.(1-4) In particular, the timing of this dynamic response is regulated by PIN2,(5)(,)(6) but the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we show that MEMBRANE ASSOCIATED KINASE REGULATOR2 (MAKR2) controls the pace of the root gravitropic response. We found that MAKR2 is required for the PIN2 asymmetry during gravitropism by acting as a negative regulator of the cell-surface signaling mediated by the receptor-like kinase TRANSMEMBRANE KINASE1 (TMK1).(2)(,)(7-10) Furthermore, we show that the MAKR2 inhibitory effect on TMK1 signaling is antagonized by auxin itself, which triggers rapid MAKR2 membrane dissociation in a TMK1-dependent manner. Our findings suggest that the timing of the root gravitropic response is orchestrated by the reversible inhibition of the TMK1 signaling pathway at the cell surface.
PMID: 33157019
New Phytol , IF:8.512 , 2021 Jan doi: 10.1111/nph.17198
The geometry of the compound leaf plays a significant role in the leaf movement of Medicago truncatula modulated by mtdwarf4a.
CAS Key Laboratory of Topical Plant Resources and Sustainable Use, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 88 Xuefu Road, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223, China.; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.; School of life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230027, China.; Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China.; Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Institute for Agricultural Biosciences, Oklahoma State University, 3210 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, Oklahoma, 73401, USA.
In most legumes, two typical features found in leaves are diverse compound forms and the pulvinus-driven nyctinastic movement. Many genes have been identified for leaf-shape determination, but the underlying nature of leaf movement as well as its association with the compound form remains largely unknown. Using forward-genetic screening and whole-genome resequencing, we found that two allelic mutants of Medicago truncatula with unclosed leaflets at night were impaired in MtDWFARF4A (MtDWF4A), a gene encoding a cytochrome P450 protein orthologous to Arabidopsis DWARF4. The mtdwf4a mutant also had a mild brassinosteroid (BR)-deficient phenotype bearing pulvini without significant deficiency in organ identity. Both mtdwf4a and dwf4 could be fully rescued by MtDWF4A, and mtdwf4a could close their leaflets at night after the application of exogenous 24-epi-BL. Surgical experiments and genetic analysis of double mutants revealed that the failure to exhibit leaf movement in mtdwf4a is a consequence of the physical obstruction of the overlapping leaflet laminae, suggesting a proper geometry of leaflets is important for their movement in M. truncatula. These observations provide a novel insight into the nyctinastic movement of compound leaves, shedding light on the importance of open space for organ movements in plants.
PMID: 33458826
Hortic Res , IF:5.404 , 2021 Jan , V8 (1) : P17 doi: 10.1038/s41438-020-00452-4
Induced defense response in red mango fruit against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.
Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 15159, HaMaccabim Road 68, Rishon LeZion, 7505101, Israel.; Department of Plant Pathology and Weed Research, ARO, Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, 7505101, Israel.; Department of Fruit Tree Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, PO Box 6, Bet-Dagan, 7505101, Israel.; Department of Ornamental Plants and Agricultural Biotechnology, ARO, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 15159, HaMaccabim Road 68, Rishon LeZion, 7505101, Israel.; Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel.; Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 15159, HaMaccabim Road 68, Rishon LeZion, 7505101, Israel. noamal@volcani.agri.gov.il.
Mango fruit exposed to sunlight develops red skin and are more resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses. Here we show that harvested red mango fruit that was exposed to sunlight at the orchard is more resistant than green fruit to Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. LCMS analysis showed high amounts of antifungal compounds, as glycosylated flavonols, glycosylated anthocyanins, and mangiferin in red vs. green mango skin, correlated with higher antioxidant and lower ROS. However, also the green side of red mango fruit that has low levels of flavonoids was resistant, indicated induced resistance. Transcriptomes of red and green fruit inoculated on their red and green sides with C. gloeosporioides were analyzed. Overall, in red fruit skin, 2,187 genes were upregulated in response to C. gloeosporioides. On the green side of red mango, upregulation of 22 transcription factors and 33 signaling-related transcripts indicated induced resistance. The RNA-Seq analysis suggests that resistance of the whole red fruit involved upregulation of ethylene, brassinosteroid, and phenylpropanoid pathways. To conclude, red fruit resistance to fungal pathogen was related to both flavonoid toxicity and primed resistance of fruit that was exposed to light at the orchard.
PMID: 33423039
Int J Mol Sci , IF:4.556 , 2021 Jan , V22 (3) doi: 10.3390/ijms22031158
Exogenous Application of Brassinosteroid 24-Norcholane 22(S)-23-Dihydroxy Type Analogs to Enhance Water Deficit Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Departamento de Quimica, Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria, Avenida Espana 1680, Valparaiso 2340000, Chile.; Instituto de Investigacion Agropecuarias, INIA-La Platina, Avda. Santa Rosa, Santiago 11610, Chile.; Instituto de Ciencias Quimicas Aplicadas, Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Autonoma de Chile, Santiago 8910339, Chile.; Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autonoma de Chile, Santiago 8910339, Chile.
Brassinosteroids (BRs) are plant hormones that play an essential role in plant development and have the ability to protect plants against various environmental stresses, such as low and high temperature, drought, heat, salinity, heavy metal toxicity, and pesticides. Mitigation of stress effects are produced through independent mechanisms or by interaction with other important phytohormones. However, there are few studies in which this property has been reported for BRs analogs. Thus, in this work, the enhancement of drought stress tolerance of A. thaliana was assessed for a series of 2-deoxybrassinosteroid analogs. In addition, the growth-promoting activity in the Rice Lamina Inclination Test (RLIT) was also evaluated. The results show that analog 1 exhibits similar growth activity as brassinolide (BL; used as positive control) in the RLIT bioassay. Interestingly, both compounds increase their activities by a factor of 1.2-1.5 when they are incorporated to polymer micelles formed by Pluronic F-127. On the other hand, tolerance to water deficit stress of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings was evaluated by determining survival rate and dry weight of seedlings after the recovery period. In both cases, the effect of analog 1 is higher than that exhibited by BL. Additionally, the expression of a subset of drought stress marker genes was evaluated in presence and absence of exogenous applied BRs. Results obtained by qRT-PCR analysis, indicate that transcriptional changes of AtDREBD2A and AtNCED3 genes were more significant in A. thaliana treated with analog 1 in homogeneous solution than in that treated with BL. These changes suggest the activation of alternative pathway in response to water stress deficit. Thus, exogenous application of BRs synthetic analogs could be a potential tool for improvement of crop production under stress conditions.
PMID: 33503838
Int J Mol Sci , IF:4.556 , 2021 Jan , V22 (2) doi: 10.3390/ijms22020975
The Protein Phosphatase PP2A Plays Multiple Roles in Plant Development by Regulation of Vesicle Traffic-Facts and Questions.
Department of Botany, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary.
The protein phosphatase PP2A is essential for the control of integrated eukaryotic cell functioning. Several cellular and developmental events, e.g., plant growth regulator (PGR) mediated signaling pathways are regulated by reversible phosphorylation of vesicle traffic proteins. Reviewing present knowledge on the relevant role of PP2A is timely. We discuss three aspects: (1) PP2A regulates microtubule-mediated vesicle delivery during cell plate assembly. PP2A dephosphorylates members of the microtubule associated protein family MAP65, promoting their binding to microtubules. Regulation of phosphatase activity leads to changes in microtubule organization, which affects vesicle traffic towards cell plate and vesicle fusion to build the new cell wall between dividing cells. (2) PP2A-mediated inhibition of target of rapamycin complex (TORC) dependent signaling pathways contributes to autophagy and this has possible connections to the brassinosteroid signaling pathway. (3) Transcytosis of vesicles transporting PIN auxin efflux carriers. PP2A regulates vesicle localization and recycling of PINs related to GNOM (a GTP-GDP exchange factor) mediated pathways. The proper intracellular traffic of PINs is essential for auxin distribution in the plant body, thus in whole plant development. Overall, PP2A has essential roles in membrane interactions of plant cell and it is crucial for plant development and stress responses.
PMID: 33478110
Physiol Plant , IF:4.148 , 2021 Jan doi: 10.1111/ppl.13339
Two ATAF transcription factors ANAC102 and ATAF1 contribute to the suppression of cytochrome P450-mediated brassinosteroid catabolism in Arabidopsis.
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
PHYB ACTIVATION TAGGED SUPPRESSOR 1 (BAS1) and SUPPRESSOR OF PHYB-4 7 (SOB7) are two cytochrome P450 enzymes that inactivate brassinosteroids (BRs) in Arabidopsis. The NAC transcription factor (TF) ATAF2 (ANAC081) and the core circadian clock regulator CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED 1 (CCA1) both suppress the expression of BAS1 and SOB7 via direct promoter binding. Additionally, BRs cause feedback suppression on ATAF2 expression. Here, we report that two ATAF-subgroup TFs, ANAC102 and ATAF1 (ANAC002), also contribute to the transcriptional suppression of BAS1 and SOB7. ANAC102 and ATAF1 gene-knockout mutants exhibit elevated expression of both BAS1 and SOB7, expanded tissue-level accumulation of their protein products and reduced hypocotyl growth in response to exogenous BR treatments. Similar to ATAF2, both ANAC102 and ATAF1 are transcriptionally suppressed by BRs and white light. Neither BAS1 nor SOB7 expression is further elevated in ATAF double or triple mutants, suggesting that the suppression effect of these three ATAFs is not additive. In addition, ATAF single, double and triple mutants have similar levels of BR responsiveness with regard to hypocotyl elongation. ATAF2, ANAC102, ATAF1 and CCA1 physically interact with itself and each other, suggesting that they may coordinately suppress BAS1 and SOB7 expression via protein-protein interactions. Despite the absence of CCA1-binding elements in their promoters, ANAC102 and ATAF1 have similar transcript circadian oscillation patterns as that of CCA1, suggesting that these two ATAF genes may be indirectly regulated by the circadian clock.
PMID: 33491178
Sci Rep , IF:3.998 , 2021 Jan , V11 (1) : P1671 doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-81155-1
Integrated analysis of lncRNA and mRNA transcriptomes reveals the potential regulatory role of lncRNA in kiwifruit ripening and softening.
Fruit Research Institute, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou, 350013, Fujian, China.; Research Centre for Engineering Technology of Fujian Deciduous Fruits, Fuzhou, 350013, Fujian, China.; College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China. ld0532cheng@126.com.; Fruit Research Institute, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou, 350013, Fujian, China. fengxin1506@163.com.; Research Centre for Engineering Technology of Fujian Deciduous Fruits, Fuzhou, 350013, Fujian, China. fengxin1506@163.com.
Kiwifruit has gained increasing attention worldwide for its unique flavor and high nutritional value. Rapid softening after harvest greatly shortens its shelf-life and reduces the commercial value. Therefore, it is imperative and urgent to identify and clarify its softening mechanism. This study aimed to analyze and compare the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and mRNA expression patterns in ABA-treated (ABA) and room temperature (RT)-stored fruits with those in freshly harvested fruits (CK) as control. A total of 697 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 81 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs) were identified while comparing ABA with CK, and 458 DEGs and 143 DELs were detected while comparing RT with CK. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis of the identified DEGs and the target genes of DELs revealed that genes involved in starch and sucrose metabolism, brassinosteroid biosynthesis, plant hormone signal transduction, and flavonoid biosynthesis accounted for a large part. The co-localization networks, including 38 DEGs and 31 DELs in ABA vs. CK, and 25 DEGs and 25 DELs in RT vs. CK, were also performed. Genes related to fruit ripening, such as genes encoding beta-galactosidase, mannan endo-1,4-beta-mannosidase, pectinesterase/pectinesterase inhibitor, and NAC transcription factor, were present in the co-localization network, suggesting that lncRNAs were involved in regulating kiwifruit ripening. Notably, several ethylene biosynthesis- and signaling-related genes, including one 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase gene and three ethylene response factor genes, were found in the co-localization network of ABA vs. CK, suggesting that the promoting effect of ABA on ethylene biosynthesis and fruit softening might be embodied by increasing the expression of these lncRNAs. These results may help understand the regulatory mechanism of lncRNAs in ripening and ABA-induced fruit softening of kiwifruit.
PMID: 33462344
Plant Mol Biol , IF:3.302 , 2021 Jan doi: 10.1007/s11103-020-01100-0
Insight into early diversification of leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases provided by the sequenced moss and hornwort genomes.
Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-8555, Japan. furumizu@kumamoto-u.ac.jp.; Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-8555, Japan.
KEY MESSAGE: Identification of the subfamily X leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases in the recently sequenced moss and hornwort genomes points to their diversification into distinct groups during early evolution of land plants. Signal transduction mediated through receptor-ligand interactions plays key roles in controlling developmental and physiological processes of multicellular organisms, and plants employ diverse receptors in signaling. Leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases (LRR-RLKs) represent one of the largest receptor classes in plants and are structurally classified into subfamilies. LRR-RLKs of the subfamily X are unique in the variety of their signaling roles; they include receptors for steroid or peptide hormones as well as negative regulators of signaling through binding to other LRR-RLKs, raising a question as to how they diversified. However, our understanding of diversification processes of LRR-RLKs has been hindered by the paucity of genomic data in non-seed plants and limited taxa sampling in previous phylogenetic analyses. Here we analyzed the phylogeny of LRR-RLK X sequences collected from all major land plant lineages and show that this subfamily diversified into six major clades before the divergence between bryophytes and vascular plants. Notably, we have identified homologues of the brassinosteroid receptor, BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE 1 (BRI1), in the genomes of Sphagnum mosses, hornworts, and ferns, contrary to earlier reports that postulate the origin of BRI1-like LRR-RLKs in the seed plant lineage. The phylogenetic distribution of major clades illustrates that the current receptor repertoire was shaped through lineage-specific gene family expansion and independent gene losses, highlighting dynamic changes in the evolution of LRR-RLKs.
PMID: 33389562
Gene , IF:2.984 , 2021 Jan , V764 : P145082 doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2020.145082
Global transcriptomic network of melatonin regulated root growth in Arabidopsis.
Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China. Electronic address: ypwang@mail.hzau.edu.cn.; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China. Electronic address: zlchan@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
Melatonin functions as a plant growth regulator in a concentration-dependent manner. In this study, we investigated the effects of melatonin on root growth and dissected underlined mechanisms. The results showed that melatonin up to 1000 muM inhibited primary root growth, but promoted lateral root development. Through RNA sequencing analysis, functions of differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in stress response, signaling transduction, transport, hormone metabolism and amino acid metabolism. Genes involving in jasmonate (JA), brassinosteroid (BR) and cytokinin (CK) biosynthesis were inhibited, but these in ethylene (ET), strigolactone (SL) and gibberellins (GA) biosynthetic pathways were activated after melatonin treatment. The majority of zinc finger proteins (ZFPs), Calmodulin-like (CMLs), NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2 (NACs) and ubiquitination related genes (RING/U-box and F-box) were upregulated, which possibly acted downstream of integrated hormone signals to mediate root growth. This study characterized melatonin modulated networks in regulating root growth.
PMID: 32858176
PLoS One , IF:2.74 , 2021 , V16 (1) : Pe0244593 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244593
Comparative RNA-Seq analysis unfolds a complex regulatory network imparting yellow mosaic disease resistance in mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek].
Division of Genetics, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India.; Agricultural Bioinformatics, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi, India.; Crop Improvement Division, ICAR-Directorate of Groundnut Research, Junagadh, Gujarat, India.; Division of Plant Pathology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India.; Division of Biochemistry, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India.; Germplasm Evaluation Division, ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi, India.; Division of Seed Science and Technology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India.; ICAR-National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, New Delhi, India.; World Vegetable Center, South Asia, ICRISAT Campus Patancheru, Hyderabad, India.
Yellow Mosaic Disease (YMD) in mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek] is one of the most damaging diseases in Asia. In the northern part of India, the YMD is caused by Mungbean Yellow Mosaic India Virus (MYMIV), while in southern India this is caused by Mungbean Yellow Mosaic Virus (MYMV). The molecular mechanism of YMD resistance in mungbean remains largely unknown. In this study, RNA-seq analysis was conducted between a resistant (PMR-1) and a susceptible (Pusa Vishal) mungbean genotype under infected and control conditions to understand the regulatory network operating between mungbean-YMV. Overall, 76.8 million raw reads could be generated in different treatment combinations, while mapping rate per library to the reference genome varied from 86.78% to 93.35%. The resistance to MYMIV showed a very complicated gene network, which begins with the production of general PAMPs (pathogen-associated molecular patterns), then activation of various signaling cascades like kinases, jasmonic acid (JA) and brassinosteroid (BR), and finally the expression of specific genes (like PR-proteins, virus resistance and R-gene proteins) leading to resistance response. The function of WRKY, NAC and MYB transcription factors in imparting the resistance against MYMIV could be established. The string analysis also revealed the role of proteins involved in kinase, viral movement and phytoene synthase activity in imparting YMD resistance. A set of novel stress-related EST-SSRs are also identified from the RNA-Seq data which may be used to find the linked genes/QTLs with the YMD resistance. Also, 11 defence-related transcripts could be validated through quantitative real-time PCR analysis. The identified gene networks have led to an insight about the defence mechanism operating against MYMIV infection in mungbean which will be of immense use to manage the YMD resistance in mungbean.
PMID: 33434234
Plant Signal Behav , IF:1.671 , 2021 Jan , V16 (1) : P1837544 doi: 10.1080/15592324.2020.1837544
Phytohormones: structural and functional relationship to purine nucleotides and some pharmacologic agents.
Faculty of Life Sciences & Education, University of South Wales , Cardiff, UK.
Structural components of second messenger signaling (nucleotides and associated enzyme systems) within plant and animal cells have more in common than the hormones that initiate metabolic and functional changes. Neurotransmitters and hormones of mammalian pharmacologic classes relate to purine nucleotides in respect of chemical structure and the molecular changes they initiate. This study compares the molecular structures of purine nucleotides with compounds from the abscisic acid, auxin, brassinosteroid, cytokinin, gibberellin, and jasmonate classes by means of a computational program. The results illustrate how phytohomones relate to each other through the structures of nucleotides and cyclic nucleotides. Molecular similarity within the phytohormone structures relates to synergism, antagonism and the modulation of nucleotide function that regulates germination and plant development. As with the molecular evolution of mammalian hormones, cell signaling and cross-talk within the phytohormone classes is purine nucleotide centered.
PMID: 33100143
J Plant Biol , 2021 Jan : P1-14 doi: 10.1007/s12374-020-09290-2
OrMKK3 Influences Morphology and Grain Size in Rice.
Rice Research Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Guangxi Key Laboratory of Rice Genetics and Breeding, Nanning, 530007 China.grid.452720.60000 0004 0415 7259; Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Guangxi Crop Genetic Improvement and Biotechnology Laboratory, Nanning, 530007 China.; State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, 271018 Shandong China.grid.440622.60000 0000 9482 4676
Although morphology and grain size are important to rice growth and yield, the identity of abundant natural allelic variations that determine agronomically important differences in crops is unknown. Here, we characterized the function of mitogen-activated protein kinase 3 from Oryza officinalis Wall. ex Watt encoded by OrMKK3. Different alternative splicing variants occurred in OrMKK3. Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-OrMKK3 fusion proteins localized to the cell membrane and nuclei of rice protoplasts. Overexpression of OrMKK3 influenced the expression levels of the grain size-related genes SMG1, GW8, GL3, GW2, and DEP3. Phylogenetic analysis showed that OrMKK3 is well conserved in plants while showing large amounts of variation between indica, japonica, and wild rice. In addition, OrMKK3 slightly influenced brassinosteroid (BR) responses and the expression levels of BR-related genes. Our findings thus identify a new gene, OrMKK3, influencing morphology and grain size and that represents a possible link between mitogen-activated protein kinase and BR response pathways in grain growth. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12374-020-09290-2.
PMID: 33424241