低温植物学文献速览 2022-12-01

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Nat Plants , IF:15.793 , 2022 Oct , V8 (10) : P1176-1190 doi: 10.1038/s41477-022-01254-3

Natural polymorphism of ZmICE1 contributes to amino acid metabolism that impacts cold tolerance in maize.

Jiang, Haifang and Shi, Yiting and Liu, Jingyan and Li, Zhen and Fu, Diyi and Wu, Shifeng and Li, Minze and Yang, Zijia and Shi, Yunlu and Lai, Jinsheng and Yang, Xiaohong and Gong, Zhizhong and Hua, Jian and Yang, Shuhua

State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.; Fresh Corn Research Center of BTH, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin, China.; National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.; Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.; State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. yangshuhua@cau.edu.cn.

Cold stress negatively affects maize (Zea mays L.) growth, development and yield. Metabolic adjustments contribute to the adaptation of maize under cold stress. We show here that the transcription factor INDUCER OF CBF EXPRESSION 1 (ZmICE1) plays a prominent role in reprogramming amino acid metabolome and COLD-RESPONSIVE (COR) genes during cold stress in maize. Derivatives of amino acids glutamate/asparagine (Glu/Asn) induce a burst of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, which suppress the cold-mediated induction of DEHYDRATION RESPONSE ELEMENT-BINDING PROTEIN 1 (ZmDREB1) genes and impair cold tolerance. ZmICE1 blocks this negative regulation of cold tolerance by directly repressing the expression of the key Glu/Asn biosynthesis genes, ASPARAGINE SYNTHETASEs. Moreover, ZmICE1 directly regulates the expression of DREB1s. Natural variation at the ZmICE1 promoter determines the binding affinity of the transcriptional activator ZmMYB39, a positive regulator of cold tolerance in maize, resulting in different degrees of ZmICE1 transcription and cold tolerance across inbred lines. This study thus unravels a mechanism of cold tolerance in maize and provides potential targets for engineering cold-tolerant varieties.

PMID: 36241735


EMBO J , IF:11.598 , 2022 Nov : Pe110518 doi: 10.15252/embj.2021110518

Cold-induced calreticulin OsCRT3 conformational changes promote OsCIPK7 binding and temperature sensing in rice.

Guo, Xiaoyu and Zhang, Dajian and Wang, Zhongliang and Xu, Shujuan and Batistic, Oliver and Steinhorst, Leonie and Li, Hao and Weng, Yuxiang and Ren, Dongtao and Kudla, Jorg and Xu, Yunyuan and Chong, Kang

Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.; Institut fur Biologie und Biotechnologie der Pflanzen, Westfalische Wilhelms-Universitat, Munster, Germany.; Laboratory of Soft Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.; State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.; Innovation Academy for Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Unusually low temperatures caused by global climate change adversely affect rice production. Sensing cold to trigger signal network is a key base for improvement of chilling tolerance trait. Here, we report that Oryza sativa Calreticulin 3 (OsCRT3) localized at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) exhibits conformational changes under cold stress, thereby enhancing its interaction with CBL-interacting protein kinase 7 (OsCIPK7) to sense cold. Phenotypic analyses of OsCRT3 knock-out mutants and transgenic overexpression lines demonstrate that OsCRT3 is a positive regulator in chilling tolerance. OsCRT3 localizes at the ER and mediates increases in cytosolic calcium levels under cold stress. Notably, cold stress triggers secondary structural changes of OsCRT3 and enhances its binding affinity with OsCIPK7, which finally boosts its kinase activity. Moreover, Calcineurin B-like protein 7 (OsCBL7) and OsCBL8 interact with OsCIPK7 specifically on the plasma membrane. Taken together, our results thus identify a cold-sensing mechanism that simultaneously conveys cold-induced protein conformational change, enhances kinase activity, and Ca(2+) signal generation to facilitate chilling tolerance in rice.

PMID: 36341575


Plant Cell , IF:11.277 , 2022 Nov doi: 10.1093/plcell/koac320

A plastid nucleoside kinase is involved in inosine salvage and control of purine nucleotide biosynthesis.

Chen, Xiaoguang and Kim, Sang-Hoon and Rhee, Sangkee and Witte, Claus-Peter

Leibniz Universitat Hannover, Department of Molecular Nutrition and Biochemistry of Plants, Herrenhauser Str. 2, 30419 Hannover, Germany.; Seoul National University, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, 151-921 Seoul, Republic of Korea.

In nucleotide metabolism, nucleoside kinases recycle nucleosides to nucleotides - a process called nucleoside salvage. Nucleoside kinases for adenosine, uridine and cytidine have been characterized from many organisms, but kinases for inosine and guanosine salvage are not yet known in eukaryotes and only a few such enzymes have been described from bacteria. Here we identified Arabidopsis thaliana PLASTID NUCLEOSIDE KINASE 1 (PNK1), an enzyme highly conserved in plants and green algae belonging to the Phosphofructokinase B (PfkB) family. We demonstrate that PNK1 from Arabidopsis thaliana is located in plastids and catalyzes the phosphorylation of inosine, 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-D-ribose (AICA ribonucleoside) and uridine but not guanosine in vitro, and is involved in inosine salvage in vivo. PNK1 mutation leads to increased flux into purine nucleotide catabolism and, especially in the context of defective uridine degradation, to over-accumulation of uridine and UTP as well as growth depression. The data suggest that PNK1 is involved in feedback regulation of purine nucleotide biosynthesis and possibly also pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis. We additionally report that cold stress leads to accumulation of purine nucleotides, probably by inducing nucleotide biosynthesis, but that this adjustment of nucleotide homeostasis to environmental conditions is not controlled by PNK1.

PMID: 36342213


Plant Cell , IF:11.277 , 2022 Oct , V34 (11) : P4495-4515 doi: 10.1093/plcell/koac253

WRKY53 negatively regulates rice cold tolerance at the booting stage by fine-tuning anther gibberellin levels.

Tang, Jiaqi and Tian, Xiaojie and Mei, Enyang and He, Mingliang and Gao, Junwen and Yu, Jun and Xu, Min and Liu, Jiali and Song, Lu and Li, Xiufeng and Wang, Zhenyu and Guan, Qingjie and Zhao, Zhigang and Wang, Chunming and Bu, Qingyun

Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150081, China.; College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.; State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.; Key Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration (Northeast Forestry University), Ministry of Education, Harbin 150040, China.; College of Life Science, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.; The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.

Cold tolerance at the booting (CTB) stage is a major factor limiting rice (Oryza sativa L.) productivity and geographical distribution. A few cold-tolerance genes have been identified, but they either need to be overexpressed to result in CTB or cause yield penalties, limiting their utility for breeding. Here, we characterize the function of the cold-induced transcription factor WRKY53 in rice. The wrky53 mutant displays increased CTB, as determined by higher seed setting. Low temperature is associated with lower gibberellin (GA) contents in anthers in the wild type but not in the wrky53 mutant, which accumulates slightly more GA in its anthers. WRKY53 directly binds to the promoters of GA biosynthesis genes and transcriptionally represses them in anthers. In addition, we uncover a possible mechanism by which GA regulates male fertility: SLENDER RICE1 (SLR1) interacts with and sequesters two critical transcription factors for tapetum development, UNDEVELOPED TAPETUM1 (UDT1), and TAPETUM DEGENERATION RETARDATION (TDR), and GA alleviates the sequestration by SLR1, thus allowing UDT1 and TDR to activate transcription. Finally, knocking out WRKY53 in diverse varieties increases cold tolerance without a yield penalty, leading to a higher yield in rice subjected to cold stress. Together, these findings provide a target for improving CTB in rice.

PMID: 35972376


Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A , IF:11.205 , 2022 Oct , V119 (41) : Pe2211744119 doi: 10.1073/pnas.2211744119

Stabilization of insect cell membranes and soluble enzymes by accumulated cryoprotectants during freezing stress.

Grgac, Robert and Rozsypal, Jan and Des Marteaux, Lauren and Stetina, Tomas and Kostal, Vladimir

Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, 37005 Czech Republic.; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, 37005 Czech Republic.

Most multicellular organisms are freeze sensitive, but the ability to survive freezing of the extracellular fluids evolved in several vertebrate ectotherms, some plants, and many insects. Here, we test the coupled hypotheses that are perpetuated in the literature: that irreversible denaturation of proteins and loss of biological membrane integrity are two ultimate molecular mechanisms of freezing injury in freeze-sensitive insects and that seasonally accumulated small cryoprotective molecules (CPs) stabilize proteins and membranes against injury in freeze-tolerant insects. Using the drosophilid fly, Chymomyza costata, we show that seven different soluble enzymes exhibit no or only partial loss of activity upon lethal freezing stress applied in vivo to whole freeze-sensitive larvae. In contrast, the enzymes lost activity when extracted and frozen in vitro in a diluted buffer solution. This loss of activity was fully prevented by adding low concentrations of a wide array of different compounds to the buffer, including C. costata native CPs, other metabolites, bovine serum albumin (BSA), and even the biologically inert artificial compounds HistoDenz and Ficoll. Next, we show that fat body plasma membranes lose integrity when frozen in vivo in freeze-sensitive but not in freeze-tolerant larvae. Freezing fat body cells in vitro, however, resulted in loss of membrane integrity in both freeze-sensitive and freeze-tolerant larvae. Different additives showed widely different capacities to protect membrane integrity when added to in vitro freezing media. A complete rescue of membrane integrity in freeze-tolerant larvae was observed with a mixture of proline, trehalose, and BSA.

PMID: 36191219


New Phytol , IF:10.151 , 2022 Oct doi: 10.1111/nph.18568

SEC1-C3H39 module fine-tunes cold tolerance by mediating its target mRNA degradation in tomato.

Xu, Jin and Huang, Zelan and Du, Hongyu and Tang, Mingjia and Fan, Pengxiang and Yu, Jingquan and Zhou, Yanhong

Department of Horticulture, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310058, China.; Hainan Institute, Zhejiang University, Sanya, 572025, China.; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plants Growth and Development, Agricultural Ministry of China, Yuhangtang Road 866, Hangzhou, 310058, China.

Plants adapt to cold stress at the physiological and biochemical levels, thus enabling them to maintain growth and development. However, the molecular mechanism of fine-tuning cold signals remains largely unknown. We addressed the function of SlSEC1-SlC3H39 module in cold tolerance by using SlSEC1 and SlC3H39 knockout and overexpression tomato lines. A tandem CCCH zinc-finger protein SlC3H39 negatively modulates cold tolerance in tomato. SlC3H39 binds to AU-rich elements in the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) to induce mRNA degradation and regulates gene expression post-transcriptionally. We further validate that SlC3H39 participates in post-transcriptional regulation of a variety of cold-responsive genes. An O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase SlSEC1 physically interacts with SlC3H39 proteins and negatively regulates cold tolerance in tomato. Further study shows that SlSEC1 is essential for SlC3H39 protein stability and maintains SlC3H39 function in cold tolerance. Genetic analysis shows that SlC3H39 is epistatic to SlSEC1 in cold tolerance. The findings indicate that SlC3H39 negatively modulates plant cold tolerance through post-transcriptional regulation by binding to cold-responding mRNA 3'-UTR and reducing those transcripts. SlSEC1 promotes the O-GlcNAclation status of SlC3H39 and maintains SlC3H39 function in cold tolerance. Taken together, we propose a SlSEC1-SlC3H39 module, which allows plants to balance defense responses and growth processes.

PMID: 36285381


New Phytol , IF:10.151 , 2022 Nov , V236 (3) : P989-1005 doi: 10.1111/nph.18403

A single-nucleotide polymorphism in WRKY33 promoter is associated with the cold sensitivity in cultivated tomato.

Guo, Mingyue and Yang, Fengjun and Liu, Chenxu and Zou, Jinping and Qi, Zhenyu and Fotopoulos, Vasileios and Lu, Gang and Yu, Jingquan and Zhou, Jie

Department of Horticulture, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, Zhejiang University, Yuhangtang Road 866, Hangzhou, 310058, China.; Hainan Institute, Zhejiang University, Sanya, 572000, China.; Agricultural Experiment Station, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.; Department of Agricultural Sciences Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, Lemesos, 999058, Cyprus.; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plants Growth, Development and Quality Improvement, Agricultural Ministry of China, Yuhangtang Road 866, Hangzhou, 310058, China.; Shandong (Linyi) Institute of Modern Agriculture, Zhejiang University, Linyi, 276000, China.

Natural variations in cis-regulatory regions often affect crop phenotypes by altering gene expression. However, the mechanism of how promoter mutations affect gene expression and crop stress tolerance is still poorly understood. In this study, by analyzing RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) data and reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR validation in the cultivated tomato and its wild relatives, we reveal that the transcripts of WRKY33 are almost unchanged in cold-sensitive cultivated tomato Solanum lycopersicum L. 'Ailsa Craig' but are significantly induced in cold-tolerant wild tomato relatives Solanum habrochaites LA1777 and Solanum pennellii LA0716 under cold stress. Overexpression of SlWRKY33 or ShWRKY33 positively regulates cold tolerance in tomato. Variant of the critical W-box in SlWRKY33 promoter results in the loss of self-transcription function of SlWRKY33 under cold stress. Analysis integrating RNA-Seq and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing data reveals that SlWRKY33 directly targets and induces multiple kinases, transcription factors, and molecular chaperone genes, such as CDPK11, MYBS3, and BAG6, thus enhancing cold tolerance. In addition, heat- and Botrytis-induced WRKY33s expression in both wild and cultivated tomatoes are independent of the critical W-box variation. Our findings suggest nucleotide polymorphism in cis-regulatory regions is crucial for different cold sensitivity between cultivated and wild tomato plants.

PMID: 35892173


Plant Physiol , IF:8.34 , 2022 Nov doi: 10.1093/plphys/kiac540

Physiological mechanisms underlying extreme longevity in mountain pine trees.

Pasques, Ot and Munne-Bosch, Sergi

Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.; Research Institute in Biodiversity (IRBio), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

Ancient trees are life history longevity winners that mostly persist in remote and environmentally harsh mountainous areas. Here, we performed a multifeature analysis in a protected mature mountain pine (Pinus uncinata) forest to identify the morphological and physiological traits that make these trees unique. We compared the physiology of meristematic and somatic tissues (apical buds and needles, respectively) from juvenile, mature young, mature old, and mature ancient trees under cold stress and non-stress conditions. We successfully identified key morphological features of extreme longevity at the organism level, as well as various growth, vigor, stress, and dormancy markers underlying extreme longevity in old and ancient trees. Results indicated that evolution has exerted selective pressure on specific physiological traits that make trees become longevity winners (<0.1% of the tree population were ancient trees, with an average trunk diameter >100 cm and an estimated age of 700 years). Traits entailing longevity not only included apical dominance loss, epicormic growth, and modular senescence, but also an extreme plasticity in both meristematic and somatic tissues (buds and leaves, respectively), as shown by various physiological markers. In conclusion, ancient trees are oddities that not only possess a unique ecological value, but also show divergent physiological behaviors selected during their evolution to allow them to cope with adversities and attain long life.

PMID: 36440969


Plant Physiol , IF:8.34 , 2022 Nov doi: 10.1093/plphys/kiac512

MdbHLH4 negatively regulates apple cold tolerance by inhibiting MdCBF1/3 expression and promoting MdCAX3L-2 expression.

Yang, Jie and Guo, Xin and Mei, Quanlin and Qiu, Lina and Chen, Peihong and Li, Weihan and Mao, Ke and Ma, Fengwang

State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas/Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Apple, College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.

Low temperature affects the yield and quality of crops. Inducer of CBF expression 1 (ICE1) plays a positive role in plant cold tolerance by promoting the expression of CRT binding factor (CBF) and cold-responsive (COR) genes. Several ICE1-interacting transcription factors (TFs) that regulate plant cold tolerance have been identified. However, how these TFs affect the function of ICE1 and CBF expression under cold conditions remains unclear. Here, we identified the MYC-type TF MdbHLH4, a negative regulator of cold tolerance in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and apple (Malus domestica) plants. Under cold conditions, MdbHLH4 inhibits the expression of MdCBF1 and MdCBF3 by directly binding to their promoters. It also interacts with MdICE1L, a homolog of AtICE1 in apple, and inhibits the binding of MdICE1L to the promoters of MdCBF1/3 and thus their expression. We showed that MdCAX3L-2, a CAX (Ca2+/H+ exchanger) family gene that negatively regulates plant cold tolerance, is also a direct target of MdbHLH4. MdbHLH4 reduced apple cold tolerance by promoting MdCAX3L-2 expression. Moreover, overexpression of either MdCAX3L-2 or MdbHLH4 promoted the cold-induced ubiquitination and degradation of MdICE1L. Overall, our results reveal that MdbHLH4 negatively regulates plant cold tolerance by inhibiting MdCBF1/3 expression and MdICE1L promoter-binding activity, as well as by promoting MdCAX3L-2 expression and cold-induced MdICE1L degradation. These findings provide insights into the mechanisms by which ICE1-interacting TFs regulate CBF expression and ICE1 function and thus plant cold tolerance.

PMID: 36331333


Food Chem , IF:7.514 , 2022 Nov , V405 (Pt B) : P134957 doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.134957

MaMYB13 is involved in response to chilling stress via activating expression of VLCFAs and phenylpropanoids biosynthesis-related genes in postharvest banana fruit.

Li, Zhiwei and Zhou, Yijie and Liang, Hanzhi and Li, Qing and Jiang, Yueming and Duan, Xuewu and Jiang, Guoxiang

Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: lizhiwei@scbg.ac.cn.; Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: zhouyijie123@scbg.ac.cn.; Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: lianghanzhi@scbg.ac.cn.; Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy Sciences, Wenzhou 325027, China. Electronic address: liqing@wiucas.ac.cn.; Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: ymjiang@scbg.ac.cn.; Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: xwduan@scbg.ac.cn.; Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: gxjiang@scbg.ac.cn.

Fruit chilling injury is the result of physiological dysfunction due to membrane lipid phase change, oxidative damage of biomacromolecules and respiratory metabolism abnormality. However, the involvement of transcription factors in response to fruits chilling tolerance remains largely unclear. Here, MaMYB13 was identified to participate in banana fruit response to chilling stress. MaMYB13 has transcriptional activation activity. When exposed to low temperature, expression of MaMYB13 was enormously induced. Moreover, MaMYB13 promoter was activated by chilling stress. MaMYB13 bound to the promoters of several important very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) and phenylpropanoids biosynthesis-related genes, including MaKCS11, Ma4CL6 and MaAAE1, and activated their transcription. Furthermore, MaKIN10 X1/3 interacted with MaMYB13 and enhanced MaMYB13-mediated transcriptional activation possibly via phosphorylation. Altogether, our results unravel the mechanism of MaMYB13-MaKIN10 X1/3 interaction regulating banana fruit chilling tolerance through activating the expression of MaKCS11, Ma4CL6 and MaAAE1, providing new insights into the regulatory network of MYB transcription factor.

PMID: 36417802


Plant Cell Environ , IF:7.228 , 2022 Nov , V45 (11) : P3305-3321 doi: 10.1111/pce.14432

Comparative transcriptomics analysis reveals a calcineurin B-like gene to positively regulate constitutive and acclimated freezing tolerance in potato.

Chen, Lin and Zhao, Hongbo and Chen, Ye and Jiang, Fujing and Zhou, Feiyan and Liu, Qing and Fan, Yongqi and Liu, Tiantian and Tu, Wei and Walther, Dirk and Song, Botao

Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Tuber and Root Crop, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Modern Agriculture/Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (South China), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, MOE; Key Laboratory of Potato Biology and Biotechnology, MARA; College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.; Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam-Golm, Germany.

Freezing stress is a major limiting factor in crop production. To increase frost-hardiness of crops via breeding, deciphering the genes conferring freezing-tolerance is vital. Potato cultivars (Solanum tuberosum) are generally freezing-sensitive, but some potato wild species are freezing-tolerant, including Solanum commersonii, Solanum malmeanum and Solanum acaule. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms conferring the freezing-tolerance to the wild species remain to be deciphered. In this study, five representative genotypes of the above-mentioned species with distinct freezing-tolerance were investigated. Comparative transcriptomics analysis showed that SaCBL1-like (calcineurin B-like protein) was upregulated substantially in all of the freezing-tolerant genotypes. Transgenic overexpression and known-down lines of SaCBL1-like were examined. SaCBL1-like was shown to confer freezing-tolerance without significantly impacting main agricultural traits. A functional mechanism analysis showed that SaCBL1-like increases the expression of the C-repeat binding factor-regulon as well as causes a prolonged higher expression of CBF1 after exposure to cold conditions. Furthermore, SaCBL1-like was found to only interact with SaCIPK3-1 (CBL-interacting protein kinase) among all apparent cold-responsive SaCIPKs. Our study identifies SaCBL1-like to play a vital role in conferring freezing tolerance in potato, which may provide a basis for a targeted potato breeding for frost-hardiness.

PMID: 36041917


Plant Cell Environ , IF:7.228 , 2022 Nov doi: 10.1111/pce.14483

Limitation of sucrose biosynthesis shapes carbon partitioning during plant cold acclimation.

Kitashova, Anastasia and Adler, Stephan O and Richter, Andreas S and Eberlein, Svenja and Dziubek, Dejan and Klipp, Edda and Nagele, Thomas

Plant Evolutionary Cell Biology, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.; Theoretical Biophysics, Institute of Biology, Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.; Institute for Biosciences, Physiology of Plant Metabolism, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.

Cold acclimation is a multigenic process by which many plant species increase their freezing tolerance. Stabilization of photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism plays a crucial role in cold acclimation. To study regulation of primary and secondary metabolism during cold acclimation of Arabidopsis thaliana, metabolic mutants with deficiencies in either starch or flavonoid metabolism were exposed to 4 degrees C. Photosynthesis was determined together with amounts of carbohydrates, anthocyanins, organic acids and enzyme activities of the central carbohydrate metabolism. Starch deficiency was found to significantly delay soluble sugar accumulation during cold acclimation, while starch overaccumulation did not affect accumulation dynamics but resulted in lower total amounts of \sucrose and glucose. Anthocyanin amounts were lowered in both starch deficient and overaccumulating mutants. Vice versa, flavonoid deficiency did not result in a changed starch amount, which suggested a unidirectional signalling link between starch and flavonoid metabolism. Mathematical modelling of carbon metabolism indicated kinetics of sucrose biosynthesis to be limiting for carbon partitioning in leaf tissue during cold exposure. Together with cold-induced dynamics of citrate, fumarate and malate amounts, this provided evidence for a central role of sucrose phosphate synthase activity in carbon partitioning between biosynthetic and dissimilatory pathways which stabilizes photosynthesis and metabolism at low temperature.

PMID: 36329607


J Integr Plant Biol , IF:7.061 , 2022 Oct doi: 10.1111/jipb.13379

CHH methylation of genes associated with fatty acid and jasmonate biosynthesis contributes to cold tolerance in autotetraploids of Poncirus trifoliata.

Wang, Yue and Zuo, Lanlan and Wei, Tonglu and Zhang, Yu and Zhang, Yang and Ming, Ruhong and Bachar, Dahro and Xiao, Wei and Madiha, Khan and Chen, Chuanwu and Fan, Qijun and Li, Chunlong and Liu, Ji-Hong

Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Citrus Biology, Guangxi Academy of Specialty Crops, Guilin, 541004, China.

Polyploids have elevated stress tolerance, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely elusive. In this study, we showed that naturally occurring tetraploid plants of trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.) exhibited enhanced cold tolerance relative to their diploid progenitors. Transcriptome analysis revealed that whole-genome duplication was associated with higher expression levels of a range of well-characterized cold stress-responsive genes. Global DNA methylation profiling demonstrated that the tetraploids underwent more extensive DNA demethylation in comparison with the diploids under cold stress. CHH methylation in the promoters was associated with up-regulation of related genes, whereas CG, CHG, and CHH methylation in the 3'-regions was relevant to gene down-regulation. Of note, genes involved in unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) and jasmonate (JA) biosynthesis in the tetraploids displayed different CHH methylation in the gene flanking regions and were prominently up-regulated, consistent with greater accumulation of UFAs and JA when exposed to the cold stress. Collectively, our findings explored the difference in cold stress response between diploids and tetraploids at both transcriptional and epigenetic levels, and gained new insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying enhanced cold tolerance of the tetraploid. These results contribute to uncovering a novel regulatory role of DNA methylation in better cold tolerance of polyploids.

PMID: 36218272


J Exp Bot , IF:6.992 , 2022 Oct , V73 (18) : P6434-6448 doi: 10.1093/jxb/erac274

The C2H2-type zinc finger protein PhZFP1 regulates cold stress tolerance by modulating galactinol synthesis in Petunia hybrida.

Zhang, Huilin and Sun, Zheng and Feng, Shan and Zhang, Junwei and Zhang, Fan and Wang, Wenen and Hu, Huirong and Zhang, Wei and Bao, Manzhu

Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.; Key Laboratory of Huazhong Urban Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.; National R&D Center for Citrus Preservation, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, China.

The C2H2 zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) play essential roles in regulating cold stress responses. Similarly, raffinose accumulation contributes to freezing stress tolerance. However, the relationship between C2H2 functions and raffinose synthesis in cold tolerance remains uncertain. Here, we report the characterization of the cold-induced C2H2-type zinc finger protein PhZFP1 in Petunia hybrida. PhZFP1 was found to be predominantly localized in the nucleus. Overexpression of PhZFP1 conferred enhanced cold tolerance in transgenic petunia lines. In contrast, RNAi mediated suppression of PhZFP1 led to increased cold susceptibility. PhZFP1 regulated the expression of a range of abiotic stress responsive-genes including genes encoding proteins involved in reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and raffinose metabolism. The accumulation of galactinol and raffinose, and the levels of PhGolS1-1 transcripts, were significantly increased in PhZFP1-overexpressing plants and decreased in PhZFP1-RNAi plants under cold stress. Moreover, the galactinol synthase (GolS)-encoding gene PhGolS1-1 was identified as a direct target of PhZFP1. Taken together, these results demonstrate that PhZFP1 functions in cold stress tolerance by modulation of galactinol synthesis via regulation of PhGolS1-1. This study also provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying C2H2 zinc finger protein-mediated cold stress tolerance, and has identified a candidate gene for improving cold stress tolerance.

PMID: 35726094


Int J Biol Macromol , IF:6.953 , 2022 Nov doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.11.197

VaBAM1 weakens cold tolerance by interacting with the negative regulator VaSR1 to suppress beta-amylase expression.

Liang, Guoping and Hou, Yingjun and Wang, Han and Wang, Ping and Mao, Juan and Chen, Baihong

College of Horticulture, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China.; College of Horticulture, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. Electronic address: maojuan@gsau.edu.cn.; College of Horticulture, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China. Electronic address: bhch@gsau.edu.cn.

Cold stress is a key climatic factor that limits grape productivity and quality. Although beta-amylase (BAM) is known to play an important role as a mediator of starch degradation under conditions of cold stress, the mechanism by which BAM regulates cold tolerance in grape remains unclear. Here, we identified VaBAM1 from Vitis amurensis and characterized its interactive regulating mechanism under cold stress in Arabidopsis thaliana and grape. VaBAM1-overexpressing A. thaliana plants (OEs) exhibited high freezing tolerance. Soluble sugar content and amylase activity were increased in OEs and VaBAM1-overexpressing grape calli (VaBAM1-OEs) under cold stress; however, they were decreased in grape calli in which VaBAM1 was edited using CRISPR/Cas9. The results of yeast two-hybrid, bimolecular fluorescence complementation, and pull-down experiments showed that serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 1 (VaSR1) interacted with VaBAM1. Furthermore, the expression of VaSR1 was opposite that of VaBAM1 in phloem tissue of Vitis amurensis during winter dormancy. In VaSR1-overexpressing grape calli (VaSR1-OEs), BAM activity and the expression levels of C-repeat binding transcription factor and cold response genes were all significantly lower than that in untransformed calli subjected to cold stress. Moreover, VvBAM1 was downregulated in VaSR1-OEs under cold stress. Overall, we identified that VaSR1 interacts with VaBAM1, negatively regulating BAM activity and resulting in decreased plant cold tolerance.

PMID: 36436609


Plant J , IF:6.417 , 2022 Oct , V112 (2) : P383-398 doi: 10.1111/tpj.15950

The OsWRKY63-OsWRKY76-OsDREB1B module regulates chilling tolerance in rice.

Zhang, Mingxing and Zhao, Ranran and Huang, Kai and Huang, Shuangzhan and Wang, Haitao and Wei, Zhiqi and Li, Zhao and Bian, Mingdi and Jiang, Wenzhu and Wu, Tao and Du, Xinglin

Jilin Province Engineering Laboratory of Plant Genetic Improvement, College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China.

Rice (Oryza sativa) is sensitive to low temperatures, which affects the yield and quality of rice. Therefore, uncovering the molecular mechanisms behind chilling tolerance is a critical task for improving cold tolerance in rice cultivars. Here, we report that OsWRKY63, a WRKY transcription factor with an unknown function, negatively regulates chilling tolerance in rice. OsWRKY63-overexpressing rice lines are more sensitive to cold stress. Conversely, OsWRKY63-knockout mutants generated using a CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing approach exhibited increased chilling tolerance. OsWRKY63 was expressed in all rice tissues, and OsWRKY63 expression was induced under cold stress, dehydration stress, high salinity stress, and ABA treatment. OsWRKY63 localized in the nucleus plays a role as a transcription repressor and downregulates many cold stress-related genes and reactive oxygen species scavenging-related genes. Molecular, biochemical, and genetic assays showed that OsWRKY76 is a direct target gene of OsWRKY63 and that its expression is suppressed by OsWRKY63. OsWRKY76-knockout lines had dramatically decreased cold tolerance, and the cold-induced expression of five OsDREB1 genes was repressed. OsWRKY76 interacted with OsbHLH148, transactivating the expression of OsDREB1B to enhance chilling tolerance in rice. Thus, our study suggests that OsWRKY63 negatively regulates chilling tolerance through the OsWRKY63-OsWRKY76-OsDREB1B transcriptional regulatory cascade in rice.

PMID: 35996876


Plant J , IF:6.417 , 2022 Oct , V112 (1) : P235-248 doi: 10.1111/tpj.15944

Temperature modulation of CAMTA3 gene induction activity is mediated through the DNA binding domain.

Chao, Lumen and Kim, Yongsig and Gilmour, Sarah J and Thomashow, Michael F

MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.; MSU Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.; Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.

The calmodulin-binding transcription activator (CAMTA) proteins of Arabidopsis thaliana play a major role in cold acclimation, contributing to the rapid induction of the C-REPEAT BINDING FACTOR (CBF) genes and other genes that impart freezing tolerance in plants exposed to cold temperature (4 degrees C). The goal of this study was to better understand how the gene induction activity of CAMTA3 is modulated by temperature. Our results indicate that a severely truncated version of CAMTA3, CAMTA3(334) , which includes the N-terminal CG-1 DNA binding domain and a newly identified transcriptional activation domain (TAD), was able to rapidly induce the expression of CBF2 and two newly identified target genes, EXPANSIN-LIKE A1 (EXPL1) and NINE-CIS-EPOXYCAROTENOID DIOXYGENASE 3 (NCED3), in response to cold temperature. Additionally, CAMTA3(334) was able to restore freezing tolerance when expressed in a camta23 double mutant. The ability of CAMTA3 and CAMTA3(334) to induce target genes at cold temperature did not involve increased levels of these proteins or increased binding of these proteins to target gene promoters in cold-treated plants. Rather, domain-swapping experiments indicated that the CAMTA3 CG-1 domain conferred temperature dependence to the ability of the CAMTA3 TAD to induce gene expression. The CG-1 domain also enabled the TAD to induce the expression of target genes at a moderate temperature (22 degrees C) in response to cycloheximide treatment, consistent with the TAD activity not being intrinsically temperature dependent. We propose a working model in which the temperature modulation of CAMTA3 gene induction activity occurs independently from the C-terminal calmodulin-binding domains that previously have been proposed to activate CAMTA3 transcriptional activity in response to cold temperature.

PMID: 35960653


Mol Ecol , IF:6.185 , 2022 Nov , V31 (21) : P5568-5580 doi: 10.1111/mec.16666

Polygenic adaptation contributes to the invasive success of the Colorado potato beetle.

Yang, Fangyuan and Crossley, Michael S and Schrader, Lukas and Dubovskiy, Ivan M and Wei, Shu-Jun and Zhang, Runzhi

Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.; Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Institute of Plant and Environmental Protection, Beijing, China.; Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA.; Institute for Evolution & Biodiversity, University of Munster, Munster, Germany.; Laboratory of Biological Plant Protection and Biotechnology, Novosibirsk State Agrarian University, Novosibirsk, Russia.; College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

How invasive species cope with novel selective pressures with limited genetic variation is a fundamental question in molecular ecology. Several mechanisms have been proposed, but they can lack generality. Here, we addressed an alternative solution, polygenic adaptation, wherein traits that arise from multiple combinations of loci may be less sensitive to loss of variation during invasion. We tested the polygenic signal of environmental adaptation of Colorado potato beetle (CPB) introduced in Eurasia. Population genomic analyses showed declining genetic diversity in the eastward expansion of Eurasian populations, and weak population genetic structure (except for the invasion fronts in Asia). Demographic history showed that all populations shared a strong bottleneck about 100 years ago when CPB was introduced to Europe. Genome scans revealed a suite of genes involved in activity regulation functions that are plausibly related to cold stress, including some well-founded functions (e.g., the activity of phosphodiesterase, the G-protein regulator) and discrete functions. Such polygenic architecture supports the hypothesis that polygenic adaptation and potentially genetic redundancy can fuel the adaptation of CPB despite strong genetic depletion, thus representing a promising general mechanism for resolving the genetic paradox of invasion. More broadly, most complex traits based on polygenes may be less sensitive to invasive bottlenecks, thus ensuring the evolutionary success of invasive species in novel environments.

PMID: 35984732


Mol Ecol , IF:6.185 , 2022 Nov doi: 10.1111/mec.16794

Testing the chilling- before drought-tolerance hypothesis in Pooideae grasses.

Das, Aayudh and Dedon, Natalie and Enders, Daniel J and Fjellheim, Siri and Preston, Jill C

The University of Vermont, Department of Plant Biology, 111 Jeffords Hall, 63 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.; Current address: Pennsylvania State University, Department of Biology, University Park, 16802, Pennsylvania, USA.; Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences, As 1432,, Norway.

Temperate Pooideae are a large clade of economically important grasses distributed in some of the Earth's coldest and driest terrestrial environments. Previous studies have inferred that Pooideae diversified from their tropical ancestors in a cold montane habitat, suggesting that above freezing cold (chilling) tolerance evolved early in the subfamily. By contrast, drought tolerance is hypothesized to have evolved multiple times independently in response to global aridification that occurred after the split of Pooideae tribes. To independently test predictions of the chilling before-drought hypothesis in Pooideae, we assessed conservation of whole plant and gene expression traits in response to chilling versus drought. We demonstrated that both trait responses are more similar across tribes in cold as compared to drought, suggesting that chilling responses evolved before, and drought responses after, tribe diversification. Moreover, we found significantly more overlap between drought and chilling responsive genes within a species than between drought responsive genes across species, providing evidence that chilling tolerance genes acted as precursors for the novel acquisition of increased drought tolerance multiple times independently, partially through the cooption of chilling responsive genes.

PMID: 36420966


Int J Mol Sci , IF:5.923 , 2022 Nov , V23 (22) doi: 10.3390/ijms232214472

OsMKKK70 Negatively Regulates Cold Tolerance at Booting Stage in Rice.

Mei, Enyang and Tang, Jiaqi and He, Mingliang and Liu, Zhiqi and Tian, Xiaojie and Bu, Qingyun

Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150081, China.; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.; Key Laboratory of Saline-Alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration (Northeast Forestry University), Ministry of Education, Harbin 150040, China.; College of Life Science, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.; The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.

Cold stress at the booting stage leads to a lower seed setting rate and seriously threatens the production of rice (Oryza sativa L.), which has become a major yield-limiting factor in higher-altitude and -latitude regions. Because cold tolerance at the booting stage (CTB) is a complex trait and is controlled by multiple loci, only a few genes have been reported so far. In this study, a function of OsMKKK70 (Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase Kinase Kinase 70) in response to CTB was characterized. OsMKKK70 expression was rapidly induced by cold stress at the booting stage. OsMKKK70 overexpression (OsMKKK70-OE) plants were more sensitive to cold stress at the booting stage with a lower seed setting and pollen fertility, but there was no significant difference between the osmkkk70 mutant and WT. Considering the effect of functional redundancy, we further tested the CTB response of osmkkk62/70 and osmkkk55/62/70, the double and triple mutants of OsMKKK70 with its closest homologs OsMKKK62 and OsMKKK55, and found that osmkkk62/70 and osmkkk55/62/70 displayed significantly increased CTB with a higher seed setting and pollen fertility, indicating that OsMKKK70 negatively regulates rice CTB. Moreover, under the low-temperature (LT) condition, the osmkkk62/70 mutant had slightly higher Gibberellin (GA) contents, increased expression of GA biosynthesis genes, and lower protein level of OsSLR1 in anthers than those in WT. By contrast, OsMKKK70-OE anther had a lower GA biosynthesis than that of WT. Together, these findings suggest that OsMKKK70 negatively regulates rice CTB by fine-tuning GA levels in anthers.

PMID: 36430953


Int J Mol Sci , IF:5.923 , 2022 Nov , V23 (22) doi: 10.3390/ijms232214244

Cold-Induced Physiological and Biochemical Alternations and Proteomic Insight into the Response of Saccharum spontaneum to Low Temperature.

Zhang, Bao-Qing and Huang, Yu-Xin and Zhou, Zhong-Feng and Zhou, Shan and Duan, Wei-Xing and Yang, Cui-Fang and Gao, Yi-Jing and Zhang, Ge-Min and Song, Xiu-Peng and Zhang, Xiao-Qiu and Li, Ao-Mei and Huang, Dong-Liang and Li, Yang-Rui

Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biotechnology and Genetic Improvement (Guangxi), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Guangxi Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Genetic Improvement/Sugarcane Research Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Sugarcane Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning 530007, China.

Sugarcane, a cash crop, is easily affected by low temperature, which results in a decrease in yield and sugar production. Breeding a new variety with cold tolerance is an essential strategy to reduce loss from cold stress. The identification of germplasms and genes/proteins with cold tolerance is a vital step in breeding sugarcane varieties with cold tolerance via a conventional program and molecular technology. In this study, the physiological and biochemical indices of 22 genotypes of S. spontaneum were measured, and the membership function analysis method was used to comprehensively evaluate the cold tolerance ability of these genotypes. The physiological and biochemical indices of these S. spontaneum genotypes showed a sophisticated response to low temperature. On the basis of the physiological and chemical indices, the genotypes were classified into different cold tolerance groups. Then, the high-tolerance genotype 1027 and the low-tolerance genotype 3217 were selected for DIA-based proteomic analysis by subjecting them to low temperature. From the four comparison groups, 1123, 1341, 751, and 1693 differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) were identified, respectively. The DAPs based on genotypes or treatments participated in distinct metabolic pathways. Through detailed analysis of the DAPs, some proteins related to protein homeostasis, carbohydrate and energy metabolism, amino acid transport and metabolism, signal transduction, and the cytoskeleton may be involved in sugarcane tolerance to cold stress. Furthermore, five important proteins related to cold tolerance were discovered for the first time in this study. This work not only provides the germplasms and candidate target proteins for breeding sugarcane varieties with cold tolerance via a conventional program and molecular breeding, but also helps to accelerate the determination of the molecular mechanism underlying cold tolerance in sugarcane.

PMID: 36430736


Int J Mol Sci , IF:5.923 , 2022 Nov , V23 (22) doi: 10.3390/ijms232214099

Physiology and Molecular Breeding in Sustaining Wheat Grain Setting and Quality under Spring Cold Stress.

Su, Hui and Tan, Cheng and Liu, Yonghua and Chen, Xiang and Li, Xinrui and Jones, Ashley and Zhu, Yulei and Song, Youhong

School of Agronomy, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China.; School of Horticulture, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China.; Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.; Centre for Crop Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.

Spring cold stress (SCS) compromises the reproductive growth of wheat, being a major constraint in achieving high grain yield and quality in winter wheat. To sustain wheat productivity in SCS conditions, breeding cultivars conferring cold tolerance is key. In this review, we examine how grain setting and quality traits are affected by SCS, which may occur at the pre-anthesis stage. We have investigated the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in floret and spikelet SCS tolerance. It includes the protective enzymes scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS), hormonal adjustment, and carbohydrate metabolism. Lastly, we explored quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that regulate SCS for identifying candidate genes for breeding. The existing cultivars for SCS tolerance were primarily bred on agronomic and morphophysiological traits and lacked in molecular investigations. Therefore, breeding novel wheat cultivars based on QTLs and associated genes underlying the fundamental resistance mechanism is urgently needed to sustain grain setting and quality under SCS.

PMID: 36430598


Int J Mol Sci , IF:5.923 , 2022 Nov , V23 (22) doi: 10.3390/ijms232213986

Transcriptome Profiling of Stem-Differentiating Xylem in Response to Abiotic Stresses Based on Hybrid Sequencing in Cunninghamia lanceolata.

Wei, Wentao and Wang, Huiyuan and Liu, Xuqing and Kou, Wenjing and Liu, Ziqi and Wang, Huihui and Yang, Yongkang and Zhao, Liangzhen and Zhang, Hangxiao and Liu, Bo and Ma, Xiangqing and Gu, Lianfeng

College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.; Basic Forestry and Proteomics Research Center, College of Forestry, School of Future Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.

Cunninghamia lanceolata (C. lanceolata) belongs to Gymnospermae, which are fast-growing and have desirable wood properties. However, C. lanceolata's stress resistance is little understood. To unravel the physiological and molecular regulation mechanisms under environmental stresses in the typical gymnosperm species of C. lanceolata, three-year-old plants were exposed to simulated drought stress (polyethylene glycol 8000), salicylic acid, and cold treatment at 4 degrees C for 8 h, 32 h, and 56 h, respectively. Regarding the physiological traits, we observed a decreased protein content and increased peroxidase upon salicylic acid and polyethylene glycol treatment. Superoxide dismutase activity either decreased or increased at first and then returned to normal under the stresses. Regarding the molecular regulation, we used both nanopore direct RNA sequencing and short-read sequencing to reveal a total of 5646 differentially expressed genes in response to different stresses, of which most had functions in lignin catabolism, pectin catabolism, and xylan metabolism, indicating that the development of stem-differentiating xylem was affected upon stress treatment. Finally, we identified a total of 51 AP2/ERF, 29 NAC, and 37 WRKY transcript factors in C. lanceolata. The expression of most of the NAC TFs increased under cold stress, and the expression of most of the WRKY TFs increased under cold and SA stress. These results revealed the transcriptomics responses in C. lanceolata to short-term stresses under this study's experimental conditions and provide preliminary clues about stem-differentiating xylem changes associated with different stresses.

PMID: 36430463


Int J Mol Sci , IF:5.923 , 2022 Nov , V23 (21) doi: 10.3390/ijms232113546

Combined Transcriptome and Metabolome Profiling Provide Insights into Cold Responses in Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) Genotypes with Contrasting Cold-Stress Sensitivity.

Liu, Xinhong and Wei, Ran and Tian, Minyu and Liu, Jinchu and Ruan, Ying and Sun, Chuanxin and Liu, Chunlin

Key Laboratory of Hunan Provincial on Crop Epigenetic Regulation and Development, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China.; Crop Research Institute, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410125, China.; Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Molecular Biology of Ministry of Education, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China.

Low temperature is a major environmental factor, which limits rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) growth, development, and productivity. So far, the physiological and molecular mechanisms of rapeseed responses to cold stress are not fully understood. Here, we explored the transcriptome and metabolome profiles of two rapeseed genotypes with contrasting cold responses, i.e., XY15 (cold-sensitive) and GX74 (cold-tolerant). The global metabolome profiling detected 545 metabolites in siliques of both genotypes before (CK) and after cold-stress treatment (LW). The contents of several sugar metabolites were affected by cold stress with the most accumulated saccharides being 3-dehydro-L-threonic acid, D-xylonic acid, inositol, D-mannose, D-fructose, D-glucose, and L-glucose. A total of 1943 and 5239 differentially expressed genes were identified from the transcriptome sequencing in XY15CK_vs_XY15LW and GX74CK_vs_GX74LW, respectively. We observed that genes enriched in sugar metabolism and biosynthesis-related pathways, photosynthesis, reactive oxygen species scavenging, phytohormone, and MAPK signaling were highly expressed in GX74LW. In addition, several genes associated with cold-tolerance-related pathways, e.g., the CBF-COR pathway and MAPK signaling, were specifically expressed in GX74LW. Contrarily, genes in the above-mentioned pathways were mostly downregulated in XY15LW. Thus, our results indicate the involvement of these pathways in the differential cold-stress responses in XY15 and GX74.

PMID: 36362332


Int J Mol Sci , IF:5.923 , 2022 Nov , V23 (21) doi: 10.3390/ijms232113418

Isolation and Functional Analysis of VvWRKY28, a Vitis vinifera WRKY Transcription Factor Gene, with Functions in Tolerance to Cold and Salt Stress in Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana.

Liu, Wei and Liang, Xiaoqi and Cai, Weijia and Wang, Hao and Liu, Xu and Cheng, Longfei and Song, Penghui and Luo, Guijie and Han, Deguo

Suqian Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Suqian 223800, China.; National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Development and Utilization of Small Fruits in Cold Regions/Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (Northeast Region), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/College of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China.; Institute of Rural Revitalization Science and Technology, Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150028, China.

The grape (Vitis vinifera L.) not only has a long history of cultivation, but also has rich nutritional value and high economic value. However, grapes often face many threats in the growth process. For example, low temperature and salt stress restrict the growth status, yield, and geographical distribution of grapes. WRKY, as one of the largest transcription factor (TF) families in plants, participates in the response of plants to stress. VvWRKY28, a new zinc finger type transcriptional regulator gene, was isolated from Beichun (V. vinifera x V.amurensis) in this study. From the subcellular localization results, it can be concluded that VvWRKY28 was localized in the nucleus. The expression of VvWRKY28 was enriched in leaves (young and mature leaves), and cold and high salt conditions can induce high expression of VvWRKY28. After being transferred into Arabidopsis, VvWRKY28 greatly improved the tolerance of Arabidopsis to low temperature and high salt and also changed many physiological and biochemical indicators of transgenic Arabidopsis to cope with cold and high salt stimulation. The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was decreased, but for chlorophyll and proline, their content increased, and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) were improved. In addition, under cold stress, binding with cis-acting elements promotes the expression of downstream genes related to cold stress (RAB18, COR15A, ERD10, PIF4, COR47, and ICS1). Moreover, it also plays an active role in regulating the expression of genes related to salt stress (NCED3, SnRK2.4, CAT2, SOD1, SOS2, and P5CS1) under salt stress. Therefore, these results provide evidence that VvWRKY28 may play a role in the process of plant cold and salt stress tolerance.

PMID: 36362205


Int J Mol Sci , IF:5.923 , 2022 Oct , V23 (21) doi: 10.3390/ijms232113208

Genome-Wide Association Mapping Identifies New Candidate Genes for Cold Stress and Chilling Acclimation at Seedling Stage in Rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Li, Jianguo and Khatab, Ahmed Adel and Hu, Lihua and Zhao, Liyan and Yang, Jiangyi and Wang, Lingqiang and Xie, Guosheng

State Key Laboratory for Conservation & Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.; College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.; College of Life Science & Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a chilling-sensitive staple food crop, and thus, low temperature significantly affects rice growth and yield. Many studies have focused on the cold shock of rice although chilling acclimation is more likely to happen in the field. In this paper, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was used to identify the genes that participated in cold stress and chilling accumulation. A total of 235 significantly associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. Among them, we detected 120 and 88 SNPs for the relative shoot fresh weight under cold stress and chilling acclimation, respectively. Furthermore, 11 and 12 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified for cold stress and chilling acclimation, respectively, by integrating the co-localized SNPs. Interestingly, we identified 10 and 15 candidate genes in 11 and 12 QTLs involved in cold stress and chilling acclimation, respectively, and two new candidate genes (LOC_Os01g62410, LOC_Os12g24490) were obviously up-regulated under chilling acclimation. Furthermore, OsMYB3R-2 (LOC_Os01g62410) that encodes a R1R2R3 MYB gene was associated with cold tolerance, while a new C3HC4-type zinc finger protein-encoding gene LOC_Os12g24490 was found to function as a putative E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase in rice. Moreover, haplotype, distribution, and Wright's fixation index (FST) of both genes showed that haplotype 3 of LOC_Os12g24490 is more stable in chilling acclimation, and the SNP (A > T) showed a difference in latitudinal distribution. FST analysis of SNPs in OsMYB3R-2 (LOC_Os01g62410) and LOC_Os12g24490 indicated that several SNPs were under selection in rice indica and japonica subspecies. This study provided new candidate genes in genetic improvement of chilling acclimation response in rice.

PMID: 36361995


Int J Mol Sci , IF:5.923 , 2022 Sep , V23 (19) doi: 10.3390/ijms231911599

Genome-Wide Investigation and Expression Analysis of the Nitraria sibirica Pall. CIPK Gene Family.

Zhu, Liming and Fang, Hao and Lian, Ziming and Zhang, Jingbo and Li, Xinle and Shi, Jisen and Lu, Lu and Lu, Ye and Chen, Jinhui and Cheng, Tielong

Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics & Biotechnology of Ministry of Education of China, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.; College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.; Experimental Center of Desert Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Dengkou, Bayannur 015200, China.

The calcineurin B-like-interacting protein kinase (CIPK) protein family plays a key role in the plant calcium ion-mediated signal transduction pathway, which regulates a plant's response to abiotic stress. Nitraria sibirica pall. (N. sibirica) is a halophyte with a strong tolerance for high salt environments, yet how it is able to deal with salt stress on a molecular level is still unknown. Due to their function as described in other plant species, CIPK genes are prime candidates for a role in salt stress signaling in N. sibirica. In this study, we identified and analyzed the phylogenetic makeup and gene expression of the N. sibirica CIPK gene family. A total of 14 CIPKs were identified from the N. sibirica genome and were clustered into seven groups based on their phylogeny. The promoters of NsCIPK genes contained multiple elements involved in hormonal and stress response. Synteny analysis identified a total of three pairs of synteny relationships between NsCIPK genes. Each gene showed its own specific expression pattern across different tissues, with the overall expression of CIPK6 being the lowest, and that of CIPK20 being the highest. Almost all CIPK genes tended to respond to salt, drought, and cold stress, but with different sensitivity levels. In this study, we have provided a general description of the NsCIPK gene family and its expression, which will be of great significance for further understanding of the NsCIPK gene family function.

PMID: 36232901


Front Plant Sci , IF:5.753 , 2022 , V13 : P1039329 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1039329

WRKY transcription factors (TFs): Molecular switches to regulate drought, temperature, and salinity stresses in plants.

Khoso, Muneer Ahmed and Hussain, Amjad and Ritonga, Faujiah Nurhasanah and Ali, Qurban and Channa, Muhammed Malook and Alshegaihi, Rana M and Meng, Qinglin and Ali, Musrat and Zaman, Wajid and Brohi, Rahim Dad and Liu, Fen and Manghwar, Hakim

Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang, Jiangxi, China.; Department of Life Science, Key Laboratory of Saline-alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China.; College of Plant Science and Technology, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China.; State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China.; Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Monitoring and Management of Crop Diseases and Pest Insects, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, China.; Biology Section, Nobles International School, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.; Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.; Department of Biology and Food Engineering, Bozhou University, Bozhou, China.; Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan.; Department of Life Sciences, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, South Korea.; Department of Animal Reproduction/Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Sakrand, Pakistan.

The WRKY transcription factor (TF) belongs to one of the major plant protein superfamilies. The WRKY TF gene family plays an important role in the regulation of transcriptional reprogramming associated with plant stress responses. Change in the expression patterns of WRKY genes or the modifications in their action; participate in the elaboration of numerous signaling pathways and regulatory networks. WRKY proteins contribute to plant growth, for example, gamete formation, seed germination, post-germination growth, stem elongation, root hair growth, leaf senescence, flowering time, and plant height. Moreover, they play a key role in many types of environmental signals, including drought, temperature, salinity, cold, and biotic stresses. This review summarizes the current progress made in unraveling the functions of numerous WRKY TFs under drought, salinity, temperature, and cold stresses as well as their role in plant growth and development.

PMID: 36426143


Front Plant Sci , IF:5.753 , 2022 , V13 : P1035627 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1035627

The bZIP transcription factors in Liriodendron chinense: Genome-wide recognition, characteristics and cold stress response.

Li, Mingyue and Hwarari, Delight and Li, Yang and Ahmad, Baseer and Min, Tian and Zhang, Wenting and Wang, Jinyan and Yang, Liming

College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China.; Innovation Center of Excellence, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, China.; School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China.

The basic leucine zipper (bZIP) is a transcription factor family that plays critical roles in abiotic and biotic stress responses as well as plant development and growth. A comprehensive genome-wide study in Liriodendron chinense was conducted to identify 45 bZIP transcription factors (LchibZIPs), which were divided into 13 subgroups according the phylogenetic analysis. Proteins in the same subgroup shared similar gene structures and conserved domains, and a total of 20 conserved motifs were revealed in LchibZIP proteins. Gene localization analysis revealed that LchibZIP genes were unequally distributed across 16 chromosomes, and that 4 pairs of tandem and 9 segmental gene duplications existed. Concluding that segmental duplication events may be strongly associated with the amplification of the L. chinense bZIP gene family. We also assessed the collinearity of LchibZIPs between the Arabidopsis and Oryza and showed that the LchibZIP is evolutionarily closer to O. sativa as compared to the A. thaliana. The cis-regulatory element analysis showed that LchibZIPs clustered in one subfamily are involved in several functions. In addition, we gathered novel research suggestions for further exploration of the new roles of LchibZIPs from protein-protein interactions and gene ontology annotations of the LchibZIP proteins. Using the RNA-seq data and qRT-PCR we analyzed the gene expression patterns of LchibZIP genes, and showed that LchibZIP genes regulate cold stress, especially LchibZIP4 and LchibZIP7; and LchibZIP2 and LchibZIP28 which were up-regulated and down-regulated by cold stress, respectively. Studies of genetic engineering and gene function in L. chinense can benefit greatly from the thorough investigation and characterization of the L. chinense bZIP gene family.

PMID: 36420021


Front Plant Sci , IF:5.753 , 2022 , V13 : P1025122 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1025122

Genome mining reveals abiotic stress resistance genes in plant genomes acquired from microbes via HGT.

Li, Liangzhi and Peng, Shuguang and Wang, Zhenhua and Zhang, Teng and Li, Hongguang and Xiao, Yansong and Li, Jingjun and Liu, Yongjun and Yin, Huaqun

School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha, China.; Key Laboratory of Biometallurgy of Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha, China.; Hunan Tobacco Science Institute, Changsha, China.; Zhangjiajie Tobacco Company of Hunan Province, Zhangjiajie, China.; Hunan Urban and Rural Environmental Construction Co., Ltd, Changsha, China.; Chenzhou Tobacco Company of Hunan Province, Chenzhou, China.

Colonization by beneficial microbes can enhance plant tolerance to abiotic stresses. However, there are still many unknown fields regarding the beneficial plant-microbe interactions. In this study, we have assessed the amount or impact of horizontal gene transfer (HGT)-derived genes in plants that have potentials to confer abiotic stress resistance. We have identified a total of 235 gene entries in fourteen high-quality plant genomes belonging to phyla Chlorophyta and Streptophyta that confer resistance against a wide range of abiotic pressures acquired from microbes through independent HGTs. These genes encode proteins contributed to toxic metal resistance (e.g., ChrA, CopA, CorA), osmotic and drought stress resistance (e.g., Na(+)/proline symporter, potassium/proton antiporter), acid resistance (e.g., PcxA, ArcA, YhdG), heat and cold stress resistance (e.g., DnaJ, Hsp20, CspA), oxidative stress resistance (e.g., GST, PoxA, glutaredoxin), DNA damage resistance (e.g., Rad25, Rad51, UvrD), and organic pollutant resistance (e.g., CytP450, laccase, CbbY). Phylogenetic analyses have supported the HGT inferences as the plant lineages are all clustering closely with distant microbial lineages. Deep-learning-based protein structure prediction and analyses, in combination with expression assessment based on codon adaption index (CAI) further corroborated the functionality and expressivity of the HGT genes in plant genomes. A case-study applying fold comparison and molecular dynamics (MD) of the HGT-driven CytP450 gave a more detailed illustration on the resemblance and evolutionary linkage between the plant recipient and microbial donor sequences. Together, the microbe-originated HGT genes identified in plant genomes and their participation in abiotic pressures resistance indicate a more profound impact of HGT on the adaptive evolution of plants.

PMID: 36407614


Front Plant Sci , IF:5.753 , 2022 , V13 : P964897 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.964897

Identification and expression analysis of pineapple sugar transporters reveal their role in the development and environmental response.

Fakher, Beenish and Jakada, Bello Hassan and Greaves, Joseph G and Wang, Lulu and Niu, Xiaoping and Cheng, Yan and Zheng, Ping and Aslam, Mohammad and Qin, Yuan and Wang, Xiaomei

Guangxi Key Lab of Sugarcane Biology, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning, China.; Horticulture Research Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning Investigation Station of South Subtropical Fruit Trees, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanning, China.; Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.

In plants, sugars are required for several essential functions, including growth, storage, signaling, defense and reproduction. Sugar transporters carry out the controlled movement of sugars from source (leaves) to sink (fruits and roots) tissues and determine the overall development of the plant. Various types of sugar transporter families have been described in plants, including sucrose transporters (SUC/SUT), monosaccharide transporter (MST) and SWEET (from "Sugar Will Eventually be Exported Transporters"). However, the information about pineapple sugar transporters is minimal. This study systematically identified and classified 45 MST and 4 SUC/SUT genes in the pineapple genome. We found that the expression patterns of sugar transporter genes have a spatiotemporal expression in reproductive and vegetative tissues indicating their pivotal role in reproductive growth and development. Besides, different families of sugar transporters have a diel expression pattern in photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic tissues displaying circadian rhythm associated participation of sugar transporters in the CAM pathway. Moreover, regulation of the stress-related sugar transporters during cold stress indicates their contribution to cold tolerance in pineapple. Heterologous expression (yeast complementation assays) of sugar transporters in a mutant yeast strain suggested that SUT1/2 have the ability to transport sucrose, and STP13, STP26, pGlcT-L2 and TMT4 are able to transport glucose, whereas SWEET11/13 transport both sucrose and fructose. The information provided here would help researchers further explore the underlying molecular mechanism involved in the sugar metabolism of pineapple.

PMID: 36352877


Front Plant Sci , IF:5.753 , 2022 , V13 : P1035414 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1035414

Polyamine pathways interconnect with GABA metabolic processes to mediate the low-temperature response in plants.

Xu, Mengyun and Yang, Qinwen and Bai, Genxiang and Li, Ping and Yan, Jian

Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment in the Tropics, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Eco-Circular Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.; Guangdong Engineering Research Centre for Modern Eco-Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.; College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.

Low temperatures are among the most commonly encountered environmental conditions that adversely affect plant growth and development, leading to substantial reductions in crop productivity. Plants have accordingly evolved coordinated mechanisms that confer low-temperature adaptation and resistance. The plant metabolic network, including polyamines (PAs) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is reprogrammed to ensure that essential metabolic homeostasis is maintained in response to cold stress conditions. Additionally, GABA might serve as a central molecule in the defense system during low-temperature tolerance in plants. However, our understanding of how these metabolites function in conferring cold tolerance is still far from complete. Here, we summarized how PAs and GABA function in conferring cold tolerance, and describe the crucial role of GABA in the mitigation of ROS during cold stress in plants.

PMID: 36340403


Front Plant Sci , IF:5.753 , 2022 , V13 : P1009747 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1009747

Transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling of strawberry during postharvest cooling and heat storage.

Zheng, Ting and Lv, Jinhua and Sadeghnezhad, Ehsan and Cheng, Jianhui and Jia, Haifeng

Institute of Horticulture, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.; College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.

Temperature is one of the most important factors regarding fruit postharvest, however its effects in the strawberry fruits quality in postharvest remains to be evaluated. In this study, the effects of cold and heat storage temperature on fruit quality of 'Benihoppe' strawberry were performed. The results showed that different temperatures could affect the metabolism of hormone, anthocyanin, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and transcription level of responsive factors. The synthesis of terpenoids, amino acids, and phenylpropanoids in strawberries were also changed under different temperatures, which finally changed the quality characteristics of the fruit. We found HSF20 (YZ1)-overexpressed fruits were sensitive to cold and heat conditions but CBF/NF-Y (YZ9)-overexpressed fruits promoted coloring under cold treatment. This study clarified the effect of postharvest cooling and heat treatments on quality and transcriptional mechanism of strawberries fruits. Moreover, these results provided an experimental basis for further research on improving the quality of strawberry berries during postharvest periods.

PMID: 36311118


Front Plant Sci , IF:5.753 , 2022 , V13 : P998400 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.998400

Temporal regulation of cold transcriptional response in switchgrass.

Ranaweera, Thilanka and Brown, Brianna N I and Wang, Peipei and Shiu, Shin-Han

Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States.; Department of Energy (DOE) Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States.; Kunpeng Institute of Modern Agriculture at Foshan, Foshan, China.; Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China.; Department of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States.

Switchgrass low-land ecotypes have significantly higher biomass but lower cold tolerance compared to up-land ecotypes. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying cold response, including the ones at transcriptional level, can contribute to improving tolerance of high-yield switchgrass under chilling and freezing environmental conditions. Here, by analyzing an existing switchgrass transcriptome dataset, the temporal cis-regulatory basis of switchgrass transcriptional response to cold is dissected computationally. We found that the number of cold-responsive genes and enriched Gene Ontology terms increased as duration of cold treatment increased from 30 min to 24 hours, suggesting an amplified response/cascading effect in cold-responsive gene expression. To identify genomic sequences likely important for regulating cold response, machine learning models predictive of cold response were established using k-mer sequences enriched in the genic and flanking regions of cold-responsive genes but not non-responsive genes. These k-mers, referred to as putative cis-regulatory elements (pCREs) are likely regulatory sequences of cold response in switchgrass. There are in total 655 pCREs where 54 are important in all cold treatment time points. Consistent with this, eight of 35 known cold-responsive CREs were similar to top-ranked pCREs in the models and only these eight were important for predicting temporal cold response. More importantly, most of the top-ranked pCREs were novel sequences in cold regulation. Our findings suggest additional sequence elements important for cold-responsive regulation previously not known that warrant further studies.

PMID: 36299783


Front Plant Sci , IF:5.753 , 2022 , V13 : P1005811 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1005811

Cloning, characterization and functional analysis of NtMYB306a gene reveals its role in wax alkane biosynthesis of tobacco trichomes and stress tolerance.

Yu, Jing and Lei, Bo and Zhao, Huina and Wang, Bing and Kakar, Kaleem U and Guo, Yushuang and Zhang, Xiaolian and Jia, Mengao and Yang, Hui and Zhao, Degang

Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences/Institute of Agro-bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China.; Guizhou Academy of Tobacco Science, Molecular Genetics Key Laboratory of China Tobacco, Guiyang, China.; Department of Microbiology, Baluchistan University of Information Technology and Managemnet Sciences, Quetta, Pakistan.; Plant Conservation Technology Center, Guizhou Key Laboratory of Agricultural Biotechnology, Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guiyang, China.

Trichomes are specialized hair-like organs found on epidermal cells of many terrestrial plants, which protect plant from excessive transpiration and numerous abiotic and biotic stresses. However, the genetic basis and underlying mechanisms are largely unknown in Nicotiana tabacum (common tobacco), an established model system for genetic engineering and plant breeding. In present study, we identified, cloned and characterized an unknown function transcription factor NtMYB306a from tobacco cultivar K326 trichomes. Results obtained from sequence phylogenetic tree analysis showed that NtMYB306a-encoded protein belonged to S1 subgroup of the plants' R2R3-MYB transcription factors (TFs). Observation of the green fluorescent signals from NtMYB306a-GFP fusion protein construct exhibited that NtMYB306a was localized in nucleus. In yeast transactivation assays, the transformed yeast containing pGBKT7-NtMYB306a construct was able to grow on SD/-Trp-Ade+X-alpha-gal selection media, signifying that NtMYB306a exhibits transcriptional activation activity. Results from qRT-PCR, in-situ hybridization and GUS staining of transgenic tobacco plants revealed that NtMYB306a is primarily expressed in tobacco trichomes, especially tall glandular trichomes (TGTs) and short glandular trichomes (SGTs). RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and qRT-PCR analysis of the NtMYB306a-overexpressing transgenic tobacco line revealed that NtMYB306a activated the expression of a set of key target genes which were associated with wax alkane biosynthesis. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) exhibited that the total alkane contents and the contents of n-C28, n-C29, n-C31, and ai-C31 alkanes in leaf exudates of NtMYB306a-OE lines (OE-3, OE-13, and OE-20) were significantly greater when compared to WT. Besides, the promoter region of NtMYB306a contained numerous stress-responsive cis-acting elements, and their differential expression towards salicylic acid and cold stress treatments reflected their roles in signal transduction and cold-stress tolerance. Together, these results suggest that NtMYB306a is necessarily a positive regulator of alkane metabolism in tobacco trichomes that does not affect the number and morphology of tobacco trichomes, and that it can be used as a candidate gene for improving stress resistance and the quality of tobacco.

PMID: 36275561


Front Plant Sci , IF:5.753 , 2022 , V13 : P1019709 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1019709

An advanced systems biology framework of feature engineering for cold tolerance genes discovery from integrated omics and non-omics data in soybean.

Kao, Pei-Hsiu and Baiya, Supaporn and Lai, Zheng-Yuan and Huang, Chih-Min and Jhan, Li-Hsin and Lin, Chian-Jiun and Lai, Ya-Syuan and Kao, Chung-Feng

Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.; Department of Resource and Environment, Faculty of Science at Sriracha, Kasetsart University, Sriracha, Thailand.; Advanced Plant Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.

Soybean is sensitive to low temperatures during the crop growing season. An urgent demand for breeding cold-tolerant cultivars to alleviate the production loss is apparent to cope with this scenario. Cold-tolerant trait is a complex and quantitative trait controlled by multiple genes, environmental factors, and their interaction. In this study, we proposed an advanced systems biology framework of feature engineering for the discovery of cold tolerance genes (CTgenes) from integrated omics and non-omics (OnO) data in soybean. An integrative pipeline was introduced for feature selection and feature extraction from different layers in the integrated OnO data using data ensemble methods and the non-parameter random forest prioritization to minimize uncertainties and false positives for accuracy improvement of results. In total, 44, 143, and 45 CTgenes were identified in short-, mid-, and long-term cold treatment, respectively, from the corresponding gene-pool. These CTgenes outperformed the remaining genes, the random genes, and the other candidate genes identified by other approaches in an independent RNA-seq database. Furthermore, we applied pathway enrichment and crosstalk network analyses to uncover relevant physiological pathways with the discovery of underlying cold tolerance in hormone- and defense-related modules. Our CTgenes were validated by using 55 SNP genotype data of 56 soybean samples in cold tolerance experiments. This suggests that the CTgenes identified from our proposed systematic framework can effectively distinguish cold-resistant and cold-sensitive lines. It is an important advancement in the soybean cold-stress response. The proposed pipelines provide an alternative solution to biomarker discovery, module discovery, and sample classification underlying a particular trait in plants in a robust and efficient way.

PMID: 36247545


Front Plant Sci , IF:5.753 , 2022 , V13 : P1036254 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1036254

Overexpression of Pyrus sinkiangensis HAT5 enhances drought and salt tolerance, and low-temperature sensitivity in transgenic tomato.

Liu, Xiaoyan and Li, Aowei and Wang, Saisai and Lan, Chengfang and Wang, Yize and Li, Jin and Zhu, Jianbo

Key Laboratory of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China.

The homeodomain-leucine zipper protein HAT belongs to the homeodomain leucine zipper subfamily (HD-Zip) and is important for regulating plant growth and development and stress tolerance. To investigate the role of HAT5 in tolerance to drought, salt, and low temperature stress, we selected a HAT gene from Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu (Pyrus sinkiangensis T.T. Yu). The sequences were analyzed using ioinformatics, and the overexpressed tomato lines were obtained using molecular biology techniques. The phenotypes, physiological, and biochemical indexes of the wild-type and transgenic tomato lines were observed under different stress conditions. We found that the gene had the highest homology with PbrHAT5. Under drought and NaCl stress, osmotic regulatory substances (especially proline) were significantly accumulated, and antioxidant enzyme activities were enhanced. The malondialdehyde level and relative electrical conductivity of transgenic tomatoes under low temperature (freezing) stress were significantly higher than those of wild-type tomatoes. The reactive oxygen species scavenging system was unbalanced. This study found that PsHAT5 improved the tolerance of tomatoes to drought and salt stress by regulating proline metabolism and oxidative stress ability, reducing the production of reactive oxygen species, and maintaining normal cell metabolism. In conclusion, the PsHAT5 transcription factor has great potential in crop resistance breeding, which lays a theoretical foundation for future excavation of effective resistance genes of the HD-Zip family and experimental field studies.

PMID: 36420018


Front Plant Sci , IF:5.753 , 2022 , V13 : P1021483 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1021483

Sprayed biodegradable liquid film improved the freezing tolerance of cv. Cabernet Sauvignon by up-regulating soluble protein and carbohydrate levels and alleviating oxidative damage.

Han, Xing and Yao, Fei and Xue, Ting-Ting and Wang, Zhi-Lei and Wang, Ying and Cao, Xiao and Hui, Miao and Wu, Dong and Li, Yi-Han and Wang, Hua and Li, Hua

College of Enology, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, China.; School of Wine, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China.; China Wine Industry Technology Institute, Yinchuan, China.; Shaanxi Engineering Research Center for Viti-Viniculture, Yangling, China.; Engineering Research Center for Viti-Viniculture, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Yangling, China.

Most cultivars of Vitis vinifera L. are very sensitive to cold. As an exogenous protectant, Biodegradable Liquid Film (BLF) is considered to protect winegrapes from low temperatures and dry winds for safe overwintering. This study aimed to reveal the physiological and biochemical mechanisms of BLF regulating the freezing tolerance of wine grapes. Groups of ten-year-old vines (Cabernet Sauvignon) were sprayed with BLF in November 2020 and 2021, or left untreated as a control treatment, and field plant mortality after overwintering were investigated. Branch samples were collected monthly for determination of biochemical indicators. Dormant two-year-old cuttings (Cabernet Sauvignon) were also used for the determination of relative expression levels of key genes. The results showed that the application of BLF reduced the branch semi-lethal temperature in January and February samples compared with control, and reduced the mortality of above-ground parts, branches and buds. The physiological status of shoots was greatly affected by the climatic conditions of the year, but BLF treatment increased the levels of soluble protein and soluble sugar, and also decreased the content of superoxide anion and malondialdehyde at most sampling times. Correlation analysis showed that the differences in freezing tolerance between BLF and no treated overwintering(CK) vines were mainly related to peroxidase activity, soluble sugar, reducing sugar and starch content. Low temperature stress activated the over expression of ICE1, CBF1, and CBF3, especially for 12h. BLF treatment significantly increased the expression levels of CBF1 and CBF3 under low temperature stress. Overall, these results demonstrate that BLF treatment protects vines from freezing damage by upregulating osmo-regulatory substances and alleviating oxidative damage.

PMID: 36388526


J Agric Food Chem , IF:5.279 , 2022 Nov , V70 (43) : P13849-13861 doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.2c05470

Characterization of Cuticular Wax in Tea Plant and Its Modification in Response to Low Temperature.

Zhu, Junyan and Huang, Kelin and Cheng, Daojie and Zhang, Cao and Li, Rui and Liu, Fangbin and Wen, Huilin and Tao, Lingling and Zhang, Youze and Li, Cuihong and Liu, Shengrui and Wei, Chaoling

State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Tea Processing of Ministry of Agriculture, Anhui Provincial Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, West 130 Changjiang Road, Hefei 230036, Anhui, People's Republic of China.; Tianfang Tea Company Limited by Share, Tianfang Industrial Park, Chizhou 245100, Anhui, People's Republic of China.

Cuticular wax ubiquitously covers the outer layer of plants and protects them against various abiotic and biotic stresses. Nevertheless, the characteristics of cuticular wax and its role in cold resistance in tea plants remain unclear. In our study, cuticular wax from different tissues, cultivars, and leaves during different spatio-temporal growth stages were characterized and compared in tea plants. The composition, distribution pattern, and structural profile of cuticular wax showed considerable tissue specificity, particularly in petals and seeds. During the spatial development of tea leaves, total wax content increased from the first to fifth leaf in June, while a decreasing pattern was observed in September. Additionally, the total wax content and number of wax compounds were enhanced, and the wax composition significantly varied with leaf growth from June to September. Ten cultivars showed considerable differences in total wax content and composition, such as the predominance of saturated fatty acids and primary alcohols in SYH and HJY cultivars, respectively. Correlation analysis suggested that n-hexadecanoic acid is positively related to cold resistance in tea plants. Further transcriptome analysis from cold-sensitive AJBC, cold-tolerant CYQ, and EC 12 cultivars indicated that the inducible expression of wax-related genes was associated with the cold tolerance of different cultivars in response to cold stress. Our results revealed the characterization of cuticular wax in tea plants and provided new insights into its modification in cold tolerance.

PMID: 36268795


Biology (Basel) , IF:5.079 , 2022 Oct , V11 (10) doi: 10.3390/biology11101520

Genome-Wide Analysis of the Almond AP2/ERF Superfamily and Its Functional Prediction during Dormancy in Response to Freezing Stress.

Yu, Zhenfan and Zhang, Dongdong and Hu, Shaobo and Liu, Xingyue and Zeng, Bin and Gao, Wenwen and He, Yawen and Qin, Huanxue and Ma, Xintong

College of Horticulture, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830000, China.; Guangzhou Institute of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Guangzhou 510000, China.

The AP2/ERF transcription factor family is one of the largest transcription factor families in plants and plays an important role in regulating plant growth and development and the response to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, there is no report on the AP2/ERF gene family in almond (Prunus dulcis). In this study, a total of 136 PdAP2/ERF genes were identified from the almond genome, and their protein physicochemical properties were analyzed. The PdAP2/ERF members were divided into five subgroups: AP2, RAV, ERF, DREB, and Soloist. The PdAP2/ERF members in each subgroup had conserved motif types and exon/intron numbers. PdAP2/ERFS members are distributed on eight chromosomes, with 22 pairs of segmental duplications and 28 pairs of tandem duplications. We further explored the colinear relationship between almond and Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, Malus domestica, and Prunus persicaAP2/ERF genes and their evolution. The results of cis-acting elements showed that PdAP2/ERF members are widely involved in various processes, such as growth and development, hormone regulation, and stress response. The results based on transcriptome expression patterns showed that PdAP2/ERF genes had significant tissue-specific expression characteristics and were involved in the response of annual dormant branches of almond to low-temperature freezing stress. In addition, the fluorescence quantitative relative expression results of 13 representative PdAP2/ERF genes in four tissues of 'Wanfeng' almond and under six low-temperature freezing treatments of annual dormant branches were consistent with the transcriptome results. It is worth noting that the fluorescence quantitative expression level showed that the PdERF24 gene was extremely significant at -30 degrees C, suggesting that this gene may play an important role in the response of almond dormancy to ultralow temperature freezing stress. Finally, we identified 7424 and 6971 target genes based on AP2 and ERF/DREB DNA-binding sites, respectively. The GO and KEGG enrichment results showed that these target genes play important roles in protein function and multiple pathways. In summary, we conducted bioinformatics and expression pattern studies on PdAP2/ERF genes, including 13 PdAP2/ERF genes, and performed fluorescence quantitative analysis of annual dormant shoots under different low-temperature freezing stress treatments to understand the tolerance of almond dormancy to freezing stress and suggest future improvements.

PMID: 36290423


Plant Sci , IF:4.729 , 2022 Oct , V326 : P111525 doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2022.111525

Transcriptomic and hormonal analysis of the roots of maize seedlings grown hydroponically at low temperature.

Friero, Ivan and Larriba, Eduardo and Martinez-Melgarejo, Purificacion A and Justamante, Maria Salud and Alarcon, M Victoria and Albacete, Alfonso and Salguero, Julio and Perez-Perez, Jose Manuel

Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Ecologia y Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain. Electronic address: ifrierom@alumnos.unex.es.; Instituto de Bioingenieria, Universidad Miguel Hernandez, 03202 Elche, Spain. Electronic address: elarriba@umh.es.; Departamento de Nutricion Vegetal, CEBAS-CSIC, 30100 Murcia, Spain. Electronic address: pmelgarejo@cebas.csic.es.; Instituto de Bioingenieria, Universidad Miguel Hernandez, 03202 Elche, Spain. Electronic address: mjustamante@umh.es.; Area de Agronomia de Cultivos Lenosos y Horticolas, Instituto de Investigaciones Agrarias "La Orden-Valdesequera" (CICYTEX), Junta de Extremadura, 06187 Badajoz, Spain. Electronic address: maria.alarcon@juntaex.es.; Departamento de Nutricion Vegetal, CEBAS-CSIC, 30100 Murcia, Spain. Electronic address: alfonsoa.albacete@carm.es.; Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Ecologia y Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain. Electronic address: salguero@unex.es.; Instituto de Bioingenieria, Universidad Miguel Hernandez, 03202 Elche, Spain. Electronic address: jmperez@umh.es.

Prolonged cold stress has a strong effect on plant growth and development, especially in subtropical crops such as maize. Soil temperature limits primary root elongation, mainly during early seedling establishment. However, little is known about how moderate temperature fluctuations affect root growth at the molecular and physiological levels. We have studied root tips of young maize seedlings grown hydroponically at 30 masculineC and after a short period (up to 24 h) of moderate cooling (20 masculineC). We found that both cell division and cell elongation in the root apical meristem are affected by temperature. Time-course analyses of hormonal and transcriptomic profiles were achieved after temperature reduction from 30 masculineC to 20 masculineC. Our results highlighted a complex regulation of endogenous pathways leading to adaptive root responses to moderate cooling conditions.

PMID: 36328179


Plant Sci , IF:4.729 , 2022 Dec , V325 : P111481 doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2022.111481

StLTO1, a lumen thiol oxidoreductase in Solanum tuberosum L., enhances the cold resistance of potato plants.

Song, Qiping and Wang, Xipan and Liu, Yang and Brestic, Marian and Yang, Xinghong

College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, China.; Department of Plant Physiology, Slovak University of Agriculture, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic.; College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, China. Electronic address: xhyang@sdau.edu.cn.

Cold stress reduces plant photosynthesis and increases the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants, thereby dramatically affecting plant growth, crop productivity and quality. Here, we report that lumen thiol oxidoreductase 1 (StLTO1), a vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKOR)-like protein in the thylakoid membrane of Solanum tuberosum L., enhances the cold tolerance of potato plants. Under normal conditions, overexpression of StLTO1 in plants promoted plant growth. In addition, potato plants overexpressing StLTO1 displayed enhanced photosynthetic capacity and increased capacity for scavenging ROS compared to StLTO1 knockdown and wild-type potato plants under cold conditions. Overexpression of StLTO1 in potato plants also improved cold-regulated (COR) gene expression after cold stress. Our results suggest that StLTO1 acts as a positive regulator of cold resistance in potato plants.

PMID: 36181944


Plant Sci , IF:4.729 , 2022 Dec , V325 : P111463 doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2022.111463

CsCBF5 depletion impairs cold tolerance in tea plants.

Zhang, Xianchen and Cao, Xiaojie and Xia, Yuhui and Ban, Qiuyan and Cao, Lu and Li, Siya and Li, Yeyun

State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China.; College of Horticulture, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.; State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China; College of Horticulture, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.; State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China. Electronic address: Liyeyun360@163.com.

CBFs play important roles in tea plant cold tolerance. In our study, 16 tea varieties were used to investigate the relationship between the expression level of CsCBFs and cold tolerance in field experiments. A strong and positive correlation was found between cold stress-regulated CsCBF1, CsCBF3 and CsCBF5 expression levels (R(2) > 0.8) in tea mesophyll cells and cold tolerance in 16 tea varieties. A previous study reported that CsCBF1 and CsCBF3 were important components associated with cold tolerance in tea plants; thus, the function of CsCBF5 in the CsCBF family was targeted. Our previous study reported that CsCBF5 was localized in the nucleus and exhibited transcriptional activity. In the current study, MDA content in leaves was significantly increased in CsCBF5-silenced leaves, which exhibited poor cold tolerance, compared with WT plants under cold stress. In contrast, increased germination rates and antioxidant enzyme activities under cold conditions compared with WT plants. Furthermore, CsCBF5 overexpression in Arabidopsis promoted the expression levels of the cold-regulated genes AtCOR15a, AtCOR78, AtERD4 and AtRD29B; however, the expression levels of downstream genes, including CsCOR47, CsCOR413, CsERD4 and CsRD29B, were significantly reduced in CsCBF5-silenced tea leaves. Taken together, our results indicated that CsCBF5 could function as a positive regulator in the cold stress response.

PMID: 36126878


Plant Sci , IF:4.729 , 2022 Dec , V325 : P111450 doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2022.111450

vvi-miPEP172b and vvi-miPEP3635b increase cold tolerance of grapevine by regulating the corresponding MIRNA genes.

Chen, Qiu-Ju and Zhang, Li-Peng and Song, Shi-Ren and Wang, Lei and Xu, Wen-Ping and Zhang, Cai-Xi and Wang, Shi-Ping and Liu, Huai-Feng and Ma, Chao

Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271000, China.; Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, Xinjiang, China; Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Key Laboratory of Special Fruits and Vegetables Cultivation Physiology and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Shihezi 832003, Xinjiang, China.; Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.; Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China. Electronic address: chaoma2015@sjtu.edu.cn.

As a kind of small molecular weight proteins, many peptides have been discovered, including peptides encoded by pri-miRNA (miPEPs). Similar as traditional phytohormone or signaling molecular, these peptides participate in numerous plant growth processes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important regulatory role in plant stress response. While the roles of miPEPs in response to abiotic stress has not been studied now. In this study, to explore whether miPEPs could contribute to low temperature (4 masculineC) tolerance of plants, the expression pattern of 23 different vvi-MIRs were analyzed by qRT-PCR in 'Thompson Seedless' (Vitis vinifera) plantlets under cold stress (4 masculineC) firstly, and vvi-MIR172b and vvi-MIR3635b which showed an elevated expression levels were selected to identify miPEPs. Through transient expression, one small open reading frame (sORF) in each of the two pri-miRNAs could increase the expression of corresponding vvi-MIR, and the amino acid sequences of sORFs were named vvi-miPEP172b and vvi-miPEP3635b, respectively. The synthetic vvi-miPEP172b and vvi-miPEP3635b were applied to the grape plantlets, and the tissue culture plantlets exhibited a higher cold tolerance compared with the control groups. These results revealed the effective roles of miPEPs in plant cold stress resistance for the first time, providing a theoretical basis for the future application of miPEPs to agricultural production.

PMID: 36075277


Plant Sci , IF:4.729 , 2022 Oct , V323 : P111370 doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2022.111370

A novel long noncoding RNA CIL1 enhances cold stress tolerance in Arabidopsis.

Liu, Guangchao and Liu, Fuxia and Wang, Yue and Liu, Xin

Key Lab of Plant Biotechnology in University of Shandong Province, College of Life Science, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China.; Key Lab of Plant Biotechnology in University of Shandong Province, College of Life Science, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China. Electronic address: liuxin6080@126.com.

With the intensification of global warming, extreme weather events have occurred more frequently, among which cold stress has become one of the major environmental factors that restrict global crop yield and production. Multiple long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been predicted or recognized in the plant response to cold stress, however, the molecular biological functions of most of these RNAs are still poorly understood. Here, we identified a novel lncRNA, COLD INDUCED lncRNA 1 (CIL1), as a positive regulator of the plant response to cold stress in Arabidopsis. CIL1 was significantly induced when the plant was exposed to cold stress. Moreover, knockdown mutants showed more sensitivity to cold stress than the wild type did, accompanied by an increased content of endogenous ROS (reactive oxygen species) and reduced osmoregulatory substances. Genome-wide transcriptome analysis indicated that 256 genes were downregulated and 34 genes were upregulated in cil1 mutants under cold stress, which were mainly involved in hormone signal transduction, ROS homeostasis and glucose metabolism. Our study implies that CIL1 has a positive effect on the plant response to cold stress by regulating the expression of multiple stress-related genes during the seedling stage.

PMID: 35788028


Plant Cell Rep , IF:4.57 , 2022 Nov doi: 10.1007/s00299-022-02949-9

StICE1 enhances plant cold tolerance by directly upregulating StLTI6A expression.

Wang, Xipan and Song, Qiping and Guo, Hao and Liu, Yang and Brestic, Marian and Yang, Xinghong

State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, China.; Department of Plant Physiology, Slovak University of Agriculture, A. Hlinku 2, Nitra, 94976, Slovak Republic.; State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, China. xhyang@sdau.edu.cn.

Under cold conditions, StICE1 enhances plant cold tolerance by upregulating StLTI6A expression to maintain the cell membrane stability. Cold stress affects potato plants growth and development, crop productivity and quality. The ICE-CBF-COR regulatory cascade is the well-known pathway in response to cold stress in plants. ICE1, as a MYC-like bHLH transcription factor, can regulate the expressions of CBFs. However, whether ICE1 could regulate other genes still need to be explored. Our results showed that overexpressing ICE1 from potato in Arabidopsis thaliana could enhance plant cold tolerance. Under cold stress, overexpressed StICE1 in plants improved the stability of cell membrane, enhanced scavenging capacity of reactive oxygen species and increased expression levels of CBFs and COR genes. Furthermore, StICE1 could bind to the promoter of StLTI6A gene, which could maintain the stability of the cell membrane, to upregulate StLTI6A expression under cold conditions. Our findings revealed that StICE1 could directly regulate StLTI6A, CBF and COR genes expression to response to cold stress.

PMID: 36371722


Plant Cell Rep , IF:4.57 , 2022 Oct , V41 (10) : P1955-1973 doi: 10.1007/s00299-022-02894-7

Abscisic acid induces the expression of AsKIN during the recovery period of garlic cryopreservation.

Xing, Xiaodong and Liu, Min and Jiang, Fangling and Zhou, Rong and Bai, Yunhe and Wei, Hanyu and Zhang, Deng and Wei, Jingjing and Wu, Zhen

College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, 1 Weigang, Nanjing, 210095, China.; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology and Germplasm Innovation in East China, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanjing, China.; College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, 1 Weigang, Nanjing, 210095, China. zpzxyy@163.com.; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology and Germplasm Innovation in East China, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanjing, China. zpzxyy@163.com.

Abscisic acid induced the expression of AsKIN during the recovery period of garlic cryopreservation. AsKIN was identified as a gene involved in cold and osmotic stress resistance. Cryopreservation has been proven to be effective in removing viruses from garlic. However, oxidative damage in cryopreservation has a significant impact on the survival after preservation. Abscisic acid (ABA) has been shown to reduce oxidative stress and promote the survival after cryopreservation. However, it is not clear which genes play important roles in this process. In this study, we added ABA to the dehydration step and analyzed the transcriptomic divergences between the ABA-treated group and the control group in three cryogenic steps (dehydration, unloading and recovery). By short time-series expression miner (STEM) analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), the recovery step was identified as the period of significant changes in gene expression levels in cryopreservation. The addition of ABA promoted the upregulated expression of microtubule-related genes in the recovery step. We further identified AsKIN as a hub gene in the recovery step and verified its function. The results showed that overexpression of AsKIN enhanced the tolerance of Arabidopsis to oxidative stress in cryopreservation, influenced the expression of genes in response to cold and osmotic stress and promoted plant growth after stress. The AsKIN gene is likely to be involved in the plant response to cold stress and osmotic stress. These results reveal the molecular mechanisms of ABA in cryopreservation and elucidate the potential biological functions of the kinesin-14 subfamily.

PMID: 36066602


Plant Cell Rep , IF:4.57 , 2022 Oct , V41 (10) : P2005-2022 doi: 10.1007/s00299-022-02905-7

Drought priming induces chilling tolerance and improves reproductive functioning in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.).

Saini, Rashmi and Das, Rangman and Adhikary, Arindam and Kumar, Rashpal and Singh, Inderjit and Nayyar, Harsh and Kumar, Sanjeev

Centre for Biosciences, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, 151401, India.; Department of Botany, School of Biological Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, 151401, India.; Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, 141004, India.; Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India.; Centre for Biosciences, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, 151401, India. sanjeevpuchd@gmail.com.; Department of Botany, School of Biological Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, 151401, India. sanjeevpuchd@gmail.com.

Priming alleviates membrane damage, chlorophyll degradation along with cryoprotectants accumulation during chilling stress that leads to improved reproductive functioning and increased seed yield. Chilling temperatures below 15 degrees C have severe implications on the reproductive growth and development of chickpea. The abnormal reproductive development and subsequent reproductive failure lead to substantial yield loss. We exposed five chickpea cultivars (PBG1, GPF2, PDG3, PDG4, and PBG5) to drought stress (Priming) during the vegetative stage and analyzed for chilling tolerance during the reproductive stage. These varieties were raised in the fields in two sets: one set of plants were subjected to drought stress at the vegetative stage for 30 days (priming) and the second set of plants were irrigated regularly (non-primed). The leaf samples were harvested at the flowering, podding, and seed filling stage and analyzed for membrane damage, water status, chlorophyll content, cellular respiration, and certain cryoprotective solutes. The reproductive development was analyzed by accessing pollen viability, in vivo and in vitro germination, pollen load, and in vivo pollen tube growth. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that priming improved membrane damage, chlorophyll b degradation, and accumulation of cryoprotectants in GPF2, PDG3, and PBG5 at the flowering stage (< 15 degrees C). Pearson's correlation analysis showed a negative correlation with the accumulation of proline and carbohydrates with flower, pod, and seed abortion. Only, PBG5 responded best to priming while PBG1 was worst. In PBG5, priming resulted in reduced membrane damage and lipid peroxidation, improved water content, reduced chlorophyll degradation, and enhanced cryoprotective solutes accumulation, which led to increased reproductive functioning and finally improved seed yield and harvest index. Lastly, the priming response is variable and cultivar-specific but overall improve plant tolerance.

PMID: 35916939


Microb Ecol , IF:4.552 , 2022 Oct , V84 (3) : P643-675 doi: 10.1007/s00248-021-01849-x

Himalayan Microbiomes for Agro-environmental Sustainability: Current Perspectives and Future Challenges.

Suyal, Deep Chandra and Joshi, Divya and Kumar, Saurabh and Bhatt, Pankaj and Narayan, Arun and Giri, Krishna and Singh, Manali and Soni, Ravindra and Kumar, Rakshak and Yadav, Ashok and Devi, Rubee and Kaur, Tanvir and Kour, Divjot and Yadav, Ajar Nath

Department of Microbiology, Akal College of Basic Sciences, Eternal University, Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh, India.; Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board, Regional Office, Kashipur, Uttarakhand, India.; Division of Crop Research, Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna, Bihar, India.; State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.; Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, 2480 06, India.; Rain Forest Research Institute, Jorhat, 785 010, India.; Department of Biotechnology, Invertis Institute of Engineering and Technology (IIET), Invertis University, Bareilly, 243123, Uttar Pradesh, India.; Department of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Agriculture, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.; Department of Biotechnology, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, India.; Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.; Microbial Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Dr. Khem Singh Gill Akal College of Agriculture, Eternal University, Baru Sahib, Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh, India.; Microbial Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Dr. Khem Singh Gill Akal College of Agriculture, Eternal University, Baru Sahib, Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh, India. ajar@eternaluniversity.edu.in.

The Himalayas are one of the most mystical, yet least studied terrains of the world. One of Earth's greatest multifaceted and diverse montane ecosystems is also one of the thirty-four global biodiversity hotspots of the world. These are supposed to have been uplifted about 60-70 million years ago and support, distinct environments, physiography, a variety of orogeny, and great biological diversity (plants, animals, and microbes). Microbes are the pioneer colonizer of the Himalayas that are involved in various bio-geological cycles and play various significant roles. The applications of Himalayan microbiomes inhabiting in lesser to greater Himalayas have been recognized. The researchers explored the applications of indigenous microbiomes in both agricultural and environmental sectors. In agriculture, microbiomes from Himalayan regions have been suggested as better biofertilizers and biopesticides for the crops growing at low temperature and mountainous areas as they help in the alleviation of cold stress and other biotic stresses. Along with alleviation of low temperature, Himalayan microbes also have the capability to enhance plant growth by availing the soluble form of nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and iron. These microbes have been recognized for producing plant growth regulators (abscisic acid, auxin, cytokinin, ethylene, and gibberellins). These microbes have been reported for bioremediating the diverse pollutants (pesticides, heavy metals, and xenobiotics) for environmental sustainability. In the current perspectives, present review provides a detailed discussion on the ecology, biodiversity, and adaptive features of the native Himalayan microbiomes in view to achieve agro-environmental sustainability.

PMID: 34647148


Physiol Plant , IF:4.5 , 2022 Nov : Pe13820 doi: 10.1111/ppl.13820

Plasma membrane proteomic changes of Arabidopsis DRP1E during cold acclimation in association with the enhancement of freezing tolerance.

Watanabe, Etsuko and Kondo, Mariko and Kamal, Md Mostafa and Uemura, Matsuo and Takahashi, Daisuke and Kawamura, Yukio

Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka, Japan.; United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Iwate University, Morioka, Japan.; Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama, Japan.

The freezing tolerance of plants that live in cold regions increases after exposure to low temperature, a process termed cold acclimation (CA). During CA, restructuring of the plasma membrane (PM) is important to enhance freezing tolerance. We have previously shown that the function of DYNAMIN-RELATED PROTEIN 1E (DRP1E), which regulates endocytosis by pinching vesicles from the PM, is associated with the enhancement of freezing tolerance during CA in Arabidopsis. DRP1E is predicted to play a role in reconstituting the PM composition during CA. In this study, to test the validity of this hypothesis, we studied the changes in PM proteome patterns induced by drp1e mutation. In a detailed physiological analysis, after 3 days of CA, only young leaves showed significantly less increase in freezing tolerance in the mutant than in the wild type (WT). Using nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, 496 PM proteins were identified. Among these proteins, 81 or 71 proteins were specifically altered in the WT or the mutant, respectively, in response to CA. Principal component analysis showed that the proteomic pattern differed between the WT and the mutant upon cold acclimation, suggesting that DRP1E contributes to reconstruction of the PM during CA. Cluster analysis revealed that proteins that were significantly increased in the mutant after CA were biased toward glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins, such as fasciclin-like arabinogalactan proteins. Thus, a primary target of DRP1E-associated PM reconstruction during CA is considered to be glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins, which may be removed from the PM by DRP1E in young leaves after 3 days of CA.

PMID: 36335535


Physiol Plant , IF:4.5 , 2022 Nov : Pe13812 doi: 10.1111/ppl.13812

Cold acclimation threshold induction temperatures of switchgrass ecotypes grown under a long and short photoperiod.

Willick, Ian R and Lowry, David B

Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.; Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.; Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.; Department of Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.

Plants can cold acclimate to enhance their freezing tolerance by sensing declining temperature and photoperiod cues. However, the factors influencing genotypic variation in the induction of cold acclimation are poorly understood among perennial grasses. We hypothesized that the more northern upland switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) ecotype develops a higher degree of freezing tolerance by initiating cold acclimation at higher temperatures as compared with the coastal and southern lowland ecotypes. First, we determined the optimal method for assessing freezing tolerance and the length of exposure to 8/4 degrees C required to induce the maximum level of freezing tolerance in the most northern upland and most southern lowland genotypes. We characterized the maximum freezing tolerance of eight upland, three coastal and five lowland genotypes grown for 21 d at 8/4 degrees C and a 10 or 16 h photoperiod. Next, we identified the temperature required to induce cold acclimation by exposing the 16 genotypes for 7 d at 20 to 6 degrees C constant temperatures under a 10 or 16 h photoperiod. Cold acclimation initiated at temperatures 5 and 7 degrees C higher in upland than coastal and lowland genotypes. Among upland genotypes the shorter photoperiod induced cold acclimation at a 1 degrees C higher temperature. Genotypes originating from a more northern latitude initiate cold acclimation at higher temperatures and develop higher maximum freezing tolerances. An earlier response to declining temperatures may provide the upland ecotype with additional time to prepare for winter and provide an advantage when plants are subjected to the rapid changes in fall temperature associated with injurious frosts. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID: 36326192


Plant Physiol Biochem , IF:4.27 , 2022 Oct , V192 : P285-297 doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.10.017

Genome-wide identification of RsGRAS gene family reveals positive role of RsSHRc gene in chilling stress response in radish (Raphanus sativus L.).

Li, Cui and Wang, Kai and Chen, Sen and Zhang, Xiaoli and Zhang, Xinyu and Fan, Lianxue and Dong, Junhui and Xu, Liang and Wang, Yan and Li, Ying and Liu, Liwang

National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Biology and Genetic Improvement (East China) of MOAR, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: 2018204025@njau.edu.cn.; National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Biology and Genetic Improvement (East China) of MOAR, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: 2018204026@njau.edu.cn.; National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Biology and Genetic Improvement (East China) of MOAR, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: 2021204028@stu.njau.edu.cn.; National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Biology and Genetic Improvement (East China) of MOAR, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: 2020204030@njau.edu.cn.; National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Biology and Genetic Improvement (East China) of MOAR, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: 2020104073@stu.njau.edu.cn.; National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Biology and Genetic Improvement (East China) of MOAR, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: 2016204023@njau.edu.cn.; National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Biology and Genetic Improvement (East China) of MOAR, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: 2019204029@njau.edu.cn.; National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Biology and Genetic Improvement (East China) of MOAR, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: nauxuliang@njau.edu.cn.; National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Biology and Genetic Improvement (East China) of MOAR, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: wangyanhs@njau.edu.cn.; National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Biology and Genetic Improvement (East China) of MOAR, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: yingli@njau.edu.cn.; National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Biology and Genetic Improvement (East China) of MOAR, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China; College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, PR China. Electronic address: nauliulw@njau.edu.cn.

Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) is an important worldwide root vegetable crop. Little information of the GRAS gene family was available in radish. Herein, a total of 51 GRAS family members were firstly identified from radish genome, and unevenly located onto nine radish chromosomes. Expression analysis of RsGRAS genes in taproot displayed that RsSCL15a and RsSHRc were highly expressed in the radish cambium, and its expression level was increased with the taproot thickening. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that the expression patterns of RsGRAS genes varied upon exposure to different abiotic stresses including heavy metals, salt and heat. The expression level of six RsGRAS genes including RsSHRc was increased under chilling stress in two radish genotypes with different cold tolerance. Further analysis indicated that RsGRAS genes could respond to cold stress rapidly and the expression of RsSHRc was up-regulated at different development stages (cortex splitting and thickening stages) under long-term cold treatment. Transient expression of RsSHRc gene in radish showed that RsSHRc possessed the reliable function of eliminating reactive oxygen species (ROS), inhibiting the formation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and promoting to accumulate proline under cold stress. Together, these findings provided insights into the function of RsGRAS genes in taproot development and chilling stress response in radish.

PMID: 36283201


Plant Physiol Biochem , IF:4.27 , 2022 Oct , V192 : P218-229 doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.10.011

The transcription factor VaMYC2 from Chinese wild Vitis amurensis enhances cold tolerance of grape (V. vinifera) by up-regulating VaCBF1 and VaP5CS.

Hu, Yafan and Zhang, Hongjuan and Gu, Bao and Zhang, Jianxia

College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology and Germplasm Innovation in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid Areas, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China. Electronic address: 893771696@qq.com.; College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology and Germplasm Innovation in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid Areas, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China. Electronic address: 3260807764@qq.com.; College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology and Germplasm Innovation in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid Areas, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China. Electronic address: gubaoscience@163.com.; College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology and Germplasm Innovation in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid Areas, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China. Electronic address: zhangjx666@126.com.

Cultivated grapes, one of the most important fruit crops in the world, are sensitive to low temperature. Since Chinese wild grape Vitis amurensis is highly tolerant to cold, it is imperative to study and utilize its cold-tolerance genes for molecular breeding. Here, a VaMYC2 gene from V. amurensis was cloned, and its function was investigated by expressing VaMYC2 in the cold-sensitive V. vinifera cultivar 'Thompson Seedless'. The expression of VaMYC2 could be induced by cold stress, methyl jasmonate and ethylene treatment, but was inhibited by abscisic acid in leaves of V. amurensis. When transgenic grape lines expressing VaMYC2 were subjected to cold stress (-1 degrees C) for 41 h, the transgenic lines showed less freezing injury and lower electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content, but higher contents of soluble sugars, soluble proteins and proline, and antioxidant enzyme activities compared with wild-type. Moreover, the expression of some cold-tolerance related genes increased in transgenic lines. Besides, the interactions of VaMYC2 with VaJAZ1 and VaJAZ7B were confirmed by yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays. Yeast one-hybrid and dual luciferase assays showed that VaMYC2 can bind to the promoters of VaCBF1 and VaP5CS and activate their expressions. In conclusion, expression of VaMYC2 in V. vinifera enhances cold tolerance of transgenic grapes which is attributed to enhanced accumulation of osmotic regulatory substances, cell membrane stability, antioxidant enzyme activity, and expression of cold tolerance-related genes. Also, VaMYC2 interacts with VaJAZ1 and VaJAZ7, and activates the expression of VaCBF1 and VaP5CS to mediate cold tolerance in grapes.

PMID: 36272189


Plant Physiol Biochem , IF:4.27 , 2022 Oct , V192 : P10-19 doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.09.031

Cold stress-induced changes in metabolism of carbonyl compounds and membrane fatty acid composition in chickpea.

Javidi, Mohammad Reza and Maali-Amiri, Reza and Poormazaheri, Helen and Sadeghi Niaraki, Mina and Kariman, Khalil

Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, 31587-77871, Karaj, Iran.; Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, 31587-77871, Karaj, Iran. Electronic address: rmamiri@ut.ac.ir.; UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia.

In this study, changes in membrane fatty acid (FA) composition and damage indices contents as well as the transcript patterns of carbonyl-detoxifying genes were evaluated in two chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes, cold-tolerant Sel96th11439 and cold-sensitive ILC533 under cold stress (CS; 4 degrees C). During CS, H(2)O(2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents increased (by 47% and 57%, respectively) in the sensitive genotype, while these contents remained unchanged in the tolerant genotype. In tolerant plants, higher content of linoleic, linolenic, unsaturated FAs (UFAs), total FAs and double bond index (DBI) (by 23, 21, 19, 17 and 9%, respectively) was observed at 6 days after stress (DAS) compared to sensitive plants, which, along with alterations of the damage indices, indicate their enhanced tolerance to CS. Compared with the sensitive genotype, less lipoxygenase (LOX) activity (by 59%) in the tolerant genotype was accompanied by decreased MDA and increased levels of UFAs and DBI during CS, particularly at 6 DAS. Upregulation of aldehyde dehydrogenase and aldo-keto reductase genes (by 9- and 10-fold, respectively) at 1 DAS, along with the enhanced transcript levels of aldehyde reductase and 2-alkenal reductase (by 3- and 14.7-fold, respectively) at 6 DAS were accompanied by increased UFAs and reduced MDA contents in the tolerant genotype. Overall, the results suggest that cold tolerance in chickpea was partly associated with regulation of membrane FA compositions and the potential metabolic networks involved in synthesis and degradation of carbonyl compounds.

PMID: 36201983


Plant Physiol Biochem , IF:4.27 , 2022 Nov , V190 : P262-276 doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.09.011

Involvement of NO and Ca(2+) in the enhancement of cold tolerance induced by melatonin in winter turnip rape (Brassica rapa L.).

Ma, Cheng and Pei, Zi-Qi and Bai, Xue and Feng, Ju-Yan and Zhang, Lu and Fan, Jie-Ru and Wang, Juan and Zhang, Teng-Guo and Zheng, Sheng

College of Life Sciences, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, China.; College of Life Sciences, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, China. Electronic address: zhangtengguo@163.com.; College of Life Sciences, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, China. Electronic address: zhengsheng@nwnu.edu.cn.

As a multifunctional phytohormone, melatonin (Mel) plays pivotal roles in plant responses to multiple stresses. However, its mechanism of action remains elusive. In the present study, we evaluated the role of NO and Ca(2+) signaling in Mel enhanced cold tolerance in winter turnip rape. The results showed that the NO content and concentration of intracellular free Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)](cyt)) increased by 35.42% and 30.87%, respectively, in the leaves of rape seedlings exposed to cold stress. Compared with those of the seedlings in cold stress alone, the NO content and concentration of [Ca(2+)](cyt) in rape seedlings pretreated with Mel increased further. In addition, the Mel-mediated improvement of cold tolerance was inhibited by L-NAME (a NO synthase inhibitor), tungstate (a nitrate reductase inhibitor), LaCl(3) (a Ca(2+) channel blocker), and EGTA (a Ca(2+) chelator), and this finding was mainly reflected in the increase in ROS content and the decrease in osmoregulatory capacity, photosynthetic efficiency and antioxidant enzyme activities, and expression levels of antioxidant enzyme genes. These findings suggest that NO and Ca(2+) are necessary for Mel to improve cold tolerance and function synergistically downstream of Mel. Notably, the co-treatment of Mel with L-NAME, tungstate, LaCl(3), or EGTA also inhibited the Mel-induced expression of MAPK3/6 under cold stress. In conclusion, NO and Ca(2+) are involved in the enhancement of cold tolerance induced by Mel through activating the MAPK cascades in rape seedlings, and a crosstalk may exist between NO and Ca(2+) signaling.

PMID: 36152511


Plant Physiol Biochem , IF:4.27 , 2022 Nov , V190 : P81-89 doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.08.019

A critical review on plant annexin: Structure, function, and mechanism.

Wu, Xiaoxia and Wang, Yan and Bian, Yuhao and Ren, Yan and Xu, Xiaoying and Zhou, Fucai and Ding, Haidong

Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of Ministry of Education of China/College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China.; College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China. Electronic address: fczhou@yzu.edu.cn.; Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of Ministry of Education of China/College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China. Electronic address: hdding@yzu.edu.cn.

Plant annexins are evolutionary conserved protein family widely exist in almost all plant species, characterized by a shorter N-terminal region and four conservative annexin repeats. Plant annexins have Ca(2+) channel-regulating activity and peroxidase as well as ATPase/GTPase activities, which give annexins functional specificity. They are widely involved in regulating diverse aspects of biochemical and cellular processes, plant growth and development, and responses to biotic and abiotic environmental stresses. Though many studies have reviewed the function of annexins, great progress have been made in the study of plant annexins recently. In this review, we outline the current understanding of basic properties of plant annexins and summarize the emerging advances in understanding the functional roles of annexins in plants and highlight the regulation mechanisms of annexin protein in response to stress especially to salt and cold stress. The interesting questions related to plant annexin that remain to be further elucidated are also discussed.

PMID: 36108355


Plant Physiol Biochem , IF:4.27 , 2022 Nov , V190 : P47-61 doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.08.024

CROP PRODUCTION UNDER COLD STRESS: An understanding of plant responses, acclimation processes, and management strategies.

Soualiou, Soualihou and Duan, Fengying and Li, Xia and Zhou, Wenbin

Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.; Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China. Electronic address: zhouwenbin@caas.cn.

In the context of climate change, the magnitude and frequency of temperature extremes (low and high temperatures) are increasing worldwide. Changes to the lower extremes of temperature, known as cold stress (CS), are one of the recurrent stressors in many parts of the world, severely limiting agricultural production. A series of plant reactions to CS could be generalized into morphological, physiological, and biochemical responses based on commonalities among crop plants. However, the differing originality of crops revealed varying degrees of sensitivity to cold and, therefore, exhibited large differences in these responses among the crops. This review discusses the vegetative and reproductive growth effects of CS and highlights the species-specific aspect of each growth stage whereby the reproductive growth CS appears more detrimental in rice and wheat, with marginal yield losses. To mitigate CS negative effects, crop plants have evolved cold-acclimation mechanisms (with differing capability), characterized by specific protein accumulation, membrane modification, regulation of signaling pathways, osmotic regulation, and induction of endogenous hormones. In addition, we reviewed a comprehensive account of management strategies for regulating tolerance mechanisms of crop plants under CS.

PMID: 36099808


Plant Physiol Biochem , IF:4.27 , 2022 Oct , V189 : P83-93 doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.08.013

Exogenous 5-aminolevulinic acid alleviates low-temperature damage by modulating the xanthophyll cycle and nutrient uptake in tomato seedlings.

Zhang, Zhengda and Yuan, Luqiao and Ma, Yongbo and Kang, Zhen and Zhou, Fan and Gao, Yi and Yang, Shichun and Li, Tianlai and Hu, Xiaohui

College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Protected Horticultural Engineering in Northwest, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Shaanxi Protected Agriculture Research Centre, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.; College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.; College of Horticulture, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, China. Electronic address: tianlaili@126.com.; College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Protected Horticultural Engineering in Northwest, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Shaanxi Protected Agriculture Research Centre, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China. Electronic address: hxh1977@163.com.

5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA), an antioxidant existing in plants, has been widely reported to participate in the process of coping with cold stress of plants. In this study, exogenous ALA promoted the growth of tomato plants and alleviated the appearance of purple tomato leaves under low-temperature stress. At the same time, exogenous ALA improved antioxidant enzyme activities, SlSOD gene expression, Fv/Fm, and proline contents and reduced H(2)O(2) contents, SlRBOH gene expression, relative electrical conductivity, and malondialdehyde contents to alleviate the damage caused by low temperature to tomato seedlings. Compared with low-temperature stress, spraying exogenous ALA before low-temperature stress could restore the indicators of photochemical quenching, actual photochemical efficiency, electron transport rate, and nonphotochemical quenching to normal. Exogenous ALA could increase the total contents of the xanthophyll cycle pool, the positive de-epoxidation rate of the xanthophyll cycle and improved the expression levels of key genes in the xanthophyll cycle under low-temperature stress. In addition, we found that exogenous ALA significantly enhanced the absorption of mineral nutrients, promoted the transfer and distribution of mineral nutrients to the leaves, and improved the expression levels of mineral nutrient absorption-related genes, which were all conducive to the improved adaptation of tomato seedlings under low-temperature stress. In summary, the application of exogenous ALA can increase tomato seedlings' tolerance to low-temperature stress by improving the xanthophyll cycle and the ability of the absorption of mineral nutrients in tomato seedlings.

PMID: 36058015


Plant Physiol Biochem , IF:4.27 , 2022 Nov , V191 : P10-19 doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.09.015

Genome-wide identification of the CDPK gene family reveals the CDPK-RBOH pathway potential involved in improving chilling tolerance in peach fruit.

Zhao, Liangyi and Xie, Bing and Hou, Yuanyuan and Zhao, Yaqin and Zheng, Yonghua and Jin, Peng

College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: 2020208012@stu.njau.edu.cn.; College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: 2017208006@njau.edu.cn.; College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: 2019208027@njau.edu.cn.; College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: 2020108024@stu.njau.edu.cn.; College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: zhengyh@njau.edu.cn.; College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: pjin@njau.edu.cn.

Calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK), as an essential calcium receptor, plays a major role in the perception and decoding of intracellular calcium signaling in plant development and stress responses. Here, the CDPK gene family was analyzed at the genome-wide level in peach. This study identified 17 PpCDPK gene members from the peach genome, and systematically investigated phylogenetic relationships, conserved motifs, exon-intron structures, chromosome distribution, and cis-acting elements of each PpCDPK gene using bioinformatics. Furthermore, the expression levels of most PpCDPK genes were significantly changed under the CaCl(2), EBR, GB, cold shock, hot water treatments, and various temperatures in the cold storage of peach fruits. RNA-seq data showed that PpCDPK2, PpCDPK7, PpCDPK10, and PpCDPK13 were related to postharvest chilling stress in peach. The interaction network of PpCDPK7 protein showed that the interaction between PpCDPK7 and PpRBOH may be the intersectional point of Ca(2+) and ROS signal transmission during cold storage of peach fruits. These systematic analyses are helpful to further characterize the regulation of PpCDPKs and CDPK-RBOH mediated signal cascades in postharvest chilling injury in peach fruit.

PMID: 36174282


Plant Physiol Biochem , IF:4.27 , 2022 Nov , V194 : P52-59 doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2022.10.032

Terahertz spectroscopic monitoring and analysis of citrus leaf water status under low temperature stress.

Zang, Ziyi and Li, Zaoxia and Wang, Jie and Lu, Xingxing and Lyu, Qiang and Tang, Mingjie and Cui, Hong-Liang and Yan, Shihan

College of Instrumentation and Electrical Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130061, China; Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Chongqing, 400714, China.; Citrus Research Institute, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400712, China.; Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Chongqing, 400714, China; Chongqing School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing, 400714, China.; College of Instrumentation and Electrical Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130061, China; Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Chongqing, 400714, China. Electronic address: hcui@jlu.edu.cn.; Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Chongqing, 400714, China; Chongqing School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing, 400714, China. Electronic address: yanshihan@cigit.ac.cn.

Low temperature stress, in the form of chilling and freezing, is one of the major environmental factors impacting on citrus yield, which changes plant's water state and results in the crops' sub-health or injury. The innovative terahertz (THz) spectroscopy and imaging based sensing technology has been shown to be a suitable tool for plant leaf water status determination, due to THz radiation's innate sensitivity to hydrogen bond vibration in aqueous solutions, which is usually related to plant phenotype change. We demonstrate experimentally that the THz absorption coefficient of leaf could be used for distinguishing plant's physiological stress status, exhibiting clear decreasing or increasing trend under chilling or freezing stress respectively. The underlying rationale might be that membrane damage shows a diverse pattern, changing the intra- or extra-cellular liquid environments, likely being linked to the various THz spectral characteristics. There were different adaptations in leaf morphology, leading to different leaf density, which in turn affects the water volume fraction. Moreover, different patterns of the dynamic equilibrium state of free water and bound water under chilling and freezing treatment were revealed by THz spectroscopy. Here, THz spectroscopic monitoring has shown unique potential for judging citrus's low temperature stress state through bio-water detection and discrimination.

PMID: 36375327


BMC Plant Biol , IF:4.215 , 2022 Nov , V22 (1) : P547 doi: 10.1186/s12870-022-03921-1

Genome-wide identification, molecular evolution and expression analysis of the non-specific lipid transfer protein (nsLTP) family in Setaria italica.

Li, Feng and Fan, Kai and Guo, Xuhu and Liu, Jianxia and Zhang, Kun and Lu, Ping

College of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Shanxi Datong University, Datong, 037009, China. LF_sxdtdx@163.com.; Research and Development Center of Agricultural Facility Technology, Shanxi Datong University, Datong, 037009, China. LF_sxdtdx@163.com.; Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, College of Crop Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.; College of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Shanxi Datong University, Datong, 037009, China.; Research and Development Center of Agricultural Facility Technology, Shanxi Datong University, Datong, 037009, China.; Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China. luping@caas.cn.

BACKGROUND: Foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) is a millet species with high tolerance to stressful environments. Plant non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) are a kind of small, basic proteins involved in many biological processes. So far, the genome of S. italica has been fully sequenced, and a comprehensive understanding of the evolution and expression of the nsLTP family is still lacking in foxtail millet. RESULTS: Forty-five nsLTP genes were identified in S. italica and clustered into 5 subfamilies except three single genes (SinsLTP38, SinsLTP7, and SinsLTP44). The proportion of SinsLTPs was different in each subfamily, and members within the same subgroup shared conserved exon-intron structures. Besides, 5 SinsLTP duplication events were investigated. Both tandem and segmental duplication contributed to nsLTP expansion in S. italica, and the duplicated SinsLTPs had mainly undergone purifying selection pressure, which suggested that the function of the duplicated SinsLTPs might not diverge much. Moreover, we identified the nsLTP members in 5 other monocots, and 41, 13, 10, 4, and 1 orthologous gene pairs were identified between S. italica and S. viridis, S. bicolor, Z. mays, O. sativa, and B. distachyon, respectively. The functional divergence within the nsLTP orthologous genes might be limited. In addition, the tissue-specific expression patterns of the SinsLTPs were investigated, and the expression profiles of the SinsLTPs in response to abiotic stress were analyzed, all the 10 selected SinsLTPs were responsive to drought, salt, and cold stress. Among the selected SinsLTPs, 2 paired duplicated genes shared almost equivalent expression profiles, suggesting that these duplicated genes might retain some essential functions during subsequent evolution. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provided the first systematic analysis for the phylogenetic classification, conserved domain and gene structure, expansion pattern, and expression profile of the nsLTP family in S. italica. These findings could pave a way for further comparative genomic and evolution analysis of nsLTP family in foxtail millet and related monocots, and lay the foundation for the functional analysis of the nsLTPs in S. italica.

PMID: 36443672


BMC Plant Biol , IF:4.215 , 2022 Oct , V22 (1) : P500 doi: 10.1186/s12870-022-03873-6

Comparison of anther transcriptomes in response to cold stress at the reproductive stage between susceptible and resistant Japonica rice varieties.

Guo, Zhenhua and Ma, Wendong and Cai, Lijun and Guo, Tao and Liu, Hao and Wang, Linan and Liu, Junliang and Ma, Bo and Feng, Yanjiang and Liu, Chuanxue and Pan, Guojun

Rice Research Institute of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 154026, Jiamusi, Heilongjiang, China.; National Engineering Research Center of Plant Space Breeding, South China Agricultural University, 510642, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.; Jiamusi Branch of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 154007, Jiamusi, Heilongjiang, China. cai_lijun@yeah.net.; Crops Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 510640, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.; Jiamusi Longjing Seed Industry Co., LTD, 154026, Jiamusi, Heilongjiang, China.; Qiqihar Branch of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 161006, Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, China.; Rice Research Institute of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 154026, Jiamusi, Heilongjiang, China. zixuanfeng2008@163.com.; Rice Research Institute of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 154026, Jiamusi, Heilongjiang, China. liuchuanxue2007@163.com.; Rice Research Institute of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 154026, Jiamusi, Heilongjiang, China. panguojun777@163.com.

BACKGROUND: Rice is one of the most important cereal crops in the world but is susceptible to cold stress (CS). In this study, we carried out parallel transcriptomic analysis at the reproductive stage on the anthers of two Japonica rice varieties with contrasting CS resistance: cold susceptible Longjing11 (LJ11) and cold resistant Longjing25 (LJ25). RESULTS: According to the obtained results, a total of 16,762 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified under CS, including 7,050 and 14,531 DEGs in LJ25 and LJ11, respectively. Examining gene ontology (GO) enrichment identified 35 up- and 39 down-regulated biological process BP GO terms were significantly enriched in the two varieties, with 'response to heat' and 'response to cold' being the most enriched. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis identified 33 significantly enriched pathways. Only the carbon metabolism and amino acid biosynthesis pathways with down-regulated DEGs were enriched considerably in LJ11, while the plant hormone signal transduction pathway (containing 153 DEGs) was dramatically improved. Eight kinds of plant hormones were detected in the pathway, while auxin, abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), and ethylene (ETH) signaling pathways were found to be the top four pathways with the most DEGs. Furthermore, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis identified ten hub genes (co-expressed gene number >/= 30), including six ABA-related genes. Various DEGs (such as OsDREB1A, OsICE1, OsMYB2, OsABF1, OsbZIP23, OsCATC, and so on) revealed distinct expression patterns among rice types when the DEGs between LJ11 and LJ25 were compared, indicating that they are likely responsible for CS resistance of rice in cold region. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our findings provide comprehensive insights into complex molecular mechanisms of CS response and can aid in CS resistant molecular breeding of rice in cold regions.

PMID: 36284279


BMC Plant Biol , IF:4.215 , 2022 Nov , V22 (1) : P531 doi: 10.1186/s12870-022-03910-4

Identification of key gene networks related to the freezing resistance of apricot kernel pistils by integrating hormone phenotypes and transcriptome profiles.

Liu, Xiaojuan and Xu, Huihui and Yu, Dan and Bi, Quanxin and Yu, Haiyan and Wang, Libing

State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China.; State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China. wlibing@caf.ac.cn.

BACKGROUND: Apricot kernel, a woody oil tree species, is known for the high oil content of its almond that can be used as an ideal feedstock for biodiesel production. However, apricot kernel is vulnerable to spring frost, resulting in reduced or even no yield. There are no effective countermeasures in production, and the molecular mechanisms underlying freezing resistance are not well understood. RESULTS: We used transcriptome and hormone profiles to investigate differentially responsive hormones and their associated co-expression patterns of gene networks in the pistils of two apricot kernel cultivars with different cold resistances under freezing stress. The levels of auxin (IAA and ICA), cytokinin (IP and tZ), salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA and ILE-JA) were regulated differently, especially IAA between two cultivars, and external application of an IAA inhibitor and SA increased the spring frost resistance of the pistils of apricot kernels. We identified one gene network containing 65 hub genes highly correlated with IAA. Among these genes, three genes in auxin signaling pathway and three genes in brassinosteroid biosynthesis were identified. Moreover, some hub genes in this network showed a strong correlation such as protein kinases (PKs)-hormone related genes (HRGs), HRGs-HRGs and PKs-Ca(2+) related genes. CONCLUSIONS: Ca(2+), brassinosteroid and some regulators (such as PKs) may be involved in an auxin-mediated freezing response of apricot kernels. These findings add to our knowledge of the freezing response of apricot kernels and may provide new ideas for frost prevention measures and high cold-resistant apricot breeding.

PMID: 36380302


Tree Physiol , IF:4.196 , 2022 Nov , V42 (11) : P2336-2352 doi: 10.1093/treephys/tpac064

Histological, metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses reveal mechanisms of cold acclimation of the Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) leaf.

Wang, Haiyue and Guo, Lin and Zha, Ruofei and Gao, Zhipeng and Yu, Fen and Wei, Qiang

Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, 159 Longpan Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210037, China.; International Education College, Nanjing Forestry University, 159 Longpan Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210037, China.; Bamboo Research Institute, Nanjing Forestry University, 159 Longpan Road Nanjing, Jiangsu 210037, China.; Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, 159 Longpan Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210037, China.; Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory for Bamboo Germplasm Resources and Utilization, Jiangxi Agriculture University, College of Forestry, 1101 Zhimin Road, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, China.

The Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) leaf copes well with cold winters in southeastern China. However, until now, there has been almost no research on its adaptation mechanisms to cold weather. Herein, we found that the Moso bamboo leaf has evolved several anatomical structures that may play a role in enhancing its cold tolerance. These structures include fewer fusiform cells, smaller bulliform cells, lower stomata density and many more trichomes, as well as lower relative water content than in the leaf of a cold-sensitive bamboo species, Bambusa ventricosa. Untargeted metabolomic analysis revealed that the winter leaf of Moso bamboo had 10- to 1000-fold higher stress-resistant metabolites such as glutathione, trehalose and ascorbic acid than the leaf of B. ventricosa on both warm and cold days. In contrast to the leaves that grew on a warm day, some metabolites such as glutathione and trehalose increased dramatically in the leaves of Moso bamboo that grew on a cold day. However, they unexpectedly decreased in the leaf of B. ventricosa growing at cold temperatures. Transcriptome analysis revealed a cold stress response network that includes trehalose, glutathione, flavonoid metabolism, DNA repair, reactive oxygen species degradation, stress-associated genes and abiotic stress-related plant hormones such as jasmonic acid, abscisic acid and ethylene. The potential mediator transcription factors, such as EREBP, HSF, MYB, NAC and WRYK, were also significantly upregulated in Moso bamboo leaves growing at cold temperatures. Interestingly, many newly identified genes were involved in the transcriptome of the winter leaf of the Moso bamboo. Most of these new genes have not even been annotated yet. The above results indicate that the Moso bamboo leaf has evolved special histological structures, metabolic pathways and a cold stress-tolerant transcriptome to adapt to the cold weather in its distribution areas.

PMID: 35723499


Planta , IF:4.116 , 2022 Oct , V256 (5) : P92 doi: 10.1007/s00425-022-04007-w

Bolstered plant tolerance to low temperatures by overexpressing NAC transcription factors: identification of critical variables by meta-analysis.

Figueroa, Nicolas and Gomez, Rodrigo

Centro de Estudios Fotosinteticos y Bioquimicos (CEFOBI-UNR/CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Bioquimicas y Farmaceuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), 2000, Rosario, Argentina. figueroa@cefobi-conicet.gov.ar.; Catedra de Fisiologia Vegetal, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), 2123, Zavalla, Santa Fe, Argentina.

The potential biotechnological application of NAC overexpression has been challenged by meta-analysis, establishing a correlation between the magnitudes of several physiological and biochemical parameters and the enhanced tolerance to cold. Overexpression of various NAC (NAM/ATAF/CUC) transcription factors in different plant systems was shown to confer enhanced tolerance to low temperatures by inducing both common and distinctive stress response pathways. However, lack of consensus on the type of parameters evaluated, their magnitudes, and direction of the responses complicates drawing general conclusions on the effects of NAC expression in plant physiology. We report herein a meta-analysis summarizing the most critical response variables used to study the effect of overexpressing NAC regulators on cold stress tolerance. We found that NAC overexpression affected all of the outcome parameters in stressed plants, and one response in control conditions. Transformed plants displayed an increase of at least 40% in positive responses, while negative outcomes were reduced by at least 30%. The most reported parameters included survival, electrolyte leakage, and malondialdehyde contents, whereas the most sensitive to the treatments were the F(v)/F(m) parameter, survival, and the activity of catalases. We also explored how different experimental arrangements affected the magnitudes of the responses. NAC-mediated improvements were best observed after severe stress episodes and during brief treatments (ranging from 5 to 24 h), especially in terms of antioxidant activities, accumulation of free proline, and parameters related to membrane integrity. Use of heterologous expression also favored several indicators of plant fitness. Our findings should help both basic and applied research on the influence of NAC expression on enhanced tolerance to cold.

PMID: 36181642


Genes (Basel) , IF:4.096 , 2022 Oct , V13 (10) doi: 10.3390/genes13101887

Reference Gene Selection for qPCR Analysis in Schima superba under Abiotic Stress.

Yao, Jun and Zhu, Gang and Liang, Dongcheng and He, Boxiang and Wang, Yingli and Cai, Yanling and Zhang, Qian

Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou 510520, China.; College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, China.

Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) is an indispensable technique for gene expression analysis in modern molecular biology. The selection and evaluation of suitable reference genes is a prerequisite for accurate gene expression analysis. Schimasuperba is a valuable tree species that is environmentally adaptable and highly fire-resistant. In this study, 12 candidate reference genes were selected to check their stability of gene expression in different tissues under abiotic stresses: cold stress, salt stress, and drought stress by DeltaCt, geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and RefFinder. The results indicated that AP-2 was the most stably expressed overall and for the cold stress and drought stress. eIF-5alpha gene expression was the most stable under the salt stress treatment, while UBQ expression was the most stable across mature leaves, shoots, stems, and roots. In contrast, UBC20, GAPDH, and TUB were the least stably expressed genes tested. This study delivers valid reference genes in S. superba under the different experimental conditions, providing an important resource for the subsequent elucidation of the abiotic stress adaptation mechanisms and genes with biological importance.

PMID: 36292772


BMC Genomics , IF:3.969 , 2022 Oct , V23 (1) : P708 doi: 10.1186/s12864-022-08902-0

Identification and characteristics of SnRK genes and cold stress-induced expression profiles in Liriodendron chinense.

Li, Rongxue and Radani, Yasmina and Ahmad, Baseer and Movahedi, Ali and Yang, Liming

College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China.; Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture, Multan, Punjab, 25000, Pakistan.; College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China. ali_movahedi@njfu.edu.cn.; College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China. yangliming@njfu.edu.cn.

BACKGROUND: The sucrose non-fermenting 1 (SNF1)-related protein kinases (SnRKs) play a vivid role in regulating plant metabolism and stress response, providing a pathway for regulation between metabolism and stress signals. Conducting identification and stress response studies on SnRKs in plants contributes to the development of strategies for tree species that are more tolerant to stress conditions. RESULTS: In the present study, a total of 30 LcSnRKs were identified in Liriodendron chinense (L. chinense) genome, which was distributed across 15 chromosomes and 4 scaffolds. It could be divided into three subfamilies: SnRK1, SnRK2, and SnRK3 based on phylogenetic analysis and domain types. The LcSnRK of the three subfamilies shared the same Ser/Thr kinase structure in gene structure and motif composition, while the functional domains, except for the kinase domain, showed significant differences. A total of 13 collinear gene pairs were detected in L. chinense and Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana), and 18 pairs were detected in L. chinense and rice, suggesting that the LcSnRK family genes may be evolutionarily more closely related to rice. Cis-regulation element analysis showed that LcSnRKs were LTR and TC-rich, which could respond to different environmental stresses. Furthermore, the expression patterns of LcSnRKs are different at different times under low-temperature stress. LcSnRK1s expression tended to be down-regulated under low-temperature stress. The expression of LcSnRK2s tended to be up-regulated under low-temperature stress. The expression trend of LcSnRK3s under low-temperature stress was mainly up-or down-regulated. CONCLUSION: The results of this study will provide valuable information for the functional identification of the LcSnRK gene in the future.

PMID: 36253733


Plants (Basel) , IF:3.935 , 2022 Nov , V11 (22) doi: 10.3390/plants11223148

A Pan-Transcriptome Analysis Indicates Efficient Downregulation of the FIB Genes Plays a Critical Role in the Response of Alfalfa to Cold Stress.

Zhang, Xueqi and Yang, Huanhuan and Li, Manman and Bai, Yan and Chen, Chao and Guo, Donglin and Guo, Changhong and Shu, Yongjun

Key Laboratory of Molecular Cytogenetics and Genetic Breeding of Heilongjiang Province, College of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a perennial forage legume that is widely distributed throughout the world, and cold stress is an important environmental factor limiting the growth and production of alfalfa in cold regions. However, little is known of the molecular mechanisms regarding cold tolerance in alfalfa. Here, we conducted physiological metabolism assays and pan-transcriptome sequencing on eight cultivars of alfalfa under cold stress conditions. The results of the RNA-seq analysis showed that the genes are "oxidoreductase activity" and "transcription regulator activity", suggesting that genes with such functions are more likely to play important roles in the response to cold stress by alfalfa. In addition, to identify specific gene modules and hub genes in response to alfalfa cold stress, we applied weighted gene co-expression network (WGCNA) analyses to the RNA-seq data. Our results indicate that the modules of genes that focus on the ATPase complex, ribosome biogenesis, are more likely to be involved in the alfalfa response to cold stress. It is important to note that we identified two fibronectin (FIB) genes as hub genes in alfalfa in response to cold stress and that they negatively regulate alfalfa response to chilling stress, and it is possible that dormant alfalfa is more effective at down-regulating FIB expression and therefore more resistant to cold stress.

PMID: 36432878


Plants (Basel) , IF:3.935 , 2022 Oct , V11 (21) doi: 10.3390/plants11212869

CsMYB Transcription Factors Participate in Jasmonic Acid Signal Transduction in Response to Cold Stress in Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis).

Han, Zhaolan and Zhang, Chen and Zhang, Huan and Duan, Yu and Zou, Zhongwei and Zhou, Lin and Zhu, Xujun and Fang, Wanping and Ma, Yuanchun

College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.; Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5, Canada.; Forestry and Pomology Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China.

Low-temperature stress is an increasing problem for the cultivation of tea (Camellia sinensis), with adverse effects on plant growth and development and subsequent negative impacts on the tea industry. Methyl jasmonate (MeJA), as a plant inducer, can improve the cold-stress tolerance in tea plants. R2R3-MYB transcription factors (TFs) are considered potentially important regulators in the resistance to cold stress in plants. However, the molecular mechanisms, by which MYB TFs via the jasmonic acid pathway respond to cold stress in the tea plant, remain unknown. In this study, physiological and biochemical assays showed that exogenous MeJA application could effectively promote ROS scavenging in the tea plant under cold stress, maintaining the stability of the cell membrane. Sixteen R2R3-MYB TFs genes were identified from the tea plant genome database. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that three CsMYB genes were strongly induced under a combination of MeJA and cold-stress treatment. Subcellular localization assays suggest CsMYB45, CsMYB46, and CsMYB105 localized in the nucleus. Exogenous MeJA treatment enhanced the overexpression of CsMYB45, CsMYB46, and CsMYB105 in E. coli and improved the growth and survival rates of recombinant cells compared to an empty vector under cold stress. Yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation experiments confirmed that CsMYB46 and CsMYB105 interacted with CsJAZ3, CsJAZ10, and CsJAZ11 in the nucleus. Taken together, these results highlight that CsMYB45, CsMYB46, and CsMYB105 are not only key components in the cold-stress signal response pathway but also may serve as points of confluence for cold stress and JA signaling pathways. Furthermore, our findings provide new insight into how MYB TFs influence cold tolerance via the jasmonic acid pathway in tea and provide candidate genes for future functional studies and breeding.

PMID: 36365324


Plants (Basel) , IF:3.935 , 2022 Oct , V11 (21) doi: 10.3390/plants11212822

Rootstock Priming with Shikimic Acid and Streptomyces griseus for Growth, Productivity, Physio-Biochemical, and Anatomical Characterisation of Tomato Grown under Cold Stress.

Sayed, Eman G and Mahmoud, Abdel Wahab M and Abdel-Wahab, Ahmed and El-Bahbohy, Reham M and Azoz, Samah N

Department of Vegetable Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.; Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.

With this research, we aimed to determine the impact of grafting and rootstock seed treated with Streptomyces griseus (MT210913) (S. griseus) or shikimic acid (SA) at a 60 ppm concentration on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) production grown under low-temperature conditions. Two open-field trials were performed during both winter seasons of 2020 and 2021 at the Experimental Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt. A tomato cultivar (Peto 86) was used as a scion and two tomato phenotypes were employed as rootstocks (Solanum cheesmaniae L. (line LA 524) and GS hybrid), as well as self-grafted as a control. Effects of sub-optimal temperature on vegetative growth, yield, and fruit quality were tested. The results indicate that, under cold stress, rootstock seed priming, especially with S. griseus, enhanced plant growth, total yield, and fruit quality properties. GS hybrid rootstock was more effective than that of S. cheesmaniae rootstock in terms of mitigating the negative effect of cold stress. GS hybrid, inoculated with S. griseus, increased the total yield per plant by 10.5% and 5.7% in the first and second seasons, respectively. Higher levels of GA3 and mineral content were noticed in leaves that were grafted and treated with S. griseus compared to the control treatment. Additionally, the great enhancing effects of all anatomical features of tomato plants were recorded with GS hybrid rootstock, inoculated by S. griseus. These results prove that grafting on GS hybrid rootstock treated with S. griseus is a potential choice to alleviate the cold stress of commercial tomato varieties.

PMID: 36365275


Plants (Basel) , IF:3.935 , 2022 Nov , V11 (21) doi: 10.3390/plants11212958

Effects of Chilling Treatment on Baicalin, Baicalein, and Wogonin Biosynthesis in Scutellaria baicalensis Plantlets.

Yeo, Hyeon Ji and Park, Chang Ha and Kim, Jae Kwang and Sathasivam, Ramaraj and Jeong, Jae Cheol and Kim, Cha Young and Park, Sang Un

Biological Resource Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), 181 Ipsin-gil, Jeongeup 56212, Korea.; Department of Biological Sciences, Keimyung University, Dalgubeol-daero 1095, Dalseo-gu, Daegu 42601, Korea.; Division of Life Sciences and Convergence Research Center for Insect Vectors, College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Incheon National University, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 22012, Korea.; Department of Crop Science, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Korea.; Department of Smart Agriculture Systems, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Korea.

When plants are exposed to stressful conditions, they modulate their nutrient balance by regulating their primary and secondary metabolisms to adapt. In this study, changes in primary and secondary metabolites elicited by chilling stress treatment and the effects of treatment duration were examined in roots of Scutellaria baicalensis (S. baicalensis) plantlets. The concentrations of most sugars (maltose, glucose, sucrose, and fructose) and of several amino acids (proline and GABA), which are crucial regarding plant defense mechanisms, increased with increasing duration of chilling stress. Furthermore, salicylic acid levels increased after two-day chilling treatments, which may enhance plant tolerance to cold temperatures. The concentrations of flavones (baicalin, baicalein, and wogonin) increased during chilling stress, and those of phenolic acids (ferulic acid and sinapic acid) increased after two-day chilling treatments. The concentrations of these flavones were positively correlated with sucrose levels which acted as energy sources.

PMID: 36365410


Plants (Basel) , IF:3.935 , 2022 Nov , V11 (22) doi: 10.3390/plants11223178

Biochemical and Transcriptional Responses in Cold-Acclimated and Non-Acclimated Contrasting Camelina Biotypes under Freezing Stress.

Soorni, Jahad and Kazemitabar, Seyed Kamal and Kahrizi, Danial and Dehestani, Ali and Bagheri, Nadali and Kiss, Attila and Kovacs, Peter Gergo and Papp, Istvan and Mirmazloum, Iman

Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University (SANRU), Sari 68984, Iran.; Genetics and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute of Tabarestan (GABIT), Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari 68984, Iran.; Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Razi University, Kermanshah 67144, Iran.; Agro-Food Science Techtransfer and Innovation Centre, Faculty for Agro-, Food- and Environmental Science, Debrecen University, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary.; Department of Agronomy, Institute of Agronomy, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2100 Godollo, Hungary.; Department of Plant Physiology and Plant Ecology, Institute of Agronomy, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 1118 Budapest, Hungary.

Cold-acclimated and non-acclimated contrasting Camelina (Camelina sativa L.) biotypes were investigated for changes in stress-associated biomarkers, including antioxidant enzyme activity, lipid peroxidation, protein, and proline content. In addition, a well-known freezing tolerance pathway participant known as C-repeat/DRE-binding factors (CBFs), an inducer of CBF expression (ICE1), and a cold-regulated (COR6.6) genes of the ICE-CBF-COR pathway were studied at the transcriptional level on the doubled-haploid (DH) lines. Freezing stress had significant effects on all studied parameters. The cold-acclimated DH34 (a freezing-tolerant line) showed an overall better performance under freezing stress than non-acclimated plants. The non-cold-acclimated DH08 (a frost-sensitive line) showed the highest electrolyte leakage after freezing stress. The highest activity of antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase) was also detected in non-acclimated plants, whereas the cold-acclimated plants showed lower enzyme activities upon stress treatment. Cold acclimation had a significantly positive effect on the total protein and proline content of stressed plants. The qRT-PCR analysis revealed significant differences in the expression and cold-inducibility of CsCBF1-3, CsICE1, and CsCOR6.6 genes among the samples of different treatments. The highest expression of all CBF genes was recorded in the non-acclimated frost-tolerant biotype after freezing stress. Interestingly a significantly higher expression of COR6.6 was detected in cold-acclimated samples of both frost-sensitive and -tolerant biotypes after freezing stress. The presented results provide more insights into freezing tolerance mechanisms in the Camelina plant from both a biochemical point of view and the expression of the associated genes.

PMID: 36432910


Plants (Basel) , IF:3.935 , 2022 Oct , V11 (21) doi: 10.3390/plants11212818

Comparative Analysis of Antioxidant Accumulation under Cold Acclimation, Deacclimation and Reacclimation in Winter Wheat.

Vaitkeviciute, Gabija and Aleliunas, Andrius and Gibon, Yves and Armoniene, Rita

Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Agriculture, Instituto al. 1, LT-58344 Kedainiai, Lithuania.; UMR 1332 Biologie du Fruit et Pathologie (BFP), INRAE, Universite de Bordeaux, 33882 Bordeaux, France.

Low temperature during cold acclimation (CA) leads to the accumulation of detrimental reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plant tissues, which are scavenged by antioxidants, such as ascorbate and glutathione. However, there is a lack of studies examining the dynamics of antioxidants throughout CA, deacclimation (DEA), and reacclimation (REA) in winter wheat. Six winter wheat genotypes were selected to assess the effect of CA, DEA, and REA on the concentrations of ascorbate and glutathione in leaf and crown tissues under two CA temperature treatments. Higher levels of total, reduced, and oxidised ascorbate were determined in leaves, whereas crowns accumulated higher concentrations of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) after CA, DEA, and REA. Constant low temperature (CLT) during CA led to higher contents of ascorbate and glutathione in both tissues at all stages of acclimation, in comparison with prolonged higher low temperature (PHLT). The concentrations of antioxidants increased after CA, tended to decrease after DEA, and returned to CA levels after REA. Significant positive correlations between freezing tolerance (FT) and antioxidants were only determined under the CA at CLT treatment, thus, affirming the negative effect of PHLT during CA on the FT of winter wheat.

PMID: 36365271


Life (Basel) , IF:3.817 , 2022 Oct , V12 (10) doi: 10.3390/life12101633

PKS5 Confers Cold Tolerance by Controlling Stomatal Movement and Regulating Cold-Responsive Genes in Arabidopsis.

Sun, Chengyan and Zhu, Lin and Cao, Linlin and Qi, Huimin and Liu, Huijuan and Zhao, Fengyun and Han, Xiuli

School of Life Sciences and Medicine, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255049, China.

Cold stress limits plant growth and development; however, the precise mechanisms underpinning plant acclimation to cold stress remain largely unknown. In this study, the Ser/Thr protein kinase SOS2-LIKE PROTEIN KINASE5 (PKS5) was shown to play a positive role in plant responses to cold stress. A PKS5 loss-of-function mutant (pks5-1) exhibited elevated sensitivity to cold stress, as well as a lower survival rate and increased ion leakage. Conversely, PKS5 gain-of-function mutants (pks5-3, pks5-4) were more tolerant to cold stress and exhibited higher survival rates and decreased ion leakage. Stomatal aperture analysis revealed that stomatal closure was slower during the first 25 min after cold exposure in pks5-1 compared to wild-type, whereas pks5-3 and pks5-4 displayed accelerated stomatal closure over the same time period. Further stomatal aperture analysis under an abscisic acid (ABA) treatment showed slower closure in pks5-1 and more rapid closure in pks5-3 and pks5-4. Finally, expression levels of cold-responsive genes were regulated by PKS5 under cold stress conditions, while cold stress and ABA treatment can regulate PKS5 expression. Taken together, these results suggest that PKS5 plays a positive role in short-term plant acclimation to cold stress by regulating stomatal aperture, possibly via ABA pathways, and in long-term acclimation by regulating cold-responsive genes.

PMID: 36295068


Int J Biometeorol , IF:3.787 , 2022 Oct , V66 (10) : P2047-2053 doi: 10.1007/s00484-022-02339-6

Expression profiling of HSP 70 and interleukins 2, 6 and 12 genes of Barki sheep during summer and winter seasons in two different locations.

Rawash, Raed A Abu and Sharaby, Mahmoud A and Hassan, Gamal El-Din A and Elkomy, Alaa E and Hafez, Elsayed E and Hafsa, Salma H Abu and Salem, Mohamed M I

Department of Animal and Fish Production, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, 21545, Egypt.; Department of Livestock Research, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, City for Scientific Research and Technology Applications, New Borg El-Arab, Alexandria, 21934, Egypt.; Faculty of Desert and Environmental Agriculture, Matrouh University, Matrouh, Egypt.; Plant Protection and Biomolecular Diagnosis Department, City of Scientific Research and Technology Applications, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, New Borg El-Arab City, Alexandria, 21934, Egypt.; Department of Animal and Fish Production, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, 21545, Egypt. mmisalem@gmail.com.

The objectives of this research were to contrast the expression values of heat shock protein (HSP70) and interleukins 2, 6 and 12 (IL 2, IL 6 and IL 12) genes in summer and winter in two different locations in Egypt (Alexandria zone and Matrouh zone) to deduce changes in thermo-physiological traits and biochemical blood metabolites of Barki sheep. A total of 50 ewes (20 in Alexandria and 30 in Matrouh) were individually blood sampled to determine plasma total protein (TP), Albumin, Globulin and Glucose constituents and T3, T4 and cortisol hormones. The thermo-physiological parameters of rectal temperature (RT, degrees C), skin temperature (ST, degrees C), Wool temperature (WT, degrees C), respiration rate (RR, breaths/min) and pulse rate (PR, beats/min) were measured for each ewe. Expressions of IL 2, IL 6, IL 12 and HSP 70 in summer and winter were analyzed along with thermo-physiological parameters and blood biochemical metabolites. In both locations, THI had significant effects on ST, WT, PR and RR, but not significant on RT. However, it had no significant effects on blood plasma metabolites and hormonal concentrations in the two locations in summer and winter. In Alexandria location, THI had negative significant effect on the expressions of IL-2 and IL-6 but positively affected on HSP70 genes in winter, while the expression of IL-12 gene was not affected by seasons, whereas in Matrouh zone, the effects of THI on the expressions of all tolerance genes were not significant. The results of the current study suggest that IL-2, IL-6 and HSP70 genes could be used as molecular markers for heat/cold stress.

PMID: 35882644


J Plant Physiol , IF:3.549 , 2022 Dec , V279 : P153834 doi: 10.1016/j.jplph.2022.153834

A calcium-dependent protein kinase gene SpCPK33 from Solanum pennellii associated with increased cold tolerance in tomato.

Hu, Jiahui and Wang, Baike and Yang, Tao and Li, Ning and Yang, Haitao and Yu, Qinghui and Wang, Juan

College of Horticulture, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China; Institute of Horticultural Crops, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Science (Key Laboratory of Horticulture Crop Genomics Research and Genetic Improvement in Xinjiang), Urumqi, China.; Institute of Horticultural Crops, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Science (Key Laboratory of Horticulture Crop Genomics Research and Genetic Improvement in Xinjiang), Urumqi, China.; College of Horticulture, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China; Institute of Horticultural Crops, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Science (Key Laboratory of Horticulture Crop Genomics Research and Genetic Improvement in Xinjiang), Urumqi, China. Electronic address: yuqinghui@xaas.ac.cn.; Institute of Horticultural Crops, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Science (Key Laboratory of Horticulture Crop Genomics Research and Genetic Improvement in Xinjiang), Urumqi, China. Electronic address: wangjuan@xaas.ac.cn.

Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs, CPKs) represent a vital class of calcium sensors, which play a crucial role in plant growth, development and adaption to complex environmental stresses. Wild species tend to exhibit greater tolerance than cultivated species under environmental stress. Here, we isolated a calcium-dependent protein kinase gene SpCPK33 located primarily on the plasma membrane of abiotic-resistant species (Solanum pennellii LA0716). It was highly expressed in stems and leaves and was also induced by cold stress. Compared with WT plants, the overexpression of SpCPK33 in cultivated tomato (cv M82) enhanced its tolerance to cold stress. Transgenic lines demonstrated strong vitality under low temperature treatment. Moreover, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were decreased in SpCPK33-overexpressing plants. The activities of antioxidant enzymes and the levels of osmotic regulatory substances were higher. The transcript levels of cold stress-related genes were up-regulated. In summary, the results indicate that SpCPK33-overexpressing transgenic plants experience less severe chilling injury under cold stress, and improved tomato cold tolerance by scavenging ROS accumulation and modulating the expression of stress-related genes.

PMID: 36272175


J Plant Physiol , IF:3.549 , 2022 Nov , V278 : P153806 doi: 10.1016/j.jplph.2022.153806

ScCBF1 plays a stronger role in cold, salt and drought tolerance than StCBF1 in potato (Solanum tuberosum).

Li, Chongyang and Sun, Yalu and Li, Jian and Zhang, Tianpeng and Zhou, Fengli and Song, Qiping and Liu, Yang and Brestic, Marian and Chen, Tony Hh and Yang, Xinghong

College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, China.; Department of Plant Physiology, Slovak University of Agriculture, A. Hlinku 2, Nitra, 94976, Slovak Republic.; Department of Horticulture, ALS 4017, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA.; College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, China. Electronic address: xhyang@sdau.edu.cn.

Solanum tuberosum (St) and Solanum commersonii (Sc) are two potato varieties with different freezing tolerance. Among them, St is a freezing-sensitive variety and. Sc is a cold-resistant wild potato. CBF/DREB family members mainly function in response to freezing stress. In order to explore the different roles of St C-Repeat Binding Factor1 (StCBF1) and Sc C-Repeat Binding Factor1 (ScCBF1) in potato plants (Solanum tuberosum) under stress conditions, two kinds of potato lines were obtained with ScCBF1 and StCBF1 overexpressing respectively. Phenotypes analysis showed that both overexpressing ScCBF1 and StCBF1 caused smaller leaves, and reduced tuber yield. While the limited phenotypes of StCBF1 lines were more severe than that of ScCBF lines. After freezing treatment, StCBF1 over expression plants grown better than WT plants and worse than ScCBF1 over expression plants. Specifically, compared with wild-type lines, overexpressing ScCBF1 could up-regulate fatty acid desaturase genes, key enzyme of Calvin cycle genes, and antioxidant enzyme genes. Both ScCBF1 and StCBF1 lines showed higher PSII activity, thus maintaining a higher photosynthetic rate under cold stress. In addition, we also found that overexpression ScCBF1 and StCBF1 could also enhance the drought and salt tolerance in potato. In summary, ScCBF1 plays a stronger role in cold, salt, and drought tolerance than StCBF1 in potato (Solanum tuberosum).

PMID: 36115270


J Appl Genet , IF:3.24 , 2022 Dec , V63 (4) : P597-608 doi: 10.1007/s13353-022-00710-2

The genetic basis of cold tolerance in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)-the latest developments and perspectives.

Olechowska, Emilia and Slomnicka, Renata and Kazminska, Karolina and Olczak-Woltman, Helena and Bartoszewski, Grzegorz

Department of Plant Genetics Breeding and Biotechnology, Institute of Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, Warsaw, Poland.; Department of Plant Genetics Breeding and Biotechnology, Institute of Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, Warsaw, Poland. grzegorz_bartoszewski@sggw.edu.pl.

Cold stress is one of the main causes of yield losses in plant production in temperate climate areas. Cold stress slows down and even stops plant growth and development and causes injuries that may result in the plant's death. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), an economically important vegetable, is sensitive to low temperatures, thus improving cold tolerance in cucumber would benefit cucumber producers, particularly those farming in temperate climates and higher altitude areas. So far, single cucumber accessions showing different degrees of cold tolerance have been identified, and genetic studies have revealed biparentally and maternally inherited genetic factors responsible for chilling tolerance. Paternally transmitted chilling tolerance has also been suggested. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with seed germination ability at low temperature and seedling recovery from chilling have been described. Several transgenic attempts have been made to improve cold tolerance in cucumber. Despite numerous studies, the molecular mechanisms of cold tolerance in cucumber have still not been sufficiently elucidated. In this review, we summarise the results of research focused on understanding the genetic basis of cold tolerance in cucumber and their implications for cucumber breeding.

PMID: 35838983


PLoS One , IF:3.24 , 2022 , V17 (10) : Pe0274945 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274945

Freezing stress affects the efficacy of clodinafop-propargyl and 2,4-D plus MCPA on wild oat (Avena ludoviciana Durieu) and turnipweed [Rapistrum rugosum (L.) All.] in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Hasanfard, Alireza and Rastgoo, Mehdi and Darbandi, Ebrahim Izadi and Nezami, Ahmad and Chauhan, Bhagirath Singh

Department of Agrotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.; Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences (SAFS), The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia.

The occurrence of freezing stress around herbicides application is one of the most important factors influencing their performance. This experiment was performed to evaluate the efficacy of clodinafop-propargyl and 2,4-D plus MCPA (2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid plus 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid), the most important herbicides used in wheat fields in Iran, under the influence of a freezing treatment (-4 degrees C). Wheat and its two common weeds, winter wild oat (Avena ludoviciana Durieu) and turnipweed [Rapistrum rugosum (L.) All.], were exposed to the freezing treatment for three nights from 7:00 P.M. to 5:00 A.M. before and after herbicide application, and their response was compared with plants that did not grow under freezing stress. Under no freezing (NF) and freezing after spray (FAS) conditions, winter wild oat was completely controlled with the recommended dose of clodinafop-propargyl (64 g ai ha-1; hereafter g ha-1). However, the survival percentage of winter wild oat in the freezing before spray (FBS) of clodinafop-propargyl 64 g ha-1 was 7%, and it was completely controlled with twice the recommended dose (128 g ha-1). Under NF conditions and FAS treatment, turnipweed was completely controlled with twice the recommended dose of 2,4-D plus MCPA (2025 g ae ha-1; hereafter g ha-1), while there was no complete control under recommended rate. However, in the FBS treatment, the survival of turnipweed was 7% under double dose. The LD50 (dose required to control 50% of individuals in the population) and GR50 (dose causing 50% growth reduction of plants) rankings were NF

PMID: 36201477


Funct Plant Biol , IF:3.101 , 2022 Oct , V49 (11) : P946-957 doi: 10.1071/FP22043

Parental drought priming enhances tolerance to low temperature in wheat (Triticum aestivum) offspring.

Guo, Junhong and Wang, Hongyan and Liu, Shengqun and Wang, Yongjun and Liu, Fulai and Li, Xiangnan

Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China; and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.; Laboratory of Plant Epigenetics and Evolution, School of Life Science, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China.; Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China.; Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Jilin Academy of Agriculture Sciences/State Engineering Laboratory of Maize, Changchun 130033, China.; University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Science, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Hojbakkegard Alle 13, Tastrup DK-2630, Denmark.; Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China; and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; and CAS Engineering Laboratory for Eco-agriculture in Water Source of Liaoheyuan, Chinese Academy of Science, Changchun 130102, China.

Low temperature is one of the major environmental stresses that limit crop growth and grain yield in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Drought priming at the vegetative stage could enhance wheat tolerance to later cold stress; however, the transgenerational effects of drought priming on wheat offspring's cold stress tolerance remains unclear. Here, the low temperature responses of offspring were tested after the parental drought priming treatment at grain filling stage. The offspring plants from parental drought priming treatment had a higher abscisic acid (ABA) level and lower osmotic potential (Psio) than the control plants under cold conditions. Moreover, parental drought priming increased the antioxidant enzyme activities and decreased hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) accumulation in offspring. In comparison to control plants, parental drought priming plants had a higher ATP concentration and higher activities of ATPase and the enzymes involved in sucrose biosynthesis and starch metabolism. The results indicated that parental drought priming induced low temperature tolerance in offspring by regulating endogenous ABA levels and maintaining the redox homeostasis and the balance of carbohydrate metabolism, which provided a potential approach for cold resistant cultivation in wheat.

PMID: 35871526


Plant Biol (Stuttg) , IF:3.081 , 2022 Nov doi: 10.1111/plb.13489

Cold stress triggers freezing tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) via hormone regulation and the transcription of related genes.

Wang, R and Yu, M and Xia, J and Ren, Z and Xing, J and Li, C and Xu, Q and Cang, J and Zhang, D

College of Life Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, China.

Low temperature limits the geographical distribution and yield of plants. Hormones play an important role in coordinating the growth and development of plants and their tolerance to low temperature. However, the mechanisms by which hormones affect plant resistance to extreme cold stress in the natural environment are still unclear. In this study, two winter wheat varieties with different cold resistances, Dn1 and J22, were used to conduct targeted plant hormone metabolome analysis on the tillering nodes of winter wheat at 5 degrees C, -10 degrees C and -25 degrees C using an LC-ESI-MS/MS system. We screened 39 hormones from 88 plant hormone metabolites and constructed a partial regulatory network of auxin, jasmonic acid and cytokinin. GO analysis and enrichment of KEGG pathways in differential metabolites showed that the "plant hormone signal transduction" pathway was the most typical. Our study showed that extreme low temperature increased the levels of most auxin, cytokinin and salicylic acid, and decreased the levels of jasmonic acid and abscisic acid, and the levels of auxin, jasmonic acid and cytokinin in Dn1 were greater than those in J22. These changes in hormone levels were associated with changes in gene expression in synthesis, catabolism, transport and signal transduction pathways. These results seem to be different from the previous hormone regulation mechanisms obtained mostly at 4 degrees C. Our results provide a basis for further understanding the molecular mechanisms by which plant endogenous hormones regulate plant freeze stress tolerance.

PMID: 36385725


Plant Biol (Stuttg) , IF:3.081 , 2022 Oct , V24 (6) : P1066-1075 doi: 10.1111/plb.13452

Comparative analysis of R2R3-MYB transcription factors in the flower of Iris laevigata identifies a novel gene regulating tobacco cold tolerance.

Yang, J and Yu, S and Shi, G F and Yan, L and Lv, R T and Ma, Z and Wang, L

College of Landscape Architecture, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China.; Key Laboratory of Saline-alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China.; Department of Biology, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO, USA.

Breeding for flower cold resistance is a priority for flower breeding research in northern China. The identification of cold resistance genes will not only provide genetic resources for cold resistance breeding, but also form a basis for the study of plant cold resistance mechanisms. Based on the flower transcriptome of Iris laevigata, 20 R2R3-MYBs were identified and comprehensive analysis, including conservative domain, phylogenetic analyses and functional distribution, were performed for R2R3-MYBs. Expression patterns of the abiotic stress genes under cold stress were detected, the upregulated gene was genetically transformed into tobacco, and the related physiological indicators of the transgenic tobacco were measured. A novel cold resistance gene, IlMYB306, was obtained. qRT-PCR indicated that IlMYB306 was dramatically induced by cold stress and was significantly upregulated in roots. The free proline content, MDA, SOD and POD activity of the transgenic tobacco improved after cold stress, and the chlorophyll content decreased slowly. In addition, overexpression of IlMYB306 improved cold resistance of the seeds. SEM results showed leaves of transgenic tobacco had obvious folds, more grooves and bulges on the lower leaf surface. Overall, we report a novel cold resistance R2R3-MYB gene, IlMYB306, in the flower of I. laevigata, which could improve tobacco cold stress tolerance by thickening the waxy layer, increasing antioxidant activity and the content of proline.

PMID: 35779251


GM Crops Food , IF:3.074 , 2022 Dec , V13 (1) : P196-217 doi: 10.1080/21645698.2022.2106111

Melatonin-mediated temperature stress tolerance in plants.

Raza, Ali and Charagh, Sidra and Garcia-Caparros, Pedro and Rahman, Md Atikur and Ogwugwa, Vincent H and Saeed, Faisal and Jin, Wanmei

College of Agriculture, Oil Crops Research Institute, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU), Fuzhou, Fujian, China.; State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, China National Rice Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.; Agronomy Department of Superior School Engineering, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain.; Grassland and Forage Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Cheonan, Korea.; Department of Microbiology, University of Lagos, Nigeria.; Department of Agricultural Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Nigde Omer Halisdemir University, Turkey.; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Institute of Forestry and Pomology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, Peking, China.

Global climate changes cause extreme temperatures and a significant reduction in crop production, leading to food insecurity worldwide. Temperature extremes (including both heat and cold stresses) is one of the most limiting factors in plant growth and development and severely affect plant physiology, biochemical, and molecular processes. Biostimulants like melatonin (MET) have a multifunctional role that acts as a "defense molecule" to safeguard plants against the noxious effects of temperature stress. MET treatment improves plant growth and temperature tolerance by improving several defense mechanisms. Current research also suggests that MET interacts with other molecules, like phytohormones and gaseous molecules, which greatly supports plant adaptation to temperature stress. Genetic engineering via overexpression or CRISPR/Cas system of MET biosynthetic genes uplifts the MET levels in transgenic plants and enhances temperature stress tolerance. This review highlights the critical role of MET in plant production and tolerance against temperature stress. We have documented how MET interacts with other molecules to alleviate temperature stress. MET-mediated molecular breeding would be great potential in helping the adverse effects of temperature stress by creating transgenic plants.

PMID: 35983948


J Phys Chem B , IF:2.991 , 2022 Oct , V126 (39) : P7638-7650 doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c01359

Homeoviscous Adaptation of the Lipid Membrane of a Soil Bacterium Surviving under Diurnal Temperature Variation: A Molecular Simulation Perspective.

Erimban, Shakkira and Daschakraborty, Snehasis

Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Patna, Bihar 801106, India.

A recent experiment has reported the lipidome remodeling of a soil-based plant-associated bacterium Methylobacterium extorquens due to diurnal temperature variations. The key adaptation strategy is the headgroup-specific remodeling of the acyl chain. To understand the idiosyncratic adaptation at the molecular level, we simulate the model membrane of the same bacterium using the reported lipidome compositions at four different experimental temperatures. We investigate the temperature-dependent packing density and fluidity of the membrane, the constancy of which is key to the homeoviscous adaptation. The results show that complex lipidome remodeling approximately preserves membrane properties under heat and cold stress. The headgroup-specific remodeling of the acyl chain serves to fine-tune the packing density and fluidity of the membrane at different temperatures. While lipids with strongly interacting headgroups are more abundant at higher temperatures, the lipidome is more dominated by lipids with weaker interacting headgroups at lower temperatures. This adaptation alleviates lipid membrane disruption caused by heat and cold stress. This study provides a molecular picture of the homeoviscous adaptation of the realistic lipid membrane of a soil-based bacterium.

PMID: 36166758


Insects , IF:2.769 , 2022 Oct , V13 (11) doi: 10.3390/insects13110981

Impact of Temperature Change on the Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda under Global Climate Change.

Yan, Xiao-Rui and Wang, Zhen-Ying and Feng, Shi-Qian and Zhao, Zi-Hua and Li, Zhi-Hong

MARA Key Laboratory of Surveillance and Management for Plant Quarantine Pests, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.; Sanya Institute of China Agricultural University, Sanya 572025, China.; State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith, 1797), known as an important agricultural pest around the world, is indigenous to the tropical-subtropical regions in the Western Hemisphere, although its distribution has expanded over large parts of America, Africa, Asia and Oceania in the last few years. The pest causes considerable costs annually coupled with its strong invasion propensity. Temperature is identified as the dominant abiotic factor affecting herbivorous insects. Several efforts have reported that temperature directly or indirectly influences the geographic distribution, phenology and natural enemies of the poikilothermal FAW, and thus may affect the damage to crops, e.g., the increased developmental rate accelerates the intake of crops at higher temperatures. Under some extreme temperatures, the FAW is likely to regulate various genes expression in response to environmental changes, which causes a wider viability and possibility of invasion threat. Therefore, this paper seeks to review and critically consider the variations of developmental indicators, the relationships between the FAW and its natural enemies and the temperature tolerance throughout its developmental stage at varying levels of heat/cold stress. Based on this, we discuss more environmentally friendly and economical control measures, we put forward future challenges facing climate change, we further offer statistical basics and instrumental guidance significance for informing FAW pest forecasting, risk analyses and a comprehensive management program for effective control globally.

PMID: 36354805


Can J Microbiol , IF:2.419 , 2022 Nov , V68 (11) : P661-673 doi: 10.1139/cjm-2022-0102

Whole genome sequencing of mesorhizobia isolated from northern Canada.

Duan, Yi Fan and Grogan, Paul and Walker, Virginia K and diCenzo, George C

Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.; School of Environmental Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.

Rhizobia are soil-dwelling bacteria that can form N(2)-fixing symbioses with legume plant species (Fabaceae). These bacteria are globally distributed; however, few studies have examined the genomics of rhizobia that live in cold environments. Here, we isolated and characterized three rhizobial strains from legume nodules collected at a pair of distant low Arctic tundra and boreal forest sites in northern Canada. Phylogenetic and average nucleotide identity measurements suggested that the three strains are members of the genus Mesorhizobium, and that each strain represents a novel genospecies. Intriguingly, whereas most mesorhizobia contain the classical determinants of nodulation and nitrogen fixation on their chromosome, whole genome sequencing revealed that all three strains carry these genes on large symbiotic megaplasmids of approximately 750 to approximately 1000 kb. Phylogenetic and sequence analyses of the common nodulation genes revealed highly conserved alleles amongst these northern mesorhizobia, leading us to propose that they belong to a novel symbiovar that we termed symbiovar oxytropis. Interestingly, these nod gene alleles are uncommon in mesorhizobia isolated from similar plant hosts in other climatic regions, suggesting potential functional adaptive differences.

PMID: 35981332


3 Biotech , IF:2.406 , 2022 Oct , V12 (10) : P274 doi: 10.1007/s13205-022-03328-7

Insights to the superoxide dismutase genes and its roles in Hevea brasiliensis under abiotic stress.

Niu, Ying-Feng and Li, Guo-Hua and Zheng, Cheng and Liu, Zi-Yan and Liu, Jin

Yunnan Institute of Tropical Crops, Xishuangbanna, 666100 China. GRID: grid.495573.9. ISNI: 0000 0004 1766 3791

The superoxide dismutase (SOD) protein significantly influences the development and growth of plants and their reaction to abiotic stresses. However, little is known about the characteristics of rubber tree SOD genes and their expression changes under abiotic stresses. The present study recognized 11 SOD genes in the rubber tree genome, including 7 Cu/ZnSODs, 2 MnSODs, and 2 FeSODs. Except for HbFSD1, SODs were scattered on five chromosomes. The phylogenetic analysis of SOD proteins in rubber trees and a few other plants demonstrated that the SOD proteins contained three major subgroups. Moreover, the genes belonging to the same clade contained similar gene structures, which confirmed their classification further. The extension of the SOD gene family in the rubber tree was mainly induced by the segmental duplication events. The cis-acting components analysis showed that HbSODs were utilized in many biological procedures. The transcriptomics data indicated that the phosphorylation of the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II might control the cold response genes through the CBF pathway and activate the SOD system to respond to cold stress. The qRT-PCR results showed that the expression of HbCSD1 was significantly downregulated under drought and salt stresses, which might dominate the adaption capability to different stresses. Additionally, salt promoted the expression levels of HbMSD1 and HbMSD2, exhibiting their indispensable role in the salinity reaction. The study results will provide a theoretical basis for deep research on HbSODs in rubber trees. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-022-03328-7.

PMID: 36110566


Extremophiles , IF:2.395 , 2022 Nov , V26 (3) : P35 doi: 10.1007/s00792-022-01283-y

Rahnella sikkimica sp. nov., a novel cold-tolerant bacterium isolated from the glacier of Sikkim Himalaya with plant growth-promoting properties.

Kumar, Anil and Le Fleche-Mateos, Anne and Kumar, Rakshak and Lomprez, Fabienne and Fichenick, Frederic and Singh, Dharam and Grimont, Patrick A D and Kumar, Sanjay

Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, 176061, Himachal Pradesh, India.; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India.; Institut Pasteur, Universite Paris Cite, Unite Environnement et Risques Infectieux, 75015, Paris, France. anne.le-fleche@pasteur.fr.; Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, 176061, Himachal Pradesh, India. rakshak@ihbt.res.in.; Institut Pasteur, Universite Paris Cite, Unite Environnement et Risques Infectieux, 75015, Paris, France.; Institut Pasteur, 75015, Paris, France.

The current study describes a novel species with the strain name ERMR1:05(T) isolated from the forefield soil of East Rathong Glacier in West Sikkim Himalaya (India). The isolate was facultatively anaerobic, gram-stain negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped, and oxidase negative. Whole-genome-based bacterial core gene phylogenetic analysis placed the strain in the genus Rahnella, well separated from Rouxiella spp. The digital DNA-DNA hybridisation and average nucleotide identity values between strain ERMR1:05(T) and other members of genus Rahnella were below the proposed thresholds for the species delineation. Based on these results, a new species, Rahnella sikkimica sp. nov., is proposed with strain ERMR1:05(T) (CIP 111636(T), MTCC 12598(T)) as the type strain. The bacterium showed upregulation of cold-stress genes in cold conditions. Additionally, the genome analysis of the bacterium showed the presence of plant growth-promotion factors suggesting its role in crop improvement in cold hilly regions.

PMID: 36378360


Mol Biol Rep , IF:2.316 , 2022 Nov doi: 10.1007/s11033-022-08114-5

Integration of transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of Rhododendron chrysanthum Pall. in response to cold stress in the Changbai Mountains.

Zhang, Qingyi and Li, Yue and Sun, Li and Chu, Shuangyan and Xu, Hongwei and Zhou, Xiaofu

Faculty of Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Spectral Regions Science and Green Production, Jilin Normal University, Siping, 136000, China.; Faculty of Siping Central People's Hospital, Siping, 136000, China.; Faculty of Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Spectral Regions Science and Green Production, Jilin Normal University, Siping, 136000, China. xuhongwei@jlnu.edu.cn.; Faculty of Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Spectral Regions Science and Green Production, Jilin Normal University, Siping, 136000, China. zhouxiaofu@jlnu.edu.cn.

BACKGROUND: Cold stress is one of the abiotic stresses that affect plant growth and development, as well as life and geographical distribution important. For researching how plants react to low temperature stress, Rhododendron chrysanthum Pall. (R. chrysanthum) growing in Changbai Mountains of China is an essential study subject. METHODS AND RESULTS: R. chrysanthum was cold-treated at 4 degrees C for 12 h (cold-stress group-CS, and controls-CK), combined with transcriptomics (RNA-seq) and proteomics (iTRAQ) techniques, to investigate the response mechanisms of R. chrysanthum response to cold stress. Cold stress resulted in the discovery of 12,261 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 360 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). Correlation of proteomic and transcriptome data, proteome regulation of distinct subcellular localization, and gene/protein functional groupings are all part of the investigation. CONCLUSIONS: The combined analysis showed that 6378 DEPs matched the corresponding DEGs when the control was compared with the cold-treated samples (CK vs CS). The analysis identified 54 DEGs-DEPs associated with cold stress. cold-tolerant DEGs-DEPs were enriched with hydrolase activity, acting on glycosyl bonds, carbon-oxygen lyase activity and ferric iron binding. Seven potential DEGs-DEPs with significant involvement in the cold stress response were identified by co-expression network analysis. These findings identify the synergistic effect of DEGs-DEPs as the key to improve the cold tolerance of R. chrysanthum and provide a theoretical basis for further studies on its cold resistance subsequently.

PMID: 36418773


Anim Biotechnol , IF:2.282 , 2022 Oct , V33 (5) : P842-850 doi: 10.1080/10495398.2020.1841651

Oral administration of potato peel extract affects serum blood metabolites, liver function and ameliorating oxidative stress induced in rabbits exposed to cold stress.

El-Gindy, Yassmine M and Abo-Hafsa, Salma H and Adegbeye, Moyosore J and Salem, Abdelfattah Z M and Dosoky, Waleed M

Department of Animal and Fish Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Saba-Basha, Alexandria University, Bolkley- Alexandria, Egypt.; Department of Livestock Research, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, Alexandria, Egypt.; Department of Animal Production and Health, Federal University of Technology Akure, Akure, Nigeria.; Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico, Toluca, Mexico.

This study investigated the effect of potato peel extract (PPE), orally administrated to rabbits, on serum blood metabolites and ameliorating oxidative stress induced by cold stress under Egyptian winter conditions. Twenty-four bucks grouped into three treatments (8 animals per group) were used for the experiment. The animals received 1.5 ml of water orally, containing 0 (PPE0), 25 (PPE25) or 50 (PPE50) mg PPE/kg live weight. Bucks were randomly assigned into three homogenous equal groups according to the level of PPE. Treatments were applied to each animal every two days over a period of three months including one month as an adaptation period. At the 8th week of the experiment, blood samples were collected from each buck and at the end of the experiment, bucks were slaughtered, and some organs were collected and weighed. The PPE improved (p < 0.05) blood total protein, albumin, globulin and glucose. The blood concentration of total lipid, cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein and very low-density lipoprotein (were increased (p < 0.02) in PPE rabbits. Furthermore, PPE extract doses decreased (p < 0.001) oxidant thiobarbituric reactive substance (TBARS) in both blood and liver. Other liver and blood antioxidant system enzymes such as catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase were improved (p < 0.005) by PPE supplementation. Overall, oral administration of PPE up to 50 mg/kg live weight can have positive effects on rabbit health under cold stress.

PMID: 33164663


Plant Signal Behav , IF:2.247 , 2022 Dec , V17 (1) : P2139116 doi: 10.1080/15592324.2022.2139116

A tomato chloroplast-targeted DnaJ protein, SlDnaJ20 maintains the stability of photosystem I/II under chilling stress.

Cai, Guohua and Xu, Yujie and Zhang, Shuxia and Chen, Tingting and Liu, Gan and Li, Zhengyue and Zhu, Youshuang and Wang, Guodong

School of Biological Sciences, Jining Medical University, Ri'zhao, 276800, P.R. China.

DnaJ proteins are key molecular chaperones that act as a part of the stress response to stabilize plant proteins, thereby maintaining protein homeostasis under stressful conditions. Herein we used transgenic plants to explore the role of the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) SlDnaJ20 chloroplast DnaJ protein in to the resistance of these proteins to cold. When chilled, transgenic plants exhibited superior cold resistance, with reduced growth inhibition and cellular damage and increased fresh mass and chlorophyll content relative to control. These transgenic plants further exhibited increased Fv/Fm, P700 oxidation, phi(Ro), and delta(Ro) relative to control plants under chilling conditions. Under these same cold conditions, these transgenic plants also exhibited higher levels of core proteins in the photosystem I (PSI) and II (PSII) complexes (PsaA and PsaB; D1 and D2) relative to control wild-type plants. Together these results suggested that the overexpression of SlDnaJ20 is sufficient to maintain PSI and PSII complex stability and to alleviate associated photoinhibition of these complexes, thereby increasing transgenic plant resistance to cold stress.

PMID: 36408837


Plant Signal Behav , IF:2.247 , 2022 Dec , V17 (1) : P2129289 doi: 10.1080/15592324.2022.2129289

Exogenous melatonin confers cold tolerance in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) seedlings by improving antioxidants and genes expression.

Lei, Yan and He, Huang and Raza, Ali and Liu, Zeng and Xiaoyu, Ding and Guijuan, Wang and Yan, Lv and Yong, Cheng and Xiling, Zou

Key Laboratory Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan, China.; Seed Administration Bureau of Hubei Province, Wuhan, China.

Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is an important oilseed crop globally. However, its growth and production are significantly influenced by cold stress. To reveal the protective role of exogenous melatonin (MEL) in cold tolerance, rapeseed seedlings were pretreated with different concentrations of MEL before cold stress. The results indicated that the survival rate was increased significantly by the MEL pretreatment under cold stress. Seedlings pretreated with 0.01 g L(-1) MEL were all survived and were used to analyze the physiological characteristics and the expression level of various genes related to cold tolerance. Under cold stress, exogenous MEL significantly increased the contents of proline, soluble sugar, and soluble protein; while the malondialdehyde content was decreased by exogenous MEL under cold stress. On the other hand, the activities of antioxidant defense enzymes such as catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase were also significantly enhanced. The results also showed that MEL treatment significantly upregulated the expression of Cu-SOD, COR6.6 (cold-regulated), COR15, and CBFs (C-repeat binding factor) genes under cold stress. It was suggested exogenous MEL improved the content of osmotic regulatory substances to maintain the balance of cellular osmotic potential under cold stress and improved the scavenging capacity of reactive oxygen species by strengthening the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the cold-related genes expression.

PMID: 36205498


Plant Signal Behav , IF:2.247 , 2022 Dec , V17 (1) : P2081420 doi: 10.1080/15592324.2022.2081420

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of DREB genes in alfalfa (Medicago sativa) in response to cold stress.

Sheng, Song and Guo, Xinyu and Wu, Changzheng and Xiang, Yucheng and Duan, Shuhui and Yang, Weiqin and Li, Wenrui and Cao, Fengchun and Liu, Laihua

College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Key Lab of Plant-Soil Interaction, MOE, Center for Resources, Environment and Food Security, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.; Hunan Tobacco Science Institute, Changsha, China.

Dehydration-responsive element-binding proteins (DREBs) belong to members of the AP2/ERF transcription factor superfamily, which has been reported to involve various abiotic-stress responses and tolerance in plants. However, research on the DREB-family is still limited in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), a forage legume cultivated worldwide. The recent genome-sequence release of the alfalfa cultivar "XinJiangDaYe" allowed us to identify 172 DREBs by a multi-step homolog search. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that such MsDREBs could be classified into 5 groups, namely A-1 (56 members), A-2 (39), A-3 (3), A-4 (61) and 13 (A-5 (13), thus adding substantial new members to the DREB-family in alfalfa. Furthermore, a comprehensive survey in silico of conserved motif, gene structure, molecular weight, and isoelectric point (pI) as well as gene expression was conducted. The resulting data showed that, for cold-stress response, 33 differentially expressed MsDREBs were identified with a threshold of Log2-fold > 1, and most of which were transcriptionally upregulated within 48 h during a cold treatment(s). Moreover, the expression profiling of MsDREBs from two ecotypes of alfalfa subspecies i.e. M. sativa ssp. falcata (F56, from a colder region of Central Asia) and M. sativa ssp. sativa (B47, from Near East) revealed that most of the cold-stress responsive MsDREBs exhibited a significantly lower expression in F56, leading to a proposal of the existence of a distinct mechanism(s) for cold tolerance regulated by DREB-related action, which would have been evolved in alfalfa with a genotypic specificity. Additionally, by examining the transcriptome of a freezing-tolerance species (M. sativa cv. Zhaodong), eight DREBs were found to be implicated in a long-term freezing-stress adaptation with a great potential. Taken together, the current genome-wide identification in alfalfa points to the importance of some MsDREBs in the cold-stress response, providing some promising molecular targets to be functionally characterized for the improvement of cold tolerance in crops including alfalfa.

PMID: 35642507


Plant Signal Behav , IF:2.247 , 2022 Dec , V17 (1) : P2013638 doi: 10.1080/15592324.2021.2013638

Cold acclimation alleviates cold stress-induced PSII inhibition and oxidative damage in tobacco leaves.

Wei, Yanli and Chen, Hongzhi and Wang, Lu and Zhao, Qin and Wang, Di and Zhang, Tongen

Institute of Biological Engineering, Xinxiang Institute of Engineering, Xinxiang, Henan, China.

This study aimed to explore how cold acclimation (CA) modulates cold stress in tobacco leaves and reveal the relationship between CA and cold stress resistance, and the mechanism of CA-induced plant resistance to cold stress. This study examined the effects of CA treatment (at 8-10℃ for 2 d) on the cold tolerance of tobacco leaves under 4 degrees C cold stress treatment using seedlings without CA treatment as the control (NA). In both CA and NA leaves, cold stress treatment resulted in a decrease in maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII (F(v)/F(m)), increase in relative variable fluorescence (V(J)) at 2 ms on the standardized OJIP curve, inhibition of PSII activity, and impairment of electron transfer on the acceptor side. Besides increasing the malondialdehyde (MDA) content and electrolyte leakage rate, the cold stress exacerbated the degree of membrane peroxidation. The CA treatment also induced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), including superoxide anion (O(2).(-)) and H(2)O(2,) and increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbic acid peroxidase (APX). The CA treatment also enhanced the accumulation of soluble sugar (SS) and soluble protein (SP), cyclic electron flow (CEF), and the proportion of regulatory energy dissipation Y(NPQ). Moreover, CA+ cold stress treatment significantly reduced CEF and Y(NPQ) in tobacco leaves than under NA+ cold stress treatment, thus significantly alleviating the degree of PSII photoinhibition. In conclusion, CA treatment significantly alleviated PSII photoinhibition and oxidative damage in tobacco leaves under cold stress treatment. Improvement in cold resistance of tobacco leaves is associated with the induction of antioxidant enzyme activity, accumulation of osmoregulation substances, and initiation of photoprotective mechanisms.

PMID: 34964430


Curr Issues Mol Biol , IF:2.081 , 2022 Nov , V44 (11) : P5622-5637 doi: 10.3390/cimb44110381

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the NAC Gene Family in Kandelia obovata, a Typical Mangrove Plant.

Sun, Man-Man and Liu, Xiu and Huang, Xiao-Juan and Yang, Jing-Jun and Qin, Pei-Ting and Zhou, Hao and Jiang, Ming-Guo and Liao, Hong-Ze

Guangxi Key Laboratory of Polysaccharide Materials and Modification, School of Marine Sciences and Biotechnology, Guangxi Minzu University, 158 West Daxue Road, Nanning 530008, China.; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Special Non-Wood Forest Cultivation and Utilization, Guangxi Forestry Research Institute, 23 Yongwu Road, Nanning 530002, China.

The NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2) gene family, one of the largest transcription factor families in plants, acts as positive or negative regulators in plant response and adaption to various environmental stresses, including cold stress. Multiple reports on the functional characterization of NAC genes in Arabidopsis thaliana and other plants are available. However, the function of the NAC genes in the typical woody mangrove (Kandelia obovata) remains poorly understood. Here, a comprehensive analysis of NAC genes in K. obovata was performed with a pluri-disciplinary approach including bioinformatic and molecular analyses. We retrieved a contracted NAC family with 68 genes from the K. obovata genome, which were unevenly distributed in the chromosomes and classified into ten classes. These KoNAC genes were differentially and preferentially expressed in different organs, among which, twelve up-regulated and one down-regulated KoNAC genes were identified. Several stress-related cis-regulatory elements, such as LTR (low-temperature response), STRE (stress response element), ABRE (abscisic acid response element), and WUN (wound-responsive element), were identified in the promoter regions of these 13 KoNAC genes. The expression patterns of five selected KoNAC genes (KoNAC6, KoNAC15, KoNAC20, KoNAC38, and KoNAC51) were confirmed by qRT-PCR under cold treatment. These results strongly implied the putative important roles of KoNAC genes in response to chilling and other stresses. Collectively, our findings provide valuable information for further investigations on the function of KoNAC genes.

PMID: 36421665


Curr Issues Mol Biol , IF:2.081 , 2022 Nov , V44 (11) : P5579-5592 doi: 10.3390/cimb44110378

Cold Tolerance of ScCBL6 Is Associated with Tonoplast Transporters and Photosynthesis in Arabidopsis.

Zhou, Yanli and Zhang, Jingling and Zhao, Changhong and Long, Guangqiang and Zhou, Chengli and Sun, Xudong and Yang, Yunqiang and Zhang, Chengjun and Yang, Yongping

Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China.; College of Resource and Environment, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China.; School of Information Science and Engineering, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China.

Plants that are adapted to harsh environments offer enormous opportunity to understand stress responses in ecological systems. Stipa capillacea is widely distributed in the frigid and arid region of the Tibetan Plateau, but its signal transduction system under cold stress has not been characterized. In this study, we isolated a cDNA encoding the signal transduction protein, ScCBL6, from S. capillacea, and evaluated its role in cold tolerance by ectopically expressing it in Arabidopsis. Full-length ScCBL6 encode 227 amino acids, and are clustered with CBL6 in Stipa purpurea and Oryza sativa in a phylogenetic analysis. Compared with tolerance in wild-type (WT) plants, ScCBL6-overexpressing plants (ScCBL6-OXP) were more tolerant to cold stress but not to drought stress, as confirmed by their high photosynthetic capacity (Fv/Fm) and survival rate under cold stress. We further compared their cold-responsive transcriptome profiles by RNA sequencing. In total, 3931 genes were differentially expressed by the introduction of ScCBL6. These gene products were involved in multiple processes such as the immune system, lipid catabolism, and secondary metabolism. A KEGG pathway analysis revealed that they were mainly enriched in plant hormone signal transduction and biomacromolecule metabolism. Proteins encoded by differentially expressed genes were predicted to be localized in chloroplasts, mitochondria, and vacuoles, suggesting that ScCBL6 exerts a wide range of functions. Based on its tonoplast subcellular location combined with integrated transcriptome and physiological analyses of ScCBL6-OXP, we inferred that ScCBL6 improves plant cold stress tolerance in Arabidopsis via the regulation of photosynthesis, redox status, and tonoplast metabolite transporters.

PMID: 36354690


Genetica , IF:1.082 , 2022 Nov doi: 10.1007/s10709-022-00176-4

Comparative analysis of cold-responsive genes under short-term cold stimulation and cold-adaptive genes under long-term heterogeneous environments reveals a cold adaptation mechanism in weeping forsythia.

Li, Yong and Wang, Shu-Chen and Li, Qian and Li, Ming-Wan and Mao, Run-Li and Zhang, He-Chen and Yuan, Wang-Jun and Quan, Jine

Innovation Platform of Molecular Biology, College of Landscape and Art, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China.; State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China.; Horticultural Research Institute, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, China.; School of Pharmacy, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.; College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China. 28474257@qq.com.

Identifying cold-related genes can provide insights into the cold adaptation mechanism of weeping forsythia. In this study, we compared the changes in gene expressions and physiological and biochemical indices under short-term cold stimulation with the changes in gene sequences under a long-term heterogeneous environment to investigate the cold adaptation mechanism in weeping forsythia. The data of adaptive gene sequence changes, e.g., single nucleotide polymorphisms, were obtained from previous landscape genomics studies. The physiological and biochemical indicators and transcriptome results showed that weeping forsythia initiated a series of programs, including increasing cell osmotic pressures, scavenging ROS, activating the defense mechanism that crosses with pathogen infection, and upregulating CBF/DREB1 transcription factor 1, to cope with short-term cold stress. A reanalysis of landscape genomic data suggested that weeping forsythia responded to long-term heterogeneous cold stress by the differentiation of genes related to synthesis of aromatic substances and adenosine triphosphate. Our results supported the hypothesis that the adaptation mechanisms of species to short-term environmental stimulation and long-term stress in heterogeneous environments are different. The differences in cold tolerance among populations are not necessarily obtained by changing cold-responsive gene sequences. This study provides new insights into the cold adaptation mechanisms of plants.

PMID: 36436173


Biotechnol Rep (Amst) , 2022 Dec , V36 : Pe00762 doi: 10.1016/j.btre.2022.e00762

Callus induction and regeneration in high-altitude Himalayan rice genotype SR4 via seed explant.

Noor, Wasifa and Lone, Rafiq and Kamili, Azra N and Husaini, Amjad M

Centre of Research for Development, University of Kashmir, Srinagar-190006, India.; Department of Botany, Central University of Kashmir, Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir, India.; Division of Plant Biotechnology, SKUAST-K Shalimar, Srinagar-190025, India.

SR4 genotype of rice is high altitude Himalayan rice prone to various abiotic stresses such as cold stress and therefore gives a poor yield. An efficient protocol for callusing and regeneration via direct and indirect means was established using mature seeds as an explant which can be utilized for molecular studies for genetic advancement of Himalayan rice genotype SR4 through transformation. Highest frequency (96.6%) of callus induction was obtained on MS media 3.0 mg/L 2, 4-D. While maximum regeneration frequency (100%), number of shoots with maximum length 9.14 +/- 0.204 (cm) from callus was recovered from MS media amended with 5.0 mg/L BAP in combination with 0.5 mg/L NAA with highest number of shoots having an average shoot length 9.14 +/- 0.204 (cm) after four weeks of culture. Direct multiple shoot regeneration from seed explants was obtained using various concentrations of TDZ and BAP with highest regeneration frequency was observed on MS media fortified with 6 mg/L of TDZ with maximum number of shoots. The shoots developed roots on MS media supplemented with 0.6 mg/L IBA.

PMID: 36110199