Identification and expression analysis of 11 subtilase genes during natural and induced senescence of barley plants

Genome-Wide Identification, Functional Characterization, and Stress-Responsive Expression Profiling of Subtilase (SBT) Gene Family in Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Subtilases (SBTs), known as serine proteases or phytoproteases in plants, are crucial enzymes involved in plant development, growth, and signaling pathways. Despite their recognized importance in other plant species, information regarding their functional roles in cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogea L.) remains sparse. We identified 122 AhSBT genes in the STQ peanut genome, classifying them into six subgroups based on phylogenetic analysis. Detailed structural and motif analyses revealed the presence of conserved domains, highlighting the evolutionary conservation of AhSBTs. The collinearity results indicate that the A. hypogea SBT gene family has 17, 5, and 1 homologous gene pairs with Glycine max, Arabidopsis thaliana, and Zea mays, respectively. Furthermore, the prediction of cis-elements in promoters indicates that they are mainly associated with hormones and abiotic stress. GO and KEGG analyses showed that many AhSBTs are important in stress response. Based on transcriptome datasets, some genes, such as AhSBT2, AhSBT18, AhSBT19, AhSBT60, AhSBT102, AhSBT5, AhSBT111, and AhSBT113, showed remarkably higher expression in diverse tissues/organs, i.e., embryo, root, and leaf, potentially implicating them in seed development. Likewise, only a few genes, including AhSBT1, AhSBT39, AhSBT53, AhSBT92, and AhSBT115, were upregulated under abiotic stress (drought and cold) and phytohormone (ethylene, abscisic acid, paclobutrazol, brassinolide, and salicylic acid) treatments. Upon inoculation with Ralstonia solanacearum, the expression levels of AhSBT39, AhSBT50, AhSBT92, and AhSBT115 were upregulated in disease-resistant and downregulated in disease-susceptible varieties. qRT-PCR-based expression profiling presented the parallel expression trends as generated from transcriptome datasets. The comprehensive dataset generated in the study provides valuable insights into understanding the functional roles of AhSBTs, paving the way for potential applications in crop improvement. These findings deepen our understanding of peanut molecular biology and offer new strategies for enhancing stress tolerance and other agronomically important traits.

Cathepsin B- and L-like Protease Activities Are Induced During Developmental Barley Leaf Senescence

Leaf senescence is a developmental process allowing nutrient remobilization to sink organs. Previously cysteine proteases have been found to be highly expressed during leaf senescence in different plant species. Using biochemical and immunoblotting approaches, we characterized developmental senescence of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. var. 'GemCraft') leaves collected from 0 to 6 weeks after the onset of flowering. A decrease in total protein and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) large subunits occurred in parallel with an increase in proteolytic activity measured using the fluorogenic substrates Z-RR-AMC, Z-FR-AMC, and casein labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (casein-FITC). Aminopeptidase activity detected with R-AMC peaked at week 3 and then decreased, reaching a low level by week 6. Maximal proteolytic activity with Z-FR-AMC and Z-RR-AMC was detected from pH 4.0 to pH 5.5 and pH 6.5 to pH 7.4, respectively, while two pH optima (pH 3.6 to pH 4.5 and pH 6.5 to pH 7.4) were found for casein-FITC. Compound E-64, an irreversible cysteine protease inhibitor, and CAA0225, a selective cathepsin L inhibitor, effectively inhibited proteolytic activity with IC50 values in the nanomolar range. CA-074, a selective cathepsin B inhibitor, was less potent under the same experimental conditions, with IC50 in the micromolar range. Inhibition by leupeptin and phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) was weak, and pepstatin A, an inhibitor of aspartic acid proteases, had no effect at the concentrations studied (up to 0.2 mM). Maximal proteolytic activity with the aminopeptidase substrate R-AMC was detected from pH 7.0 to pH 8.0. The pH profile of DCG-04 (a biotinylated activity probe derived from E-64) binding corresponded to that found with Z-FR-AMC, suggesting that the major active proteases are related to cathepsins B and L. Moreover, immunoblotting detected increased levels of barley SAG12 orthologs and aleurain, confirming a possible role of these enzymes in senescing leaves.

A systematic analysis of the subtilase gene family and expression and subcellular localization investigation of anther-specific members in maize

Subtilases (SBTs), also known as Subtilisin-like serine proteases, are extracellular alkaline protease proteins. SBTs function in all stages of plant growth, development and stress responses. Maize (Zea mays L.) is a crop widely used worldwide as food, feed, and industrial materials. However, information about the members and their functions of the SBT proteins in maize is lacking. In this study, we identified 58 ZmSBT genes from the maize genome and conducted a comprehensive investigation of ZmSBTs by phylogenetic, gene duplication event, gene structure, and protein conserved motif analyses. The ZmSBT proteins were phylogenetically classified into seven groups, and collinearity analysis indicated that many ZmSBTs originate from tandem or segmental duplications. Structural and homolog protein comparison revealed ZmSBTs have conserved protein structures with reported subtilase proteins, suggesting the conserved functions. Further analysis showed that ZmSBTs are expressed in different tissues, and many are responses to specific abiotic stress. Analysis of the anther-specific ZmSBT genes showed their expression peaked at different developmental stages of maize anthers. Subcellular localization analysis of selected maize ZmSBTs showed they are located in different cellular compartments. The information provided in this study is valuable for further functional study of ZmSBTs.

Multi-omics insights into the positive role of strigolactone perception in barley drought response

BACKGROUND

Drought is a major environmental stress that affects crop productivity worldwide. Although previous research demonstrated links between strigolactones (SLs) and drought, here we used barley (Hordeum vulgare) SL-insensitive mutant hvd14 (dwarf14) to scrutinize the SL-dependent mechanisms associated with water deficit response.

RESULTS

We have employed a combination of transcriptomics, proteomics, phytohormonomics analyses, and physiological data to unravel differences between wild-type and hvd14 plants under drought. Our research revealed that drought sensitivity of hvd14 is related to weaker induction of abscisic acid-responsive genes/proteins, lower jasmonic acid content, higher reactive oxygen species content, and lower wax biosynthetic and deposition mechanisms than wild-type plants. In addition, we identified a set of transcription factors (TFs) that are exclusively drought-induced in the wild-type barley.

CONCLUSIONS

Critically, we resolved a comprehensive series of interactions between the drought-induced barley transcriptome and proteome responses, allowing us to understand the profound effects of SLs in alleviating water-limiting conditions. Several new avenues have opened for developing barley more resilient to drought through the information provided. Moreover, our study contributes to a better understanding of the complex interplay between genes, proteins, and hormones in response to drought, and underscores the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to studying plant stress response mechanisms.

The Effects of Growth Modification on Pollen Development in Spring Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Genotypes with Contrasting Drought Tolerance

Drought stress inducing pollen sterility can reduce crop yield worldwide. The regulatory crosstalk associated with the effects of drought on pollen formation at the cellular level has not been explored in detail so far. In this study, we performed morphological and cytoembryological analysis of anther perturbations and examined pollen development in two spring barley genotypes that differ in earliness and drought tolerance. The Syrian breeding line CamB (drought-tolerant) and the European cultivar Lubuski (drought-sensitive) were used as experimental materials to analyze the drought-induced changes in yield performance, chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics, the pollen grain micromorphology and ultrastructure during critical stages of plant development. In addition, fluctuations in HvGAMYB expression were studied, as this transcription factor is closely associated with the development of the anther. In the experiments, the studied plants were affected by drought, as was confirmed by the analyses of yield performance and chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics. However, contrary to our expectations, the pollen development of plants grown under specific conditions was not severely affected. The results also suggest that growth modification, as well as the perturbation in light distribution, can affect the HvGAMYB expression. This study demonstrated that the duration of the vegetation period can influence plant drought responses and, as a consequence, the processes associated with pollen development as every growth modification changes the dynamics of drought effects as well as the duration of plant exposition to drought.

Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of the Maize Serine Peptidase S8 Family Genes in Response to Drought at Seedling Stage

Subtilisin-like proteases (subtilases) are found in almost all plant species and are involved in regulating various biotic and abiotic stresses. Although the literature on subtilases in different plant species is vast, the gene function of the serine peptidase S8 family and its maize subfamily is still unknown. Here, a bioinformatics analysis of this gene family was conducted by describing gene structure, conserved motifs, phylogenetic relationships, chromosomal distributions, gene duplications, and promoter cis-elements. In total, we identified 18 ZmSPS8 genes in maize, distributed on 7 chromosomes, and half of them were hydrophilic. Most of these proteins were located at the cell wall and had similar secondary and tertiary structures. Prediction of cis-regulatory elements in promoters illustrated that they were mainly associated with hormones and abiotic stress. Maize inbred lines B73, Zheng58, and Qi319 were used to analyze the spatial-temporal expression patterns of ZmSPS8 genes under drought treatment. Seedling drought results showed that Qi319 had the highest percent survival after 14 d of withholding irrigation, while B73 was the lowest. Leaf relative water content (LRWC) declined more rapidly in B73 and to lower values, and the nitrotetrazolium blue chloride (NBT) contents of leaves were higher in Qi319 than in the other inbreds. The qPCR results indicated that 6 serine peptidase S8 family genes were positively or negatively correlated with plant tolerance to drought stress. Our study provides a detailed analysis of the ZmSPS8s in the maize genome and finds a link between drought tolerance and the family gene expression, which was established by using different maize inbred lines.

Enhanced proteostasis, lipid remodeling, and nitrogen remobilization define barley flag leaf senescence

Leaf senescence is a developmental process allowing nutrient remobilization to sink organs. We characterized flag leaf senescence at 7, 14, and 21 d past anthesis in two near-isogenic barley lines varying in the allelic state of the HvNAM1 transcription factor gene, which influences senescence timing. Metabolomics and microscopy indicated that, as senescence progressed, thylakoid lipids were transiently converted to neutral lipids accumulating in lipid droplets. Senescing leaves also exhibited an accumulation of sugars including glucose, while nitrogen compounds (nucleobases, nucleotides, and amino acids) decreased. RNA-Seq analysis suggested lipid catabolism via β-oxidation and the glyoxylate cycle, producing carbon skeletons and feeding respiration as a replacement of the diminished carbon supply from photosynthesis. Comparison of the two barley lines highlighted a more prominent up-regulation of heat stress transcription factor- and chaperone-encoding genes in the late-senescing line, suggesting a role for these genes in the control of leaf longevity. While numerous genes with putative roles in nitrogen remobilization were up-regulated in both lines, several peptidases, nucleases, and nitrogen transporters were more highly induced in the early-senescing line; this finding identifies processes and specific candidates which may affect nitrogen remobilization from senescing barley leaves, downstream of the HvNAM1 transcription factor.

The Barley Heavy Metal Associated Isoprenylated Plant Protein HvFP1 Is Involved in a Crosstalk between the Leaf Development and Abscisic Acid-Related Drought Stress Responses

The heavy metal associated isoprenylated plant proteins (HIPPs) are characterized by at least one heavy metal associated (HMA) domain and a C-terminal isoprenylation motif. Hordeum vulgare farnesylated protein 1 (HvFP1), a barley HIPP, is upregulated during drought stress, in response to abscisic acid (ABA) and during leaf senescence. To investigate the role of HvFP1, two independent gain-of-function lines were generated. In a physiological level, the overexpression of HvFP1 results in the delay of normal leaf senescence, but not in the delay of rapid, drought-induced leaf senescence. In addition, the overexpression of HvFP1 suppresses the induction of the ABA-related genes during drought and senescence, e.g., HvNCED, HvS40, HvDhn1. Even though HvFP1 is induced during drought, senescence and the ABA treatment, its overexpression suppresses the ABA regulated genes. This indicates that HvFP1 is acting in a negative feedback loop connected to the ABA signaling. The genome-wide transcriptomic analysis via RNA sequencing revealed that the gain-of-function of HvFP1 positively alters the expression of the genes related to leaf development, photomorphogenesis, photosynthesis and chlorophyll biosynthesis. Interestingly, many of those genes encode proteins with zinc binding domains, implying that HvFP1 may act as zinc supplier via its HMA domain. The results show that HvFP1 is involved in a crosstalk between stress responses and growth control pathways.

Modulation of plant nitrogen remobilization and postflowering nitrogen uptake under environmental stresses

Plants are sessile organisms that take up nitrogen (N) from the soil for growth and development. At the postflowering stage, N that plants require for seed growth and filling derives from either root uptake or shoot remobilization. The balance between N uptake and N remobilization determines the final carbon (C) and N composition of the seed. The N uptake and N remobilization mechanisms are regulated by endogenous signals, including hormones, developmental stage, and carbon/nitrogen ratio, and by environmental factors. The cellular responses to the environment are relatively well known. However, the effects of environmental stresses on the balance between N uptake and N remobilization are still poorly understood. Thus, this study aims to analyze the impact of environmental stresses (drought, heat, darkness, triggered defense, and low nitrate) on N fluxes within plants during seed filling. Using publicly available Arabidopsis transcriptome data, expression of several marker genes involved in N assimilation, transport, and recycling was analyzed in relation to stress. Results showed that the responses of genes encoding inorganic N transporters, N assimilation, and N recycling are mainly regulated by N limitation, the genes encoding housekeeping proteases are principally sensitive to C limitation, and the response of genes involved in the transport of organic N is controlled by both C and N limitations. In addition, ¹⁵N data were used to examine the effects of severe environmental stresses on N remobilization and N uptake, and a schematic representation of the major factors that regulate the balance between N remobilization and N uptake under the stress and control conditions was provided.

Regulation of Phenolic Compound Production by Light Varying in Spectral Quality and Total Irradiance

Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is an important environmental cue inducing the production of many secondary metabolites involved in plant oxidative stress avoidance and tolerance. To examine the complex role of PAR irradiance and specific spectral components on the accumulation of phenolic compounds (PheCs), we acclimated spring barley (Hordeum vulgare) to different spectral qualities (white, blue, green, red) at three irradiances (100, 200, 400 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹). We confirmed that blue light irradiance is essential for the accumulation of PheCs in secondary barley leaves (in UV-lacking conditions), which underpins the importance of photoreceptor signals (especially cryptochrome). Increasing blue light irradiance most effectively induced the accumulation of B-dihydroxylated flavonoids, probably due to the significantly enhanced expression of the F3′H gene. These changes in PheC metabolism led to a steeper increase in antioxidant activity than epidermal UV-A shielding in leaf extracts containing PheCs. In addition, we examined the possible role of miRNAs in the complex regulation of gene expression related to PheC biosynthesis.

Dark-Induced Barley Leaf Senescence - A Crop System for Studying Senescence and Autophagy Mechanisms

This review synthesizes knowledge on dark-induced barley, attached, leaf senescence (DILS) as a model and discusses the possibility of using this crop system for studying senescence and autophagy mechanisms. It addresses the recent progress made in our understanding of DILS. The following aspects are discussed: the importance of chloroplasts as early targets of DILS, the role of Rubisco as the largest repository of recoverable nitrogen in leaves senescing in darkness, morphological changes of these leaves other than those described for chloroplasts and metabolic modifications associated with them, DILS versus developmental leaf senescence transcriptomic differences, and finally the observation that in DILS autophagy participates in the circulation of cell components and acts as a quality control mechanism during senescence. Despite the progression of macroautophagy, the symptoms of degradation can be reversed. In the review, the question also arises how plant cells regulate stress-induced senescence via autophagy and how the function of autophagy switches between cell survival and cell death.

Floral transcriptomes reveal gene networks in pineapple floral growth and fruit development

Proper flower development is essential for sexual reproductive success and the setting of fruits and seeds. The availability of a high quality genome sequence for pineapple makes it an excellent model for studying fruit and floral organ development. In this study, we sequenced 27 different pineapple floral samples and integrated nine published RNA-seq datasets to generate tissue- and stage-specific transcriptomic profiles. Pairwise comparisons and weighted gene co-expression network analysis successfully identified ovule-, stamen-, petal- and fruit-specific modules as well as hub genes involved in ovule, fruit and petal development. In situ hybridization confirmed the enriched expression of six genes in developing ovules and stamens. Mutant characterization and complementation analysis revealed the important role of the subtilase gene AcSBT1.8 in petal development. This work provides an important genomic resource for functional analysis of pineapple floral organ growth and fruit development and sheds light on molecular networks underlying pineapple reproductive organ growth.

Regulation of senescence-associated protease genes by sulphur availability according to barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) phenological stage

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Proteases are responsible for protein degradation during leaf senescence, allowing nutrients to be redirected to sink tissues. In a previous work, we reported that sulphur deficiency produced a delay in the leaf senescence of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) plants, at both vegetative and reproductive stages. In this work, we analyse the effect of sulphur deficiency on the expression of several genes coding for proteases of different catalytic groups, which have been strongly associated with leaf senescence.

METHODS

Four independent experiments were performed in order to impose low sulphur availability conditions: one of steady-state sulphur deficiency during the vegetative stage and three of sulphur starvation during vegetative and reproductive stages.

KEY RESULTS

Sulphur deficiency inhibited or reduced the senescence-associated induction of seven of the eight proteases analysed. Their induction, as well as senescence and phloem amino acid remobilization, could be achieved with senescence inducers such as methyl-jasmonate (a hormonal stimulus) and darkness, but with different rates of induction dependent on each gene. Sulphur deficiency also exerted an opposite effect on the expression of two cysteine-protease genes (HvSAG12 and HvLEGU) as well as on one serine-protease gene (HvSUBT) according to leaf age and plant phenological stages. All three genes were induced in green leaves but were repressed in senescent leaves of sulphur-deficient plants at the vegetative stage. At the reproductive stage, both cysteine-proteases were only repressed in senescent leaves, while the serine-protease was induced in green and senescent leaves by sulphur deficiency.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results highlight the relevance of adequate sulphur nutrition in order to ensure leaf senescence onset and induction of protease genes, which will consequently impact on grain protein composition and quality. In addition, our results provide evidence that leaf age, plant developmental stage and the nature of the stress modulate the sulphur responses.

Denser Markers and Advanced Statistical Method Identified More Genetic Loci Associated with Husk Traits in Maize

The husk—the leaf-like outer covering of maize ear—has multiple functions, including protecting the ear from diseases infection and dehydration. In previous studies, we genotyped an association panel of 508 inbred lines genotyped with a total of ~550,000 SNPs (Illumina 50 K SNP Chip and RNA-seq). Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) were conducted on four husk traits: husk length (HL), husk layer number (HN), husk thickness (HT), and husk width (HW). Minimal associations were identified and none of them passed the P-value threshold after a Bonferroni multiple-test correction using a single locus test in framework of mixed linear model. In this study, we doubled the number of SNPs (~1,250,000 in total) by adding GBS and 600 K SNP Chip. GWAS, performed with the recently developed multiple loci model (BLINK), revealed six genetic loci associated with HN and HT above the Bonferroni multiple-test threshold. Five candidate genes were identified based on the linkage disequilibrium with these loci, including GRMZM2G381691 and GRMZM2G012416. These two genes were up-regulation and down-regulation in all husk related tissues, respectively. GRMZM2G381691 associated with HT encoded a CCT domain protein, which expressed higher in tropical than temperate maize. GRMZM2G012416 associated with HN encoded an Armadillo (ARM) repeat protein, which regulated GA signal pathway. These associated SNPs and candidate genes paved a path to understand the genetic architecture of husk in maize.

Subtilase activity and gene expression during germination and seedling growth in barley

Proteases play a main role in the mobilization of storage proteins during seed germination. Until today, there is little information about the involvement of serine proteases, particularly subtilases, in the germination of barley grains. The aims of the present work were to study the contribution of serine proteases to the total proteolytic activity induced during germination of barley grains and evaluate the specific involvement of subtilases in this process. Proteolytic activity assayed against azocasein in the presence of specific inhibitors, showed that serine proteases contributed between 10 and 20% of total activity along germination. Subtilase activity increased from day 1 after imbibition with a peak between days 4-5. Moreover, in vivo determination of subtilase activity in germinating grains revealed increasing activity along germination mainly localized in the seed endosperm and developing rootlets. Finally, the expression of 19 barley genes encoding subtilases was measured by real time PCR during germination. Three of the analyzed genes increased their expression along germination, five showed a transient induction, one was down-regulated, nine remained unchanged and one was not expressed. The present work demonstrates the involvement of subtilases in germination of barley grains and describes the positive association of eight subtilase genes to this process.

Cytotoxic and molecular impacts of allelopathic effects of leaf residues of Eucalyptus globulus on soybean (Glycine max)

Eucalyptus trees litter plays a crucial role in structuring plant populations and regulating crop quality. To help characterize the allelopathic impact of Eucalyptus plantations and understand the interactions between tree litter and understorey plant populations, we performed two different genomic approaches to determine soybean (Glycine max) crop plant response to biotic stress induced by leaf residues of Eucalyptus globulus trees. For assessing cell death, a qualitative method of DNA fragmentation test (comet assay) was employed to detect cleavage of the genomic DNA into oligonucleosomal fragments and help to characterize the apoptotic event among the experimental samples. In addition, quantitative method of genome analysis at the transcriptional level also was conducted to investigate the expression responses of soybean genome to allelochemicals. Expression of specific genes, which are responsible for the breakdown of proteins during programmed cell death PCD (cysteine proteases and their inhibitors), was examined using semi-quantitative RT-PCR (sqPCR). Results of both conducted analyses proved significant genetic effects of Eucalyptus leaf residues on soybean crop genome, revealed by steady increase in DNA damage as well as variation in the transcript levels of cysteine proteases and inhibitors. Further detailed studies using more sensitive methods are necessary for a comprehensive understanding of the allelopathic effects of Eucalyptus plantations on crops.