1
|
Huang J, De Veirman L, Van Breusegem F. Cysteine thiol sulfinic acid in plant stress signaling. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2024; 47:2766-2779. [PMID: 38251793 DOI: 10.1111/pce.14827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 12/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
Cysteine thiols are susceptible to various oxidative posttranslational modifications (PTMs) due to their high chemical reactivity. Thiol-based PTMs play a crucial role in regulating protein functions and are key contributors to cellular redox signaling. Although reversible thiol-based PTMs, such as disulfide bond formation, S-nitrosylation, and S-glutathionylation, have been extensively studied for their roles in redox regulation, thiol sulfinic acid (-SO2H) modification is often perceived as irreversible and of marginal significance in redox signaling. Here, we revisit this narrow perspective and shed light on the redox regulatory roles of -SO2H in plant stress signaling. We provide an overview of protein sulfinylation in plants, delving into the roles of hydrogen peroxide-mediated and plant cysteine oxidase-catalyzed formation of -SO2H, highlighting the involvement of -SO2H in specific regulatory signaling pathways. Additionally, we compile the existing knowledge of the -SO2H reducing enzyme, sulfiredoxin, offering insights into its molecular mechanisms and biological relevance. We further summarize current proteomic techniques for detecting -SO2H and furnish a list of experimentally validated cysteine -SO2H sites across various species, discussing their functional consequences. This review aims to spark new insights and discussions that lead to further investigations into the functional significance of protein -SO2H-based redox signaling in plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Huang
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Lindsy De Veirman
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Frank Van Breusegem
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Ghent, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Perri M, Licausi F. Thiol dioxygenases: from structures to functions. Trends Biochem Sci 2024; 49:545-556. [PMID: 38622038 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2024.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
Thiol oxidation to dioxygenated sulfinic acid is catalyzed by an enzyme family characterized by a cupin fold. These proteins act on free thiol-containing molecules to generate central metabolism precursors and signaling compounds in bacteria, fungi, and animal cells. In plants and animals, they also oxidize exposed N-cysteinyl residues, directing proteins to proteolysis. Enzyme kinetics, X-ray crystallography, and spectroscopy studies prompted the formulation and testing of hypotheses about the mechanism of action and the different substrate specificity of these enzymes. Concomitantly, the physiological role of thiol dioxygenation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes has been studied through genetic and physiological approaches. Further structural characterization is necessary to enable precise and safe manipulation of thiol dioxygenases (TDOs) for therapeutic, industrial, and agricultural applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Monica Perri
- Plant Molecular Biology Section, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Francesco Licausi
- Plant Molecular Biology Section, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Dietz KJ, Vogelsang L. A general concept of quantitative abiotic stress sensing. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 29:319-328. [PMID: 37591742 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2023.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
Plants often encounter stress in their environment. For appropriate responses to particular stressors, cells rely on sensory mechanisms that detect emerging stress. Considering sensor and signal amplification characteristics, a single sensor system hardly covers the entire stress range encountered by plants (e.g., salinity, drought, temperature stress). A dual system comprising stress-specific sensors and a general quantitative stress sensory system is proposed to enable the plant to optimize its response. The quantitative stress sensory system exploits the redox and reactive oxygen species (ROS) network by altering the oxidation and reduction rates of individual redox-active molecules under stress impact. The proposed mechanism of quantitative stress sensing also fits the requirement of dealing with multifactorial stress conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karl-Josef Dietz
- Bielefeld University, Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants, W5-134, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany.
| | - Lara Vogelsang
- Bielefeld University, Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants, W5-134, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Lavilla-Puerta M, Latter R, Bellè F, Cervelli T, Galli A, Perata P, Chini A, Flashman E, Giuntoli B. Identification of novel plant cysteine oxidase inhibitors from a yeast chemical genetic screen. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105366. [PMID: 37863264 PMCID: PMC10692734 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Hypoxic responses in plants involve Plant Cysteine Oxidases (PCOs). They catalyze the N-terminal cysteine oxidation of Ethylene Response Factors VII (ERF-VII) in an oxygen-dependent manner, leading to their degradation via the cysteine N-degron pathway (Cys-NDP) in normoxia. In hypoxia, PCO activity drops, leading to the stabilization of ERF-VIIs and subsequent hypoxic gene upregulation. Thus far, no chemicals have been described to specifically inhibit PCO enzymes. In this work, we devised an in vivo pipeline to discover Cys-NDP effector molecules. Budding yeast expressing AtPCO4 and plant-based ERF-VII reporters was deployed to screen a library of natural-like chemical scaffolds and was further combined with an Arabidopsis Cys-NDP reporter line. This strategy allowed us to identify three PCO inhibitors, two of which were shown to affect PCO activity in vitro. Application of these molecules to Arabidopsis seedlings led to an increase in ERF-VII stability, induction of anaerobic gene expression, and improvement of tolerance to anoxia. By combining a high-throughput heterologous platform and the plant model Arabidopsis, our synthetic pipeline provides a versatile system to study how the Cys-NDP is modulated. Its first application here led to the discovery of at least two hypoxia-mimicking molecules with the potential to impact plant tolerance to low oxygen stress.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Rebecca Latter
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | | | | | | | - Andrea Chini
- Department of Plant Molecular Genetics, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Beatrice Giuntoli
- Plantlab, Center of Plant Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy; Biology Department, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Bian X, Cao Y, Zhi X, Ma N. Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of the Plant Cysteine Oxidase (PCO) Gene Family in Brassica napus and Its Role in Abiotic Stress Response. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:11242. [PMID: 37511002 PMCID: PMC10379087 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Plant Cysteine Oxidase (PCO) is a plant O2-sensing enzyme catalyzing the oxidation of cysteine to Cys-sulfinic acid at the N-termini of target proteins. To better understand the Brassica napus PCO gene family, PCO genes in B. napus and related species were analyzed. In this study, 20, 7 and 8 PCO genes were identified in Brassica napus, Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea, respectively. According to phylogenetic analysis, the PCOs were divided into five groups: PCO1, PCO2, PCO3, PCO4 and PCO5. Gene organization and motif distribution analysis suggested that the PCO gene family was relatively conserved during evolution. According to the public expression data, PCO genes were expressed in different tissues at different developmental stages. Moreover, qRT-PCR data showed that most of the Bna/Bra/BoPCO5 members were expressed in leaves, roots, flowers and siliques, suggesting an important role in both vegetative and reproductive development. Expression of BnaPCO was induced by various abiotic stress, especially waterlogging stress, which was consistent with the result of cis-element analysis. In this study, the PCO gene family of Brassicaceae was analyzed for the first time, which contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the origin and evolution of PCO genes in Brassicaceae and the function of BnaPCO in abiotic stress responses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohua Bian
- Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, China
| | - Yifan Cao
- Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, China
| | - Ximin Zhi
- Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, China
- College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Ni Ma
- Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Dalle Carbonare L, Jiménez JDLC, Lichtenauer S, van Veen H. Plant responses to limited aeration: Advances and future challenges. PLANT DIRECT 2023; 7:e488. [PMID: 36993903 PMCID: PMC10040318 DOI: 10.1002/pld3.488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Limited aeration that is caused by tissue geometry, diffusion barriers, high elevation, or a flooding event poses major challenges to plants and is often, but not exclusively, associated with low oxygen. These processes span a broad interest in the research community ranging from whole plant and crop responses, post-harvest physiology, plant morphology and anatomy, fermentative metabolism, plant developmental processes, oxygen sensing by ERF-VIIs, gene expression profiles, the gaseous hormone ethylene, and O2 dynamics at cellular resolution. The International Society for Plant Anaerobiosis (ISPA) gathers researchers from all over the world contributing to understand the causes, responses, and consequences of limited aeration in plants. During the 14th ISPA meeting, major research progress was related to the evolution of O2 sensing mechanisms and the intricate network that balances low O2 signaling. Here, the work moved beyond flooding stress and emphasized novel underexplored roles of low O2 and limited aeration in altitude adaptation, fruit development and storage, and the vegetative development of growth apices. Regarding tolerance towards flooding, the meeting stressed the relevance and regulation of developmental plasticity, aerenchyma, and barrier formation to improve internal aeration. Additional newly explored flood tolerance traits concerned resource balance, senescence, and the exploration of natural genetic variation for novel tolerance loci. In this report, we summarize and synthesize the major progress and future challenges for low O2 and aeration research presented at the conference.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sophie Lichtenauer
- Institute of Plant Biology and BiotechnologyUniversity of MünsterMünsterGermany
| | - Hans van Veen
- Plant Stress Resilience, Institute of Environmental BiologyUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Weits DA, Zhou L, Giuntoli B, Carbonare LD, Iacopino S, Piccinini L, Lombardi L, Shukla V, Bui LT, Novi G, van Dongen JT, Licausi F. Acquisition of hypoxia inducibility by oxygen sensing N-terminal cysteine oxidase in spermatophytes. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2023; 46:322-338. [PMID: 36120894 PMCID: PMC10092093 DOI: 10.1111/pce.14440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
N-terminal cysteine oxidases (NCOs) use molecular oxygen to oxidise the amino-terminal cysteine of specific proteins, thereby initiating the proteolytic N-degron pathway. To expand the characterisation of the plant family of NCOs (plant cysteine oxidases [PCOs]), we performed a phylogenetic analysis across different taxa in terms of sequence similarity and transcriptional regulation. Based on this survey, we propose a distinction of PCOs into two main groups. A-type PCOs are conserved across all plant species and are generally unaffected at the messenger RNA level by oxygen availability. Instead, B-type PCOs appeared in spermatophytes to acquire transcriptional regulation in response to hypoxia. The inactivation of two A-type PCOs in Arabidopsis thaliana, PCO4 and PCO5, is sufficient to activate the anaerobic response in young seedlings, whereas the additional removal of B-type PCOs leads to a stronger induction of anaerobic genes and impairs plant growth and development. Our results show that both PCO types are required to regulate the anaerobic response in angiosperms. Therefore, while it is possible to distinguish two clades within the PCO family, we conclude that they all contribute to restrain the anaerobic transcriptional programme in normoxic conditions and together generate a molecular switch to toggle the hypoxic response.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daan A. Weits
- Institute of Biology 1, Aachen Biology and BiotechnologyRWTH Aachen UniversityAachenGermany
- Institute of Life SciencesScuola Superiore Sant'AnnaPisaItaly
- Plant‐Environment Signaling, Institute of Environmental BiologyUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Lina Zhou
- Institute of Biology 1, Aachen Biology and BiotechnologyRWTH Aachen UniversityAachenGermany
- School of Life SciencesLanzhou UniversityLanzhouChina
- School of Ecology and EnvironmentNorthwestern Polytechnical UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Beatrice Giuntoli
- Institute of Life SciencesScuola Superiore Sant'AnnaPisaItaly
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PisaPisaItaly
| | | | - Sergio Iacopino
- Institute of Life SciencesScuola Superiore Sant'AnnaPisaItaly
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PisaPisaItaly
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Luca Piccinini
- Institute of Life SciencesScuola Superiore Sant'AnnaPisaItaly
| | | | - Vinay Shukla
- Institute of Life SciencesScuola Superiore Sant'AnnaPisaItaly
| | - Liem T. Bui
- Institute of Life SciencesScuola Superiore Sant'AnnaPisaItaly
- Biotechnology Research and Development InstituteCan Tho UniversityCan ThoVietnam
| | - Giacomo Novi
- Institute of Life SciencesScuola Superiore Sant'AnnaPisaItaly
| | - Joost T. van Dongen
- Institute of Biology 1, Aachen Biology and BiotechnologyRWTH Aachen UniversityAachenGermany
| | - Francesco Licausi
- Institute of Life SciencesScuola Superiore Sant'AnnaPisaItaly
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PisaPisaItaly
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| |
Collapse
|