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Marks RA. Resurrection plants revisited: bridging the gap between bryophytes and angiosperms to decode desiccation tolerance. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 243:828-829. [PMID: 38548687 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
This article is a Commentary on Zhang et al. (2024), 243: 981–996.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rose A Marks
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
- Department of Plant Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
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Marks RA, Van Der Pas L, Schuster J, Gilman IS, VanBuren R. Convergent evolution of desiccation tolerance in grasses. NATURE PLANTS 2024; 10:1112-1125. [PMID: 38906996 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01729-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
Abstract
Desiccation tolerance has evolved repeatedly in plants as an adaptation to survive extreme environments. Plants use similar biophysical and cellular mechanisms to survive life without water, but convergence at the molecular, gene and regulatory levels remains to be tested. Here we explore the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the recurrent evolution of desiccation tolerance across grasses. We observed substantial convergence in gene duplication and expression patterns associated with desiccation. Syntenic genes of shared origin are activated across species, indicative of parallel evolution. In other cases, similar metabolic pathways are induced but using different gene sets, pointing towards phenotypic convergence. Species-specific mechanisms supplement these shared core mechanisms, underlining the complexity and diversity of evolutionary adaptations to drought. Our findings provide insight into the evolutionary processes driving desiccation tolerance and highlight the roles of parallel and convergent evolution in response to environmental challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rose A Marks
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.
| | - Llewelyn Van Der Pas
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Jenny Schuster
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Ian S Gilman
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Robert VanBuren
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
- Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
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Marks RA, Delgado P, Makonya GM, Cooper K, VanBuren R, Farrant JM. Higher order polyploids exhibit enhanced desiccation tolerance in the grass Microchloa caffra. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2024; 75:3612-3623. [PMID: 38511472 PMCID: PMC11156804 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erae126] [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: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
Desiccation tolerance evolved recurrently across diverse plant lineages to enable survival in water-limited conditions. Many resurrection plants are polyploid, and several groups have hypothesized that polyploidy contributed to the evolution of desiccation tolerance. However, due to the vast phylogenetic distance between resurrection plant lineages, the rarity of desiccation tolerance, and the prevalence of polyploidy in plants, this hypothesis has been difficult to test. Here, we surveyed natural variation in morphological, reproductive, and desiccation tolerance traits across several cytotypes of a single species to test for links between polyploidy and increased resilience. We sampled multiple natural populations of the resurrection grass Microchloa caffra across an environmental gradient ranging from mesic to xeric in South Africa. We describe two distinct ecotypes of M. caffra that occupy different extremes of the environmental gradient and exhibit consistent differences in ploidy, morphological, reproductive, and desiccation tolerance traits in both field and common growth conditions. Interestingly, plants with more polyploid genomes exhibited consistently higher recovery from desiccation, were less reproductive, and were larger than plants with smaller genomes and lower ploidy. These data indicate that selective pressures in increasingly xeric sites may play a role in maintaining and increasing desiccation tolerance and are mediated by changes in ploidy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rose A Marks
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Paula Delgado
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Givemore Munashe Makonya
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
- Washington State University, Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Centre, Prosser, WA 99350, USA
| | - Keren Cooper
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Robert VanBuren
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Jill M Farrant
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
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Barnes AC, Myers JL, Surber SM, Liang Z, Mower JP, Schnable JC, Roston RL. Oligogalactolipid production during cold challenge is conserved in early diverging lineages. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2023; 74:5405-5417. [PMID: 37357909 PMCID: PMC10848234 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erad241] [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: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023]
Abstract
Severe cold, defined as a damaging cold beyond acclimation temperatures, has unique responses, but the signaling and evolution of these responses are not well understood. Production of oligogalactolipids, which is triggered by cytosolic acidification in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), contributes to survival in severe cold. Here, we investigated oligogalactolipid production in species from bryophytes to angiosperms. Production of oligogalactolipids differed within each clade, suggesting multiple evolutionary origins of severe cold tolerance. We also observed greater oligogalactolipid production in control samples than in temperature-challenged samples of some species. Further examination of representative species revealed a tight association between temperature, damage, and oligogalactolipid production that scaled with the cold tolerance of each species. Based on oligogalactolipid production and transcript changes, multiple angiosperm species share a signal of oligogalactolipid production initially described in Arabidopsis, namely cytosolic acidification. Together, these data suggest that oligogalactolipid production is a severe cold response that originated from an ancestral damage response that remains in many land plant lineages and that cytosolic acidification may be a common signaling mechanism for its activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison C Barnes
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Jennifer L Myers
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- Department of Horticulture, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Samantha M Surber
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Zhikai Liang
- Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Jeffrey P Mower
- Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - James C Schnable
- Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Rebecca L Roston
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
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Li X, Gao B, Wood AJ, Buitink J, Zhang D, Oliver MJ. Editorial: Desiccation tolerance in land plants: from mechanisms to evolution. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1210946. [PMID: 37441176 PMCID: PMC10334818 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1210946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoshuang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
| | - Bei Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Plant Gene Resources, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
| | - Andrew J. Wood
- Department of Plant Biology, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Carbondale, IL, United States
| | - Julia Buitink
- Université d’Angers, Institut Agro, INRAE, IRHS, SFR QUASAV, Angers, France
| | - Daoyuan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
| | - Melvin J. Oliver
- Division of Plant Sciences and Technology, Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
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St. Aubin B, Wai CM, Kenchanmane Raju SK, Niederhuth CE, VanBuren R. Regulatory dynamics distinguishing desiccation tolerance strategies within resurrection grasses. PLANT DIRECT 2022; 6:e457. [PMID: 36523607 PMCID: PMC9748243 DOI: 10.1002/pld3.457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Desiccation tolerance has evolved recurrently in grasses using two unique strategies of either protecting or dismantling the photosynthetic apparatus to minimize photooxidative damage under life without water (anhydrobiosis). Here, we surveyed chromatin architecture and gene expression during desiccation in two closely related grasses with distinguishing desiccation tolerance strategies to identify regulatory dynamics underlying these unique adaptations. In both grasses, we observed a strong association between nearby chromatin accessibility and gene expression in desiccated tissues compared to well-watered, reflecting an unusual chromatin stability under anhydrobiosis. Integration of chromatin accessibility (ATACseq) and expression data (RNAseq) revealed a core desiccation response across these two grasses. This includes many genes with binding sites for the core seed development transcription factor ABI5, supporting the long-standing hypothesis that vegetative desiccation tolerance evolved from rewiring seed pathways. Oropetium thomaeum has a unique set of desiccation induced genes and regulatory elements associated with photoprotection, pigment biosynthesis, and response to high light, reflecting its adaptation of protecting the photosynthetic apparatus under desiccation (homoiochlorophyly). By contrast, Eragrostis nindensis has unique accessible and expressed genes related to chlorophyll catabolism, scavenging of amino acids, and hypoxia, highlighting its poikilochlorophyllous adaptations of dismantling the photosynthetic apparatus and degrading chlorophyll under desiccation. Together, our results highlight the complex regulatory and expression dynamics underlying desiccation tolerance in grasses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian St. Aubin
- Department of HorticultureMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
- Plant Resilience InstituteMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
| | - Ching Man Wai
- Department of HorticultureMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
- Plant Resilience InstituteMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
| | | | | | - Robert VanBuren
- Department of HorticultureMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
- Plant Resilience InstituteMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
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Hu M, Li Y, Zhang X, Song W, Jin W, Huang W, Zhao H. Maize sterility gene DRP1 encodes a desiccation-related protein that is critical for Ubisch bodies and pollen exine development. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2022; 73:6800-6815. [PMID: 35922377 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erac331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Desiccation tolerance is a remarkable feature of pollen, seeds, and resurrection-type plants. Exposure to desiccation stress can cause sporophytic defects, resulting in male sterility. Here, we report the novel maize sterility gene DRP1 (Desiccation-Related Protein 1), which was identified by bulked-segregant analysis sequencing and encodes a desiccation-related protein. Loss of function of DRP1 results in abnormal Ubisch bodies, defective tectum of the pollen exine, and complete male sterility. Our results suggest that DRP1 may facilitate anther dehydration to maintain appropriate water status. DRP1 is a secretory protein that is specifically expressed in the tapetum and microspore from the tetrad to the uninucleate microspore stage. Differentially expressed genes in drp1 are enriched in Gene Ontology terms for pollen exine formation, polysaccharide catabolic process, extracellular region, and response to heat. In addition, DRP1 is a target of selection that appears to have played an important role in the spread of maize from tropical/subtropical to temperate regions. Taken together, our results suggest that DRP1 encodes a desiccation-related protein whose loss of function causes male sterility. Our findings provide a potential genetic resource that may be used to design crops for heterosis utilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingjian Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry and National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science and Center for Crop Genome Engineering, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yunfei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry and National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangbo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry and National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Weibin Song
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry and National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
- Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Weiwei Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry and National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
- College of Agronomy & Resources and Environment, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin, China
| | - Wei Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry and National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Haiming Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry and National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
- Center for Crop Functional Genomics and Molecular Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
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Matilla AJ. The Orthodox Dry Seeds Are Alive: A Clear Example of Desiccation Tolerance. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 11:plants11010020. [PMID: 35009023 PMCID: PMC8747232 DOI: 10.3390/plants11010020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
To survive in the dry state, orthodox seeds acquire desiccation tolerance. As maturation progresses, the seeds gradually acquire longevity, which is the total timespan during which the dry seeds remain viable. The desiccation-tolerance mechanism(s) allow seeds to remain dry without losing their ability to germinate. This adaptive trait has played a key role in the evolution of land plants. Understanding the mechanisms for seed survival after desiccation is one of the central goals still unsolved. That is, the cellular protection during dry state and cell repair during rewatering involves a not entirely known molecular network(s). Although desiccation tolerance is retained in seeds of higher plants, resurrection plants belonging to different plant lineages keep the ability to survive desiccation in vegetative tissue. Abscisic acid (ABA) is involved in desiccation tolerance through tight control of the synthesis of unstructured late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins, heat shock thermostable proteins (sHSPs), and non-reducing oligosaccharides. During seed maturation, the progressive loss of water induces the formation of a so-called cellular "glass state". This glassy matrix consists of soluble sugars, which immobilize macromolecules offering protection to membranes and proteins. In this way, the secondary structure of proteins in dry viable seeds is very stable and remains preserved. ABA insensitive-3 (ABI3), highly conserved from bryophytes to Angiosperms, is essential for seed maturation and is the only transcription factor (TF) required for the acquisition of desiccation tolerance and its re-induction in germinated seeds. It is noteworthy that chlorophyll breakdown during the last step of seed maturation is controlled by ABI3. This update contains some current results directly related to the physiological, genetic, and molecular mechanisms involved in survival to desiccation in orthodox seeds. In other words, the mechanisms that facilitate that an orthodox dry seed is a living entity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angel J Matilla
- Departamento de Biología Funcional (Área Fisiología Vegetal), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
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Pardo J, VanBuren R. Evolutionary innovations driving abiotic stress tolerance in C4 grasses and cereals. THE PLANT CELL 2021; 33:3391-3401. [PMID: 34387354 PMCID: PMC8566246 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koab205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 08/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Grasslands dominate the terrestrial landscape, and grasses have evolved complex and elegant strategies to overcome abiotic stresses. The C4 grasses are particularly stress tolerant and thrive in tropical and dry temperate ecosystems. Growing evidence suggests that the presence of C4 photosynthesis alone is insufficient to account for drought resilience in grasses, pointing to other adaptations as contributing to tolerance traits. The majority of grasses from the Chloridoideae subfamily are tolerant to drought, salt, and desiccation, making this subfamily a hub of resilience. Here, we discuss the evolutionary innovations that make C4 grasses so resilient, with a particular emphasis on grasses from the Chloridoideae (chloridoid) and Panicoideae (panicoid) subfamilies. We propose that a baseline level of resilience in chloridoid ancestors allowed them to colonize harsh habitats, and these environments drove selective pressure that enabled the repeated evolution of abiotic stress tolerance traits. Furthermore, we suggest that a lack of evolutionary access to stressful environments is partially responsible for the relatively poor stress resilience of major C4 crops compared to their wild relatives. We propose that chloridoid crops and the subfamily more broadly represent an untapped reservoir for improving resilience to drought and other abiotic stresses in cereals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Pardo
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
| | - Robert VanBuren
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
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Marks RA, Farrant JM, Nicholas McLetchie D, VanBuren R. Unexplored dimensions of variability in vegetative desiccation tolerance. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2021; 108:346-358. [PMID: 33421106 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Desiccation tolerance has evolved recurrently across diverse land plant lineages as an adaptation for survival in regions where seasonal rainfall drives periodic drying of vegetative tissues. Growing interest in this phenomenon has fueled recent physiological, biochemical, and genomic insights into the mechanistic basis of desiccation tolerance. Although, desiccation tolerance is often viewed as binary and monolithic, substantial variation exists in the phenotype and underlying mechanisms across diverse lineages, heterogeneous populations, and throughout the development of individual plants. Most studies have focused on conserved responses in a subset desiccation-tolerant plants under laboratory conditions. Consequently, the variability and natural diversity of desiccation-tolerant phenotypes remains largely uncharacterized. Here, we discuss the natural variation in desiccation tolerance and argue that leveraging this diversity can improve our mechanistic understanding of desiccation tolerance. We summarize information collected from ~600 desiccation-tolerant land plants and discuss the taxonomic distribution and physiology of desiccation responses. We point out the need to quantify natural diversity of desiccation tolerance on three scales: variation across divergent lineages, intraspecific variation across populations, and variation across tissues and life stages of an individual plant. We conclude that this variability should be accounted for in experimental designs and can be leveraged for deeper insights into the intricacies of desiccation tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rose A Marks
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa
| | - Jill M Farrant
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa
| | | | - Robert VanBuren
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
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11
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Li X, Fang C, Zhao JP, Zhou XY, Ni Z, Niu DK. Desiccation does not drastically increase the accessibility of exogenous DNA to nuclear genomes: evidence from the frequency of endosymbiotic DNA transfer. BMC Genomics 2020; 21:452. [PMID: 32611311 PMCID: PMC7329468 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-06865-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Although horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a widely accepted force in the evolution of prokaryotic genomes, its role in the evolution of eukaryotic genomes remains hotly debated. Some bdelloid rotifers that are resistant to extreme desiccation and radiation undergo a very high level of HGT, whereas in another desiccation-resistant invertebrate, the tardigrade, the pattern does not exist. Overall, the DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) induced by prolonged desiccation have been postulated to open a gateway to the nuclear genome for exogenous DNA integration and thus to facilitate the HGT process, thereby enhancing the rate of endosymbiotic DNA transfer (EDT). Results We first surveyed the abundance of nuclear mitochondrial DNAs (NUMTs) and nuclear plastid DNAs (NUPTs) in five eukaryotes that are highly resistant to desiccation: the bdelloid rotifers Adineta vaga and Adineta ricciae, the tardigrade Ramazzottius varieornatus, and the resurrection plants Dorcoceras hygrometricum and Selaginella tamariscina. Excessive NUMTs or NUPTs were not detected. Furthermore, we compared 24 groups of desiccation-tolerant organisms with their relatively less desiccation-tolerant relatives but did not find a significant difference in NUMT/NUPT contents. Conclusions Desiccation may induce DSBs, but it is unlikely to dramatically increase the frequency of exogenous sequence integration in most eukaryotes. The capture of exogenous DNA sequences is possible only when DSBs are repaired through a subtype of non-homologous end joining, named alternative end joining (alt-EJ). Due to the deleterious effects of the resulting insertion mutations, alt-EJ is less frequently initiated than other mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xixi Li
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering and Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Cheng Fang
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering and Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Jun-Peng Zhao
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering and Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Xiao-Yu Zhou
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering and Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Zhihua Ni
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering and Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, China
| | - Deng-Ke Niu
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering and Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
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12
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Lyall R, Schlebusch SA, Proctor J, Prag M, Hussey SG, Ingle RA, Illing N. Vegetative desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant Xerophyta humilis has not evolved through reactivation of the seed canonical LAFL regulatory network. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2020; 101:1349-1367. [PMID: 31680354 PMCID: PMC7187197 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.14596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Revised: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
It has been hypothesised that vegetative desiccation tolerance in resurrection plants evolved via reactivation of the canonical LAFL (i.e. LEC1, ABI3, FUS3 and LEC2) transcription factor (TF) network that activates the expression of genes during the maturation of orthodox seeds leading to desiccation tolerance of the plant embryo in most angiosperms. There is little direct evidence to support this, however, and the transcriptional changes that occur during seed maturation in resurrection plants have not previously been studied. Here we performed de novo transcriptome assembly for Xerophyta humilis, and analysed gene expression during seed maturation and vegetative desiccation. Our results indicate that differential expression of a set of 4205 genes is common to maturing seeds and desiccating leaves. This shared set of genes is enriched for gene ontology terms related to abiotic stress, including water stress and abscisic acid signalling, and includes many genes that are seed-specific in Arabidopsis thaliana and targets of ABI3. However, while we observed upregulation of orthologues of the canonical LAFL TFs and ABI5 during seed maturation, similar to what is seen in A. thaliana, this did not occur during desiccation of leaf tissue. Thus, reactivation of components of the seed desiccation program in X. humilis vegetative tissues likely involves alternative transcriptional regulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafe Lyall
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of Cape TownRondebosch7701South Africa
| | - Stephen A. Schlebusch
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of Cape TownRondebosch7701South Africa
| | - Jessica Proctor
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of Cape TownRondebosch7701South Africa
| | - Mayur Prag
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of Cape TownRondebosch7701South Africa
| | - Steven G. Hussey
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)University of PretoriaPretoria0002South Africa
| | - Robert A. Ingle
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of Cape TownRondebosch7701South Africa
| | - Nicola Illing
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of Cape TownRondebosch7701South Africa
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Wang B, Yang L, Zhang Y, Chen S, Gao X, Wan C. Investigation of the dynamical expression of Nostoc flagelliforme proteome in response to rehydration. J Proteomics 2019; 192:160-168. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2018.08.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2018] [Revised: 08/20/2018] [Accepted: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Challabathula D, Zhang Q, Bartels D. Protection of photosynthesis in desiccation-tolerant resurrection plants. JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2018; 227:84-92. [PMID: 29778495 DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2018.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Revised: 04/30/2018] [Accepted: 05/01/2018] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Inhibition of photosynthesis is a central, primary response that is observed in both desiccation-tolerant and desiccation-sensitive plants affected by drought stress. Decreased photosynthesis during drought stress can either be due to the limitation of carbon dioxide entry through the stomata and the mesophyll cells, due to increased oxidative stress or due to decreased activity of photosynthetic enzymes. Although the photosynthetic rates decrease in both desiccation-tolerant and sensitive plants during drought, the remarkable difference lies in the complete recovery of photosynthesis after rehydration in desiccation-tolerant plants. Desiccation of sensitive plants leads to irreparable damages of the photosynthetic membranes, in contrast the photosynthetic apparatus is deactivated during desiccation in desiccation-tolerant plants. Desiccation-tolerant plants employ different strategies to protect and/or maintain the structural integrity of the photosynthetic apparatus to reactivate photosynthesis upon water availability. Two major mechanisms are distinguished. Homoiochlorophyllous desiccation-tolerant plants preserve chlorophyll and thylakoid membranes and require active protection mechanisms, while poikilochlorophyllous plants degrade chlorophyll in a regulated manner but then require de novo synthesis during rehydration. Desiccation-tolerant plants, particularly homoiochlorophyllous plants, employ conserved and novel antioxidant enzymes/metabolites to minimize the oxidative damage and to protect the photosynthetic machinery. De novo synthesized, stress-induced proteins in combination with antioxidants are localized in chloroplasts and are important components of the protective network. Genome sequence informations provide some clues on selection of genes involved in protecting photosynthetic structures; e.g. ELIP genes (early light inducible proteins) are enriched in the genomes and more abundantly expressed in homoiochlorophyllous desiccation-tolerant plants. This review focuses on the mechanisms that operate in the desiccation-tolerant plants to protect the photosynthetic apparatus during desiccation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dinakar Challabathula
- Institute of Molecular Physiology and Biotechnology of Plants, University of Bonn, Kirschallee 1, 53115 Bonn, Germany; Department of Life Sciences, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, India
| | - Qingwei Zhang
- Institute of Molecular Physiology and Biotechnology of Plants, University of Bonn, Kirschallee 1, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Dorothea Bartels
- Institute of Molecular Physiology and Biotechnology of Plants, University of Bonn, Kirschallee 1, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
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VanBuren R, Wai CM, Zhang Q, Song X, Edger PP, Bryant D, Michael TP, Mockler TC, Bartels D. Seed desiccation mechanisms co-opted for vegetative desiccation in the resurrection grass Oropetium thomaeum. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2017; 40:2292-2306. [PMID: 28730594 DOI: 10.1111/pce.13027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2017] [Revised: 07/05/2017] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Resurrection plants desiccate during periods of prolonged drought stress, then resume normal cellular metabolism upon water availability. Desiccation tolerance has multiple origins in flowering plants, and it likely evolved through rewiring seed desiccation pathways. Oropetium thomaeum is an emerging model for extreme drought tolerance, and its genome, which is the smallest among surveyed grasses, was recently sequenced. Combining RNA-seq, targeted metabolite analysis and comparative genomics, we show evidence for co-option of seed-specific pathways during vegetative desiccation. Desiccation-related gene co-expression clusters are enriched in functions related to seed development including several seed-specific transcription factors. Across the metabolic network, pathways involved in programmed cell death inhibition, ABA signalling and others are activated during dehydration. Oleosins and oil bodies that typically function in seed storage are highly abundant in desiccated leaves and may function for membrane stability and storage. Orthologs to seed-specific LEA proteins from rice and maize have neofunctionalized in Oropetium with high expression during desiccation. Accumulation of sucrose, raffinose and stachyose in drying leaves mirrors sugar accumulation patterns in maturing seeds. Together, these results connect vegetative desiccation with existing seed desiccation and drought responsive pathways and provide some key candidate genes for engineering improved drought tolerance in crop plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert VanBuren
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48823, USA
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48823, USA
| | - Ching Man Wai
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48823, USA
| | - Qingwei Zhang
- IMBIO, University of Bonn, Kirschallee 1, D-53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Xiaomin Song
- IMBIO, University of Bonn, Kirschallee 1, D-53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Patrick P Edger
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48823, USA
- Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48823, USA
| | - Doug Bryant
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | | | - Todd C Mockler
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | - Dorothea Bartels
- IMBIO, University of Bonn, Kirschallee 1, D-53115, Bonn, Germany
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