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Giubertoni G, Chagri S, Argudo PG, Prädel L, Maltseva D, Greco A, Caporaletti F, Pavan A, Ilie IM, Ren Y, Ng DYW, Bonn M, Weil T, Woutersen S. Structural adaptability and surface activity of peptides derived from tardigrade proteins. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e5135. [PMID: 39150232 PMCID: PMC11328126 DOI: 10.1002/pro.5135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2024] [Revised: 07/05/2024] [Accepted: 07/20/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
Tardigrades are unique micro-organisms with a high tolerance to desiccation. The protection of their cells against desiccation involves tardigrade-specific proteins, which include the so-called cytoplasmic abundant heat soluble (CAHS) proteins. As a first step towards the design of peptides capable of mimicking the cytoprotective properties of CAHS proteins, we have synthesized several model peptides with sequences selected from conserved CAHS motifs and investigated to what extent they exhibit the desiccation-induced structural changes of the full-length proteins. Using circular dichroism spectroscopy, two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics simulations, we have found that the CAHS model peptides are mostly disordered, but adopt a moreα $$ \alpha $$ -helical structure upon addition of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol, which mimics desiccation. This structural behavior is similar to that of full-length CAHS proteins, which also adopt more ordered conformations upon desiccation. We also have investigated the surface activity of the peptides at the air/water interface, which also mimics partial desiccation. Interestingly, sum-frequency generation spectroscopy shows that all model peptides are surface active and adopt a helical structure at the air/water interface. Our results suggest that amino acids with high helix-forming propensities might contribute to the propensity of these peptides to adopt a helical structure when fully or partially dehydrated. Thus, the selected sequences retain part of the CAHS structural behavior upon desiccation, and might be used as a basis for the design of new synthetic peptide-based cryoprotective materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Giubertoni
- Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sarah Chagri
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
| | - Pablo G Argudo
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
| | - Leon Prädel
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
| | - Daria Maltseva
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Federico Caporaletti
- Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alberto Pavan
- Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ioana M Ilie
- Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Center for Multiscale Modeling (ACMM), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Computational Soft Matter (CSM), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Yong Ren
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
| | - David Y W Ng
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
| | - Mischa Bonn
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
| | - Tanja Weil
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
| | - Sander Woutersen
- Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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2
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Wang W, Liu Y, Kang Y, Liu W, Li S, Wang Z, Xia X, Chen X, Qian L, Xiong X, Liu Z, Guan C, He X. Genome-wide characterization of LEA gene family reveals a positive role of BnaA.LEA6.a in freezing tolerance in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2024; 24:433. [PMID: 38773359 PMCID: PMC11106994 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-024-05111-7] [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: 01/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Freezing stress is one of the major abiotic stresses that causes extensive damage to plants. LEA (Late embryogenesis abundant) proteins play a crucial role in plant growth, development, and abiotic stress. However, there is limited research on the function of LEA genes in low-temperature stress in Brassica napus (rapeseed). RESULTS Total 306 potential LEA genes were identified in B. rapa (79), B. oleracea (79) and B. napus (148) and divided into eight subgroups. LEA genes of the same subgroup had similar gene structures and predicted subcellular locations. Cis-regulatory elements analysis showed that the promoters of BnaLEA genes rich in cis-regulatory elements related to various abiotic stresses. Additionally, RNA-seq and real-time PCR results indicated that the majority of BnaLEA family members were highly expressed in senescent tissues of rapeseed, especially during late stages of seed maturation, and most BnaLEA genes can be induced by salt and osmotic stress. Interestingly, the BnaA.LEA6.a and BnaC.LEA6.a genes were highly expressed across different vegetative and reproductive organs during different development stages, and showed strong responses to salt, osmotic, and cold stress, particularly freezing stress. Further analysis showed that overexpression of BnaA.LEA6.a increased the freezing tolerance in rapeseed, as evidenced by lower relative electrical leakage and higher survival rates compared to the wild-type (WT) under freezing treatment. CONCLUSION This study is of great significance for understanding the functions of BnaLEA genes in freezing tolerance in rapeseed and offers an ideal candidate gene (BnaA.LEA6.a) for molecular breeding of freezing-tolerant rapeseed cultivars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiping Wang
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Yan Liu
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Yu Kang
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Wei Liu
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Shun Li
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Zhonghua Wang
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Xiaoyan Xia
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Xiaoyu Chen
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Lunwen Qian
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Xinghua Xiong
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Zhongsong Liu
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Chunyun Guan
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Xin He
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China.
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Chaouachi L, Marín-Sanz M, Barro F, Karmous C. Genetic diversity of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) to mitigate abiotic stress: Drought, heat, and their combination. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301018. [PMID: 38574054 PMCID: PMC10994418 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Drought and heat are the main abiotic constraints affecting durum wheat production. This study aimed to screen for tolerance to drought, heat, and combined stresses in durum wheat, at the juvenile stage under controlled conditions. Five durum wheat genotypes, including four landraces and one improved genotype, were used to test their tolerance to abiotic stress. After 15 days of growing, treatments were applied as three drought levels (100, 50, and 25% field capacity (FC)), three heat stress levels (24, 30, and 35°C), and three combined treatments (100% FC at 24°C, 50% FC at 30°C and 25% FC at 35°C). The screening was performed using a set of morpho-physiological, and biochemical traits. The results showed that the tested stresses significantly affect all measured parameters. The dry matter content (DM) decreased by 37.1% under heat stress (35°C), by 37.3% under severe drought stress (25% FC), and by 53.2% under severe combined stress (25% FC at 35°C). Correlation analyses of drought and heat stress confirmed that aerial part length, dry matter content, hydrogen peroxide content, catalase, and Glutathione peroxidase activities could be efficient screening criteria for both stresses. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that only the landrace Aouija tolerated the three studied stresses, while Biskri and Hedhba genotypes were tolerant to drought and heat stresses and showed the same sensitivity under combined stress. Nevertheless, improved genotype Karim and the landrace Hmira were the most affected genotypes by drought, against a minimum growth for the Hmira genotype under heat stress. The results showed that combined drought and heat stresses had a more pronounced impact than simple effects. In addition, the tolerance of durum wheat to drought and heat stresses involves several adjustments of morpho-physiological and biochemical responses, which are proportional to the stress intensity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Latifa Chaouachi
- Laboratory of Genetics and Cereal Breeding (LR14 AGR01), National Institute of Agronomy of Tunisia, Carthage University, Carthage, Tunisia
| | - Miriam Marín-Sanz
- Department of Plant Breeding, Institute for Sustainable Agriculture-Spanish National Research Council (IAS-CSIC), Córdoba, Spain
| | - Francisco Barro
- Department of Plant Breeding, Institute for Sustainable Agriculture-Spanish National Research Council (IAS-CSIC), Córdoba, Spain
| | - Chahine Karmous
- Laboratory of Genetics and Cereal Breeding (LR14 AGR01), National Institute of Agronomy of Tunisia, Carthage University, Carthage, Tunisia
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4
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Kang D, Yang MJ, Kim H, Park C. Protective roles of highly conserved motif 1 in tardigrade cytosolic-abundant heat soluble protein in extreme environments. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e4913. [PMID: 38358259 PMCID: PMC10868442 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Tardigrades are remarkable microscopic animals that survive harsh conditions such as desiccation and extreme temperatures. Tardigrade-specific intrinsically disordered proteins (TDPs) play an essential role in the survival of tardigrades in extreme environments. Cytosolic-abundant heat soluble (CAHS) protein, a key TDP, is known to increase desiccation tolerance and to protect the activity of several enzymes under dehydrated conditions. However, the function and properties of each CAHS domain have not yet been elucidated in detail. Here, we aimed to elucidate the protective role of highly conserved motif 1 of CAHS in extreme environmental conditions. To examine CAHS domains, three protein constructs, CAHS Full (1-229), CAHS ∆Core (1-120_184-229), and CAHS Core (121-183), were engineered. The highly conserved CAHS motif 1 (124-142) in the CAHS Core formed an amphiphilic α helix, reducing the aggregate formation and protecting lactate dehydrogenase activity during dehydration-rehydration and freeze-thaw treatments, indicating that CAHS motif 1 in the CAHS Core was essential for maintaining protein solubility and stability. Aggregation assays and confocal microscopy revealed that the intrinsically disordered N- and C-terminal domains were more prone to aggregation under our experimental conditions. By explicating the functions of each domain in CAHS, our study proposes the possibility of using engineered proteins or peptides derived from CAHS as a potential candidate for biological applications in extreme environmental stress responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donguk Kang
- Department of ChemistryGwangju Institute of Science and TechnologyGwangjuRepublic of Korea
| | - Min June Yang
- Department of ChemistryGwangju Institute of Science and TechnologyGwangjuRepublic of Korea
| | - Hwan Kim
- GIST Advanced Institute of Instrumental Analysis (GAIA), Bio Imaging LaboratoryGwangju Institute of Science and TechnologyGwangjuRepublic of Korea
| | - Chin‐Ju Park
- Department of ChemistryGwangju Institute of Science and TechnologyGwangjuRepublic of Korea
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5
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Kamoun H, Feki K, Tounsi S, Jrad O, Brini F. The thioredoxin h-type TdTrxh2 protein of durum wheat confers abiotic stress tolerance of the transformant Arabidopsis plants through its protective role and the regulation of redox homoeostasis. PROTOPLASMA 2024; 261:317-331. [PMID: 37837550 DOI: 10.1007/s00709-023-01899-7] [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: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023]
Abstract
The thioredoxins (Trxs) are ubiquitous and they play a crucial role in various biological processes like growth and stress response. Although the functions of Trxs proteins are described in several previous reports, the function of the isoform Trxh2 of durum wheat (Triticum durum L.), designated as TdTrxh2, in abiotic stress response still unknown. Thus, we aimed in this study the functional characterization of TdTrxh2 through its expression in yeast cells and Arabidopsis plants. Sequence analysis revealed that TdTrxh2 protein shared the conserved redox site with the other Trxh from other plant species. Under various abiotic stresses, TdTrxh2 was up-regulated in leaves and roots of durum wheat. Interestingly, we demonstrated that TdTrxh2 exhibit protective effect on LDH activity against various treatments. Besides, the expression of TdTrxh2 in yeast cells conferred their tolerance to multiple stresses. Moreover, transgenic Arabidopsis expressing TdTrxh2 showed tolerance phenotype to several abiotic stresses. This tolerance was illustrated by high rate of proline accumulation, root proliferation, low accumulation of reactive oxygen species like H2O2 and O2·-, and high antioxidant CAT and POD enzymes activities. All these findings suggested that TdTrxh2 promotes abiotic stress tolerance through the redox homoeostasis regulation and its protective role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanen Kamoun
- Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax (CBS), BP1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Kaouthar Feki
- Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax (CBS), BP1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Sana Tounsi
- Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax (CBS), BP1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Olfa Jrad
- Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax (CBS), BP1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Faiçal Brini
- Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax (CBS), BP1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia.
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6
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Biswas S, Gollub E, Yu F, Ginell G, Holehouse A, Sukenik S, Boothby TC. Helicity of a tardigrade disordered protein contributes to its protective function during desiccation. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e4872. [PMID: 38114424 PMCID: PMC10804681 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
To survive extreme drying (anhydrobiosis), many organisms, spanning every kingdom of life, accumulate intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). For decades, the ability of anhydrobiosis-related IDPs to form transient amphipathic helices has been suggested to be important for promoting desiccation tolerance. However, evidence empirically supporting the necessity and/or sufficiency of helicity in mediating anhydrobiosis is lacking. Here, we demonstrate that the linker region of CAHS D, a desiccation-related IDP from the tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris, that contains significant helical structure, is the protective portion of this protein. Perturbing the sequence composition and grammar of the linker region of CAHS D, through the insertion of helix-breaking prolines, modulating the identity of charged residues, or replacement of hydrophobic amino acids with serine or glycine residues results in variants with different degrees of helical structure. Importantly, correlation of protective capacity and helical content in variants generated through different helix perturbing modalities does not show as strong a trend, suggesting that while helicity is important, it is not the only property that makes a protein protective during desiccation. These results provide direct evidence for the decades-old theory that helicity of desiccation-related IDPs is linked to their anhydrobiotic capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sourav Biswas
- Department of Molecular BiologyUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
| | - Edith Gollub
- Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryUniversity of California, MercedMercedCaliforniaUSA
- Quantitative Systems Biology ProgramUniversity of California MercedMercedCaliforniaUSA
| | - Feng Yu
- Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryUniversity of California, MercedMercedCaliforniaUSA
- Quantitative Systems Biology ProgramUniversity of California MercedMercedCaliforniaUSA
| | - Garrett Ginell
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiophysicsWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- Center for Biomolecular CondensatesWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Alex Holehouse
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiophysicsWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- Center for Biomolecular CondensatesWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Shahar Sukenik
- Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryUniversity of California, MercedMercedCaliforniaUSA
- Quantitative Systems Biology ProgramUniversity of California MercedMercedCaliforniaUSA
| | - Thomas C. Boothby
- Department of Molecular BiologyUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
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7
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Chaouachi L, Marín-Sanz M, Barro F, Karmous C. Study of the genetic variability of durum wheat ( Triticum durum Desf.) in the face of combined stress: water and heat. AOB PLANTS 2024; 16:plad085. [PMID: 38204894 PMCID: PMC10781440 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plad085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
The devastating effects and extent of abiotic stress on cereal production continue to increase globally, affecting food security in several countries, including Tunisia. Heat waves and the scarcity of rainfall strongly affect durum wheat yields. The present study aims to screen for tolerance to combined water and heat stresses in durum wheat at the juvenile stage. Three combined treatments were tested, namely: T0 (100% field capacity (FC) at 24 °C), T1 (50% FC at 30 °C), and T2 (25% FC at 35 °C). The screening was carried out based on morphological, physiological, and biochemical criteria. The results showed that the combined stress significantly affected all the measured parameters. The relative water content (RWC) decreased by 37.6% under T1 compared to T0. Quantum yield (Fv/m) and photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/0) decreased under severe combined stress (T2) by 37.15% and 37.22%, respectively. Under T2 stress, LT increased by 63.7%. A significant increase in osmoprotective solutes was also observed, including proline, which increased by 154.6% under T2. Correlation analyses of the combination of water and heat stress confirm that the traits RWC, chlorophyll b content, Fv/m, proline content, Fv/0 and leaf temperature can be used as reliable screening criteria for the two stresses combined. The principal component analysis highlighted that Aouija tolerates the two levels of stresses studied, while the genotypes Karim and Hmira are the most sensitive. The results show that the tolerance of durum wheat to combined water and heat stress involves several adaptation mechanisms proportional to the stress intensity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Latifa Chaouachi
- Laboratory of Genetics and Cereal Breeding (LR14 AGR01), National Institute of Agronomy of Tunisia, Carthage University, 1082 Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Miriam Marín-Sanz
- Department of Plant Breeding, Institute for Sustainable Agriculture-Spanish National Research Council (IAS-CSIC), 14004 Córdoba, Spain
| | - Francisco Barro
- Department of Plant Breeding, Institute for Sustainable Agriculture-Spanish National Research Council (IAS-CSIC), 14004 Córdoba, Spain
| | - Chahine Karmous
- Laboratory of Genetics and Cereal Breeding (LR14 AGR01), National Institute of Agronomy of Tunisia, Carthage University, 1082 Tunis, Tunisia
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8
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Flynn AJ, Miller K, Codjoe JM, King MR, Haswell ES. Mechanosensitive ion channels MSL8, MSL9, and MSL10 have environmentally sensitive intrinsically disordered regions with distinct biophysical characteristics in vitro. PLANT DIRECT 2023; 7:e515. [PMID: 37547488 PMCID: PMC10400277 DOI: 10.1002/pld3.515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered protein regions (IDRs) are highly dynamic sequences that rapidly sample a collection of conformations over time. In the past several decades, IDRs have emerged as a major component of many proteomes, comprising ~30% of all eukaryotic protein sequences. Proteins with IDRs function in a wide range of biological pathways and are notably enriched in signaling cascades that respond to environmental stresses. Here, we identify and characterize intrinsic disorder in the soluble cytoplasmic N-terminal domains of MSL8, MSL9, and MSL10, three members of the MscS-like (MSL) family of mechanosensitive ion channels. In plants, MSL channels are proposed to mediate cell and organelle osmotic homeostasis. Bioinformatic tools unanimously predicted that the cytosolic N-termini of MSL channels are intrinsically disordered. We examined the N-terminus of MSL10 (MSL10N) as an exemplar of these IDRs and circular dichroism spectroscopy confirms its disorder. MSL10N adopted a predominately helical structure when exposed to the helix-inducing compound trifluoroethanol (TFE). Furthermore, in the presence of molecular crowding agents, MSL10N underwent structural changes and exhibited alterations to its homotypic interaction favorability. Lastly, interrogations of collective behavior via in vitro imaging of condensates indicated that MSL8N, MSL9N, and MSL10N have sharply differing propensities for self-assembly into condensates, both inherently and in response to salt, temperature, and molecular crowding. Taken together, these data establish the N-termini of MSL channels as intrinsically disordered regions with distinct biophysical properties and the potential to respond uniquely to changes in their physiochemical environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aidan J. Flynn
- Department of BiologyWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- NSF Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, Department of BiologyWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- Department of Biochemistry and BiophysicsWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Kari Miller
- Department of BiologyWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- NSF Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, Department of BiologyWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Jennette M. Codjoe
- Department of BiologyWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- NSF Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, Department of BiologyWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Matthew R. King
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Elizabeth S. Haswell
- Department of BiologyWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- NSF Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, Department of BiologyWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMissouriUSA
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9
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Aziz MA, Sabeem M, Kutty MS, Rahman S, Alneyadi MK, Alkaabi AB, Almeqbali ES, Brini F, Vijayan R, Masmoudi K. Enzyme stabilization and thermotolerance function of the intrinsically disordered LEA2 proteins from date palm. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11878. [PMID: 37482543 PMCID: PMC10363547 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38426-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
In date palm, the LEA2 genes are of abundance with sixty-two members that are nearly all ubiquitous. However, their functions and interactions with potential target molecules are largely unexplored. In this study, five date palm LEA2 genes, PdLEA2.2, PdLEA2.3, PdLEA2.4, PdLEA2.6, and PdLEA2.7 were cloned, sequenced, and three of them, PdLEA2.2, PdLEA2.3, and PdLEA2.4 were functionally characterized for their effects on the thermostability of two distinct enzymes, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and β-glucosidase (bglG) in vitro. Overall, PdLEA2.3 and PdLEA2.4 were moderately hydrophilic, PdLEA2.7 was slightly hydrophobic, and PdLEA2.2 and PdLEA2.6 were neither. Sequence and structure prediction indicated the presence of a stretch of hydrophobic residues near the N-terminus that could potentially form a transmembrane helix in PdLEA2.2, PdLEA2.4, PdLEA2.6 and PdLEA2.7. In addition to the transmembrane helix, secondary and tertiary structures prediction showed the presence of a disordered region followed by a stacked β-sheet region in all the PdLEA2 proteins. Moreover, three purified recombinant PdLEA2 proteins were produced in vitro, and their presence in the LDH enzymatic reaction enhanced the activity and reduced the aggregate formation of LDH under the heat stress. In the bglG enzymatic assays, PdLEA2 proteins further displayed their capacity to preserve and stabilize the bglG enzymatic activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mughair Abdul Aziz
- Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab, Emirates University, Al‑Ain, Abu‑Dhabi, UAE
| | - Miloofer Sabeem
- Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab, Emirates University, Al‑Ain, Abu‑Dhabi, UAE
| | - M Sangeeta Kutty
- Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, Thrissur, 680656, India
| | - Shafeeq Rahman
- Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab, Emirates University, Al‑Ain, Abu‑Dhabi, UAE
| | - Maitha Khalfan Alneyadi
- Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab, Emirates University, Al‑Ain, Abu‑Dhabi, UAE
| | - Alia Binghushoom Alkaabi
- Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab, Emirates University, Al‑Ain, Abu‑Dhabi, UAE
| | - Eiman Saeed Almeqbali
- Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab, Emirates University, Al‑Ain, Abu‑Dhabi, UAE
| | - Faical Brini
- Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax (CBS)/ University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Ranjit Vijayan
- Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al‑Ain, Abu‑Dhabi, UAE
| | - Khaled Masmoudi
- Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab, Emirates University, Al‑Ain, Abu‑Dhabi, UAE.
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10
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Sanchez-Martinez S, Ramirez JF, Meese EK, Childs CA, Boothby TC. The tardigrade protein CAHS D interacts with, but does not retain, water in hydrated and desiccated systems. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10449. [PMID: 37369754 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37485-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Tardigrades are a group of microscopic animals renowned for their ability to survive near complete desiccation. A family of proteins, unique to tardigrades, called Cytoplasmic Abundant Heat Soluble (CAHS) proteins are necessary to mediate robust desiccation tolerance in these animals. However, the mechanism(s) by which CAHS proteins help to protect tardigrades during water-loss have not been fully elucidated. Here we use thermogravimetric analysis to empirically test the proposed hypothesis that tardigrade CAHS proteins, due to their propensity to form hydrogels, help to retain water during desiccation. We find that regardless of its gelled state, both in vitro and in vivo, a model CAHS protein (CAHS D) retains no more water than common proteins and control cells in the dry state. However, we find that while CAHS D proteins do not increase the total amount of water retained in a dry system, they interact with the small amount of water that does remain. Our study indicates that desiccation tolerance mediated by CAHS D cannot be simply ascribed to water retention and instead implicates its ability to interact more tightly with residual water as a possible mechanism underlying its protective capacity. These results advance our fundamental understanding of tardigrade desiccation tolerance which could provide potential avenues for new technologies to aid in the storage of dry shelf-stable pharmaceuticals and the generation of stress tolerant crops to ensure food security in the face of global climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - John F Ramirez
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA
| | - Emma K Meese
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA
| | - Charles A Childs
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA
| | - Thomas C Boothby
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA.
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11
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Grimm C, Pompei S, Egger K, Fuchs M, Kroutil W. Anaerobic demethylation of guaiacyl-derived monolignols enabled by a designed artificial cobalamin methyltransferase fusion enzyme. RSC Adv 2023; 13:5770-5777. [PMID: 36816070 PMCID: PMC9930637 DOI: 10.1039/d2ra08005b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Lignin-derived aryl methyl ethers (e.g. coniferyl alcohol, ferulic acid) are expected to be a future carbon source for chemistry. The well-known P450 dependent biocatalytic O-demethylation of these aryl methyl ethers is prone to side product formation especially for the oxidation sensitive catechol products which get easily oxidized in the presence of O2. Alternatively, biocatalytic demethylation using cobalamin dependent enzymes may be used under anaerobic conditions, whereby two proteins, namely a methyltransferase and a carrier protein are required. To make this approach applicable for preparative transformations, fusion proteins were designed connecting the cobalamin-dependent methyltransferase (MT) with the corrinoid-binding protein (CP) from Desulfitobacterium hafniense by variable glycine linkers. From the proteins created, the fusion enzyme MT-L5-CP with the shortest linker performed best of all fusion enzymes investigated showing comparable and, in some aspects, even better performance than the separated proteins. The fusion enzymes provided several advantages like that the cobalamin cofactor loading step required originally for the CP could be skipped enabling a significantly simpler protocol. Consequently, the biocatalytic demethylation was performed using Schlenk conditions allowing the O-demethylation e.g. of the monolignol coniferyl alcohol on a 25 mL scale leading to 75% conversion. The fusion enzyme represents a promising starting point to be evolved for alternative demethylation reactions to diversify natural products and to valorize lignin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Grimm
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, NAWI Graz Heinrichstraße 28 8010 Graz Austria
| | - Simona Pompei
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, NAWI Graz Heinrichstraße 28 8010 Graz Austria
| | - Kristina Egger
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, NAWI Graz Heinrichstraße 28 8010 Graz Austria
| | - Michael Fuchs
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, NAWI Graz Heinrichstraße 28 8010 Graz Austria
| | - Wolfgang Kroutil
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, NAWI Graz Heinrichstraße 28 8010 Graz Austria
- BioTechMed Graz 8010 Graz Austria
- Field of Excellence BioHealth, University of Graz 8010 Graz Austria
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12
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Tanaka A, Nakano T, Watanabe K, Masuda K, Honda G, Kamata S, Yasui R, Kozuka-Hata H, Watanabe C, Chinen T, Kitagawa D, Sawai S, Oyama M, Yanagisawa M, Kunieda T. Stress-dependent cell stiffening by tardigrade tolerance proteins that reversibly form a filamentous network and gel. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001780. [PMID: 36067153 PMCID: PMC9592077 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Tardigrades are able to tolerate almost complete dehydration by entering a reversible ametabolic state called anhydrobiosis and resume their animation upon rehydration. Dehydrated tardigrades are exceptionally stable and withstand various physical extremes. Although trehalose and late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins have been extensively studied as potent protectants against dehydration in other anhydrobiotic organisms, tardigrades produce high amounts of tardigrade-unique protective proteins. Cytoplasmic-abundant heat-soluble (CAHS) proteins are uniquely invented in the lineage of eutardigrades, a major class of the phylum Tardigrada and are essential for their anhydrobiotic survival. However, the precise mechanisms of their action in this protective role are not fully understood. In the present study, we first postulated the presence of tolerance proteins that form protective condensates via phase separation in a stress-dependent manner and searched for tardigrade proteins that reversibly form condensates upon dehydration-like stress. Through a comprehensive search using a desolvating agent, trifluoroethanol (TFE), we identified 336 proteins, collectively dubbed "TFE-Dependent ReversiblY condensing Proteins (T-DRYPs)." Unexpectedly, we rediscovered CAHS proteins as highly enriched in T-DRYPs, 3 of which were major components of T-DRYPs. We revealed that these CAHS proteins reversibly polymerize into many cytoskeleton-like filaments depending on hyperosmotic stress in cultured cells and undergo reversible gel-transition in vitro. Furthermore, CAHS proteins increased cell stiffness in a hyperosmotic stress-dependent manner and counteract the cell shrinkage caused by osmotic pressure, and even improved the survival against hyperosmotic stress. The conserved putative helical C-terminal region is necessary and sufficient for filament formation by CAHS proteins, and mutations disrupting the secondary structure of this region impaired both the filament formation and the gel transition. On the basis of these results, we propose that CAHS proteins are novel cytoskeleton-like proteins that form filamentous networks and undergo gel-transition in a stress-dependent manner to provide on-demand physical stabilization of cell integrity against deformative forces during dehydration and could contribute to the exceptional physical stability in a dehydrated state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akihiro Tanaka
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The
University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tomomi Nakano
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The
University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kento Watanabe
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The
University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazutoshi Masuda
- Komaba Institute for Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The
University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The
University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Gen Honda
- Komaba Institute for Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The
University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The
University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shuichi Kamata
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The
University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Reitaro Yasui
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The
University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroko Kozuka-Hata
- Medical Proteomics Laboratory, The Institute of Medical Science, The
University of Tokyo, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Chiho Watanabe
- Komaba Institute for Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The
University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The
University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takumi Chinen
- Department of Physiological Chemistry, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical
Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Daiju Kitagawa
- Department of Physiological Chemistry, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical
Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Satoshi Sawai
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The
University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The
University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masaaki Oyama
- Medical Proteomics Laboratory, The Institute of Medical Science, The
University of Tokyo, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Miho Yanagisawa
- Komaba Institute for Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The
University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The
University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takekazu Kunieda
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The
University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- * E-mail:
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13
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Reid LM, Guzzetti I, Svensson T, Carlsson AC, Su W, Leek T, von Sydow L, Czechtizky W, Miljak M, Verma C, De Maria L, Essex JW. How well does molecular simulation reproduce environment-specific conformations of the intrinsically disordered peptides PLP, TP2 and ONEG? Chem Sci 2022; 13:1957-1971. [PMID: 35308859 PMCID: PMC8848758 DOI: 10.1039/d1sc03496k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the conformational ensembles of intrinsically disordered proteins and peptides (IDPs) in their various biological environments is essential for understanding their mechanisms and functional roles in the proteome, leading to a greater knowledge of, and potential treatments for, a broad range of diseases. To determine whether molecular simulation is able to generate accurate conformational ensembles of IDPs, we explore the structural landscape of the PLP peptide (an intrinsically disordered region of the proteolipid membrane protein) in aqueous and membrane-mimicking solvents, using replica exchange with solute scaling (REST2), and examine the ability of four force fields (ff14SB, ff14IDPSFF, CHARMM36 and CHARMM36m) to reproduce literature circular dichroism (CD) data. Results from variable temperature (VT) 1H and Rotating frame Overhauser Effect SpectroscopY (ROESY) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments are also presented and are consistent with the structural observations obtained from the simulations and CD. We also apply the optimum simulation protocol to TP2 and ONEG (a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) and a negative control peptide, respectively) to gain insight into the structural differences that may account for the observed difference in their membrane-penetrating abilities. Of the tested force fields, we find that CHARMM36 and CHARMM36m are best suited to the study of IDPs, and accurately predict a disordered to helical conformational transition of the PLP peptide accompanying the change from aqueous to membrane-mimicking solvents. We also identify an α-helical structure of TP2 in the membrane-mimicking solvents and provide a discussion of the mechanistic implications of this observation with reference to the previous literature on the peptide. From these results, we recommend the use of CHARMM36m with the REST2 protocol for the study of environment-specific IDP conformations. We believe that the simulation protocol will allow the study of a broad range of IDPs that undergo conformational transitions in different biological environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Reid
- School of Chemistry, University of Southampton Highfield Southampton SO17 1BJ UK
- Bioinformatics Institute (ASTAR) 30 Biolpolis Street Matrix 138671 Singapore
- MedChemica Ltd Alderley Park Macclesfield Cheshire SK10 4TG UK
| | - Ileana Guzzetti
- Medical Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Respiratory & Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D AstraZeneca Gothenburg Sweden
| | - Tor Svensson
- Medical Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Respiratory & Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D AstraZeneca Gothenburg Sweden
| | - Anna-Carin Carlsson
- Early Chemical Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, BioPharmaceuticals R&D AstraZeneca Gothenburg Sweden
| | - Wu Su
- Medical Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Respiratory & Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D AstraZeneca Gothenburg Sweden
| | - Tomas Leek
- Medical Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Respiratory & Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D AstraZeneca Gothenburg Sweden
| | - Lena von Sydow
- Medical Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Respiratory & Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D AstraZeneca Gothenburg Sweden
| | - Werngard Czechtizky
- Medical Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Respiratory & Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D AstraZeneca Gothenburg Sweden
| | - Marija Miljak
- School of Chemistry, University of Southampton Highfield Southampton SO17 1BJ UK
| | - Chandra Verma
- Bioinformatics Institute (ASTAR) 30 Biolpolis Street Matrix 138671 Singapore
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore 16 Science Drive 4 117558 Singapore
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University 60 Nanyang Dr 637551 Singapore
| | - Leonardo De Maria
- Medical Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Respiratory & Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D AstraZeneca Gothenburg Sweden
| | - Jonathan W Essex
- School of Chemistry, University of Southampton Highfield Southampton SO17 1BJ UK
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14
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Argudo PG, Giner-Casares JJ. Folding and self-assembly of short intrinsically disordered peptides and protein regions. NANOSCALE ADVANCES 2021; 3:1789-1812. [PMID: 36133101 PMCID: PMC9417027 DOI: 10.1039/d0na00941e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/17/2021] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Proteins and peptide fragments are highly relevant building blocks in self-assembly for nanostructures with plenty of applications. Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and protein regions (IDRs) are defined by the absence of a well-defined secondary structure, yet IDPs/IDRs show a significant biological activity. Experimental techniques and computational modelling procedures for the characterization of IDPs/IDRs are discussed. Directed self-assembly of IDPs/IDRs allows reaching a large variety of nanostructures. Hybrid materials based on the derivatives of IDPs/IDRs show a promising performance as alternative biocides and nanodrugs. Cell mimicking, in vivo compartmentalization, and bone regeneration are demonstrated for IDPs/IDRs in biotechnological applications. The exciting possibilities of IDPs/IDRs in nanotechnology with relevant biological applications are shown.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo G Argudo
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, LCPO 16 Avenue Pey-Berland 33600 Pessac France
| | - Juan J Giner-Casares
- Departamento de Química Física y T. Aplicada, Instituto Universitario de Nanoquímica IUNAN, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Córdoba (UCO) Campus de Rabanales, Ed. Marie Curie E-14071 Córdoba Spain
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15
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LeBlanc BM, Hand SC. Target enzymes are stabilized by AfrLEA6 and a gain of α-helix coincides with protection by a group 3 LEA protein during incremental drying. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2021; 1869:140642. [PMID: 33647452 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2021.140642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Revised: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Anhydrobiotic organisms accumulate late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins, a family of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) reported to improve cellular tolerance to water stress. Here we show that AfrLEA6, a Group 6 LEA protein only recently discovered in animals, protects lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), citrate synthase (CS) and phosphofructokinase (PFK) against damage during desiccation. In some cases, protection is enhanced by trehalose, a naturally-occurring protective solute. An open question is whether gain of secondary structure by LEA proteins during drying is a prerequisite for this stabilizing function. We used incremental drying (equilibration to a series of relative humidities, RH) to test the ability of AfrLEA2, a Group 3 LEA protein, to protect desiccation-sensitive PFK. AfrLEA2 was chosen due to its exceptional ability to protect PFK. In parallel, circular dichroism (CD) spectra were obtained for AfrLEA2 across the identical range of relative water contents. Protection of PFK by AfrLEA2, above that observed with trehalose and BSA, coincides with simultaneous gain of α-helix in AfrLEA2. At 100% RH, the CD spectrum for AfrLEA2 is typical of random coil, while at decreasing RH, the spectrum shows higher ellipticity at 191 nm and minima at 208 and 220 nm, diagnostic of α-helix. This study provides experimental evidence linking the gain of α-helix with stabilization of a target protein across a graded series of hydration states. Mechanistically, it is intriguing that certain other functions of these IDPs, like preventing aggregation of target proteins, can occur in fully hydrated cells and apparently do not require gain of α-helix.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blase M LeBlanc
- Division of Cellular Developmental and Integrative Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
| | - Steven C Hand
- Division of Cellular Developmental and Integrative Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA; Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
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16
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Koubaa S, Brini F. Functional analysis of a wheat group 3 late embryogenesis abundant protein (TdLEA3) in Arabidopsis thaliana under abiotic and biotic stresses. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY : PPB 2020; 156:396-406. [PMID: 33032258 DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2020.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are highly hydrophilic and thermostable proteins that could be induced by abiotic stresses in plants. Previously, we have isolated a group 3 LEA gene TdLEA3 in wheat. The data show that TdLEA3 was largely disordered under fully hydrated conditions and was able to prevent the inactivation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) under stress treatments. In the present work, we further investigate the role of TdLEA3 by analyzing its expression pattern under abiotic stress conditions in two contrasting wheat genotypes and by overexpressing it in Arabidopsis thaliana. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants showed higher tolerance levels to salt and oxidative stress compared to the wild type plants. Meanwhile, there was significant increase in antioxidants, catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) accumulation, increased root length and significant reduction in oxidants, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the leaves of transgenic lines under stress conditions. Accordingly, Q-PCR results indicate that the higher levels of expression of different ROS scavenging genes (AtP5CS, AtCAT, AtPOD and AtSOD) and abiotic stress related genes (RAB18 and RD29B) were detected in transgenic lines. In addition, they showed increased resistance to fungal infections caused by Fusarium graminearum, Botrytis cinerea and Aspergillus niger. Finally, Q-PCR results for biotic stress related genes (PR1, PDF1.2, LOX3 and VSP2) showed differential expression in transgenic TdLEA3 lines. All these results strongly reinforce the interest of TdLEA3 in plant adaptation to various stresses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sana Koubaa
- Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax (CBS)/University of Sfax, B.P ''1177'', 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Faical Brini
- Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax (CBS)/University of Sfax, B.P ''1177'', 3018, Sfax, Tunisia.
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17
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Schaarschmidt S, Fischer A, Lawas LMF, Alam R, Septiningsih EM, Bailey-Serres J, Jagadish SVK, Huettel B, Hincha DK, Zuther E. Utilizing PacBio Iso-Seq for Novel Transcript and Gene Discovery of Abiotic Stress Responses in Oryza sativa L. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21218148. [PMID: 33142722 PMCID: PMC7663775 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21218148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Revised: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The wide natural variation present in rice is an important source of genes to facilitate stress tolerance breeding. However, identification of candidate genes from RNA-Seq studies is hampered by the lack of high-quality genome assemblies for the most stress tolerant cultivars. A more targeted solution is the reconstruction of transcriptomes to provide templates to map RNA-seq reads. Here, we sequenced transcriptomes of ten rice cultivars of three subspecies on the PacBio Sequel platform. RNA was isolated from different organs of plants grown under control and abiotic stress conditions in different environments. Reconstructed de novo reference transcriptomes resulted in 37,500 to 54,600 plant-specific high-quality isoforms per cultivar. Isoforms were collapsed to reduce sequence redundancy and evaluated, e.g., for protein completeness (BUSCO). About 40% of all identified transcripts were novel isoforms compared to the Nipponbare reference transcriptome. For the drought/heat tolerant aus cultivar N22, 56 differentially expressed genes in developing seeds were identified at combined heat and drought in the field. The newly generated rice transcriptomes are useful to identify candidate genes for stress tolerance breeding not present in the reference transcriptomes/genomes. In addition, our approach provides a cost-effective alternative to genome sequencing for identification of candidate genes in highly stress tolerant genotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Schaarschmidt
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany; (A.F.); (L.M.F.L.); (D.K.H.)
- Correspondence: (S.S.); (E.Z.)
| | - Axel Fischer
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany; (A.F.); (L.M.F.L.); (D.K.H.)
| | - Lovely Mae F. Lawas
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany; (A.F.); (L.M.F.L.); (D.K.H.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
| | - Rejbana Alam
- Center for Plant Cell Biology, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; (R.A.); (J.B.-S.)
| | - Endang M. Septiningsih
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA;
| | - Julia Bailey-Serres
- Center for Plant Cell Biology, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; (R.A.); (J.B.-S.)
| | - S. V. Krishna Jagadish
- International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila 1301, Philippines;
- Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
| | - Bruno Huettel
- Max Planck Genome Centre Cologne, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, 50829 Cologne, Germany;
| | - Dirk K. Hincha
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany; (A.F.); (L.M.F.L.); (D.K.H.)
| | - Ellen Zuther
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany; (A.F.); (L.M.F.L.); (D.K.H.)
- Correspondence: (S.S.); (E.Z.)
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18
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Weng L, Beauchesne PR. Dimethyl sulfoxide-free cryopreservation for cell therapy: A review. Cryobiology 2020; 94:9-17. [PMID: 32247742 DOI: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2020.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Revised: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Cell-based therapeutics promise to transform the treatment of a wide range of diseases including cancer, genetic and degenerative disorders, or severe injuries. Many of the commercial and clinical development of cell therapy products require cryopreservation and storage of cellular starting materials, intermediates and/or final products at cryogenic temperature. Dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO) has been the cryoprotectant of choice in most biobanking situations due to its exceptional performance in mitigating freezing-related damages. However, there is concern over the toxicity of Me2SO and its potential side effects after administration to patients. Therefore, there has been growing demand for robust Me2SO-free cryopreservation methods that can improve product safety and maintain potency and efficacy. This article provides an overview of the recent advances in Me2SO-free cryopreservation of cells having therapeutic potentials and discusses a number of key challenges and opportunities to motivate the continued innovation of cryopreservation for cell therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindong Weng
- Sana Biotechnology, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02139, United States.
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19
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Furuki T, Takahashi Y, Hatanaka R, Kikawada T, Furuta T, Sakurai M. Group 3 LEA Protein Model Peptides Suppress Heat-Induced Lysozyme Aggregation. Elucidation of the Underlying Mechanism Using Coarse-Grained Molecular Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:2747-2759. [PMID: 32192343 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b11000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We investigated experimentally whether a short peptide, PvLEA-22, which consists of two tandem repeats of an 11-mer motif of Group 3 late embryogenesis abundant proteins, has a chaperone-like function for denatured proteins. Lysozyme was selected as a target protein. Turbidity measurements indicated that the peptide suppresses the heat-induced aggregation of lysozyme when added at a molar ratio of PvLEA-22/lysozyme >40. Circular dichroism and differential scanning calorimetry measurements confirmed that the lysozyme was denatured on heating but spontaneously refolded on subsequent cooling in the presence of the peptide. As a result, up to 80% of the native catalytic activity of lysozyme was preserved. Similar chaperone-like activity was also observed for a peptide with the same amino acid composition as PvLEA-22 but whose sequence is scrambled. To elucidate the underlying mechanism of the chaperone function of these peptides, we performed coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. This revealed that a denatured lysozyme molecule is shielded by several peptide molecules in aqueous solution, which acts as a physical barrier, reducing the opportunities for collision between denatured proteins. An important finding was that a peptide bound to the denatured protein is very rapidly replaced by another; due to such rapid exchange, peptide-protein contact time is very short, that is, on the order of ∼200 ns. Therefore, the peptide does not constrain the behavior of the denatured protein, which can refold freely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takao Furuki
- Center for Biological Resources and Informatics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259-B-62, Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, 226-8501, Japan
| | - Yuta Takahashi
- Center for Biological Resources and Informatics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259-B-62, Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, 226-8501, Japan
| | - Rie Hatanaka
- Molecular Biomimetics Research Unit, Division of Biotechnology, Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, National Institute of Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Ohwashi 1-2, Tsukuba 305-8634 Japan
| | - Takahiro Kikawada
- Molecular Biomimetics Research Unit, Division of Biotechnology, Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, National Institute of Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Ohwashi 1-2, Tsukuba 305-8634 Japan
| | - Tadaomi Furuta
- Center for Biological Resources and Informatics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259-B-62, Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, 226-8501, Japan
| | - Minoru Sakurai
- Center for Biological Resources and Informatics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259-B-62, Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, 226-8501, Japan
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20
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Common Functions of Disordered Proteins across Evolutionary Distant Organisms. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21062105. [PMID: 32204351 PMCID: PMC7139818 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21062105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins and regions typically lack a well-defined structure and thus fall outside the scope of the classic sequence–structure–function relationship. Hence, classic sequence- or structure-based bioinformatic approaches are often not well suited to identify homology or predict the function of unknown intrinsically disordered proteins. Here, we give selected examples of intrinsic disorder in plant proteins and present how protein function is shared, altered or distinct in evolutionary distant organisms. Furthermore, we explore how examining the specific role of disorder across different phyla can provide a better understanding of the common features that protein disorder contributes to the respective biological mechanism.
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Yang P, Wu Y, Jiang S, Zheng Z, Hou Z, Mu D, Xiao W, Jiang S, Yang YH. Effective Expression of the Serratia marcescens Phospholipase A1 Gene in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3), Enzyme Characterization, and Crude Rapeseed Oil Degumming via a Free Enzyme Approach. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2019; 7:272. [PMID: 31681748 PMCID: PMC6811509 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2019.00272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Crude oil degumming by phospholipid removal is crucial to guarantee oil quality. Phospholipase degumming could produce green vegetable oil by reducing energy consumption and protecting the environment. To develop a novel phospholipase for oil degumming, we cloned the Serratia marcescens outer membrane phospholipase A gene (OM-PLA1) and expressed its 33 KDa protein in engineered Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). OM-PLA1 activity reached 18.9 U mL-1 with the induction of 0.6 mM isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside for 4 h. The optimum temperature and pH were 50°C and 7.5, respectively. Mg2+, Ca2+, Co2+, and Mn2+ at 0.1 mM L-1 significantly increased OM-PLA1 activity. The kinetic equations of OM-PLA1 and Lecitase Ultra were y = 13.7x+0.74 (Km = 18.53 mM, Vmax = 1.35 mM min-1) and y = 24.42x+0.58 (Km = 42.1 mM, Vmax = 1.72 mM min-1), respectively. The phosphorus content decreased from 22.6 to 9.3 mg kg-1 with the addition of 15 units of free recombinant OM-PLA1 into 150 g of crude rapeseed oil. OM-PLA1 has the close degumming efficiency with Lecitase Ultra. The S. marcescens outer membrane phospholipase gene (OM-PLA1) possessed higher substrate affinity and catalytic efficiency than Lecitase Ultra. This study provides an alternative approach to achieve crude vegetable oil degumming with enzymatic technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peizhou Yang
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Intensive Processing of Agricultural Products, College of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
| | - Yun Wu
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Intensive Processing of Agricultural Products, College of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
| | - Suwei Jiang
- Department of Biological, Food and Environment Engineering, Hefei University, Hefei, China
| | - Zhi Zheng
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Intensive Processing of Agricultural Products, College of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
| | - Zhigang Hou
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Intensive Processing of Agricultural Products, College of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
| | - Dongdong Mu
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Intensive Processing of Agricultural Products, College of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
| | - Wei Xiao
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Intensive Processing of Agricultural Products, College of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
| | - Shaotong Jiang
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Intensive Processing of Agricultural Products, College of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
| | - Yung-Hun Yang
- Department of Biological Engineering, College of Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea
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A beetle antifreeze protein protects lactate dehydrogenase under freeze-thawing. Int J Biol Macromol 2019; 136:1153-1160. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.06.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2019] [Revised: 06/06/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Yu Z, Wang X, Tian Y, Zhang D, Zhang L. The functional analysis of a wheat group 3 late embryogenesis abundant protein in Escherichia coli and Arabidopsis under abiotic stresses. PLANT SIGNALING & BEHAVIOR 2019; 14:1667207. [PMID: 31524548 PMCID: PMC6804706 DOI: 10.1080/15592324.2019.1667207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are highly hydrophilic and thermostable proteins that could be induced by abiotic stresses in plants. Previously, we have isolated a group 3 LEA gene WZY3-1 (GenBank: KX090360.1) in wheat. In this study, the recombinant plasmid with WZY3-1 was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 for protein expression. Furthermore, we transformed WZY3-1 into Arabidopsis. Overexpression of WZY3-1 in E.coli enhanced their tolerance to mannitol and NaCl. WZY3-1 protein could protect lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) under freeze and heat stress. Overexpression of WZY3-1 showed that WZY3-1 could help to improve the drought tolerance of transgenic Arabidopsis. In summary, our works show that WZY3-1 plays an important role in abiotic stress resistance in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengyang Yu
- College of Life Science/State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
| | - Xin Wang
- College of Life Science/State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
| | - Ye Tian
- College of Life Science/State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
| | - Dapeng Zhang
- College of Life Science/State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
- CONTACT Dapeng Zhang
| | - Linsheng Zhang
- College of Life Science/State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
- Linsheng Zhang Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
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