POBO, transcription factor binding site verification with bootstrapping

Rice WRKY13 TF protein binds to motifs in the promoter region to regulate downstream disease resistance-related genes

In plants, pathogen resistance is brought about by the binding of certain transcription factor (TF) proteins to the cis-elements of certain target genes. These cis-elements are present upstream in the motif of the promoters of each gene. This ensures the binding of a specific TF to a specific promoter, therefore regulating the expression of that gene. Therefore, the study of each promoter sequence of all the rice genes would help identify the target genes of a specific TF. Rice 1 kb upstream promoter sequences of 55,986 annotated genes were analyzed using the Perl program algorithm to detect WRKY13 binding motifs (bm). The resulting genes were grouped using Gene Ontology and gene set enrichment analysis. A gene with more than 4 TF bm in their promoter was selected. Ten genes reported to have a role in rice disease resistance were selected for further analysis. Cis-acting regulatory element analysis was carried out to find the cis-elements and confirm the presence of the corresponding motifs in the promoter sequences of these genes. The 3D structure of WRKY13 TF and the corresponding ten genes were built, and the interacting residues were determined. The binding capacity of WRKY13 to the promoter of these selected genes was analyzed using docking studies. WRKY13 was considered for docking analysis based on the prior reports of autoregulation. Molecular dynamic simulations provided more details regarding the interactions. Expression data revealed the expression of the genes that helped provide the mechanism of interaction. Further co-expression network helped to characterize the interaction of these selected disease resistance-related genes with the WRKY13 TF protein. This study suggests downstream target genes that are regulated by the WRKY13 TF. The molecular mechanism involving the gene network regulated by WRKY13 TF in disease resistance against rice fungal pathogens is explored.

Genome‑wide identification of CAMTA gene family members in rice (Oryza sativa L.) and in silico study on their versatility in respect to gene expression and promoter structure

The calmodulin-binding transcription activator (CAMTA) is a family of transcriptional factors containing a cluster of calmodulin-binding proteins that can activate gene regulation in response to stresses. The presence of this family of genes has been reported earlier, though, the comprehensive analyses of rice CAMTA (OsCAMTA) genes, their promoter regions, and the proteins were not deliberated till date. The present report revealed the existence of seven CAMTA genes along with their alternate transcripts in five chromosomes of rice (Oryza sativa) genome. Phylogenetic trees classified seven CAMTA genes into three clades indicating the evolutionary conservation in gene structure and their association with other plant species. The in silico study was carried out considering 2 kilobases (kb) promoter regions of seven OsCAMTA genes regarding the distribution of transcription factor binding sites (TFbs) of major and plant-specific transcription factors whereas OsCAMTA7a was identified with highest number of TFbs, while OsCAMTA4 had the lowest. Comparative modelling, i.e., homology modelling, and molecular docking of the CAMTA proteins contributed the thoughtful comprehension of protein 3D structures and protein-protein interaction with probable partners. Gene ontology annotation identified the involvement of the proteins in biological processes, molecular functions, and localization in cellular components. Differential gene expression study gave an insight on functional multiplicity to showcase OsCAMTA3b as most upregulated stress-responsive gene. Summarization of the present findings can be interpreted that OsCAMTA gene duplication, variation in TFbs available in the promoters, and interactions of OsCAMTA proteins with their binding partners might be linked to tolerance against multiple biotic and abiotic cues.

In-silico study of biotic and abiotic stress-related transcription factor binding sites in the promoter regions of rice germin-like protein genes

Germin-like proteins (GLPs) are involved in biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in different plant species. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) genome contains about 40 GLP family member proteins in nine chromosomes. Although some of the rice GLP (OsGLP) promoters have been studied through in silico analysis as well as experimentally, studies regarding the distribution pattern of the biotic and abiotic stress associated transcription factor binding sites (TFbs) in the promoter regions of OsGLP genes have not been attempted thoroughly. Several transcription factors (TFs) namely NAC, WRKY, bHLH, bZIP, MYB and AP2/ERF act as major TFs concerned with biotic as well as abiotic stress responses across various plant species. In the present study the in silico analysis was carried out using the 1.5 kilobases (kb) promoter regions from 40 different OsGLP genes for the presence of NAC, WRKY, bHLH, bZIP, MYB and AP2/ERF TFbs in it. Among various OsGLP gene promoters, OsGLP8-11 was found to contain highest number of tested TFbs in the promoter region whereas the promoter region of OsGLP5-1 depicted least amount of TFbs. Phylogenetic study of promoter regions of different OsGLP genes revealed four different clades. Our analyses could reveal the evolutionary significance of different OsGLP gene promoters. It can be presumed from the present findings as well as previous reports that OsGLP gene duplications and subsequent variations in the TFbs in OsGLP gene promoter regions might be the consequences of neofunctionalization of OsGLP genes and their promoters for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in rice.

Vascular Plant One-Zinc-Finger (VOZ) Transcription Factors Are Positive Regulators of Salt Tolerance in Arabidopsis

Soil salinity, a significant problem in agriculture, severely limits the productivity of crop plants. Plants respond to and cope with salt stress by reprogramming gene expression via multiple signaling pathways that converge on transcription factors. To develop strategies to generate salt-tolerant crops, it is necessary to identify transcription factors that modulate salt stress responses in plants. In this study, we investigated the role of VOZ (VASCULAR PLANT ONE-ZINC FINGER PROTEIN) transcription factors (VOZs) in salt stress response. Transcriptome analysis in WT (wild-type), voz1-1, voz2-1 double mutant and a VOZ2 complemented line revealed that many stress-responsive genes are regulated by VOZs. Enrichment analysis for gene ontology terms in misregulated genes in voz double mutant confirmed previously identified roles of VOZs and suggested a new role for them in salt stress. To confirm VOZs role in salt stress, we analyzed seed germination and seedling growth of WT, voz1, voz2-1, voz2-2 single mutants, voz1-1voz2-1 double mutant and a complemented line under different concentrations of NaCl. Only the double mutant exhibited hypersensitivity to salt stress as compared to WT, single mutants, and a complemented line. Expression analysis showed that hypersensitivity of the double mutant was accompanied by reduced expression of salt-inducible genes. These results suggest that VOZ transcription factors act as positive regulators of several salt-responsive genes and that the two VOZs are functionally redundant in salt stress.

Proteasome-associated HECT-type ubiquitin ligase activity is required for plant immunity

Regulated degradation of proteins by the 26S proteasome plays important roles in maintenance and signalling in eukaryotic cells. Proteins are marked for degradation by the action of E3 ligases that site-specifically modify their substrates by adding chains of ubiquitin. Innate immune signalling in plants is deeply reliant on the ubiquitin-26S proteasome system. While progress has been made in understanding substrate ubiquitination during plant immunity, how these substrates are processed upon arrival at the proteasome remains unclear. Here we show that specific members of the HECT domain-containing family of ubiquitin protein ligases (UPL) play important roles in proteasomal substrate processing during plant immunity. Mutations in UPL1, UPL3 and UPL5 significantly diminished immune responses activated by the immune hormone salicylic acid (SA). In depth analyses of upl3 mutants indicated that these plants were impaired in reprogramming of nearly the entire SA-induced transcriptome and failed to establish immunity against a hemi-biotrophic pathogen. UPL3 was found to physically interact with the regulatory particle of the proteasome and with other ubiquitin-26S proteasome pathway components. In agreement, we demonstrate that UPL3 enabled proteasomes to form polyubiquitin chains, thereby regulating total cellular polyubiquitination levels. Taken together, our findings suggest that proteasome-associated ubiquitin ligase activity of UPL3 promotes proteasomal processivity and is indispensable for development of plant immunity.

Co-regulation analysis of co-expressed modules under cold and pathogen stress conditions in tomato

A primary mechanism for controlling the development of multicellular organisms is transcriptional regulation, which carried out by transcription factors (TFs) that recognize and bind to their binding sites on promoter region. The distance from translation start site, order, orientation, and spacing between cis elements are key factors in the concentration of active nuclear TFs and transcriptional regulation of target genes. In this study, overrepresented motifs in cold and pathogenesis responsive genes were scanned via Gibbs sampling method, this method is based on detection of overrepresented motifs by means of a stochastic optimization strategy that searches for all possible sets of short DNA segments. Then, identified motifs were checked by TRANSFAC, PLACE and Soft Berry databases in order to identify putative TFs which, interact to the motifs. Several cis/trans regulatory elements were found using these databases. Moreover, cross-talk between cold and pathogenesis responsive genes were confirmed. Statistical analysis was used to determine distribution of identified motifs on promoter region. In addition, co-regulation analysis results, illustrated genes in pathogenesis responsive module are divided into two main groups. Also, promoter region was crunched to six subareas in order to draw the pattern of distribution of motifs in promoter subareas. The result showed the majority of motifs are concentrated on 700 nucleotides upstream of the translational start site (ATG). In contrast, this result isn't true in another group. In other words, there was no difference between total and compartmentalized regions in cold responsive genes.

WRKY70 prevents axenic activation of plant immunity by direct repression of SARD1

SARD1 is an activator of plant immunity that promotes production of the hormone salicylic acid (SA) and activation of defense gene expression. SARD1 itself is strongly inducible by infection. Here, we investigated the transcriptional control of SARD1. We used yeast one-hybrid assays to identify WRKY70. The WRKY70 binding site was defined using electrophoretic mobility shift assays, and its importance was investigated using an Arabidopsis thaliana protoplast system. The effect of wrky70 mutations was studied by measurements of pathogen growth, SA concentrations, and gene expression by RNA-seq. WRKY70 binds to a GACTTTT motif in the SARD1 promoter in yeast and Arabidopsis protoplasts. Plants with wrky70 mutations have elevated expression of SARD1 in the absence of pathogens, but not when infected. Expression profiling revealed that WRKY70 represses many pathogen-inducible genes in the absence of pathogens, yet is required for activation of many other pathogen-inducible genes in infected plants. The GACTTTT motif is enriched in the promoters of both these gene sets, and conserved in SARD1 orthologs within the Brassicaceae. WRKY70 represses SARD1 by binding the motif GACTTTT in the absence of pathogens. Conservation of the WRKY70 binding among the Brassicaceae suggests that WRKY70 repression of SARD1 is important for fitness.

Global gene expression analysis using RNA-seq uncovered a new role for SR1/CAMTA3 transcription factor in salt stress

Abiotic and biotic stresses cause significant yield losses in all crops. Acquisition of stress tolerance in plants requires rapid reprogramming of gene expression. SR1/CAMTA3, a member of signal responsive transcription factors (TFs), functions both as a positive and a negative regulator of biotic stress responses and as a positive regulator of cold stress-induced gene expression. Using high throughput RNA-seq, we identified ~3000 SR1-regulated genes. Promoters of about 60% of the differentially expressed genes have a known DNA binding site for SR1, suggesting that they are likely direct targets. Gene ontology analysis of SR1-regulated genes confirmed previously known functions of SR1 and uncovered a potential role for this TF in salt stress. Our results showed that SR1 mutant is more tolerant to salt stress than the wild type and complemented line. Improved tolerance of sr1 seedlings to salt is accompanied with the induction of salt-responsive genes. Furthermore, ChIP-PCR results showed that SR1 binds to promoters of several salt-responsive genes. These results suggest that SR1 acts as a negative regulator of salt tolerance by directly repressing the expression of salt-responsive genes. Overall, this study identified SR1-regulated genes globally and uncovered a previously uncharacterized role for SR1 in salt stress response.

Identification and expression analyses of MYB and WRKY transcription factor genes in Papaver somniferum L

Papaver somniferum L. is an herbaceous, annual and diploid plant that is important from pharmacological and strategic point of view. The cDNA clones of two putative MYB and WRKY genes were isolated (GeneBank accession numbers KP411870 and KP203854, respectively) from this plant, via the nested-PCR method, and characterized. The MYB transcription factor (TF) comprises 342 amino acids, and exhibits the structural features of the R2R3MYB protein family. The WRKY TF, a 326 amino acid-long polypeptide, falls structurally into the group II of WRKY protein family. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analyses indicate the presence of these TFs in all organs of P. somniferum L. and Papaver bracteatum L. Highest expression levels of these two TFs were observed in the leaf tissues of P. somniferum L. while in P. bracteatum L. the espression levels were highest in the root tissues. Promoter analysis of the 10 co-expressed gene clustered involved in noscapine biosynthesis pathway in P. somniferum L. suggested that not only these 10 genes are co-expressed, but also share common regulatory motifs and TFs including MYB and WRKY TFs, and that may explain their common regulation.

WRKY40 and WRKY6 act downstream of the green leaf volatile E-2-hexenal in Arabidopsis

Plants are known to be responsive to volatiles, but knowledge about the molecular players involved in transducing their perception remains scarce. We study the response of Arabidopsis thaliana to E-2-hexenal, one of the green leaf volatiles (GLV) that is produced upon wounding, herbivory or infection with pathogens. We have taken a transcriptomics approach to identify genes that are induced by E-2-hexenal, but not by defence hormones or other GLVs. Furthermore, by studying the promoters of early E-2-hexenal-induced genes we determined that the only statistically enriched cis-element was the W-box motif. Since members of the plant-specific family of WRKY transcription factors act in trans on this cis-element, we focused on WRKY6, 40 and 53 that were most strongly induced by E-2-hexenal. Root elongation of Arabidopsis seedlings of the wrky40 wrky6 double mutant was much less inhibited than in wt plants, similar to the E-2-hexenal-responsive mutant her1, which is perturbed in γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) metabolism. The induction of several of the E-2-hexenal-specific genes was much higher in the wrky40, wrky6 or wrky40 wrky6 mutants, including GAD4, a glutamate decarboxylase that catalyzes the formation of GABA from glutamate. In conclusion, WRKY6 and 40 seem to act as important players transducing E-2-hexenal perception.

Small RNA profiling reveals regulation of Arabidopsis miR168 and heterochromatic siRNA415 in response to fungal elicitors

BACKGROUND

Small RNAs (sRNAs), including small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs), have emerged as important regulators of eukaryotic gene expression. In plants, miRNAs play critical roles in development, nutrient homeostasis and abiotic stress responses. Accumulating evidence also reveals that sRNAs are involved in plant immunity. Most studies on pathogen-regulated sRNAs have been conducted in Arabidopsis plants infected with the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae, or treated with the flagelin-derived elicitor peptide flg22 from P. syringae. This work investigates sRNAs that are regulated by elicitors from the fungus Fusarium oxysporum in Arabidopsis.

RESULTS

Microarray analysis revealed alterations on the accumulation of a set of sRNAs in response to elicitor treatment, including miRNAs and small RNA sequences derived from massively parallel signature sequencing. Among the elicitor-regulated miRNAs was miR168 which regulates ARGONAUTE1, the core component of the RNA-induced silencing complex involved in miRNA functioning. Promoter analysis in transgenic Arabidopsis plants revealed transcriptional activation of MIR168 by fungal elicitors. Furthermore, transgenic plants expressing a GFP-miR168 sensor gene confirmed that the elicitor-induced miR168 is active. MiR823, targeting Chromomethylase3 (CMT3) involved in RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) was also found to be regulated by fungal elicitors. In addition to known miRNAs, microarray analysis allowed the identification of an elicitor-inducible small RNA that was incorrectly annotated as a miRNA. Studies on Arabidopsis mutants impaired in small RNA biogenesis demonstrated that this sRNA, is a heterochromatic-siRNA (hc-siRNA) named as siRNA415. Hc-siRNAs are known to be involved in RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM). SiRNA415 is detected in several plant species.

CONCLUSION

Results here presented support a transcriptional regulatory mechanism underlying MIR168 expression. This finding highlights the importance of miRNA functioning in adaptive processes of Arabidopsis plants to fungal infection. The results of this study also lay a foundation for the involvement of RdDM processes through the activity of siRNA415 and miR823 in mediating regulation of immune responses in Arabidopsis plants.

Expression-based network biology identifies immune-related functional modules involved in plant defense

Background

Plants respond to diverse environmental cues including microbial perturbations by coordinated regulation of thousands of genes. These intricate transcriptional regulatory interactions depend on the recognition of specific promoter sequences by regulatory transcription factors. The combinatorial and cooperative action of multiple transcription factors defines a regulatory network that enables plant cells to respond to distinct biological signals. The identification of immune-related modules in large-scale transcriptional regulatory networks can reveal the mechanisms by which exposure to a pathogen elicits a precise phenotypic immune response.

Results

We have generated a large-scale immune co-expression network using a comprehensive set of Arabidopsis thaliana (hereafter Arabidopsis) transcriptomic data, which consists of a wide spectrum of immune responses to pathogens or pathogen-mimicking stimuli treatments. We employed both linear and non-linear models to generate Arabidopsis immune co-expression regulatory (AICR) network. We computed network topological properties and ascertained that this newly constructed immune network is densely connected, possesses hubs, exhibits high modularity, and displays hallmarks of a “real” biological network. We partitioned the network and identified 156 novel modules related to immune functions. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analyses provided insight into the key biological processes involved in determining finely tuned immune responses. We also developed novel software called OCCEAN (One Click Cis-regulatory Elements ANalysis) to discover statistically enriched promoter elements in the upstream regulatory regions of Arabidopsis at a whole genome level. We demonstrated that OCCEAN exhibits higher precision than the existing promoter element discovery tools. In light of known and newly discovered cis-regulatory elements, we evaluated biological significance of two key immune-related functional modules and proposed mechanism(s) to explain how large sets of diverse GO genes coherently function to mount effective immune responses.

Conclusions

We used a network-based, top-down approach to discover immune-related modules from transcriptomic data in Arabidopsis. Detailed analyses of these functional modules reveal new insight into the topological properties of immune co-expression networks and a comprehensive understanding of multifaceted plant defense responses. We present evidence that our newly developed software, OCCEAN, could become a popular tool for the Arabidopsis research community as well as potentially expand to analyze other eukaryotic genomes.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-421) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Identification of a novel type of WRKY transcription factor binding site in elicitor-responsive cis-sequences from Arabidopsis thaliana

Using a combination of bioinformatics and synthetic promoters, novel elicitor-responsive cis-sequences were discovered in promoters of pathogen-upregulated genes from Arabidopsis thaliana. One group of functional sequences contains the conserved core sequence GACTTTT. This core sequence and adjacent nucleotides are essential for elicitor-responsive gene expression in a parsley protoplast system. By yeast one-hybrid screening, WRKY70 was selected with a cis-sequence harbouring the core sequence GACTTTT but no known WRKY binding site (W-box). Transactivation experiments, mutation analyses, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrate that the sequence CGACTTTT is the binding site for WRKY70 in the investigated cis-sequence and is required for WRKY70-activated gene expression. Using several cis-sequences in transactivation experiments and binding studies, the CGACTTTT sequence can be extended to propose YGACTTTT as WRKY70 binding site. This binding site, designated WT-box, is enriched in promoters of genes upregulated in a WRKY70 overexpressing line. Interestingly, functional WRKY70 binding sites are present in the promoter of WRKY30, supporting recent evidence that both factors play a role in the same regulatory network.

ATAF1 transcription factor directly regulates abscisic acid biosynthetic gene NCED3 in Arabidopsis thaliana

ATAF1, an Arabidopsis thaliana NAC transcription factor, plays important roles in plant adaptation to environmental stress and development. To search for ATAF1 target genes, we used protein binding microarrays and chromatin-immunoprecipitation (ChIP). This identified T[A,C,G]CGT[A,G] and TT[A,C,G]CGT as ATAF1 consensus binding sequences. Co-expression analysis across publicly available microarray experiments identified 25 genes co-expressed with ATAF1. The promoter regions of ATAF1 co-expressors were significantly enriched for ATAF1 binding sites, and TTGCGTA was identified in the promoter of the key abscisic acid (ABA) phytohormone biosynthetic gene NCED3. ChIP-qPCR and expression analysis showed that ATAF1 binding to the NCED3 promoter correlated with increased NCED3 expression and ABA hormone levels. These results indicate that ATAF1 regulates ABA biosynthesis.

System-wide hypersensitive response-associated transcriptome and metabolome reprogramming in tomato

The hypersensitive response (HR) is considered to be the hallmark of the resistance response of plants to pathogens. To study HR-associated transcriptome and metabolome reprogramming in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), we used plants that express both a resistance gene to Cladosporium fulvum and the matching avirulence gene of this pathogen. In these plants, massive reprogramming occurred, and we found that the HR and associated processes are highly energy demanding. Ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation, hydrolysis of sugars, and lipid catabolism are used as alternative sources of amino acids, energy, and carbon skeletons, respectively. We observed strong accumulation of secondary metabolites, such as hydroxycinnamic acid amides. Coregulated expression of WRKY transcription factors and genes known to be involved in the HR, in addition to a strong enrichment of the W-box WRKY-binding motif in the promoter sequences of the coregulated genes, point to WRKYs as the most prominent orchestrators of the HR. Our study has revealed several novel HR-related genes, and reverse genetics tools will allow us to understand the role of each individual component in the HR.

Crosstalk between the circadian clock and innate immunity in Arabidopsis

The circadian clock integrates temporal information with environmental cues in regulating plant development and physiology. Recently, the circadian clock has been shown to affect plant responses to biotic cues. To further examine this role of the circadian clock, we tested disease resistance in mutants disrupted in CCA1 and LHY, which act synergistically to regulate clock activity. We found that cca1 and lhy mutants also synergistically affect basal and resistance gene-mediated defense against Pseudomonas syringae and Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis. Disrupting the circadian clock caused by overexpression of CCA1 or LHY also resulted in severe susceptibility to P. syringae. We identified a downstream target of CCA1 and LHY, GRP7, a key constituent of a slave oscillator regulated by the circadian clock and previously shown to influence plant defense and stomatal activity. We show that the defense role of CCA1 and LHY against P. syringae is at least partially through circadian control of stomatal aperture but is independent of defense mediated by salicylic acid. Furthermore, we found defense activation by P. syringae infection and treatment with the elicitor flg22 can feedback-regulate clock activity. Together this data strongly supports a direct role of the circadian clock in defense control and reveal for the first time crosstalk between the circadian clock and plant innate immunity.

EBE, an AP2/ERF transcription factor highly expressed in proliferating cells, affects shoot architecture in Arabidopsis

We report about ERF BUD ENHANCER (EBE; At5g61890), a transcription factor that affects cell proliferation as well as axillary bud outgrowth and shoot branching in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). EBE encodes a member of the APETALA2/ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR (AP2/ERF) transcription factor superfamily; the gene is strongly expressed in proliferating cells and is rapidly and transiently up-regulated in axillary meristems upon main stem decapitation. Overexpression of EBE promotes cell proliferation in growing calli, while the opposite is observed in EBE-RNAi lines. EBE overexpression also stimulates axillary bud formation and outgrowth, while repressing it results in inhibition of bud growth. Global transcriptome analysis of estradiol-inducible EBE overexpression lines revealed 48 EBE early-responsive genes, of which 14 were up-regulated and 34 were down-regulated. EBE activates several genes involved in cell cycle regulation and dormancy breaking, including D-type cyclin CYCD3;3, transcription regulator DPa, and BRCA1-ASSOCIATED RING DOMAIN1. Among the down-regulated genes were DORMANCY-ASSOCIATED PROTEIN1 (AtDRM1), AtDRM1 homolog, MEDIATOR OF ABA-REGULATED DORMANCY1, and ZINC FINGER HOMEODOMAIN5. Our data indicate that the effect of EBE on shoot branching likely results from an activation of genes involved in cell cycle regulation and dormancy breaking.

Arabidopsis TNL-WRKY domain receptor RRS1 contributes to temperature-conditioned RPS4 auto-immunity

In plant effector-triggered immunity (ETI), intracellular nucleotide binding-leucine rich repeat (NLR) receptors are activated by specific pathogen effectors. The Arabidopsis TIR (Toll-Interleukin-1 receptor domain)-NLR (denoted TNL) gene pair, RPS4 and RRS1, confers resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato (Pst) strain DC3000 expressing the Type III-secreted effector, AvrRps4. Nuclear accumulation of AvrRps4, RPS4, and the TNL resistance regulator EDS1 is necessary for ETI. RRS1 possesses a C-terminal "WRKY" transcription factor DNA binding domain suggesting that important RPS4/RRS1 recognition and/or resistance signaling events occur at the nuclear chromatin. In Arabidopsis accession Ws-0, the RPS4(Ws) /RRS1(Ws) allelic pair governs resistance to Pst/AvrRps4 accompanied by host programed cell death (pcd). In accession Col-0, RPS4(Col) /RRS1(Col) effectively limits Pst/AvrRps4 growth without pcd. Constitutive expression of HA-StrepII tagged RPS4(Col) (in a 35S:RPS4-HS line) confers temperature-conditioned EDS1-dependent auto-immunity. Here we show that a high (28°C, non-permissive) to moderate (19°C, permissive) temperature shift of 35S:RPS4-HS plants can be used to follow defense-related transcriptional dynamics without a pathogen effector trigger. By comparing responses of 35S:RPS4-HS with 35S:RPS4-HS rrs1-11 and 35S:RPS4-HS eds1-2 mutants, we establish that RPS4(Col) auto-immunity depends entirely on EDS1 and partially on RRS1(Col) . Examination of gene expression microarray data over 24 h after temperature shift reveals a mainly quantitative RRS1(Col) contribution to up- or down-regulation of a small subset of RPS4(Col) -reprogramed, EDS1-dependent genes. We find significant over-representation of WRKY transcription factor binding W-box cis-elements within the promoters of these genes. Our data show that RRS1(Col) contributes to temperature-conditioned RPS4(Col) auto-immunity and are consistent with activated RPS4(Col) engaging RRS1(Col) for resistance signaling.

Co-expression analysis identifies putative targets for CBP60g and SARD1 regulation

BACKGROUND

Salicylic acid is a critical signalling component in plant defence responses. In Arabidopsis, isochorismate synthase encoded by SID2 is essential for the biosynthesis of salicylic acid in response to biotic challenges. Recently, both the calmodulin binding protein CBP60g and its closest homolog, the non-calmodulin binding SARD1, have been shown to bind to the promoter region of SID2. Loss of both CBP60g and SARD1 severely impacts the plants ability to produce SA in response to bacterial inoculation and renders the plant susceptible to infection. In an electrophoretic mobility shift assay CBP60g and SARD1 were shown to bind specifically to a 10mer oligonucleotide with the sequence GAAATTTTGG.

RESULTS

Gene expression profiling on a custom microarray identified a set of genes, like SID2, down-regulated in cbp60g sard1 mutant plants. Co-expression analysis across a defined set of ATH1 full genome microarray experiments expanded this gene set; clustering analysis was then applied to group densely interconnected genes. A stringent threshold for co-expression identified two related calmodulin-like genes tightly associated with SID2. SID2 was found to cluster with genes whose promoter regions were significantly enriched with GAAATT motifs. Genes clustering with SID2 were found to be down-regulated in the cbp60g sard1 double mutant. Representative genes from other clusters enriched with the GAAATT motif were found to be variously down-regulated, unchanged or up-regulated in the double mutant. A previously characterised co-expression between SID2 and WRKY28 was not reproduced in this analysis but was contained within a subset of the experiments where SID2 was co-expressed with CBP60g or SARD1.

CONCLUSION

Putative components of the CBP60g SARD1 signalling network have been uncovered by co-expression analysis. In addition to genes whose regulation is similar to that of SID2 some are repressed by CBP60g and SARD1.

Expression pattern of drought stress marker genes in soybean roots under two water deficit systems

The study of tolerance mechanisms for drought stress in soybean is fundamental to the understanding and development of tolerant varieties. Using in silico analysis, four marker genes involved in the classical ABA-dependent and ABA-independent pathways of drought response were identified in the Glycine max genome in the present work. The expression profiles of the marker genes ERD1-like, GmaxRD20A-like, GmaxRD22-like and GmaxRD29B-like were investigated by qPCR in root samples of drought sensitive and tolerant soybean cultivars (BR 16 and Embrapa 48, respectively), submitted to water deficit conditions in hydroponic and pot-based systems. Among the four putative soybean homologs to Arabidopsis genes investigated herein, only GmaxRD29B-like was not regulated by water deficit stress. Distinct expression profiles and different induction levels were observed among the genes, as well as between the two drought-inducing systems. Our results showed contrasting gene expression responses for the GmaxRD20A-like and GmaxRD22-like genes. GmaxRD20A-like was highly induced by continuous drought acclimating conditions, whereas GmaxRD22-like responses decreased after abrupt water deprivation. GmaxERD1-like showed a different expression profile for the cultivars in each system. Conversely, GmaxRD20A-like and GmaxRD22-like genes exhibited similar expression levels in tolerant plants in both systems.

Expression analysis in response to drought stress in soybean: Shedding light on the regulation of metabolic pathway genes

Metabolomics analysis of wild type Arabidopsis thaliana plants, under control and drought stress conditions revealed several metabolic pathways that are induced under water deficit. The metabolic response to drought stress is also associated with ABA dependent and independent pathways, allowing a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms in this model plant. Through combining an in silico approach and gene expression analysis by quantitative real-time PCR, the present work aims at identifying genes of soybean metabolic pathways potentially associated with water deficit. Digital expression patterns of Arabidopsis genes, which were selected based on the basis of literature reports, were evaluated under drought stress condition by Genevestigator. Genes that showed strong induction under drought stress were selected and used as bait to identify orthologs in the soybean genome. This allowed us to select 354 genes of putative soybean orthologs of 79 Arabidopsis genes belonging to 38 distinct metabolic pathways. The expression pattern of the selected genes was verified in the subtractive libraries available in the GENOSOJA project. Subsequently, 13 genes from different metabolic pathways were selected for validation by qPCR experiments. The expression of six genes was validated in plants undergoing drought stress in both pot-based and hydroponic cultivation systems. The results suggest that the metabolic response to drought stress is conserved in Arabidopsis and soybean plants.

BON1 interacts with the protein kinases BIR1 and BAK1 in modulation of temperature-dependent plant growth and cell death in Arabidopsis

The Arabidopsis copine gene BON1 encodes a calcium-dependent phospholipid-binding protein involved in plant growth homeostasis and disease resistance. However, the biochemical and molecular mechanisms by which BON1 modulates plant growth and defense responses are not well understood. Here, we show that BON1 interacts physically with the leucine-rich-repeat receptor-like kinases BIR1 (BAK1-interacting receptor-like kinase 1) and pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) receptor regulator BAK1 in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, bon1 and bir1 mutants exhibit synergistic interaction. While a bir1 null mutant has similar growth and cell-death defects compared with bon1, a bir1 bon1 double mutant displays more severe phenotypes than does the single mutants. The bon1-1 and bir1-1 phenotypes are partially suppressed by overexpression of BIR1 and BON1, respectively. Furthermore, the bir1 phenotype is attenuated by a loss-of-function mutation in the resistance (R) gene SNC1 (Suppressor of npr1-1, constitutive 1), which mediates defense responses in bon1. Intriguingly, BON1 and BIR1 can be phosphorylated by BAK1 in vitro. Our findings suggest that BIR1 functions as a negative regulator of plant resistance and that BON1 and BIR1 might modulate both PAMP- and R protein-triggered immune responses.

A high resolution genome-wide scan of HNF4α recognition sites infers a regulatory gene network in colon cancer

The hepatic nuclear factor HNF4α is a versatile transcription factor and controls expression of many genes in development, metabolism and disease. To delineate its regulatory gene network in colon cancer and to define novel gene targets a comprehensive genome-wide scan was carried out at a resolution of 35 bp with chromatin IP DNA obtained from the human colon carcinoma cell line Caco-2 that is a particularly rich source of HNF4α. More than 90% of HNF4α binding sites were mapped as promoter distal sequences while enhancer elements could be defined to foster chromatin loops for interaction with other promoter-bound transcription factors. Sequence motif analysis by various genetic algorithms evidenced a unique enhanceosome that consisted of the nuclear proteins ERα, AP1, GATA and HNF1α as cooperating transcription factors. Overall >17,500 DNA binding sites were identified with a gene/binding site ratio that differed >6-fold between chromosomes and clustered in distinct chromosomal regions amongst >6600 genes targeted by HNF4α. Evidence is presented for nuclear receptor cross-talk of HNF4α and estrogen receptor α that is recapitulated at the sequence level. Remarkably, the Y-chromosome is devoid of HNF4α binding sites. The functional importance of enrichment sites was confirmed in genome-wide gene expression studies at varying HNF4α protein levels. Taken collectively, a genome-wide scan of HNF4α binding sites is reported to better understand basic mechanisms of transcriptional control of HNF4α targeted genes. Novel promoter distal binding sites are identified which form an enhanceosome thereby facilitating RNA processing events.

The transcriptome of cis-jasmone-induced resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana and its role in indirect defence

cis-jasmone (CJ) is a plant-derived chemical that enhances direct and indirect plant defence against herbivorous insects. To study the signalling pathway behind this defence response, we performed microarray-based transcriptome analysis of CJ-treated Arabidopsis plants. CJ influenced a different set of genes from the structurally related oxylipin methyl jasmonate (MeJA), suggesting that CJ triggers a distinct signalling pathway. CJ is postulated to be biosynthetically derived from jasmonic acid, which can boost its own production through transcriptional up-regulation of the octadecanoid biosynthesis genes LOX2, AOS and OPR3. However, no effect on these genes was detected by treatment with CJ. Furthermore, CJ-responsive genes were not affected by mutations in COI1 or JAR1, which are critical signalling components in MeJA response pathway. Conversely, a significant proportion of CJ-inducible genes required the three transcription factors TGA2, TGA5 and TGA6, as well as the GRAS regulatory protein SCARECROW-like 14 (SCL14), indicating regulation by a different pathway from the classical MeJA response. Moreover, the biological importance was demonstrated in that mutations in TGA2, 5, 6, SCL14 and the CJ-inducible gene CYP81D11 blocked CJ-induced attraction of the aphid parasitoid Aphidius ervi, demonstrating that these components play a key role in CJ-induced indirect defence. Collectively, our results identify CJ as a member of the jasmonates that controls indirect plant defence through a distinct signalling pathway.

A gene regulatory network controlled by the NAC transcription factor ANAC092/AtNAC2/ORE1 during salt-promoted senescence

The onset and progression of senescence are under genetic and environmental control. The Arabidopsis thaliana NAC transcription factor ANAC092 (also called AtNAC2 and ORE1) has recently been shown to control age-dependent senescence, but its mode of action has not been analysed yet. To explore the regulatory network administered by ANAC092 we performed microarray-based expression profiling using estradiol-inducible ANAC092 overexpression lines. Approximately 46% of the 170 genes up-regulated upon ANAC092 induction are known senescence-associated genes, suggesting that the NAC factor exerts its role in senescence through a regulatory network that includes many of the genes previously reported to be senescence regulated. We selected 39 candidate genes and confirmed their time-dependent response to enhanced ANAC092 expression by quantitative RT-PCR. We also found that the majority of them (24 genes) are up-regulated by salt stress, a major promoter of plant senescence, in a manner similar to that of ANAC092, which itself is salt responsive. Furthermore, 24 genes like ANAC092 turned out to be stage-dependently expressed during seed growth with low expression at early and elevated expression at late stages of seed development. Disruption of ANAC092 increased the rate of seed germination under saline conditions, whereas the opposite occurred in respective overexpression plants. We also detected a delay of salinity-induced chlorophyll loss in detached anac092-1 mutant leaves. Promoter-reporter (GUS) studies revealed transcriptional control of ANAC092 expression during leaf and flower ageing and in response to salt stress. We conclude that ANAC092 exerts its functions during senescence and seed germination through partly overlapping target gene sets.

Gibberellic acid and cGMP-dependent transcriptional regulation in Arabidopsis thaliana

An ever increasing amount of transcriptomic data and analysis tools provide novel insight into complex responses of biological systems. Given these resources we have undertaken to review aspects of transcriptional regulation in response to the plant hormone gibberellic acid (GA) and its second messenger guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) in Arabidopsis thaliana, both wild type and selected mutants. Evidence suggests enrichment of GA-responsive (GARE) elements in promoters of genes that are transcriptionally upregulated in response to cGMP but downregulated in a GA insensitive mutant (ga1-3). In contrast, in the genes upregulated in the mutant, no enrichment in the GARE is observed suggesting that GARE motifs are diagnostic for GA-induced and cGMP-dependent transcriptional upregulation. Further, we review how expression studies of GA-dependent transcription factors and transcriptional networks based on common promoter signatures derived from ab initio analyses can contribute to our understanding of plant responses at the systems level.

The Arabidopsis wall associated kinase-like 10 gene encodes a functional guanylyl cyclase and is co-expressed with pathogen defense related genes

Background

Second messengers have a key role in linking environmental stimuli to physiological responses. One such messenger, guanosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP), has long been known to be an essential signaling molecule in many different physiological processes in higher plants, including biotic stress responses. To date, however, the guanylyl cyclase (GC) enzymes that catalyze the formation of cGMP from GTP have largely remained elusive in higher plants.

Principal Findings

We have identified an Arabidopsis receptor type wall associated kinase–like molecule (AtWAKL10) as a candidate GC and provide experimental evidence to show that the intracellular domain of AtWAKL10_431–700 can generate cGMP in vitro. Further, we also demonstrate that the molecule has kinase activity indicating that AtWAKL10 is a twin-domain catalytic protein. A co-expression and stimulus-specific expression analysis revealed that AtWAKL10 is consistently co-expressed with well characterized pathogen defense related genes and along with these genes is induced early and sharply in response to a range of pathogens and their elicitors.

Conclusions

We demonstrate that AtWAKL10 is a twin-domain, kinase-GC signaling molecule that may function in biotic stress responses that are critically dependent on the second messenger cGMP.

Exploring transcriptional signalling mediated by OsWRKY13, a potential regulator of multiple physiological processes in rice

BACKGROUND

Rice transcription regulator OsWRKY13 influences the functioning of more than 500 genes in multiple signalling pathways, with roles in disease resistance, redox homeostasis, abiotic stress responses, and development.

RESULTS

To determine the putative transcriptional regulation mechanism of OsWRKY13, the putative cis-acting elements of OsWRKY13-influenced genes were analyzed using the whole genome expression profiling of OsWRKY13-activated plants generated with the Affymetrix GeneChip Rice Genome Array. At least 39 transcription factor genes were influenced by OsWRKY13, and 30 of them were downregulated. The promoters of OsWRKY13-upregulated genes were overrepresented with W-boxes for WRKY protein binding, whereas the promoters of OsWRKY13-downregulated genes were enriched with cis-elements putatively for binding of MYB and AP2/EREBP types of transcription factors. Consistent with the distinctive distribution of these cis-elements in up- and downregulated genes, nine WRKY genes were influenced by OsWRKY13 and the promoters of five of them were bound by OsWRKY13 in vitro; all seven differentially expressed AP2/EREBP genes and six of the seven differentially expressed MYB genes were suppressed by in OsWRKY13-activated plants. A subset of OsWRKY13-influenced WRKY genes were involved in host-pathogen interactions.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that OsWRKY13-mediated signalling pathways are partitioned by different transcription factors. WRKY proteins may play important roles in the monitoring of OsWRKY13-upregulated genes and genes involved in pathogen-induced defence responses, whereas MYB and AP2/EREBP proteins may contribute most to the control of OsWRKY13-downregulated genes.

The low-oxygen-induced NAC domain transcription factor ANAC102 affects viability of Arabidopsis seeds following low-oxygen treatment

Low-oxygen stress imposed by field waterlogging is a serious impediment to plant germination and growth. Plants respond to waterlogging with a complex set of physiological responses regulated at the transcriptional, cellular, and tissue levels. The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) NAC domain-containing gene ANAC102 was shown to be induced under 0.1% oxygen within 30 min in both roots and shoots as well as in 0.1% oxygen-treated germinating seeds. Overexpression of ANAC102 altered the expression of a number of genes, including many previously identified as being low-oxygen responsive. Decreasing ANAC102 expression had no effect on global gene transcription in plants but did alter expression patterns in low-oxygen-stressed seeds. Increasing or decreasing the expression of ANAC102 did not affect adult plant survival of low-oxygen stress. Decreased ANAC102 expression significantly decreased germination efficiency following a 0.1% oxygen treatment, but increased expression had no effect on germination. This protective role during germination appeared to be specific to low-oxygen stress, implicating ANAC102 as an important regulator of seed germination under flooding.

A guide to the integrated application of on-line data mining tools for the inference of gene functions at the systems level

Genes function in networks to achieve a common biological response. Thus, inferences into the biological role of individual genes can be gained by analyzing their association with other genes with more precisely defined functions. Here, we present a guide, using the well-characterized Arabidopsis thaliana pathogenesis-related protein 2 gene (PR-2) as an example, to document how the sequential use of web-based tools can be applied to integrate information from different databases and associate the function of an individual gene with a network of genes and additionally identify specific biological processes in which they collectively function. The analysis begins by performing a global expression correlation analysis to build a functionally associated gene network. The network is subsequently analyzed for Gene Ontology enrichment, stimuli and mutant-specific transcriptional responses and enriched putative promoter regulatory elements that may be responsible for their correlated relationships. The results for the PR-2 gene are entirely consistent with the published literature documenting the accuracy of this type of analysis. Furthermore, this type of analysis can also be performed on other organisms with the appropriate data available and will greatly assist in understanding individual gene functions in a systems context.

Priming of plant innate immunity by rhizobacteria and beta-aminobutyric acid: differences and similarities in regulation

Pseudomonas fluorescens WCS417r bacteria and beta-aminobutyric acid can induce disease resistance in Arabidopsis, which is based on priming of defence. In this study, we examined the differences and similarities of WCS417r- and beta-aminobutyric acid-induced priming. Both WCS417r and beta-aminobutyric acid prime for enhanced deposition of callose-rich papillae after infection by the oomycete Hyaloperonospora arabidopsis. This priming is regulated by convergent pathways, which depend on phosphoinositide- and ABA-dependent signalling components. Conversely, induced resistance by WCS417r and beta-aminobutyric acid against the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae are controlled by distinct NPR1-dependent signalling pathways. As WCS417r and beta-aminobutyric acid prime jasmonate- and salicylate-inducible genes, respectively, we subsequently investigated the role of transcription factors. A quantitative PCR-based genome-wide screen for putative WCS417r- and beta-aminobutyric acid-responsive transcription factor genes revealed distinct sets of priming-responsive genes. Transcriptional analysis of a selection of these genes showed that they can serve as specific markers for priming. Promoter analysis of WRKY genes identified a putative cis-element that is strongly over-represented in promoters of 21 NPR1-dependent, beta-aminobutyric acid-inducible WRKY genes. Our study shows that priming of defence is regulated by different pathways, depending on the inducing agent and the challenging pathogen. Furthermore, we demonstrated that priming is associated with the enhanced expression of transcription factors.

Transcriptional regulation by an NAC (NAM-ATAF1,2-CUC2) transcription factor attenuates ABA signalling for efficient basal defence towards Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei in Arabidopsis

ATAF1 is a member of a largely uncharacterized plant-specific gene family encoding NAC transcription factors, and is induced in response to various abiotic and biotic stimuli in Arabidopsis thaliana. Previously, we showed that a mutant allele of ATAF1 compromises penetration resistance in Arabidopsis with respect to the non-host biotrophic pathogen Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei (Bgh). In this study, we have used genome-wide transcript profiling to characterize signalling perturbations in ataf1 plants following Bgh inoculation. Comparative transcriptomic analyses identified an over-representation of abscisic acid (ABA)-responsive genes, including the ABA biosynthesis gene AAO3, which is significantly induced in ataf1 plants compared to wild-type plants following inoculation with Bgh. Additionally, we show that Bgh inoculation results in decreased endogenous ABA levels in an ATAF1-dependent manner, and that the ABA biosynthetic mutant aao3 showed increased penetration resistance to Bgh compared to wild-type plants. Furthermore, we show that ataf1 plants show ABA-hyposensitive phenotypes during seedling development and germination. Our data support a negative correlation between ABA levels and penetration resistance, and identify ATAF1 as a new stimuli-dependent attenuator of ABA signalling for the mediation of efficient penetration resistance in Arabidopsis upon Bgh attack.

Studies on DNA-binding selectivity of WRKY transcription factors lend structural clues into WRKY-domain function

WRKY transcription factors have been shown to play a major role in regulating, both positively and negatively, the plant defense transcriptome. Nearly all studied WRKY factors appear to have a stereotypic binding preference to one DNA element termed the W-box. How specificity for certain promoters is accomplished therefore remains completely unknown. In this study, we tested five distinct Arabidopsis WRKY transcription factor subfamily members for their DNA binding selectivity towards variants of the W-box embedded in neighboring DNA sequences. These studies revealed for the first time differences in their binding site preferences, which are partly dependent on additional adjacent DNA sequences outside of the TTGACY-core motif. A consensus WRKY binding site derived from these studies was used for in silico analysis to identify potential target genes within the Arabidopsis genome. Furthermore, we show that even subtle amino acid substitutions within the DNA binding region of AtWRKY11 strongly impinge on its binding activity. Additionally, all five factors were found localized exclusively to the plant cell nucleus and to be capable of trans-activating expression of a reporter gene construct in vivo.

Immunity related genes in dipterans share common enrichment of AT-rich motifs in their 5' regulatory regions that are potentially involved in nucleosome formation

Background

Understanding the transcriptional regulation mechanisms in response to environmental challenges is of fundamental importance in biology. Transcription factors associated to response elements and the chromatin structure had proven to play important roles in gene expression regulation. We have analyzed promoter regions of dipteran genes induced in response to immune challenge, in search for particular sequence patterns involved in their transcriptional regulation.

Results

5' upstream regions of D. melanogaster and A. gambiae immunity-induced genes and their corresponding orthologous genes in 11 non-melanogaster drosophilid species and Ae. aegypti share enrichment in AT-rich short motifs. AT-rich motifs are associated with nucleosome formation as predicted by two different algorithms. In A. gambiae and D. melanogaster, many immunity genes 5' upstream sequences also showed NFκB response elements, located within 500 bp from the transcription start site. In A. gambiae, the frequency of ATAA motif near the NFκB response elements was increased, suggesting a functional link between nucleosome formation/remodelling and NFκB regulation of transcription.

Conclusion

AT-rich motif enrichment in 5' upstream sequences in A. gambiae, Ae. aegypti and the Drosophila genus immunity genes suggests a particular pattern of nucleosome formation/chromatin organization. The co-occurrence of such motifs with the NFκB response elements suggests that these sequence signatures may be functionally involved in transcriptional activation during dipteran immune response. AT-rich motif enrichment in regulatory regions in this group of co-regulated genes could represent an evolutionary constrained signature in dipterans and perhaps other distantly species.

Co-expression and promoter content analyses assign a role in biotic and abiotic stress responses to plant natriuretic peptides

BACKGROUND

Plant natriuretic peptides (PNPs) are a class of systemically mobile molecules distantly related to expansins. While several physiological responses to PNPs have been reported, their biological role has remained elusive. Here we use a combination of expression correlation analysis, meta-analysis of gene expression profiles in response to specific stimuli and in selected mutants, and promoter content analysis to infer the biological role of the Arabidopsis thaliana PNP, AtPNP-A.

RESULTS

A gene ontology analysis of AtPNP-A and the 25 most expression correlated genes revealed a significant over representation of genes annotated as part of the systemic acquired resistance (SAR) pathway. Transcription of these genes is strongly induced in response to salicylic acid (SA) and its functional synthetic analogue benzothiadiazole S-methylester (BTH), a number of biotic and abiotic stresses including many SA-mediated SAR-inducing conditions, as well as in the constitutive SAR expressing mutants cpr5 and mpk4 which have elevated SA levels. Furthermore, the expression of AtPNP-A was determined to be significantly correlated with the SAR annotated transcription factor, WRKY 70, and the promoters of AtPNP-A and the correlated genes contain an enrichment in the core WRKY binding W-box cis-elements. In constitutively expressing WRKY 70 lines the expression of AtPNP-A and the correlated genes, including the SAR marker genes, PR-2 and PR-5, were determined to be strongly induced.

CONCLUSION

The co-expression analyses, both in wild type and mutants, provides compelling evidence that suggests AtPNP-A may function as a component of plant defence responses and SAR in particular. The presented evidence also suggests that the expression of AtPNP-A is controlled by WRKY transcription factors and WRKY 70 in particular. AtPNP-A shares many characteristics with PR proteins in that its transcription is strongly induced in response to pathogen challenges, it contains an N-terminal signalling peptide and is secreted into the extracellular space and along with PR-1, PR-2 and PR-5 proteins it has been isolated from the Arabidopsis apoplast. Based on these findings we suggest that AtPNP-A could be classified as a newly identified PR protein.

Transcription factor MYC2 is involved in priming for enhanced defense during rhizobacteria-induced systemic resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Upon appropriate stimulation, plants can develop an enhanced capacity to express infection-induced cellular defense responses, a phenomenon known as the primed state. Colonization of the roots of Arabidopsis thaliana by the beneficial rhizobacterial strain Pseudomonas fluorescens WCS417r primes the leaf tissue for enhanced pathogen- and insect-induced expression of jasmonate (JA)-responsive genes, resulting in an induced systemic resistance (ISR) that is effective against different types of pathogens and insect herbivores. Here the molecular mechanism of this rhizobacteria-induced priming response was investigated using a whole-genome transcript profiling approach. Out of the 1879 putative methyl jasmonate (MeJA)-responsive genes, 442 genes displayed a primed expression pattern in ISR-expressing plants. Promoter analysis of ISR-primed, MeJA-responsive genes and ISR-primed, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000)-responsive genes revealed over-representation of the G-box-like motif 5'-CACATG-3'. This motif is a binding site for the transcription factor MYC2, which plays a central role in JA- and abscisic acid-regulated signaling. MYC2 expression was consistently up-regulated in ISR-expressing plants. Moreover, mutants impaired in the JASMONATE-INSENSITIVE1/MYC2 gene (jin1-1 and jin1-2) were unable to mount WCS417r-ISR against Pst DC3000 and the downy mildew pathogen Hyaloperonospora parasitica. Together, these results pinpoint MYC2 as a potential regulator in priming for enhanced JA-responsive gene expression during rhizobacteria-mediated ISR.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato hijacks the Arabidopsis abscisic acid signalling pathway to cause disease

We have found that a major target for effectors secreted by Pseudomonas syringae is the abscisic acid (ABA) signalling pathway. Microarray data identified a prominent group of effector-induced genes that were associated with ABA biosynthesis and also responses to this plant hormone. Genes upregulated by effector delivery share a 42% overlap with ABA-responsive genes and are also components of networks induced by osmotic stress and drought. Strongly induced were NCED3, encoding a key enzyme of ABA biosynthesis, and the abscisic acid insensitive 1 (ABI1) clade of genes encoding protein phosphatases type 2C (PP2Cs) involved in the regulation of ABA signalling. Modification of PP2C expression resulting in ABA insensitivity or hypersensitivity led to restriction or enhanced multiplication of bacteria, respectively. Levels of ABA increased rapidly during bacterial colonisation. Exogenous ABA application enhanced susceptibility, whereas colonisation was reduced in an ABA biosynthetic mutant. Expression of the bacterial effector AvrPtoB in planta modified host ABA signalling. Our data suggest that a major virulence strategy is effector-mediated manipulation of plant hormone homeostasis, which leads to the suppression of defence responses.

A genomic approach to identify regulatory nodes in the transcriptional network of systemic acquired resistance in plants

Many biological processes are controlled by intricate networks of transcriptional regulators. With the development of microarray technology, transcriptional changes can be examined at the whole-genome level. However, such analysis often lacks information on the hierarchical relationship between components of a given system. Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is an inducible plant defense response involving a cascade of transcriptional events induced by salicylic acid through the transcription cofactor NPR1. To identify additional regulatory nodes in the SAR network, we performed microarray analysis on Arabidopsis plants expressing the NPR1-GR (glucocorticoid receptor) fusion protein. Since nuclear translocation of NPR1-GR requires dexamethasone, we were able to control NPR1-dependent transcription and identify direct transcriptional targets of NPR1. We show that NPR1 directly upregulates the expression of eight WRKY transcription factor genes. This large family of 74 transcription factors has been implicated in various defense responses, but no specific WRKY factor has been placed in the SAR network. Identification of NPR1-regulated WRKY factors allowed us to perform in-depth genetic analysis on a small number of WRKY factors and test well-defined phenotypes of single and double mutants associated with NPR1. Among these WRKY factors we found both positive and negative regulators of SAR. This genomics-directed approach unambiguously positioned five WRKY factors in the complex transcriptional regulatory network of SAR. Our work not only discovered new transcription regulatory components in the signaling network of SAR but also demonstrated that functional studies of large gene families have to take into consideration sequence similarity as well as the expression patterns of the candidates.

Many biological processes are controlled by intricate regulatory networks of gene expression. Identifying the regulatory nodes in these networks and understanding the hierarchical relationship between them are vital to our understanding of biological systems. However, this task is frequently hampered by the intrinsic complexity of these processes. Here, the authors used a controlled transcriptional profiling strategy to a plant immune response called systemic acquired resistance to study the transcriptional events one at a time. Systemic acquired resistance is activated through the induction of thousands of genes by the transcriptional regulator protein NPR1. The authors found that downstream of NPR1 are several regulatory nodes comprised of members from a large family of transcriptional factors. Disrupting these regulatory nodes compromised various functions assigned to NPR1, providing the information needed to construct a gene regulation network.

TFBScluster web server for the identification of mammalian composite regulatory elements

Identification of transcriptional regulatory elements represents a critical step in our ability to reconstruct transcriptional regulatory networks from gene expression profiling datasets. To facilitate computational identification of candidate gene regulatory elements from whole genome sequences, we have developed the TFBScluster web server that integrates several tools for the genome-wide identification and subsequent characterization of transcription factor binding site clusters that are conserved in multiple mammalian species. Either the human or mouse genomes can be used as the reference sequence with direct links from the search results to the ENSEMBL and UCSC genome browsers. Moreover, TFBScluster provides seamless integration of transcription factor binding site searches with genome annotation and gene expression profiling data, to allow prioritising computational predictions for subsequent experimental validation. TFBScluster is publicly available at http://hscl.cimr.cam.ac.uk/TFBScluster_genome_portal.html.

POXO: a web-enabled tool series to discover transcription factor binding sites

We present POXO, a comprehensive tool series to discover transcription factor binding sites from co-expressed genes (www.bioinfo.biocenter.helsinki.fi/poxo). POXO manages tasks such as functional evaluation and grouping of genes, sequence retrieval, pattern discovery and pattern verification. It also allows users to tailor analytical pipelines from these tools, with single mouse clicks. One typical pipeline of POXO begins by examining the biological functions that a set of co-expressed genes are involved in. In this examination, the functional coherence of the gene set is evaluated and representative functions are associated with the gene set. This examination can also be used to group genes into functionally similar subsets, if several biological processes are affected in the experiment. The next step in the pipeline is then to discover over-represented nucleotide patterns from the upstream sequences of the selected gene sets. This enables to investigate the possibility that the genes are co-regulated by common cis-elements. If over-represented patterns are found, similar ones can then be clustered together and be verified. The performance of POXO is demonstrated by analysing expression data from pathogen treated Arabidopsis thaliana. In this example, POXO detected activated gene sets and suggested transcription factors responsible for their regulation.

Potentials and pitfalls of DNA array analysis of the endothelial stress response

Endothelial cells respond to inflammatory stimuli with complex genetic alterations that determine the immune response and the outcome of the inflammatory process. An additional layer of complexity is added by the different phenotypes and functional heterogeneity of endothelial cells in the various tissues. To understand these complex gene response patterns and the regulatory pathways involved, many investigators increasingly use DNA microarray analysis. There are, however, many potential pitfalls in the use of microarrays that can result in false data and erroneous conclusions. This review surveys the principles of DNA microarray technology and its applications in endothelial cell research. We also attempt to outline some of the caveats and standard criteria that have to be considered in order to realize the full potential of microarrays in inflammation research.

POCO: discovery of regulatory patterns from promoters of oppositely expressed gene sets

Functionally associated genes tend to be co-expressed, which indicates that they could also be co-regulated. Since co-regulation is usually governed by transcription factors via their specific binding elements, putative regulators can be identified from promoter sets of (co-expressed) genes by screening for over-represented nucleotide patterns. Here, we present a program, POCO, which discovers such over-represented patterns from either one or two promoter sets. Typical microarray experiments yield up- and down-regulated gene sets that may represent, for example, distinct defense pathways. Assuming that a functional transcription factor cannot simultaneously both up- and down-regulate the gene sets, its binding element should respectively be over- and under-represented in the corresponding promoter sets. This idea is implemented in POCO, which tests the hypothesis that the distributions of a pattern differ among three sets of promoters: up-regulated, down-regulated and randomly-chosen. In the program, pattern discovery is based on explicit enumeration of all possible patterns on the alphabet (A, C, G, T and N). The mean occurrences and SDs of the patterns are estimated using bootstrapping and their significance is assessed using ANOVA F-statistics, Tukey's honestly significantly difference test and P-values. The program is freely available at .

Detoxification and transcriptome response in Arabidopsis seedlings exposed to the allelochemical benzoxazolin-2(3H)-one

Benzoxazolin-2(3H)-one (BOA) is an allelochemical most commonly associated with monocot species, formed from the O-glucoside of 2,4-dihydroxy-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one by a two-step degradation process. The capacity of Arabidopsis to detoxify exogenously supplied BOA was analyzed by quantification of the major known metabolites BOA-6-OH, BOA-6-O-glucoside, and glucoside carbamate, revealing that detoxification occurs predominantly through O-glucosylation of the intermediate BOA-6-OH, most likely requiring the sequential action of as-yet-unidentified cytochrome P450 and UDP-glucosyltransferase activities. Transcriptional profiling experiments were also performed with Arabidopsis seedlings exposed to BOA concentrations, representing I(50) and I(80) levels based on root elongation inhibition assays. One of the largest functional categories observed for BOA-responsive genes corresponded to protein families known to participate in cell rescue and defense, with the majority of these genes potentially associated with chemical detoxification pathways. Further experiments using a subset of these genes revealed that many are also transcriptionally induced by a variety of structurally diverse xenobiotic compounds, suggesting they comprise components of a coordinately regulated, broad specificity xenobiotic defense response. The data significantly expand upon previous studies examining plant transcriptional responses to allelochemicals and other environmental toxins and provide novel insights into xenobiotic detoxification mechanisms in plants.