Temporary expression of the TAF10 gene and its requirement for normal development of Arabidopsis thaliana

Separable regulation of POW1 in grain size and leaf angle development in rice

Leaf angle is one of the key factors that determines rice plant architecture. However, the improvement of leaf angle erectness is often accompanied by unfavourable changes in other traits, especially grain size reduction. In this study, we identified the pow1 (put on weight 1) mutant that leads to increased grain size and leaf angle, typical brassinosteroid (BR)-related phenotypes caused by excessive cell proliferation and cell expansion. We show that modulation of the BR biosynthesis genes OsDWARF4 (D4) and D11 and the BR signalling gene D61 could rescue the phenotype of leaf angle but not grain size in the pow1 mutant. We further demonstrated that POW1 functions in grain size regulation by repressing the transactivation activity of the interacting protein TAF2, a highly conserved member of the TFIID transcription initiation complex. Down-regulation of TAF2 rescued the enlarged grain size of pow1 but had little effect on the increased leaf angle phenotype of the mutant. The separable functions of the POW1-TAF2 and POW1-BR modules in grain size and leaf angle control provide a promising strategy for designing varieties with compact plant architecture and increased grain size, thus promoting high-yield breeding in rice.

Investigation for a multi-silique trait in Brassica napus by alternative splicing analysis

Background

Flower and fruit development are vital stages of the angiosperm lifecycle. We previously investigated the multi-silique trait in the rapeseed (Brassica napus) line zws-ms on a genomic and transcriptomic level, leading to the identification of two genomic regions and several candidate genes associated with this trait. However, some events on the transcriptome level, like alternative splicing, were poorly understood.

Methods

Plants from zws-ms and its near-isogenic line (NIL) zws-217 were both grown in Xindu with normal conditions and a colder area Ma'erkang. Buds from the two lines were sampled and RNA was isolated to perform the transcriptomic sequencing. The numbers and types of alternative splicing (AS) events from the two lines were counted and classified. Genes with AS events and expressed differentially between the two lines, as well as genes with AS events which occurred in only one line were emphasized. Their annotations were further studied.

Results

From the plants in Xindu District, an average of 205,496 AS events, which could be sorted into five AS types, were identified. zws-ms and zws-217 shared highly similar ratios of each AS type: The alternative 5' and 3' splice site types were the most common, while the exon skipping type was observed least often. Eleven differentially expressed AS genes were identified, of which four were upregulated and seven were downregulated in zws-ms. Their annotations implied that five of these genes were directly associated with the multi-silique trait. While samples from colder area Ma'erkang generated generally reduced number of each type of AS events except for Intron Retention; but the number of differentially expressed AS genes increased significantly. Further analysis found that among the 11 differentially expressed AS genes from Xindu, three of them maintained the same expression models, while the other eight genes did not show significant difference between the two lines in expression level. Additionally, the 205 line-specific expressed AS genes were analyzed, of which 187 could be annotated, and two were considered to be important.

Discussion

This study provides new insights into the molecular mechanism of the agronomically important multi-silique trait in rapeseed on the transcriptome level and screens out some environment-responding candidate genes.

Identification and characterization of differentially expressed Phaseolus vulgaris miRNAs and their targets during mungbean yellow mosaic India virus infection reveals new insight into Phaseolus-MYMIV interaction

Phaseolus vulgaris is an economically important legume in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Latin-America and parts of USA and Europe. However, its production gets severely affected by mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV). We aim to identify and characterize differentially expressed miRNAs during MYMIV-infection in P. vulgaris. A total of 422 miRNAs are identified of which 292 are expressed in both MYMIV-treated and mock-treated samples, 109 are expressed only in MYMIV-treated and 21 are expressed only in mock-treated samples. Selected up- and down-regulated miRNAs are validated by RT-qPCR. 3367 target ORFs are identified for 270 miRNAs. Selected targets are validated by 5' RLM-RACE. Differentially expressed miRNAs regulate transcription factors and are involved in improving stress tolerance to MYMIV. These findings will provide an insight into the role of miRNAs during MYMIV infection in P. vulgaris in particular and during any biotic stress conditions in Leguminosae family in general.

Arabidopsis TAF1 is an MRE11-interacting protein required for resistance to genotoxic stress and viability of the male gametophyte

Repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by recombination pathways is essential for plant growth and fertility. The recombination endonuclease MRE11 plays important roles in sensing and repair of DNA DSBs. Here we demonstrate protein interaction between Arabidopsis MRE11 and the histone acetyltransferase TAF1, a TATA-binding protein Associated Factor (TAF) of the RNA polymerase II transcription initiation factor complex TFIID. Arabidopsis has two TAF1 homologues termed TAF1 and TAF1b and mutant taf1b lines are viable and fertile. In contrast, taf1 null mutations are lethal, demonstrating that TAF1 is an essential gene. Heterozygous taf1+/- plants display abnormal segregation of the mutant allele resulting from defects in pollen tube development, indicating that TAF1 is important for gamete viability. Characterization of an allelic series of taf1 lines revealed that hypomorphic mutants are viable but display developmental defects and reduced plant fertility. Hypersensitivity of taf1 mutants lacking the C-terminal bromodomain to X-rays and mitomycin C, but not to other forms of abiotic stress, established a specific role for TAF1 in plant DNA repair processes. Collectively these studies reveal a function for TAF1 in plant resistance to genotoxic stress, providing further insight into the molecular mechanisms of the DNA damage response in plants.

Spt-Ada-Gcn5-Acetyltransferase (SAGA) Complex in Plants: Genome Wide Identification, Evolutionary Conservation and Functional Determination

The recruitment of RNA polymerase II on a promoter is assisted by the assembly of basal transcriptional machinery in eukaryotes. The Spt-Ada-Gcn5-Acetyltransferase (SAGA) complex plays an important role in transcription regulation in eukaryotes. However, even in the advent of genome sequencing of various plants, SAGA complex has been poorly defined for their components and roles in plant development and physiological functions. Computational analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa genomes for SAGA complex resulted in the identification of 17 to 18 potential candidates for SAGA subunits. We have further classified the SAGA complex based on the conserved domains. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the SAGA complex proteins are evolutionary conserved between plants, yeast and mammals. Functional annotation showed that they participate not only in chromatin remodeling and gene regulation, but also in different biological processes, which could be indirect and possibly mediated via the regulation of gene expression. The in silico expression analysis of the SAGA components in Arabidopsis and O. sativa clearly indicates that its components have a distinct expression profile at different developmental stages. The co-expression analysis of the SAGA components suggests that many of these subunits co-express at different developmental stages, during hormonal interaction and in response to stress conditions. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis of SAGA component genes further confirmed their expression in different plant tissues and stresses. The expression of representative salt, heat and light inducible genes were affected in mutant lines of SAGA subunits in Arabidopsis. Altogether, the present study reveals expedient evidences of involvement of the SAGA complex in plant gene regulation and stress responses.

Composition of the SAGA complex in plants and its role in controlling gene expression in response to abiotic stresses

Protein complexes involved in epigenetic regulation of transcription have evolved as molecular strategies to face environmental stress in plants. SAGA (Spt-Ada-Gcn5 Acetyltransferase) is a transcriptional co-activator complex that regulates numerous cellular processes through the coordination of multiple post-translational histone modifications, including acetylation, deubiquitination, and chromatin recognition. The diverse functions of the SAGA complex involve distinct modules that are highly conserved between yeast, flies, and mammals. In this review, the composition of the SAGA complex in plants is described and its role in gene expression regulation under stress conditions summarized. Some of these proteins are likely involved in the regulation of the inducible expression of genes under light, cold, drought, salt, and iron stress, although the functions of several of its components remain unknown.

TAF13 interacts with PRC2 members and is essential for Arabidopsis seed development

TBP-Associated Factors (TAFs) are components of complexes like TFIID, TFTC, SAGA/STAGA and SMAT that are important for the activation of transcription, either by establishing the basic transcription machinery or by facilitating histone acetylation. However, in Drosophila embryos several TAFs were shown to be associated with the Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 (PRC1), even though the role of this interaction remains unclear. Here we show that in Arabidopsis TAF13 interacts with MEDEA and SWINGER, both members of a plant variant of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2). PRC2 variants play important roles during the plant life cycle, including seed development. The taf13 mutation causes seed defects, showing embryo arrest at the 8-16 cell stage and over-proliferation of the endosperm in the chalazal region, which is typical for Arabidopsis PRC2 mutants. Our data suggest that TAF13 functions together with PRC2 in transcriptional regulation during seed development.

Mediator complex proteins are required for diverse developmental processes

The Mediator complex serves a crucial function in gene regulation, forming a link between gene-specific transcription factors and RNA polymerase II. Most protein-coding genes therefore require Mediator complex activity for transcriptional regulation. Given the essential functions performed by Mediator complex proteins in gene regulation, it is not surprising that mutations in Mediator complex genes disrupt animal and plant development. What is more intriguing is that the phenotypes of individual Mediator complex mutants are distinct from each other, demonstrating that certain developmental processes have a greater requirement for specific Mediator complex genes. Additionally, the range of developmental processes that are altered in Mediator complex mutants is broad, affecting a variety of cell types and physiological systems. Gene expression defects in Mediator complex mutants reveal distinct roles for individual Mediator proteins in transcriptional regulation, suggesting that the deletion of one Mediator complex protein does not interfere with transcription in general, but instead alters the expression of specific target genes. Mediator complex proteins may have diverse roles in different organisms as well, as mutants in the same Mediator gene in different species can display dissimilar phenotypes.

Reversible male sterility in eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) by artificial microRNA-mediated silencing of general transcription factor genes

Since decades, plant male sterility is considered a powerful tool for biological containment to minimize unwanted self-pollination for hybrid seed production. Furthermore, prevention of pollen dispersal also answers to concerns regarding transgene flow via pollen from Genetically Modified (GM) crops to traditional crop fields or wild relatives. We induced male sterility by suppressing endogenous general transcription factor genes, TAFs, using anther-specific promoters combined with artificial microRNA (amiRNA) technology (Schwab et al., 2006). The system was made reversible by the ethanol inducible expression of an amiRNA-insensitive form of the target gene. We provide proof of concept in eggplant, a cultivated crop belonging to the Solanaceae family that includes many important food crops. The transgenic eggplants that we generated are completely male sterile and fertility can be fully restored by short treatments with ethanol, confirming the efficiency but also the reliability of the system in view of open field cultivation. By combining this system with induced parthenocarpy (Rotino et al., 1997), we provide a novel example of complete transgene containment in eggplant, which enables biological mitigation measures for the benefit of coexistence or biosafety purposes for GM crop cultivation.

Dynamic networks from hierarchical bayesian graph clustering

Biological networks change dynamically as protein components are synthesized and degraded. Understanding the time-dependence and, in a multicellular organism, tissue-dependence of a network leads to insight beyond a view that collapses time-varying interactions into a single static map. Conventional algorithms are limited to analyzing evolving networks by reducing them to a series of unrelated snapshots.Here we introduce an approach that groups proteins according to shared interaction patterns through a dynamical hierarchical stochastic block model. Protein membership in a block is permitted to evolve as interaction patterns shift over time and space, representing the spatial organization of cell types in a multicellular organism. The spatiotemporal evolution of the protein components are inferred from transcript profiles, using Arabidopsis root development (5 tissues, 3 temporal stages) as an example.The new model requires essentially no parameter tuning, out-performs existing snapshot-based methods, identifies protein modules recruited to specific cell types and developmental stages, and could have broad application to social networks and other similar dynamic systems.