The C-terminal domain of FUSCA3 negatively regulates mRNA and protein levels, and mediates sensitivity to the hormones abscisic acid and gibberellic acid in Arabidopsis

The characteristic of Yatu morphogenesis and the efficacy of exogenous hormones on the development of Yatu during fruit development in 'Yali' pear (Pyrus bretschneideri Rehd.)

Yatu is a protuberance formed on the base part of 'Yali' pear fruit, near the pedicel, causing a shape like a duck head termed Yatu. It is a typical phenotypic trait to evaluate fruit appearance quality. The mechanism for Yatu formation has not been clear yet. Here, 90.8% of fruits with Yatu generated in outer base part of fruits. Primitive cells of Yatu were found at 10 days after pollination (DAP). There were higher expression levels of PbGA20ox2, PbIPT7a, and PbIPT5a, lower transcription levels of PbGA2ox1, PbNCED1, and PbNCED3 in outer base part of fruits at 10 DAP, accompanied with significantly higher levels of GA₃, ZR, (GA₃+ ZR)/ABA, and lower ABA content compared to that in the inner base part of fruits. GA₃ + 6-BA promoted Yatu development by increasing GA₃ content at 10 and 20 DAP, and ZR content at 20 DAP. PAC suppressed Yatu morphogenesis and development by increasing ABA level at 10 DAP. These results suggest that Yatu usually generated in outer base part of fruits, relatively higher GA₃ and ZR contents, lower ABA content promoted Yatu morphogenesis and development.

Asymmetric distribution of extracellular matrix proteins in seed coat epidermal cells of Arabidopsis is determined by polar secretion

Although asymmetric deposition of the plant extracellular matrix is critical for the normal functioning of many cell types, the molecular mechanisms establishing this asymmetry are not well understood. During differentiation, Arabidopsis seed coat epidermal cells deposit large amounts of pectin-rich mucilage asymmetrically to form an extracellular pocket between the plasma membrane and the outer tangential primary cell wall. At maturity, the mucilage expands on contact with water, ruptures the primary cell wall, and extrudes to encapsulate the seed. In addition to polysaccharides, mucilage contains secreted proteins including the β-galactosidase MUCILAGE MODIFIED 2 (MUM2). A functional chimeric protein where MUM2 was fused translationally with Citrine yellow fluorescent protein (Citrine) indicated that MUM2-Citrine fluorescence preferentially accumulates in the mucilage pocket concomitant with mucilage deposition and rapidly disappears when mucilage synthesis ceases. A secreted form of Citrine, secCitrine, showed a similar pattern of localization when expressed in developing seed coat epidermal cells. This result suggested that both the asymmetric localization and rapid decrease of fluorescence is not unique to MUM2-Citrine and may represent the default pathway for secreted proteins in this cell type. v-SNARE proteins were localized only in the membrane adjacent to the mucilage pocket, supporting the hypothesis that the cellular secretory apparatus is redirected and targets secretion to the outer periclinal apoplast during mucilage synthesis. In addition, mutation of ECHIDNA, a gene encoding a TGN-localized protein involved in vesicle targeting, causes misdirection of mucilage, MUM2 and v-SNARE proteins from the apoplast/plasma membrane to the vacuole/tonoplast. Western blot analyses suggested that the disappearance of MUM2-Citrine fluorescence at the end of mucilage synthesis is due to protein degradation and because several proteases have been identified in extruded seed mucilage. However, as mutation of these genes did not result in a substantial delay in MUM2-Citrine degradation and the timing of their expression and/or their intracellular localization were not consistent with a role in MUM2-Citrine disappearance, the mechanism underlying the abrupt decrease of MUM2-Citrine remains unclear.

A reevaluation of the role of the ASIL trihelix transcription factors as repressors of the seed maturation program

Developmental transitions are typically tightly controlled at the transcriptional level. Two of these transitions involve the induction of the embryo maturation program midway through seed development and its repression during the vegetative phase of plant growth. Very little is known about the factors responsible for this regulation during early embryogenesis, and only a couple of transcription factors have been characterized as repressors during the postgerminative phase. Arabidopsis 6b-INTERACTING PROTEIN-LIKE1 (ASIL1), a trihelix transcription factor, has been proposed to repress maturation both embryonically and postembryonically. Preliminary data also suggested that its closest paralog, ASIL2, might play a role as well. We used a transcriptomic approach, coupled with phenotypical observations, to test the hypothesis that ASIL1 and ASIL2 redundantly turn off maturation during both phases of growth. Our results indicate that, contrary to what was previously published, neither of the ASIL genes plays a role in the regulation of maturation, at any point during plant development. Analyses of gene ontology (GO)-enriched terms and published transcriptomic datasets suggest that these genes might be involved in responses during the vegetative phase to certain biotic and abiotic stresses.

Factors that affect protein abundance of a positive regulator of abscisic acid signalling, the basic leucine zipper transcription factor ABRE-binding factor 2 (ABF2)

Most members of basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor (TF) subgroup A play important roles as positive effectors in abscisic acid (ABA) signaling during germination and/or in vegetative stress responses. In multiple plant species, one member, ABA insensitive 5 (ABI5), is a major TF that promotes seed maturation and blocks early seeding growth in response to ABA. Other members, referred to as either ABRE-binding factors (ABFs), ABRE-binding proteins (AREBs), or D3 protein-binding factors (DPBFs), are implicated as major players in stress responses during vegetative growth. Studies on the proteolytic regulation of ABI5, ABF1, and ABF3 in Arabidopsis thaliana have shown that the proteins have moderate degradation rates and accumulate in the presence of the proteasome inhibitor MG132. Exogenous ABA slows their degradation and the ubiquitin E3 ligase called KEEP ON GOING (KEG) is important for their degradation. However, there are some reported differences in degradation among subgroup A members. The conserved C-terminal sequences (referred to as the C4 region) enhance degradation of ABI5 but stabilize ABF1 and ABF3. To better understand the proteolytic regulation of the ABI5/ABFs and determine whether there are differences between vegetative ABFs and ABI5, we studied the degradation of an additional family member, ABF2, and compared its in vitro degradation to that of ABI5. As previously seen for ABI5, ABF1, and ABF3, epitope-tagged constitutively expressed ABF2 degrades in seedlings treated with cycloheximide and is stabilized following treatment with the proteasome inhibitor MG132. Tagged ABF2 protein accumulates when seedlings are treated with ABA, but its mRNA levels do not increase, suggesting that the protein is stabilized in the presence of ABA. ABF2 is also an in vitro ubiquitination substrate of the E3 ligase KEG and recombinant ABF2 is stable in keg lysates. ABF2 with a C4 deletion degrades more quickly in vitro than full-length ABF2, as previously observed for ABF1 and ABF3, suggesting that the conserved C4 region contributes to its stability. In contrast to ABF2 and consistent with previously published work, ABI5 with C terminal deletions including an analogous C4 deletion is stabilized in vitro compared to full length ABI5. In vivo expression of an ABF1 C4 deletion protein appears to have reduced activity compared to equivalent levels of full length ABF1. Additional group A family members show similar proteolytic regulation by MG132 and ABA. Altogether, these results together with other work on ABI5 regulation suggest that the vegetative ABFs share proteolytic regulatory mechanisms that are not completely shared with ABI5.

Genetic activity during early plant embryogenesis

Seeds are essential for human civilization, so understanding the molecular events underpinning seed development and the zygotic embryo it contains is important. In addition, the approach of somatic embryogenesis is a critical propagation and regeneration strategy to increase desirable genotypes, to develop new genetically modified plants to meet agricultural challenges, and at a basic science level, to test gene function. We briefly review some of the transcription factors (TFs) involved in establishing primary and apical meristems during zygotic embryogenesis, as well as TFs necessary and/or sufficient to drive somatic embryo programs. We focus on the model plant Arabidopsis for which many tools are available, and review as well as speculate about comparisons and contrasts between zygotic and somatic embryo processes.

Plant Unsaturated Fatty Acids: Biosynthesis and Regulation

In most plants, major unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) are three C18 species, namely, oleic (18:1), linoleic (18:2), and α-linolenic (18:3) acids. These simple compounds play multiple crucial roles in planta and are also important economic traits of oil crops. The enzymatic steps of C18 UFA biosynthesis have been well established. However, the associated FA/lipid trafficking between the plastid and the endoplasmic reticulum remains largely unclear, as does the regulation of the expression and activities of the involved enzymes. In this review, we will revisit the biosynthesis of C18 UFAs with an emphasis on the trafficking, and present an overview of the key enzymes and their regulation. Of particular interest is the emerging regulatory network composed of transcriptional factors and upstream signaling pathways. The review thereby provides the promise of using physical, biochemical and/or genetic means to manipulate FA composition and increase oil yield in crop improvement.

Characterization of Brassica rapa RAP2.4-Related Proteins in Stress Response and as CUL3-Dependent E3 Ligase Substrates

The turnip Brassica rapa has important economic value and represents a good model system to study gene function in crop plants. ERF/AP2 transcription factors are a major group of proteins that are often involved in regulating stress-responses and developmental programs. Some ERF/AP2 proteins are targets of CULLIN3-based E3 ligases that use BTB/POZ-MATH proteins as substrate receptors. These receptors bind the transcription factor and facilitate their ubiquitylation and subsequent degradation via the 26S proteasome. Here, we show tissue and stress-dependent expression patterns for three Brassica rapa ERF/AP2 proteins that are closely related to Arabidopsis thaliana AtRAP2.4. Cloning of the Brassica genes showed that the corresponding proteins can assemble with a BPM protein and CULLIN3, and that they are instable in a 26S proteasome dependent manner. This work demonstrates the conserved nature of the ERF/AP2-CULLIN3-based E3 ligase interplay, and represents a first step to analyze their function in a commercially relevant crop plant.

Unraveling Molecular and Genetic Studies of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Resistance against Factors Causing Pre-Harvest Sprouting

Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) is one of the most important factors having adverse effects on yield and grain quality all over the world, particularly in wet harvest conditions. PHS is controlled by both genetic and environmental factors and the interaction of these factors. Breeding varieties with high PHS resistance have important implications for reducing yield loss and improving grain quality. The rapid advancements in the wheat genomic database along with transcriptomic and proteomic technologies have broadened our knowledge for understanding the regulatory mechanism of PHS resistance at transcriptomic and post-transcriptomic levels. In this review, we have described in detail the recent advancements on factors influencing PHS resistance, including grain color, seed dormancy, α-amylase activity, plant hormones (especially abscisic acid and gibberellin), and QTL/genes, which are useful for mining new PHS-resistant genes and developing new molecular markers for multi-gene pyramiding breeding of wheat PHS resistance, and understanding the complicated regulatory mechanism of PHS resistance.

Effect of transcription terminator usage on the establishment of transgene transcriptional gene silencing

Objective

Obtaining high and stable transgene expression is of vital importance for plant genetic engineering. A lot is known about the relationship between terminator efficiency and gene expression, but no studies have addressed the relationship between terminator usage and transgene expression stability or heritable gene silencing. In this paper, we aim to analyze if terminators are a determining factor in the establishment of promoter DNA methylation of plant transgenes.

Results

Our experiments comparing plants with a LUC reporter under the 35S CaMV promoter and good efficiency terminators (Thsp, T35S) show that the use of efficient terminator sequences does not avoid the accumulation of promoter DNA methylation and transgene silencing. However, Thsp lead to a higher reporter gene expression and lower promoter DNA methylation levels than T35S, supporting that terminator usage is indeed involved in the establishment of TGS by methylation of transgenes’ promoters. In the case of a terminatorless construct, the PTGS initiated by the improperly terminated mRNAs is not followed by the establishment of heritable silencing in the form of strong promoter DNA methylation, like in the case of TAS genes and reactivated TEs (for the transgene DNA methylation levels remained below the 20%).

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3649-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Evolutionary Analysis of the LAFL Genes Involved in the Land Plant Seed Maturation Program

Seeds are one of the most significant innovations in the land plant lineage, critical to the diversification and adaptation of plants to terrestrial environments. From perspective of seed evo-devo, the most crucial developmental stage in this innovation is seed maturation, which includes accumulation of storage reserves, acquisition of desiccation tolerance, and induction of dormancy. Based on previous studies of seed development in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, seed maturation is mainly controlled by the LAFL regulatory network, which includes LEAFY COTYLEDON1 (LEC1) and LEC1-LIKE (L1L) of the NF-YB gene family, and ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE3 (ABI3), FUSCA3 (FUS3), and LEC2 (LEAFY COTYLEDON2) of the B3-AFL gene family. In the present study, molecular evolution of these LAFL genes was analyzed, using representative species from across the major plant lineages. Additionally, to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the seed maturation program, co-expression pattern analyses of LAFL genes were conducted across vascular plants. The results show that the origin of AFL gene family dates back to a common ancestor of bryophytes and vascular plants, while LEC1-type genes are only found in vascular plants. LAFL genes of vascular plants likely specify their co-expression in two different developmental phrases, spore and seed maturation, respectively, and expression patterns vary slightly across the major vascular plants lineages. All the information presented in this study will provide insights into the origin and diversification of seed plants.

Inhibition of FUSCA3 degradation at high temperature is dependent on ABA signaling and is regulated by the ABA/GA ratio

During seed imbibition at supra-optimal temperature, an increase in the abscisic acid (ABA)/gibberellin (GA) ratio imposes secondary dormancy to prevent germination (thermoinhibition). FUSCA3 (FUS3), a positive regulator of seed dormancy, accumulates in seeds imbibed at high temperature and increases ABA levels to inhibit germination. Recently, we showed that ABA inhibits FUS3 degradation at high temperature, and that ABA and high temperature also inhibit the ubiquitin-proteasome system, by dampening both proteasome activity and protein polyubiquitination. Here, we investigated the role of ABA signaling components and the ABA antagonizing hormone, GA, in the regulation of FUS3 levels. We show that the ABA receptor mutant, pyl1-1, is less sensitive to ABA and thermoinhibition. In this mutant background, FUS3 degradation in vitro is faster. Similarly, GA alleviates thermoinhibition and also increases FUS3 degradation. These results indicate that inhibition of FUS3 degradation at high temperature is dependent on a high ABA/GA ratio and a functional ABA signaling pathway. Thus, FUS3 constitutes an important node in ABA-GA crosstalk during germination at supra-optimal temperature.

Transcriptome-wide functional characterization reveals novel relationships among differentially expressed transcripts in developing soybean embryos

BACKGROUND

Transcriptomics reveals the existence of transcripts of different coding potential and strand orientation. Alternative splicing (AS) can yield proteins with altered number and types of functional domains, suggesting the global occurrence of transcriptional and post-transcriptional events. Many biological processes, including seed maturation and desiccation, are regulated post-transcriptionally (e.g., by AS), leading to the production of more than one coding or noncoding sense transcript from a single locus.

RESULTS

We present an integrated computational framework to predict isoform-specific functions of plant transcripts. This framework includes a novel plant-specific weighted support vector machine classifier called CodeWise, which predicts the coding potential of transcripts with over 96 % accuracy, and several other tools enabling global sequence similarity, functional domain, and co-expression network analyses. First, this framework was applied to all detected transcripts (103,106), out of which 13 % was predicted by CodeWise to be noncoding RNAs in developing soybean embryos. Second, to investigate the role of AS during soybean embryo development, a population of 2,938 alternatively spliced and differentially expressed splice variants was analyzed and mined with respect to timing of expression. Conserved domain analyses revealed that AS resulted in global changes in the number, types, and extent of truncation of functional domains in protein variants. Isoform-specific co-expression network analysis using ArrayMining and clustering analyses revealed specific sub-networks and potential interactions among the components of selected signaling pathways related to seed maturation and the acquisition of desiccation tolerance. These signaling pathways involved abscisic acid- and FUSCA3-related transcripts, several of which were classified as noncoding and/or antisense transcripts and were co-expressed with corresponding coding transcripts. Noncoding and antisense transcripts likely play important regulatory roles in seed maturation- and desiccation-related signaling in soybean.

CONCLUSIONS

This work demonstrates how our integrated framework can be implemented to make experimentally testable predictions regarding the coding potential, co-expression, co-regulation, and function of transcripts and proteins related to a biological process of interest.

Deletion of a C-terminal intrinsically disordered region of WRINKLED1 affects its stability and enhances oil accumulation in Arabidopsis

WRINKLED1 (WRI1) is a key transcription factor governing plant oil biosynthesis. We characterized three intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in Arabidopsis WRI1, and found that one C-terminal IDR of AtWRI1 (IDR3) affects the stability of AtWRI1. Analysis by bimolecular fluorescence complementation and yeast-two-hybrid assays indicated that the IDR3 domain does not determine WRI1 stability by interacting with BTB/POZ-MATH proteins connecting AtWRI1 with CULLIN3-based E3 ligases. Analysis of the WRI1 sequence revealed that a putative PEST motif (proteolytic signal) is located at the C-terminal region of AtWRI1(IDR) (3). We also show that a 91 amino acid domain at the C-terminus of AtWRI1 without the PEST motif is sufficient for transactivation. We found that removal of the PEST motif or mutations in putative phosphorylation sites increased the stability of AtWRI1, and led to increased oil biosynthesis when these constructs were transiently expressed in tobacco leaves. Oil content was also increased in the seeds of stable transgenic wri1-1 plants expressing AtWRI1 with mutations in the IDR3-PEST motif. Taken together, our data suggest that intrinsic disorder of AtWRI1(IDR3) may facilitate exposure of the PEST motif to protein kinases. Thus, phosphorylation of the PEST motif in the AtWRI1(IDR) (3) domain may affect AtWRI1-mediated plant oil biosynthesis. The results obtained here suggest a means to increase accumulation of oils in plant tissues through WRI1 engineering.

ABA and the ubiquitin E3 ligase KEEP ON GOING affect proteolysis of the Arabidopsis thaliana transcription factors ABF1 and ABF3

The ABA Binding Factor/ABA-Responsive Element Binding Proteins (ABF/AREB) subfamily of bZIP-type transcription factors are positive effectors of ABA responses. Here, we examine the proteolytic regulation of two members: Arabidopsis thaliana ABF1 and ABF3. Both transcription factors are unstable in seedlings, and their degradation is sensitive to proteasome inhibition. ABA treatment of seedlings leads to their rapid accumulation, the result of slowed proteolysis. Deletion of the conserved C-terminal region required for 14-3-3 interaction destabilizes the proteins. The degradation of ABF1 and ABF3 are slower in vivo in seedlings lacking the ubiquitin E3 ligase KEEP ON GOING (KEG), and in vitro in extracts from keg seedlings, implicating KEG in their degradation. ABF1 and ABF3 are ubiquitylation substrates of KEG in vitro, and in vitro pull-down assays document their direct interaction. In contrast to ABI5, another KEG substrate, the degradation of ABFs and proteolytic regulation of ABFs by ABA still occurs in keg seedlings, suggesting that additional E3s participate in ABF1 and ABF3 proteolysis. Loss of ABF1 or ABF3 in the keg background has a phenotypic effect similar to the loss of ABI5, and there is no additional rescue of the keg phenotype in abf1 abf3 abi5 keg seedlings. This result suggests that the abundance of other substrates is altered in keg seedlings, affecting growth. In conclusion, ABF1 and ABF3 abundance is affected by ABA and KEG, and the conserved C4 region serves as a stabilizing element.