MdFRK2-mediated sugar metabolism accelerates cellulose accumulation in apple and poplar

Exogenous silicon improved the cell wall stability by activating non-structural carbohydrates and structural carbohydrates metabolism in salt and drought stressed Glycyrrhiza uralensis stem

The plant cell wall is a crucial barrier against environmental stress, mainly composed of lignin and carbohydrates such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. This study explored the direct regulatory mechanism of silicon (Si) on cell wall components of Glycyrrhiza uralensis (G. uralensis) stems under salt and drought (S + D) stress and the indirect regulatory mechanism of non-structural carbohydrates on structural carbohydrates, mediated by uridine diphosphate glucose (UDPG), through joint physiological, biochemical, and transcriptomic analyses. Under S + D stress, Si increased the contents of cell wall components, altered the structure of cell wall, and directly promoted cell wall re-construction by regulating gene expression levels and enzyme activities related to cell wall biosynthesis. Meanwhile, Si facilitated the accumulation of carbohydrates by regulating enzyme activities and gene expression levels in the anabolic pathway of polysaccharides, thereby promoting UDPG conversion and indirectly providing substrates for cell wall synthesis. In conclusion, Si directly and indirectly facilitates the synthesis of cell wall components by regulating both cell wall metabolism and non-structural carbohydrates metabolism, thus reinforcing the cell wall, enhancing its stability, and improving the salt and drought tolerance of G. uralensis stems.

Fermentation broth of a novel endophytic fungus enhanced maize salt tolerance by regulating sugar metabolism and phytohormone biosynthesis or signaling

Soil salinization is a major environmental factor that severely affects global agriculture. Root endophytes can enter root cells, and offer various ecological benefits, such as promoting plant growth, improving soil conditions, and enhancing plant resistance. Su100 is a novel strain of endophytic fungus that was characterized from blueberry roots. In this study, we focused on evaluating the effects of Su100 secretion on maize growth. The results demonstrated that maize treated with Su100 fermentation broth (SFB) exhibited significantly stronger salt tolerance than the control. It is worth mentioning that the treated root system not only had an advantage in terms of biomass but also a change in root structure with a significant increase in lateral roots (LRs) compared to the control. Transcriptome analysis combined with hormone content measurements indicated that SFB upregulated the auxin signaling pathway, and also caused alterations in brassinosteroids (BR) and jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and signaling pathways. Transcriptome analyses also indicated that SFB caused significant changes in the sugar metabolism of maize roots. The major changes included: enhancing the conversion and utilization of sucrose in roots; increasing carbon flow to uridine diphosphate glucose (UDPG), which acted as a precursor for producing more cell wall polysaccharides, mainly pectin and lignin; accelerating the tricarboxylic acid cycle, which were further supported by sugar content determinations. Taken together, our results indicated that the enhanced salt tolerance of maize treated with SFB was due to the modulation of sugar metabolism and phytohormone biosynthesis or signaling pathways. This study provided new insights into the mechanisms of action of endophytic fungi and highlighted the potential application of fungal preparations in agriculture.

Dark septate endophyte Anteaglonium sp. T010 promotes biomass accumulation in poplar by regulating sucrose metabolism and hormones

Plant biomass is a highly promising renewable feedstock for the production of biofuels, chemicals and materials. Enhancing the content of plant biomass through endophyte symbiosis can effectively reduce economic and technological barriers in industrial production. In this study, we found that symbiosis with the dark septate endophyte (DSE) Anteaglonium sp. T010 significantly promoted the growth of poplar trees and increased plant biomass, including cellulose, lignin and starch. To further investigate whether plant biomass was related to sucrose metabolism, we analyzed the levels of relevant sugars and enzyme activities. During the symbiosis of Anteaglonium sp. T010, sucrose, fructose and glucose levels in the stem of poplar decreased, while the content of intermediates such as glucose-6-phosphate (G6P), fructose-6-phosphate (F6P) and UDP-glucose (UDPG), and the activity of enzymes related to sucrose metabolism, including sucrose synthase (SUSY), cell wall invertase (CWINV), fructokinase (FRK) and hexokinase, increased. In addition, the contents of glucose, fructose, starch, and their intermediates G6P, F6P and UDPG, as well as the enzyme activities of SUSY, CWINV, neutral invertase and FRK in roots were increased, which ultimately led to the increase of root biomass. Besides that, during the symbiotic process of Anteaglonium sp. T010, there were significant changes in the expression levels of root-related hormones, which may promote changes in sucrose metabolism and consequently increase the plant biomass. Therefore, this study suggested that DSE fungi can increase the plant biomass synthesis capacity by regulating the carbohydrate allocation and sink strength in poplar.

Arsenic-enhanced plant growth in As-hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata: Metabolomic investigations and molecular mechanisms

The first-known As-hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata is efficient in As uptake and translocation, which can be used for phytoremediation of As-contaminated soils. However, the underlying mechanisms of As-enhanced plant growth are unknown. We used untargeted metabolomics to investigate the potential metabolites and associated metabolic pathways regulating As-enhanced plant growth in P. vittata. After 60 days of growth in an MS-agar medium containing 15 mg kg-1 As, P. vittata biomass was 33-34 % greater than the no-As control. Similarly, the As contents in P. vittata roots and fronds were 272 and 1300 mg kg-1, considerably greater than the no-As control. Univariate and multivariate analyses based on electrospray ionization indicate that As exposure changed the expression of 1604 and 1248 metabolites in positive and negative modes. By comparing with the no-As control, As exposure significantly changed the expression of 14 metabolites including abscisic acid, d-glucose, raffinose, stachyose, chitobiose, xylitol, gibberellic acids, castasterone, citric acid, riboflavin-5-phosphate, ubiquinone, ubiquinol, UDP-glucose, and GDP-glucose. These metabolites are involved in phytohormone synthesis, energy metabolism, and sugar metabolism and may all potentially contribute to regulating As-enhanced plant growth in P. vittata. Our data provide clues to understanding the metabolic regulations of As-enhanced plant growth in P. vittata, which helps to enhance its phytoremediation efficiency of As-contaminated soils.

Transcriptome analysis of the transition from primary to secondary growth of vertical stem in Eucalyptus grandis

Eucalyptus was one of the most cultivated hardwood species worldwide, with rapid growth, good wood properties and a wide range of adaptability. Eucalyptus stem undergoes primary growth (longitudinal growth) followed by secondary growth (radial growth), which produces biomass that is an important source of energy worldwide. In order to better understand the genetic regulation of secondary growth in Eucalyptus grandis, Transcriptome analyses in stem segments along a developmental gradient from the third internode to the eleventh internode of E. grandis that spanned primary to secondary growth were carried out. 5,149 genes that were differentially expressed during stem development were identified. Combining the trend analysis by the Mfuzz method and the module-trait correlation analysis by the Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis method, a total of 70 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) selected from 868 DEGs with high connectivity were found to be closely correlated with secondary growth. Results revealed that the differential expression of these DEGs suggests that they may involve in the primary growth or secondary growth. AP1, YAB2 TFs and EXP genes are highly expressed in the IN3, whereas NAC, MYB TFs are likely to be important for secondary growth. These results will expand our understanding of the complex molecular and cellular events of secondary growth and provide a foundation for future studies on wood formation in Eucalyptus.

Protein profile analysis of tension wood development in response to artificial bending and gravitational stimuli in Betula platyphylla

Betula platyphylla Suk (birch) is an excellent short-term hardwood species with growth and wood characteristics well suited to wood industries. To investigate the molecular mechanism of wood development in birch, a tension wood (TW) induced system was used to explore the regulatory mechanism at the protein level and identify the key proteins involved in xylem development in birch. The results of dyeing with Safranin O-Fast Green indicated that the cellulose content of TW was significantly higher than that of opposite wood (OW) or normal wood (NW), and the lignin content in TW was significantly lower than that in OW and NW after artificial bending of birch stems. Protein profile analysis of TW, NW and OW by iTRAQ revealed that there were 639 and 460 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between TW/OW and TW/NW, respectively. The DEPs were mainly enriched in tyrosine metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolism, phenylpropanoid and pyruvate metabolism, the pentose phosphate pathway, the citrate cycle (TCA cycle), fructose and mannose metabolism, carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms, fatty acid biosynthesis, photosynthesis proteins and other pathways. The proteins in the citrate cycle were upregulated. The expression levels of PGI, PGM and FRK proteins related to cellulose synthesis increased and the expression levels of PAL, 4CL and COMT related to lignin synthesis decreased, leading to an increase in cellulose content and decreased lignin levels in TW. PPI analysis revealed that key DEPs interact with each other, indicating that these proteins form complexes to implement this function, which may provide important insights for wood formation at the molecular level.

Calcyclin-binding protein-promoted degradation of MdFRUCTOKINASE2 regulates sugar homeostasis in apple

Fructokinase (FRK) activates fructose through phosphorylation, which sends the activated fructose into primary metabolism and regulates fructose signaling capabilities in plants. The apple (Malus × domestica) FRK gene MdFRK2 shows especially high affinity to fructose, and its overexpression decreases fructose levels in the leaves of young plants. However, in the current study of mature plants, fruits of transgenic apple trees overexpressing MdFRK2 accumulated a higher level of fructose than wild-type (WT) fruits (at both young and mature stages). Transgenic apple trees with high mRNA MdFRK2 expression showed no significant differences in MdFRK2 protein abundance or FRK enzyme activity compared to WT in mature leaves, young fruits, and mature fruits. Immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry analysis identified an skp1, cullin, F-box (SCF) E3 ubiquitin ligase, calcyclin-binding protein (CacyBP), that interacted with MdFRK2. RNA-sequencing analysis provided evidence for ubiquitin-mediated post-transcriptional regulation of MdFRK2 protein for the maintenance of fructose homeostasis in mature leaves and fruits. Further analyses suggested an MdCacyBP-MdFRK2 regulatory module, in which MdCacyBP interacts with and ubiquitinates MdFRK2 to facilitate its degradation by the 26S proteasome, thus decreasing the FRK enzyme activity to elevate fructose concentration in transgenic apple trees. This result uncovered an important mechanism underlying plant fructose homeostasis in different organs through regulating the MdFRK2 protein level via ubiquitination and degradation. Our study provides usable data for the future improvement of apple flavor and expands our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying plant fructose content and signaling regulation.

Hexokinase1: A glucose sensor involved in drought stress response and sugar metabolism depending on its kinase activity in strawberry

Hexokinase1 (HXK1) is a bifunctional enzyme that plays indispensable roles in plant growth, nitrogen utilization, and stress resistance. However, information on the HXK family members of strawberries and their functions in glucose sensing and metabolic regulation is scarce. In the present study, four HXKs were firstly identified in the genome of Fragaria vesca and F. pentaphylla. The conserved domains of the HXK1s were confirmed, and a site-directed mutation (S177A) was introduced into the FpHXK1. FpHXK1, which shares the highest identity with the AtHXK1 was able to restore the glucose sensitivity and developmental defects of the Arabidopsis gin2-1 mutant, but not its kinase-activity-impaired mutant (FpHXK1^S177A ). The transcription of FpHXK1 was dramatically up-regulated under PEG-simulated drought stress conditions. The inhibition of the HXK kinase activity delayed the strawberry plant's responses to drought stress. Transient overexpression of the FpHXK1 and its kinase-impaired mutant differentially affected the level of glucose, sucrose, anthocyanins, and total phenols in strawberry fruits. All these results indicated that the FpHXK1, acting as a glucose sensor, was involved in drought stress response and sugar metabolism depending on its kinase activity.

Low temperature reduces potato wound formation by inhibiting phenylpropanoid metabolism and fatty acid biosynthesis

INTRODUCTION

Potato tubers have the healing capacity to prevent surface water transpiration and pathogen invasion after mechanical damage. Previous research has shown the inability to form healing periderm in potatoes under low temperatures, but the potential mechanism is still unclear.

METHODS

To explore the effects and mechanisms of low-temperature potato healing, wounded potatoes were stored at low temperature (4°C) and room temperature (22°C), respectively.

RESULTS

In this study, compared with 22°C healing, low temperature reduced the content of hydrogen peroxide, and the down-regulation of StAMY23 inhibited the conversion of starch to sugar, alleviated the degradation of starch, and reduced the content of soluble sugars and sucrose. Meanwhile, inhibition of phenylalanine metabolism by suppression of StPAL1 and St4CL expression reduced lignin accumulation. Low temperature also down-regulated the expression of StKCS6, StFAOH, StGPAT5, and StPrx, causing the lower deposition amount of suberin in wounds of potato tubers.

DISCUSSION

The above results suggested that low temperature led to less wound tissue deposition at the wound surfaces via suppressing phenylpropanoid metabolism and fatty acid biosynthesis in potato tubers.