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Yang H, Zhang Y, Liu Y, Jian S, Deng S. A novel ABA-induced transcript factor from Millettia pinnata, MpAITR1, enhances salt and drought tolerance through ABA signaling in transgenic Arabidopsis. JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 288:154060. [PMID: 37542942 DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2023.154060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/07/2023]
Abstract
Abiotic stress, such as salt and drought stress, seriously limits plant growth and crop yield. Abscisic acid (ABA) is essential in regulating plant responses to abiotic stress via signal perception, transduction, and transcriptional regulation. Pongamia (Millettia pinnata) is a kind of semi-mangrove plant with strong stress tolerance and can grow in fresh and sea water. However, the molecular mechanism of the ABA signaling pathway mediating the environmental tolerance of Pongamia is still scarce so far. AITR (ABA-Induced Transcription Repressor) was a recently identified small conserved family of transcription factor in angiosperms, which played controversial roles in response to abiotic stresses in different species. Here, we identified an ABA-induced gene, MpAITR1, which encoded a nucleus localization transcriptional factor in Pongamia. MpAITR1 was highly induced by ABA and salt treatments in roots and leaves. Heterologous expression of MpAITR1 in Arabidopsis increased sensitivity to ABA, moreover, enhanced tolerance to salt and drought stress. The expression levels of some ABA-responsive and stress-responsive genes were altered in transgenic plants compared to wild-type plants under the ABA, salt, and drought stress, which was consistent with the stress-tolerant phenotype of transgenic plants. These results reveal that MpAITR1 positively modulates ABA signaling pathways and enhances the tolerance to salt and drought stress by regulating downstream target genes. Taken together, MpAITR1 from the semi-mangrove plant Pongamia serves as a potential candidate for stress-tolerant crop breeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heng Yang
- Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China
| | - Yujuan Liu
- Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Shuguang Jian
- CAS Engineering Laboratory for Vegetation Ecosystem Restoration on Islands and Costal Zones, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China
| | - Shulin Deng
- Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; Xiaoliang Research Station for Tropical Coastal Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China.
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2
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Li Y, Wang W, Zhang N, Cheng Y, Hussain S, Wang Y, Tian H, Hussain H, Lin R, Yuan Y, Wang C, Wang T, Wang S. Antagonistic Regulation of ABA Responses by Duplicated Tandemly Repeated DUF538 Protein Genes in Arabidopsis. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:2989. [PMID: 37631202 PMCID: PMC10459309 DOI: 10.3390/plants12162989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
The plant hormone ABA (abscisic acid) regulates plant responses to abiotic stresses by regulating the expression of ABA response genes. However, the functions of a large portion of ABA response genes have remained unclear. We report in this study the identification of ASDs (ABA-inducible signal peptide-containing DUF538 proteins), a subgroup of DUF538 proteins with a signal peptide, as the regulators of plant responses to ABA in Arabidopsis. ASDs are encoded by four closely related DUF538 genes, with ASD1/ASD2 and ASD3/ASD4 being two pairs of duplicated tandemly repeated genes. The quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) results showed that the expression levels of ASDs increased significantly in response to ABA as well as NaCl and mannitol treatments, with the exception that the expression level of ASD2 remained largely unchanged in response to NaCl treatment. The results of Arabidopsis protoplast transient transfection assays showed that ASDs were localized on the plasma membrane and in the cytosol and nucleus. When recruited to the promoter of the reporter gene via a fused GD domain, ASDs were able to slightly repress the expression of the co-transfected reporter gene. Seed germination and cotyledon greening assays showed that ABA sensitivity was increased in the transgenic plants that were over-expressing ASD1 or ASD3 but decreased in the transgenic plants that were over-expressing ASD2 or ASD4. On the other hand, ABA sensitivity was increased in the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited asd2 single mutants but decreased in the asd3 single mutants. A transcriptome analysis showed that differentially expressed genes in the 35S:ASD2 transgenic plant seedlings were enriched in several different processes, including in plant growth and development, the secondary metabolism, and plant hormone signaling. In summary, our results show that ASDs are ABA response genes and that ASDs are involved in the regulation of plant responses to ABA in Arabidopsis; however, ASD1/ASD3 and ASD2/ASD4 have opposite functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Li
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (Y.L.); (N.Z.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (H.T.); (H.H.); (R.L.); (Y.Y.); (C.W.); (T.W.)
| | - Wei Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China; (W.W.); (S.H.)
| | - Na Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (Y.L.); (N.Z.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (H.T.); (H.H.); (R.L.); (Y.Y.); (C.W.); (T.W.)
| | - Yuxin Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (Y.L.); (N.Z.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (H.T.); (H.H.); (R.L.); (Y.Y.); (C.W.); (T.W.)
| | - Saddam Hussain
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China; (W.W.); (S.H.)
| | - Yating Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (Y.L.); (N.Z.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (H.T.); (H.H.); (R.L.); (Y.Y.); (C.W.); (T.W.)
| | - Hainan Tian
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (Y.L.); (N.Z.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (H.T.); (H.H.); (R.L.); (Y.Y.); (C.W.); (T.W.)
| | - Hadia Hussain
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (Y.L.); (N.Z.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (H.T.); (H.H.); (R.L.); (Y.Y.); (C.W.); (T.W.)
| | - Rao Lin
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (Y.L.); (N.Z.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (H.T.); (H.H.); (R.L.); (Y.Y.); (C.W.); (T.W.)
| | - Yuan Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (Y.L.); (N.Z.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (H.T.); (H.H.); (R.L.); (Y.Y.); (C.W.); (T.W.)
| | - Chen Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (Y.L.); (N.Z.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (H.T.); (H.H.); (R.L.); (Y.Y.); (C.W.); (T.W.)
| | - Tianya Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (Y.L.); (N.Z.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (H.T.); (H.H.); (R.L.); (Y.Y.); (C.W.); (T.W.)
| | - Shucai Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (Y.L.); (N.Z.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (H.T.); (H.H.); (R.L.); (Y.Y.); (C.W.); (T.W.)
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China; (W.W.); (S.H.)
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3
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A molecular link between organ size control and iron uptake in plants. NATURE PLANTS 2023; 9:1182-1183. [PMID: 37550372 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-023-01484-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
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4
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Wang Y, Wang W, Jia Q, Tian H, Wang X, Li Y, Hussain S, Hussain H, Wang T, Wang S. BIC2, a Cryptochrome Function Inhibitor, Is Involved in the Regulation of ABA Responses in Arabidopsis. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:plants12112220. [PMID: 37299199 DOI: 10.3390/plants12112220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The plant hormone ABA (abscisic acid) is able to regulate plant responses to abiotic stresses via regulating the expression of ABA response genes. BIC1 (Blue-light Inhibitor of Cryptochromes 1) and BIC2 have been identified as the inhibitors of plant cryptochrome functions, and are involved in the regulation of plant development and metabolism in Arabidopsis . In this study, we report the identification of BIC2 as a regulator of ABA responses in Arabidopsis . RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction) results show that the expression level of BIC1 remained largely unchanged, but that of BIC2 increased significantly in response to ABA treatment. Transfection assays in Arabidopsis protoplasts show that both BIC1 and BIC2 were mainly localized in the nucleus, and were able to activate the expression of the co-transfected reporter gene. Results in seed germination and seedling greening assays show that ABA sensitivity was increased in the transgenic plants overexpressing BIC2, but increased slightly, if any, in the transgenic plants overexpressing BIC1. ABA sensitivity was also increased in the bic2 single mutants in seedling greening assays, but no further increase was observed in the bic1 bic2 double mutants. On the other hand, in root elongation assays, ABA sensitivity was decreased in the transgenic plants overexpressing BIC2, as well as the bic2 single mutants, but no further decrease was observed in the bic1 bic2 double mutants. By using qRT-PCR (quantitative RT-PCR), we further examined how BIC2 may regulate ABA responses in Arabidopsis , and found that inhibition of ABA on the expression of the ABA receptor genes PYL4 (PYR1-Like 4) and PYL5 were decreased, but promotion of ABA on the expression of the protein kinase gene SnRK2.6 (SNF1-Related Protein Kinases 2.6) was enhanced in both the bic1 bic2 double mutants and 35S:BIC2 overexpression transgenic plants. Taken together, our results suggest that BIC2 regulates ABA responses in Arabidopsis possibly by affecting the expression of ABA signaling key regulator genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yating Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China
| | - Qiming Jia
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Hainan Tian
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Xutong Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China
| | - Yingying Li
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Saddam Hussain
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Hadia Hussain
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Tianya Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Shucai Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China
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5
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Nascimento FDS, Rocha ADJ, Soares JMDS, Mascarenhas MS, Ferreira MDS, Morais Lino LS, Ramos APDS, Diniz LEC, Mendes TADO, Ferreira CF, dos Santos-Serejo JA, Amorim EP. Gene Editing for Plant Resistance to Abiotic Factors: A Systematic Review. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:plants12020305. [PMID: 36679018 PMCID: PMC9860801 DOI: 10.3390/plants12020305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Revised: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Agricultural crops are exposed to various abiotic stresses, such as salinity, water deficits, temperature extremes, floods, radiation, and metal toxicity. To overcome these challenges, breeding programs seek to improve methods and techniques. Gene editing by Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats-CRISPR/Cas-is a versatile tool for editing in all layers of the central dogma with focus on the development of cultivars of plants resistant or tolerant to multiple biotic or abiotic stresses. This systematic review (SR) brings new contributions to the study of the use of CRISPR/Cas in gene editing for tolerance to abiotic stress in plants. Articles deposited in different electronic databases, using a search string and predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, were evaluated. This SR demonstrates that the CRISPR/Cas system has been applied to several plant species to promote tolerance to the main abiotic stresses. Among the most studied crops are rice and Arabidopsis thaliana, an important staple food for the population, and a model plant in genetics/biotechnology, respectively, and more recently tomato, whose number of studies has increased since 2021. Most studies were conducted in Asia, specifically in China. The Cas9 enzyme is used in most articles, and only Cas12a is used as an additional gene editing tool in plants. Ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) have emerged as a DNA-free strategy for genome editing without exogenous DNA. This SR also identifies several genes edited by CRISPR/Cas, and it also shows that plant responses to stress factors are mediated by many complex-signaling pathways. In addition, the quality of the articles included in this SR was validated by a risk of bias analysis. The information gathered in this SR helps to understand the current state of CRISPR/Cas in the editing of genes and noncoding sequences, which plays a key role in the regulation of various biological processes and the tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses, with potential for use in plant genetic improvement programs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anelita de Jesus Rocha
- Department of Biological Sciences, Feira de Santana State University, Feira de Santana 44036-900, BA, Brazil
| | | | | | - Mileide dos Santos Ferreira
- Department of Biological Sciences, Feira de Santana State University, Feira de Santana 44036-900, BA, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Edson Perito Amorim
- Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura, Cruz das Almas 44380-000, BA, Brazil
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +55-75-3312-8058; Fax: +55-75-3312-8097
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6
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Shelake RM, Kadam US, Kumar R, Pramanik D, Singh AK, Kim JY. Engineering drought and salinity tolerance traits in crops through CRISPR-mediated genome editing: Targets, tools, challenges, and perspectives. PLANT COMMUNICATIONS 2022; 3:100417. [PMID: 35927945 PMCID: PMC9700172 DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2022.100417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Prolonged periods of drought triggered by climate change hamper plant growth and cause substantial agricultural yield losses every year. In addition to drought, salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses that severely affect crop health and agricultural production. Plant responses to drought and salinity involve multiple processes that operate in a spatiotemporal manner, such as stress sensing, perception, epigenetic modifications, transcription, post-transcriptional processing, translation, and post-translational changes. Consequently, drought and salinity stress tolerance are polygenic traits influenced by genome-environment interactions. One of the ideal solutions to these challenges is the development of high-yielding crop varieties with enhanced stress tolerance, together with improved agricultural practices. Recently, genome-editing technologies, especially clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) tools, have been effectively applied to elucidate how plants deal with drought and saline environments. In this work, we aim to portray that the combined use of CRISPR-based genome engineering tools and modern genomic-assisted breeding approaches are gaining momentum in identifying genetic determinants of complex traits for crop improvement. This review provides a synopsis of plant responses to drought and salinity stresses at the morphological, physiological, and molecular levels. We also highlight recent advances in CRISPR-based tools and their use in understanding the multi-level nature of plant adaptations to drought and salinity stress. Integrating CRISPR tools with modern breeding approaches is ideal for identifying genetic factors that regulate plant stress-response pathways and for the introgression of beneficial traits to develop stress-resilient crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahul Mahadev Shelake
- Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 Four Program), Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Research Center, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Korea.
| | - Ulhas Sopanrao Kadam
- Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 Four Program), Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Research Center, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Korea
| | - Ritesh Kumar
- Department of Agronomy & Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Dibyajyoti Pramanik
- Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 Four Program), Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Research Center, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Korea
| | - Anil Kumar Singh
- ICAR-National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, LBS Centre, Pusa Campus, New Delhi 110012, India
| | - Jae-Yean Kim
- Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 Four Program), Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Research Center, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Korea; Division of Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, 501 Jinju-daero, Jinju 52828, Korea.
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7
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Rahman MU, Zulfiqar S, Raza MA, Ahmad N, Zhang B. Engineering Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants through CRISPR Genome Editing. Cells 2022; 11:cells11223590. [PMID: 36429019 PMCID: PMC9688763 DOI: 10.3390/cells11223590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental abiotic stresses challenge food security by depressing crop yields often exceeding 50% of their annual production. Different methods, including conventional as well as genomic-assisted breeding, mutagenesis, and genetic engineering have been utilized to enhance stress resilience in several crop species. Plant breeding has been partly successful in developing crop varieties against abiotic stresses owning to the complex genetics of the traits as well as the narrow genetic base in the germplasm. Irrespective of the fact that genetic engineering can transfer gene(s) from any organism(s), transgenic crops have become controversial mainly due to the potential risk of transgene-outcrossing. Consequently, the cultivation of transgenic crops is banned in certain countries, particularly in European countries. In this scenario, the discovery of the CRISPR tool provides a platform for producing transgene-free genetically edited plants-similar to the mutagenized crops that are not extensively regulated such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Thus, the genome-edited plants without a transgene would likely go into the field without any restriction. Here, we focused on the deployment of CRISPR for the successful development of abiotic stress-tolerant crop plants for sustaining crop productivity under changing environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehboob-ur Rahman
- Plant Genomics and Molecular Breeding Laboratory, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering College, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (NIBGE-C, PIEAS), Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
- Correspondence: (M.-u.R.); (B.Z.)
| | - Sana Zulfiqar
- Plant Genomics and Molecular Breeding Laboratory, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering College, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (NIBGE-C, PIEAS), Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Ahmad Raza
- Plant Genomics and Molecular Breeding Laboratory, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering College, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (NIBGE-C, PIEAS), Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
| | - Niaz Ahmad
- Plant Genomics and Molecular Breeding Laboratory, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering College, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (NIBGE-C, PIEAS), Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
| | - Baohong Zhang
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
- Correspondence: (M.-u.R.); (B.Z.)
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Hussain S, Cheng Y, Li Y, Wang W, Tian H, Zhang N, Wang Y, Yuan Y, Hussain H, Lin R, Wang C, Wang T, Wang S. AtbZIP62 Acts as a Transcription Repressor to Positively Regulate ABA Responses in Arabidopsis. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 11:3037. [PMID: 36432766 PMCID: PMC9699195 DOI: 10.3390/plants11223037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The basic region/leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor AtbZIP62 is involved in the regulation of plant responses to abiotic stresses, including drought and salinity stresses, NO3 transport, and basal defense in Arabidopsis. It is unclear if it plays a role in regulating plant responses to abscisic acid (ABA), a phytohormone that can regulate plant abiotic stress responses via regulating downstream ABA-responsive genes. Using RT-PCR analysis, we found that the expression level of AtbZIP62 was increased in response to exogenously applied ABA. Protoplast transfection assays show that AtbZIP62 is predominantly localized in the nucleus and functions as a transcription repressor. To examine the roles of AtbZIP62 in regulating ABA responses, we generated transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing AtbZIP62 and created gene-edited atbzip62 mutants using CRISPR/Cas9. We found that in both ABA-regulated seed germination and cotyledon greening assays, the 35S:AtbZIP62 transgenic plants were hypersensitive, whereas atbzip62 mutants were hyposensitive to ABA. To examine the functional mechanisms of AtbZIP62 in regulating ABA responses, we generated Arabidopsis transgenic plants overexpressing 35S:AtbZIP62-GR, and performed transcriptome analysis to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the presence and absence of DEX, and found that DEGs are highly enriched in processes including response to abiotic stresses and response to ABA. Quantitative RT-PCR results further show that AtbZIP62 may regulate the expression of several ABA-responsive genes, including USP, ABF2, and SnRK2.7. In summary, our results show that AtbZIP62 is an ABA-responsive gene, and AtbZIP62 acts as a transcription repressor to positively regulate ABA responses in Arabidopsis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saddam Hussain
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Yuxin Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Yingying Li
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China
| | - Hainan Tian
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Na Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Yating Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Yuan Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Hadia Hussain
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Rao Lin
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Chen Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Tianya Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Shucai Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China
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The NGATHA-like Genes DPA4 and SOD7 Are Not Required for Stem Cell Specification during Embryo Development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms231912007. [PMID: 36233309 PMCID: PMC9569844 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231912007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
In plants, stem cells are embedded in structures called meristems. Meristems can be formed either during embryogenesis or during the plant's life such as, for instance, axillary meristems. While the regulation of the stem cell population in an established meristem is well described, how it is initiated in newly formed meristems is less well understood. Recently, two transcription factors of the NGATHA-like family, DEVELOPMENT-RELATED PcG TARGET IN THE APEX4 (DPA4)/NGAL3 and SUPPRESSOR OF DA1-1 7 (SOD7)/NGAL2 have been shown to facilitate de novo stem cell initiation in Arabidopsis thaliana axillary meristems. Here, we tested whether the DPA4 and SOD7 genes had a similar role during stem cell formation in embryo shoot apical meristems. Using DPA4 and SOD7 reporter lines, we characterized the expression pattern of these genes during embryo development, revealing only a partial overlap with the stem cell population. In addition, we showed that the expression of a stem cell reporter was not modified in dpa4-2 sod7-2 double mutant embryos compared to the wild type. Together, these observations suggest that DPA4 and SOD7 are not required for stem cell specification during embryo shoot apical meristem initiation. This work stresses the difference in the regulatory network leading to meristem formation during the embryonic and post-embryonic phases.
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Wang Y, Li Y, Tian H, Wang W, Wang X, Hussain S, Yuan Y, Lin R, Hussain H, Wang T, Wang S. AtS40-1, a group I DUF584 protein positively regulates ABA response and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis. Gene 2022; 846:146846. [PMID: 36044943 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2022.146846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2022] [Revised: 08/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Abiotic stresses such as salt and drought affect plants growth and development, whereas the plant hormone ABA is able to regulate plant responses to abiotic stresses by regulating downstream gene expression. Therefore characterization of unknown function ABA responsive genes is able to identify novel regulators of plant abiotic stress responses. We report here the characterization of AtS40-1, a Group I DUF584 protein in the regulation of ABA and salt responses in Arabidopsis. RT-PCR results show that the expression of AtS40-1 was dramatically induced by ABA, but only slightly increase, if any, was observed for other three Group I DUF584 genes including AtS40-1L, AtS40-2 and AtS40-3. Transfection assays in Arabidopsis protoplasts show that all the four Group I DUF584 proteins were predominately localized in nucleus and were able to repress the expression of the co-transfected reporter gene. The roles of AtS40-1 in regulating plant response to ABA and abiotic stress responses were analyzed, by using transgenic plants and inactivation mutants. The results show that the ABA responses were increased in the 35S:AtS40-1 transgenic plants, but decreased in the ats40-1 mutants. Similar to AtS40-1, the results indicate that AtS40-1L, the most closely related DUF584 protein to AtS40-1, positively regulates ABA responses in Arabidopsis. However, further decreased ABA responses were not observed in the ats40-1 ats40-1l double mutants. On the other hand, salt tolerance was increased in the transgenic plants overexpressing AtS40-1 or AtS40-1L, but decreased in the ats40-1 and ats40-1l mutants. Quantitative RT-PCR results show that the ABA induced expression of the ABA signaling regulator genes ABI3, ABI4 and ABA responsive gene RAB18 was decreased, where as ABA signaling gene ABI1 was increased in the ats40-1 mutants. These results suggest that AtS40-1 regulates ABA and salt responses in Arabidopsis, possibly by affecting ABA induced expression of some ABA signaling regulator genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yating Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 China
| | - Yingying Li
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 China
| | - Hainan Tian
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 China
| | - Wei Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China
| | - Xutong Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China
| | - Saddam Hussain
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 China
| | - Yuan Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 China
| | - Rao Lin
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 China
| | - Hadia Hussain
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 China
| | - Tianya Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 China
| | - Shucai Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 China; Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China.
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11
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AtEAU1 and AtEAU2, Two EAR Motif-Containing ABA Up-Regulated Novel Transcription Repressors Regulate ABA Response in Arabidopsis. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23169053. [PMID: 36012319 PMCID: PMC9409118 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23169053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
EAR (Ethylene-responsive element binding factor-associated Amphiphilic Repression) motif-containing transcription repressors have been shown to regulate plant growth and development, and plant responses to plant hormones and environmental stresses including biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the functions of most EAR-motif-containing proteins remain largely uncharacterized. The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) also plays important roles in regulating plant responses to abiotic stresses via activation/repression of ABA-responsive genes. We report here the identification and functional characterization of two ABA-responsive EAR motif-containing protein genes, AtEAU1 (Arabidopsis thaliana EAR motif-containing ABAUp-regulated 1) and AtEAU2. Quantitative RT-PCR results show that the expressions of AtEAU1 and AtEAU2 were increased by ABA treatment, and were decreased in the ABA biosynthesis mutant aba1-5. Assays in transfected Arabidopsis protoplasts show that both AtEAU1 and AtEAU2 were specifically localized in the nucleus, and when recruited to the promoter region of the reporter gene by a fused DNA binding domain, repressed reporter gene expression. By using T-DNA insertion mutants and a gene-edited transgene-free mutant generated by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, we performed ABA sensitivity assays, and found that ABA sensitivity in the both ateau1 and ateau2 single mutants was increased in seedling greening assays. ABA sensitivity in the ateau1 ateau2 double mutants was also increased, but was largely similar to the ateau1 single mutants. On the other hand, all the mutants showed a wild type response to ABA in root elongation assays. Quantitative RT-PCR results show that the expression level of PYL4, an ABA receptor gene was increased, whereas that of ABI2, a PP2C gene was decreased in the ateau1 and ateau1 single, and the ateau1 ateau2 double mutants. In summary, our results suggest that AtEAU1 and AtEAU2 are ABA-response genes, and AtEAU1 and AtEAU2 are novel EAR motif-containing transcription repressors that negatively regulate ABA responses in Arabidopsis, likely by regulating the expression of some ABA signaling key regulator genes.
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De Backer J, Van Breusegem F, De Clercq I. Proteolytic Activation of Plant Membrane-Bound Transcription Factors. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:927746. [PMID: 35774815 PMCID: PMC9237531 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.927746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Due to the presence of a transmembrane domain, the subcellular mobility plan of membrane-bound or membrane-tethered transcription factors (MB-TFs) differs from that of their cytosolic counterparts. The MB-TFs are mostly locked in (sub)cellular membranes, until they are released by a proteolytic cleavage event or when the transmembrane domain (TMD) is omitted from the transcript due to alternative splicing. Here, we review the current knowledge on the proteolytic activation mechanisms of MB-TFs in plants, with a particular focus on regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP), and discuss the analogy with the proteolytic cleavage of MB-TFs in animal systems. We present a comprehensive inventory of all known and predicted MB-TFs in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and examine their experimentally determined or anticipated subcellular localizations and membrane topologies. We predict proteolytically activated MB-TFs by the mapping of protease recognition sequences and structural features that facilitate RIP in and around the TMD, based on data from metazoan intramembrane proteases. Finally, the MB-TF functions in plant responses to environmental stresses and in plant development are considered and novel functions for still uncharacterized MB-TFs are forecasted by means of a regulatory network-based approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas De Backer
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB)-Center for Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Frank Van Breusegem
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB)-Center for Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Inge De Clercq
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB)-Center for Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, Belgium
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13
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Razzaq MK, Akhter M, Ahmad RM, Cheema KL, Hina A, Karikari B, Raza G, Xing G, Gai J, Khurshid M. CRISPR-Cas9 based stress tolerance: New hope for abiotic stress tolerance in chickpea (Cicer arietinum). Mol Biol Rep 2022; 49:8977-8985. [DOI: 10.1007/s11033-022-07391-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 02/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
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14
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Wang X, Liu Z, Sun S, Wu J, Li R, Wang H, Cui X. SISTER OF TM3 activates FRUITFULL1 to regulate inflorescence branching in tomato. HORTICULTURE RESEARCH 2021; 8:251. [PMID: 34848688 PMCID: PMC8633288 DOI: 10.1038/s41438-021-00677-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Selection for favorable inflorescence architecture to improve yield is one of the crucial targets in crop breeding. Different tomato varieties require distinct inflorescence-branching structures to enhance productivity. While a few important genes for tomato inflorescence-branching development have been identified, the regulatory mechanism underlying inflorescence branching is still unclear. Here, we confirmed that SISTER OF TM3 (STM3), a homolog of Arabidopsis SOC1, is a major positive regulatory factor of tomato inflorescence architecture by map-based cloning. High expression levels of STM3 underlie the highly inflorescence-branching phenotype in ST024. STM3 is expressed in both vegetative and reproductive meristematic tissues and in leaf primordia and leaves, indicative of its function in flowering time and inflorescence-branching development. Transcriptome analysis shows that several floral development-related genes are affected by STM3 mutation. Among them, FRUITFULL1 (FUL1) is downregulated in stm3cr mutants, and its promoter is bound by STM3 by ChIP-qPCR analysis. EMSA and dual-luciferase reporter assays further confirmed that STM3 could directly bind the promoter region to activate FUL1 expression. Mutation of FUL1 could partially restore inflorescence-branching phenotypes caused by high STM3 expression in ST024. Our findings provide insights into the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying inflorescence development in tomato.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaotian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
- Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Zhiqiang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
- Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Shuai Sun
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
- Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Jianxin Wu
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
- Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Ren Li
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
- Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Haijing Wang
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
- Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Xia Cui
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
- Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
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15
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Wang Y, Tian H, Wang W, Wang X, Zheng K, Hussain S, Lin R, Wang T, Wang S. The Carboxyl-Terminus of TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA1 Is Critical for Its Functions in Arabidopsis. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms221810039. [PMID: 34576199 PMCID: PMC8467004 DOI: 10.3390/ijms221810039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The Arabidopsis WD40 repeat protein TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA1 (TTG1) regulates cell fate determination, including trichome initiation and root hair formation, as well as secondary metabolism such as flavonoid biosynthesis and seed coat mucilage production. TTG1 regulates different processes via regulating the expression of its downstream target genes by forming MYB-bHLH-WD40 (MBW) activator complexes with different R2R3 MYB and bHLH transcription factors. Here, we report the identification of the carboxyl (C)-terminus as a critical domain for TTG1′s functions in Arabidopsis. We found that the ttg1Δ15aa mutant shows pleiotropic phenotypes identical to a TTG1 loss-of-function mutant. Gene sequencing indicates that a single nucleotide substitution in TTG1 led to a premature stop at the W327 residue, leading to the production of a truncated TTG1 protein with a deletion of the last 15 C-terminal amino acids. The expression of TTG1 under the control of its native promoter fully restored the ttg1Δ15aa mutant phenotypes. Consistent with these observations, the expression levels of TTG1 downstream genes such as GLABRA2 (GL2) and CAPRICE (CPC) were reduced in the ttg1Δ15aa mutant. Assays in Arabidopsis protoplast show that TTG1Δ15aa failed to interact with the bHLH transcription factor GL3, and the deletion of the last 3 C-terminal amino acids or the 339L amino acid alone fully abolished the interaction of TTG1 with GL3. Furthermore, the expression of TTG1Δ3aa under the control of TTG1 native promoter failed to restore the ttg1Δ15aa mutant phenotypes. Taken together, our results suggest that the C-terminal domain of TTG1 is required for its proper function in Arabidopsis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yating Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China; (Y.W.); (W.W.); (X.W.)
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (H.T.); (K.Z.); (S.H.); (R.L.); (T.W.)
| | - Hainan Tian
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (H.T.); (K.Z.); (S.H.); (R.L.); (T.W.)
| | - Wei Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China; (Y.W.); (W.W.); (X.W.)
| | - Xutong Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China; (Y.W.); (W.W.); (X.W.)
| | - Kaijie Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (H.T.); (K.Z.); (S.H.); (R.L.); (T.W.)
- Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
| | - Saddam Hussain
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (H.T.); (K.Z.); (S.H.); (R.L.); (T.W.)
| | - Rao Lin
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (H.T.); (K.Z.); (S.H.); (R.L.); (T.W.)
| | - Tianya Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; (H.T.); (K.Z.); (S.H.); (R.L.); (T.W.)
| | - Shucai Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China; (Y.W.); (W.W.); (X.W.)
- Correspondence:
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16
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Rajput M, Choudhary K, Kumar M, Vivekanand V, Chawade A, Ortiz R, Pareek N. RNA Interference and CRISPR/Cas Gene Editing for Crop Improvement: Paradigm Shift towards Sustainable Agriculture. PLANTS 2021; 10:plants10091914. [PMID: 34579446 PMCID: PMC8467553 DOI: 10.3390/plants10091914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
With the rapid population growth, there is an urgent need for innovative crop improvement approaches to meet the increasing demand for food. Classical crop improvement approaches involve, however, a backbreaking process that cannot equipoise with increasing crop demand. RNA-based approaches i.e., RNAi-mediated gene regulation and the site-specific nuclease-based CRISPR/Cas9 system for gene editing has made advances in the efficient targeted modification in many crops for the higher yield and resistance to diseases and different stresses. In functional genomics, RNA interference (RNAi) is a propitious gene regulatory approach that plays a significant role in crop improvement by permitting the downregulation of gene expression by small molecules of interfering RNA without affecting the expression of other genes. Gene editing technologies viz. the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein (CRISPR/Cas) have appeared prominently as a powerful tool for precise targeted modification of nearly all crops' genome sequences to generate variation and accelerate breeding efforts. In this regard, the review highlights the diverse roles and applications of RNAi and CRISPR/Cas9 system as powerful technologies to improve agronomically important plants to enhance crop yields and increase tolerance to environmental stress (biotic or abiotic). Ultimately, these technologies can prove to be important in view of global food security and sustainable agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meenakshi Rajput
- Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer 305801, Rajasthan, India; (M.R.); (K.C.); (M.K.)
| | - Khushboo Choudhary
- Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer 305801, Rajasthan, India; (M.R.); (K.C.); (M.K.)
| | - Manish Kumar
- Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer 305801, Rajasthan, India; (M.R.); (K.C.); (M.K.)
| | - V. Vivekanand
- Centre for Energy and Environment, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur 302017, Rajasthan, India;
| | - Aakash Chawade
- Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 101, 230 53 Alnarp, Sweden;
- Correspondence: (A.C.); (N.P.)
| | - Rodomiro Ortiz
- Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 101, 230 53 Alnarp, Sweden;
| | - Nidhi Pareek
- Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer 305801, Rajasthan, India; (M.R.); (K.C.); (M.K.)
- Correspondence: (A.C.); (N.P.)
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Involvement of ABA Responsive SVB Genes in the Regulation of Trichome Formation in Arabidopsis. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22136790. [PMID: 34202673 PMCID: PMC8268597 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22136790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2021] [Revised: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Trichome formation in Arabidopsis is regulated by several key regulators, and plants hormones such as gibberellin, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and cytokinins have been shown to regulate trichome formation by affecting the transcription or activities of the key regulators. We report here the identification of two abscisic acid (ABA) responsive genes, SMALLER TRICHOMES WITH VARIABLE BRANCHES (SVB) and SVB2 as trichome formation regulator genes in Arabidopsis. The expression levels of SVB and SVB2 were increased in response to ABA treatment, their expression levels were reduced in the ABA biosynthesis mutant aba1-5, and they have similar expression pattern. In addition to the trichome defects reported previously for the svb single mutant, we found that even though the trichome numbers were largely unaffected in both the svb and svb2 single mutants generate by using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, the trichome numbers were greatly reduced in the svb svb2 double mutants. On the other hand, trichome numbers were increased in SVB or SVB2 overexpression plants. RT-PCR results show that the expression of the trichome formation key regulator gene ENHANCER OF GLABRA3 (EGL3) was affected in the svb svb2 double mutants. Our results suggest that SVB and SVB2 are ABA responsive genes, and SVB and SVB2 function redundantly to regulate trichome formation in Arabidopsis.
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18
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Hussain S, Wang W, Ahmed S, Wang X, Adnan, Cheng Y, Wang C, Wang Y, Zhang N, Tian H, Chen S, Hu X, Wang T, Wang S. PIP2, An Auxin Induced Plant Peptide Hormone Regulates Root and Hypocotyl Elongation in Arabidopsis. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:646736. [PMID: 34054893 PMCID: PMC8161498 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.646736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Auxin is one of the traditional plant hormones, whereas peptide hormones are peptides with hormone activities. Both auxin and plant peptide hormones regulate multiple aspects of plant growth and development, and there are cross-talks between auxin and plant peptide hormones. PAMP-INDUCED SECRETED PEPTIDES (PIPs) and PIP-LIKEs (PIPLs) are a new family of plant peptide hormone, and PIPL3/TARGET OF LBD SIXTEEN 2 (TOLS2) has been shown to regulate lateral root formation in Arabidopsis. We report here the identification of PIP2 as an auxin response gene, and we found it plays a role in regulating root and hypocotyl development in Arabidopsis. By using quantitative RT-PCR, we found that the expression of PIP2 but not PIP1 and PIP3 was induced by auxin, and auxin induced expression of PIP2 was reduced in nph4-1 and arf19-4, the lost-of-function mutants of Auxin Response Factor 7 (ARF7) and ARF19, respectively. By generating and characterizing overexpressing transgenic lines and gene edited mutants for PIP2, we found that root length in the PIP2 overexpression plant seedlings was slightly shorter when compared with that in the Col wild type plants, but root length of the pip2 mutant seedlings remained largely unchanged. For comparison, we also generated overexpressing transgenic lines and gene edited mutants for PIP3, as well as pip2 pip3 double mutants. Surprisingly, we found that root length in the PIP3 overexpression plant seedlings is shorter than that of the PIP2 overexpression plant seedlings, and the pip3 mutant seedlings also produced short roots. However, root length in the pip2 pip3 double mutant seedlings is largely similar to that in the pip3 single mutant seedlings. On the other hand, hypocotyl elongation assays indicate that only the 35S:PIP2 transgenic plant seedlings produced longer hypocotyls when compared with the Col wild type seedlings. Further analysis indicates that PIP2 promotes cell division as well as cell elongation in hypocotyls. Taken together, our results suggest that PIP2 is an auxin response gene, and PIP2 plays a role in regulating root and hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis likely via regulating cell division and cell elongation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saddam Hussain
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi, China
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Sajjad Ahmed
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Xutong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Adnan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Yuxin Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Chen Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Yating Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Na Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Hainan Tian
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Siyu Chen
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Xiaojun Hu
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi, China
| | - Tianya Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Shucai Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi, China
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
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19
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Canales J, Verdejo J, Carrasco-Puga G, Castillo FM, Arenas-M A, Calderini DF. Transcriptome Analysis of Seed Weight Plasticity in Brassica napus. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:4449. [PMID: 33923211 PMCID: PMC8123204 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22094449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
A critical barrier to improving crop yield is the trade-off between seed weight (SW) and seed number (SN), which has been commonly reported in several crops, including Brassica napus. Despite the agronomic relevance of this issue, the molecular factors involved in the interaction between SW and SN are largely unknown in crops. In this work, we performed a detailed transcriptomic analysis of 48 seed samples obtained from two rapeseed spring genotypes subjected to different source-sink (S-S) ratios in order to examine the relationship between SW and SN under different field conditions. A multifactorial analysis of the RNA-seq data was used to identify a group of 1014 genes exclusively regulated by the S-S ratio. We found that a reduction in the S-S ratio during seed filling induces the expression of genes involved in sucrose transport, seed weight, and stress responses. Moreover, we identified five co-expression modules that are positively correlated with SW and negatively correlated with SN. Interestingly, one of these modules was significantly enriched in transcription factors (TFs). Furthermore, our network analysis predicted several NAC TFs as major hubs underlying SW and SN compensation. Taken together, our study provides novel insights into the molecular factors associated with the SW-SN relationship in rapeseed and identifies TFs as potential targets when improving crop yield.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Canales
- Institute of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, 5110566 Valdivia, Chile; (F.M.C.); (A.A.-M.)
- ANID–Millennium Science Initiative Program-Millennium Institute for Integrative Biology (iBio), 8331150 Santiago, Chile
| | - José Verdejo
- Graduate School, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, 5110566 Valdivia, Chile;
- Plant Production and Plant Protection Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, 5110566 Valdivia, Chile;
| | - Gabriela Carrasco-Puga
- Plant Production and Plant Protection Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, 5110566 Valdivia, Chile;
| | - Francisca M. Castillo
- Institute of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, 5110566 Valdivia, Chile; (F.M.C.); (A.A.-M.)
- ANID–Millennium Science Initiative Program-Millennium Institute for Integrative Biology (iBio), 8331150 Santiago, Chile
| | - Anita Arenas-M
- Institute of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, 5110566 Valdivia, Chile; (F.M.C.); (A.A.-M.)
- ANID–Millennium Science Initiative Program-Millennium Institute for Integrative Biology (iBio), 8331150 Santiago, Chile
| | - Daniel F. Calderini
- Plant Production and Plant Protection Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, 5110566 Valdivia, Chile;
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20
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Chen S, Zhang N, Zhou G, Hussain S, Ahmed S, Tian H, Wang S. Knockout of the entire family of AITR genes in Arabidopsis leads to enhanced drought and salinity tolerance without fitness costs. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2021; 21:137. [PMID: 33726681 PMCID: PMC7967987 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-021-02907-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGORUND Environmental stresses including abiotic stresses and biotic stresses limit yield of plants. Stress-tolerant breeding is an efficient way to improve plant yield under stress conditions. Genome editing by CRISPR/Cas9 can be used in molecular breeding to improve agronomic traits in crops, but in most cases, with fitness costs. The plant hormone ABA regulates plant responses to abiotic stresses via signaling transduction. We previously identified AITRs as a family of novel transcription factors that play a role in regulating plant responses to ABA and abiotic stresses. We found that abiotic stress tolerance was increased in the single, double and triple aitr mutants. However, it is unclear if the increased abiotic stress tolerance in the mutants may have fitness costs. RESULTS We report here the characterization of AITRs as suitable candidate genes for CRISPR/Cas9 editing to improve plant stress tolerance. By using CRISPR/Cas9 to target AITR3 and AITR4 simultaneously in the aitr256 triple and aitr1256 quadruple mutants respectively, we generated Cas9-free aitr23456 quintuple and aitr123456 sextuple mutants. We found that reduced sensitivities to ABA and enhanced tolerance to drought and salt were observed in these mutants. Most importantly, plant growth and development was not affected even in the aitr123456 sextuple mutants, in whom the entire AITR family genes have been knocked out, and the aitr123456 sextuple mutants also showed a wild type response to the pathogen infection. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that knockout of the AITR family genes in Arabidopsis enhanced abiotic stress tolerance without fitness costs. Considering that knock-out a few AITRs will lead to enhanced abiotic stress tolerance, that AITRs are widely distributed in angiosperms with multiple encoding genes, AITRs may be targeted for molecular breeding to improve abiotic stress tolerance in plants including crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Chen
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, 276000, Linyi, China
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, 130024, Changchun, China
| | - Na Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, 130024, Changchun, China
| | - Ganghua Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, 130024, Changchun, China
| | - Saddam Hussain
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, 130024, Changchun, China
| | - Sajjad Ahmed
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, 130024, Changchun, China
| | - Hainan Tian
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, 130024, Changchun, China.
| | - Shucai Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University, 276000, Linyi, China.
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, 130024, Changchun, China.
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21
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Zhang D, Zhang Z, Unver T, Zhang B. CRISPR/Cas: A powerful tool for gene function study and crop improvement. J Adv Res 2021; 29:207-221. [PMID: 33842017 PMCID: PMC8020163 DOI: 10.1016/j.jare.2020.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background It is a long-standing goal of scientists and breeders to precisely control a gene for studying its function as well as improving crop yield, quality, and tolerance to various environmental stresses. The discovery and modification of CRISPR/Cas system, a nature-occurred gene editing tool, opens an era for studying gene function and precision crop breeding. Aim of Review In this review, we first introduce the brief history of CRISPR/Cas discovery followed the mechanism and application of CRISPR/Cas system on gene function study and crop improvement. Currently, CRISPR/Cas genome editing has been becoming a mature cutting-edge biotechnological tool for crop improvement that already used in many different traits in crops, including pathogen resistance, abiotic tolerance, plant development and morphology and even secondary metabolism and fiber development. Finally, we point out the major issues associating with CRISPR/Cas system and the future research directions.Key Scientific Concepts of Review: CRISPR/Cas9 system is a robust and powerful biotechnological tool for targeting an individual DNA and RNA sequence in the genome. It can be used to target a sequence for gene knockin, knockout and replacement as well as monitoring and regulating gene expression at the genome and epigenome levels by binding a specific sequence. Agrobacterium-mediated method is still the major and efficient method for delivering CRISPR/Cas regents into targeted plant cells. However, other delivery methods, such as virus-mediated method, have been developed and enhanced the application potentials of CRISPR/Cas9-based crop improvement. PAM requirement offers the CRISPR/Cas9-targted genetic loci and also limits the application of CRISPR/Cas9. Discovering new Cas proteins and modifying current Cas enzymes play an important role in CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing. Developing a better CRISPR/Cas9 system, including the delivery system and the methods eliminating off-target effects, and finding key/master genes for controlling crop growth and development is two major directions for CRISPR/Cas9-based crop improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dangquan Zhang
- Henan Province Engineering Research Center for Forest Biomass Value-Added Products, College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, China
| | - Zhiyong Zhang
- Henan Collaborative Innovation Center of Modern Biological Breeding and Henan Key Laboratory for Molecular Ecology and Germplasm Innovation of Cotton and Wheat, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, Henan 453003, China
| | - Turgay Unver
- Ficus Biotechnology, Ostim Teknopark, No: 1/1/76, 06378, Yenimahalle, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Baohong Zhang
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
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22
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Buffon G, Blasi ÉADR, Lamb TI, Adamski JM, Schwambach J, Ricachenevsky FK, Bertolazi A, Silveira V, Lopes MCB, Sperotto RA. Oryza sativa cv. Nipponbare and Oryza barthii as Unexpected Tolerance and Susceptibility Sources Against Schizotetranychus oryzae (Acari: Tetranychidae) Mite Infestation. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:613568. [PMID: 33643348 PMCID: PMC7902502 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.613568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) is frequently exposed to multiple stresses, including Schizotetranychus oryzae mite infestation. Rice domestication has narrowed the genetic diversity of the species, leading to a wide susceptibility. This work aimed to analyze the response of two African rice species (Oryza barthii and Oryza glaberrima), weedy rice (O. sativa f. spontanea), and O. sativa cv. Nipponbare to S. oryzae infestation. Surprisingly, leaf damage, histochemistry, and chlorophyll concentration/fluorescence indicated that the African species present a higher level of leaf damage, increased accumulation of H2O2, and lower photosynthetic capacity when compared to O. sativa plants under infested conditions. Infestation decreased tiller number, except in Nipponbare, and caused the death of O. barthii and O. glaberrima plants during the reproductive stage. While infestation did not affect the weight of 1,000 grains in both O. sativa, the number of panicles per plant was affected only in O. sativa f. spontanea, and the percentage of full seeds per panicle and seed length were increased only in Nipponbare. Using proteomic analysis, we identified 195 differentially abundant proteins when comparing susceptible (O. barthii) and tolerant (Nipponbare) plants under control and infested conditions. O. barthii presents a less abundant antioxidant arsenal and is unable to modulate proteins involved in general metabolism and energy production under infested condition. Nipponbare presents high abundance of detoxification-related proteins, general metabolic processes, and energy production, suggesting that the primary metabolism is maintained more active compared to O. barthii under infested condition. Also, under infested conditions, Nipponbare presents higher levels of proline and a greater abundance of defense-related proteins, such as osmotin, ricin B-like lectin, and protease inhibitors (PIs). These differentially abundant proteins can be used as biotechnological tools in breeding programs aiming at increased tolerance to mite infestation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giseli Buffon
- Graduate Program in Biotechnology, University of Taquari Valley-Univates, Lajeado, Brazil
| | | | - Thainá Inês Lamb
- Biological Sciences and Health Center, University of Taquari Valley-Univates, Lajeado, Brazil
| | - Janete Mariza Adamski
- Graduate Program in Botany, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Joséli Schwambach
- Graduate Program in Biotechnology, University of Caxias do Sul, Caxias do Sul, Brazil
| | - Felipe Klein Ricachenevsky
- Graduate Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Amanda Bertolazi
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, Bioscience and Biotechnology Center, State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil
| | - Vanildo Silveira
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, Bioscience and Biotechnology Center, State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil
| | | | - Raul Antonio Sperotto
- Graduate Program in Biotechnology, University of Taquari Valley-Univates, Lajeado, Brazil
- Biological Sciences and Health Center, University of Taquari Valley-Univates, Lajeado, Brazil
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23
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CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Knockout of HOS1 Reveals Its Role in the Regulation of Secondary Metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana. PLANTS 2021; 10:plants10010104. [PMID: 33419060 PMCID: PMC7825447 DOI: 10.3390/plants10010104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Revised: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In Arabidopsis, the RING finger-containing E3 ubiquitin ligase HIGH EXPRESSION OF OSMOTICALLY RESPONSIVE GENES 1 (HOS1) functions as a main regulator of the cold signaling. In this study, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated targeted mutagenesis of the HOS1 gene in the first exon was performed. DNA sequencing showed that frameshift indels introduced by genome editing of HOS1 resulted in the appearance of premature stop codons, disrupting the open reading frame. Obtained hos1Cas9 mutant plants were compared with the SALK T-DNA insertion mutant, line hos1-3, in terms of their tolerance to abiotic stresses, accumulation of secondary metabolites and expression levels of genes participating in these processes. Upon exposure to cold stress, enhanced tolerance and expression of cold-responsive genes were observed in both hos1-3 and hos1Cas9 plants. The hos1 mutation caused changes in the synthesis of phytoalexins in transformed cells. The content of glucosinolates (GSLs) was down-regulated by 1.5-times, while flavonol glycosides were up-regulated by 1.2 to 4.2 times in transgenic plants. The transcript abundance of the corresponding MYB and bHLH transcription factors, which are responsible for the regulation of secondary metabolism in Arabidopsis, were also altered. Our data suggest a relationship between HOS1-regulated downstream signaling and phytoalexin biosynthesis.
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24
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Wang W, Wang X, Wang Y, Zhou G, Wang C, Hussain S, Adnan, Lin R, Wang T, Wang S. SlEAD1, an EAR motif-containing ABA down-regulated novel transcription repressor regulates ABA response in tomato. GM CROPS & FOOD 2020; 11:275-289. [PMID: 32706315 DOI: 10.1080/21645698.2020.1790287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
EAR motif-containing proteins are able to repress gene expression, therefore play important roles in regulating plants growth and development, plant response to environmental stimuli, as well as plant hormone signal transduction. ABA is a plant hormone that regulates abiotic stress tolerance in plants via signal transduction. ABA signaling via the PYR1/PYLs/RCARs receptors, the PP2Cs phosphatases, and SnRK2s protein kinases activates the ABF/AREB/ABI5-type bZIP transcription factors, resulting in the activation/repression of ABA response genes. However, functions of many ABA response genes remained largely unknown. We report here the identification of the ABA-responsive gene SlEAD1 (Solanum lycopersicum EAR motif-containing ABA down-regulated 1) as a novel EAR motif-containing transcription repressor gene in tomato. We found that the expression of SlEAD1 was down-regulated by ABA treatment, and SlEAD1 repressed reporter gene expression in transfected protoplasts. By using CRISPR gene editing, we generated transgene-free slead1 mutants and found that the mutants produced short roots. By using seed germination and root elongation assays, we examined ABA response of the slead1 mutants and found that ABA sensitivity in the mutants was increased. By using qRT-PCR, we further show that the expression of some of the ABA biosynthesis and signaling component genes were increased in the slead1 mutants. Taken together, our results suggest that SlEAD1 is an ABA response gene, that SlEAD1 is a novel EAR motif-containing transcription repressor, and that SlEAD1 negatively regulates ABA responses in tomato possibly by repressing the expression of some ABA biosynthesis and signaling genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University , Linyi, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University , Changchun, China
| | - Xutong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University , Changchun, China
| | - Yating Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University , Changchun, China
| | - Ganghua Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University , Changchun, China
| | - Chen Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University , Changchun, China
| | - Saddam Hussain
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University , Changchun, China
| | - Adnan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University , Changchun, China
| | - Rao Lin
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University , Changchun, China
| | - Tianya Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University , Changchun, China
| | - Shucai Wang
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics & Crop Gene Editing, School of Life Sciences, Linyi University , Linyi, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University , Changchun, China
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25
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CRISPR/Cas9: A Robust Genome-Editing Tool with Versatile Functions and Endless Application. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21145111. [PMID: 32698333 PMCID: PMC7404002 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21145111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
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26
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Yang W, Chen S, Cheng Y, Zhang N, Ma Y, Wang W, Tian H, Li Y, Hussain S, Wang S. Cell wall/vacuolar inhibitor of fructosidase 1 regulates ABA response and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis. PLANT SIGNALING & BEHAVIOR 2020; 15:1744293. [PMID: 32213123 PMCID: PMC7194370 DOI: 10.1080/15592324.2020.1744293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
ABA regulates abiotic stress tolerance in plants via activating/repressing gene expression. However, the functions of many ABA response genes remained unknown. C/VIFs are proteinaceous inhibitors of the CWI and VI invertases. We report here the involvement of C/VIF1 in regulating ABA response and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis. We found that the expression level of C/VIF1 was increased in response to ABA treatment. By using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, we generated transgene-free c/vif1 mutants. We also generated C/VIF1 overexpression plants by expressing C/VIF1 under the control of the 35S promoter. We examined ABA response of the 35S:C/VIF1 transgenic plants and the c/vif1 mutants by using seed germination and seedling greening assays, and found that the 35S:C/VIF1 transgenic plants showed an enhanced sensitivity to ABA treatment in both assays. On the other hand, the c/vif1 mutants showed slight enhanced tolerance to ABA only at the early stage of germination. We also found that salt tolerance was reduced in the 35S:C/VIF1 transgenic plants in seed germination assays, but slightly increased in the c/vif1 mutants. Taken together, our results suggest that C/VIF1 is an ABA response gene, and C/VIF1 is involved in the regulation of ABA response and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenting Yang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Siyu Chen
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Yuxin Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Na Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Yanxing Ma
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Hainan Tian
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Yingying Li
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Saddam Hussain
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Shucai Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
- College of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi, China
- CONTACT Shucai Wang School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
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