Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Naoko Crofts, Yoshiki Satoh, Satoko Miura, Yuko Hosaka, Misato Abe, Naoko Fujita
Summary: The introduction of higher SSIIa activity effectively restores crystallinity, starch granule structure, and production of plump seeds in the mild-type sug-1 mutant. Crossbreeding resulted in the generation of new rice lines with improved amylopectin-like glucan accumulation and A-type crystallinity, complementing the wrinkled seed phenotype typical of the original isa1 mutation.
PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yining Ying, Yaqi Hu, Yanni Zhang, Piengtawan Tappiban, Zhongwei Zhang, Gaoxing Dai, Guofu Deng, Jinsong Bao, Feifei Xu
Summary: A novel mutation in soluble starch synthase IIIa (SSIIIa) was identified as the cause for the chalky phenotype in a mutant rice line (GM03). Complementation tests with the active SSIIIa gene restored the wildtype phenotype in GM03, confirming the role of SSIIIa in starch synthesis. Disruption of SSIIIa using CRISPR/Cas9 technology phenocopied the chalky endosperm in GM03, and knockout mutant lines exhibited altered thermal properties and starch fine structure. These findings highlight the importance of SSIIIa in elongating amylopectin long chains and maintaining proper starch synthesis in rice.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jihui Zhu, Chang-Quan Zhang, Jianlong Xu, Robert G. Gilbert, Qiaoquan Liu
Summary: The study explores the impact of starch synthase isoforms on chain-length distributions of starch in rice, identifying the enzyme sets controlling amylose and amylopectin biosynthesis and the mutants of each isoform. This detailed analysis enables breeders to target and develop improved rice species based on functional properties controlled by CLD.
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Mengting Ma, Haoxiang Zhu, Ziyi Liu, Zhongquan Sui, Harold Corke
Summary: The study found that removal of SGAPs caused a greater reduction in gelatinization temperature, rigidity of swollen granules, peak, breakdown, and final viscosities of small-granule starches, while also weakening the pseudoplasticity and shear-thinning behavior during the gelatinization process.
FOOD HYDROCOLLOIDS
(2022)
Review
Agronomy
Naoko Fujita, Satoko Miura, Naoko Crofts
Summary: This review summarizes recent discoveries in rice starch research, including the expression patterns and variations of starch biosynthetic genes, the functions of individual isozymes, and the complementary effects of starch enzymes. The research findings are important for breeding new rice cultivars.
Article
Plant Sciences
Limin Yuan, Runqin LI, Lidong Fu, Zhiqin Wang, Jianchang Yang
Summary: By studying the formation characteristics of endosperm structures in different rice genotypes, it was found that the compactness of amyloplast arrangement was positively correlated with grain filling percentage. The endosperm structure varied with the position within a grain. Starch accumulation was the earliest in glutinous rice genotypes, followed by indica and japonica genotypes. Gaps and pores in endosperm were closely associated with rice transparency. The starch crystallinity in endosperm was negatively correlated with amylose content. Among the three genotypes, glutinous showed the highest crystallinity, followed by japonica and indica rice. The starch structure of endosperm not only differ between rice genotypes, but also varies with the location of a grain on the panicle, and that it affects the grain-filling, transparency and amylose content of rice.
PAKISTAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Camille Vandromme, Corentin Spriet, Jean-Luc Putaux, David Dauvillee, Adeline Courseaux, Christophe D'Hulst, Fabrice Wattebled
Summary: The control of starch granule initiation in plant leaves involves complex interactions between enzymes like Starch Synthase 4 and 3 (SS4 or SS3) and noncatalytic proteins such as Protein Involved in starch Initiation 1 (PII1). It was found that SS4 is the main enzyme responsible for starch granule initiation, but SS3 can partially compensate in its absence. The interaction between PII1 and SS4 is crucial for full activity of SS4, but Arabidopsis mutants lacking either SS4 or PII1 still accumulate starch granules. The combination of mutations in PII1 with SS3 or SS4 provides new insights into the synthesis of remaining starch granules.
Article
Plant Sciences
Lara Esch, Qi Yang Ngai, J. Elaine Barclay, Rose McNelly, Sadiye Hayta, Mark A. A. Smedley, Alison M. M. Smith, David Seung
Summary: The understanding of starch granule morphology in plants is still lacking. A durum wheat mutant with giant plastids, caused by defective PARC6, showed an increase in A- and B-type granules in the endosperm amyloplasts. The mutant had abnormal lobed surface in A-type granules, but it did not affect plant growth and grain size, number, and starch content. Interestingly, mutation of the PARC6 paralog, ARC6, did not have the same effect. The study reveals the importance of amyloplast structure in starch granule morphogenesis in wheat.
Article
Plant Sciences
Erica Hawkins, Jiawen Chen, Alexander Watson-Lazowski, Jennifer Ahn-Jarvis, J. Elaine Barclay, Brendan Fahy, Matthew Hartley, Frederick J. Warren, David Seung
Summary: The role of SS4 in wheat grain development was investigated through TILLING mutants, which showed severe alterations in starch granule morphology. SS4 deficiency results in compound granule formation, similar to mutants deficient in BGC1. Both SS4 and BGC1 are required for proper control of granule initiation during early grain development, leading to the formation of a single A-type granule per amyloplast.
Article
Plant Sciences
Thant Zin Maung, Ji-Min Yoo, Sang-Ho Chu, Kyu-Won Kim, Ill-Min Chung, Yong-Jin Park
Summary: The research investigated the genotypic and haplotypic variations of the GBSSI gene, identifying new functional SNPs and classifying the rice collection into different groups based on these variations. The diversity of GBSSI was found to be higher in wild rice compared to cultivated rice, with insights into the domestication process. Selective sweep signatures provided informative insights for future breeding and understanding of the evolutionary history of the gene.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Parama Praphasanobol, Putut Rakhmad Purnama, Supaporn Junbuathong, Somsong Chotechuen, Peerapon Moung-Ngam, Waraluk Kasettranan, Chanita Paliyavuth, Luca Comai, Monnat Pongpanich, Teerapong Buaboocha, Supachitra Chadchawan
Summary: Rice is an important source of energy for humans and a staple food for many people worldwide. Rice with highly resistant starch can benefit health and reduce the risk of diseases such as type II diabetes. This study used a genome-wide association study to identify candidate genes that affect starch properties in rice. Three loci on chromosomes 1, 6, and 11 were found to be responsible for starch properties. The identification of these genes will contribute to the understanding of molecular mechanisms affecting starch in rice and aid in the development of rice varieties with improved starch.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rongqi Wang, Yulong Ren, Haigang Yan, Xuan Teng, Xiaopin Zhu, Yupeng Wang, Xin Zhang, Xiuping Guo, Qibing Lin, Zhijun Cheng, Cailin Lei, Jiulin Wang, Ling Jiang, Yihua Wang, Jianmin Wan
Summary: The rice floury mutant esg1 has decreased starch content, altered starch physicochemical properties, and larger starch grain size, mainly due to an increased number of starch granules per grain. The ESG1 gene encodes a protein affecting starch grain development and biosynthesis in rice.
Article
Agronomy
Long Zhang, Ran You, Hualan Chen, Jun Zhu, Lingshang Lin, Cunxu Wei
Summary: The rice floury endosperm mutant M10 was identified and characterized, showing decreased total starch content and increased soluble sugar content. The mutated AGPL2 gene on chromosome 1 was found to be responsible for the floury endosperm phenotype. The AGPL2 mutation led to higher transcriptional and protein levels and a positive feedback regulation in M10. Overall, AGPL2 plays a critical role in starch synthesis and the MutMap method is effective for identifying floury endosperm mutant genes in rice.
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ruiqing Li, Wenyin Zheng, Meng Jiang, Huali Zhang
Summary: The review summarizes the regulatory signaling pathways of leaf starch biosynthesis, focuses on how transcription factors systematically respond to stimuli through enzyme regulation during starch biosynthesis, and proposes strategies to improve cereal yield and quality based on previous reports.
Article
Plant Sciences
Yuanyuan Hao, Fudeng Huang, Zhennan Gao, Junfeng Xu, Ying Zhu, Chunshou Li
Summary: This study analyzed eight mutants with different degrees of floury endosperm generated through EMS mutagenesis. The z2 mutant exhibited significantly increased RVA indexes and urea swelling, while the z4 mutant displayed significantly decreased RVA indexes and urea swelling. These mutants have significant importance for the study of rice eating quality.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yoshinori Utsumi, Maho Tanaka, Chikako Utsumi, Satoshi Takahashi, Akihiro Matsui, Atsushi Fukushima, Makoto Kobayashi, Ryosuke Sasaki, Akira Oikawa, Miyako Kusano, Kazuki Saito, Mikiko Kojima, Hitoshi Sakakibara, Punchapat Sojikul, Jarunya Narangajavana, Motoaki Seki
Summary: The integrative omics approach revealed crosstalk among phytohormones during tuberous root development in cassava, with the effects of different hormones on various stages of plant growth being clarified.
PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tsubasa Shoji, Naoyuki Umemoto, Kazuki Saito
Summary: Plant domestication and improvement have led to mutational changes in transcriptional regulators of defense metabolism. Specialized compounds like alkaloids and terpenoids play essential roles in plant defense against herbivores and microbes. Transcription factors coordinately regulate defense metabolism genes by recognizing cis-regulatory elements in the promoter regions of target genes.
PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Atsushi Fukushima, Mikiko Takahashi, Hideki Nagasaki, Yusuke Aono, Makoto Kobayashi, Miyako Kusano, Kazuki Saito, Norio Kobayashi, Masanori Arita
Summary: The advancement of metabolomics has enabled rapid detection and quantification of cellular metabolites. However, shortcomings in data sharing still exist. To address these issues, RIKEN developed the RIKEN PMM, a database that stores plant metabolomic data and experimental metadata.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ryota Akiyama, Bunta Watanabe, Junpei Kato, Masaru Nakayasu, Hyoung Jae Lee, Naoyuki Umemoto, Toshiya Muranaka, Kazuki Saito, Yukihiro Sugimoto, Masaharu Mizutani
Summary: The metabolic detoxification of alpha-tomatine is an important trait in cultivated tomato, and two enzymes play a key role in this process. The functional divergence of these enzymes is a result of gene duplication and neofunctionalization, contributing to the structural diversity of steroidal glycoalkaloids in tomatoes.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Miyako Kusano, Kanjana Worarad, Atsushi Fukushima, Ken Kamiya, Yuka Mitani, Yozo Okazaki, Yasuhiro Higashi, Ryo Nakabayashi, Makoto Kobayashi, Tetsuya Mori, Tomoko Nishizawa, Yumiko Takebayashi, Mikiko Kojima, Hitoshi Sakakibara, Kazuki Saito, Shuhei Hao, Yoshihito Shinozaki, Yoshihiro Okabe, Junji Kimbara, Tohru Ariizumi, Hiroshi Ezura
Summary: Parthenocarpy can increase tomato fruit production, but the use of artificial hormones can be costly and result in deformed fruit. This study explores the role of transcription factors and protein-coding genes in parthenocarpic mutants and suggests that controlling specific genes and metabolites can inform breeding strategies for tomatoes.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Naoko Yoshimoto, Takashi Asano, Ayuna Kisanuki, Chihiro Kanno, Machiko Asanuma, Mami Yamazaki, Isao Fujii, Kazuki Saito
Summary: Multiple callus tissue lines were induced from onion, Welsh onion, and Chinese chive, and they were able to accumulate S-alk(en)ylcysteine sulfoxides (CSOs). The callus tissues predominantly accumulated methiin, while intact plants contained isoalliin and methiin. The methiin content in the callus tissues was higher than in intact plants, and the activity of alliinase was lower in callus tissues of onion and Welsh onion compared to intact plants.
JOURNAL OF NATURAL MEDICINES
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Tsubasa Shoji, Koki Moriyama, Nicolas Sierro, Sonia Ouadi, Nikolai Ivanov, Takashi Hashimoto, Kazuki Saito
Summary: In this study, the researchers investigated the regulation of nicotine biosynthesis in tobacco and identified several low-nicotine tobacco varieties lacking specific transcription factors. They characterized the newly identified alleles and examined their influence on alkaloid contents and gene expression related to nicotine biosynthesis. They also demonstrated the effect of a distal genomic region deletion on the expression of a key transcription factor and the alkaloid phenotype. These findings provide new insights into the regulation of nicotine biosynthesis and offer genetic resources for breeding low-nicotine tobacco.
Article
Plant Sciences
Kanade Tatsumi, Takuji Ichino, Natsumi Isaka, Akifumi Sugiyama, Eiko Moriyoshi, Yozo Okazaki, Yasuhiro Higashi, Masataka Kajikawa, Yoshinori Tsuji, Hideya Fukuzawa, Kiminori Toyooka, Mayuko Sato, Ikuyo Ichi, Koichiro Shimomura, Hiroyuki Ohta, Kazuki Saito, Kazufumi Yazaki
Summary: Plants produce a variety of lipophilic metabolites, some of which are secreted by cells. Triacylglycerol acts as a matrix lipid to facilitate the secretion of these lipophilic compounds.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Khurram Bashir, Daisuke Todaka, Sultana Rasheed, Akihiro Matsui, Zarnab Ahmad, Kaori Sako, Yoshinori Utsumi, Anh Thu Vu, Maho Tanaka, Satoshi Takahashi, Junko Ishida, Yuuri Tsuboi, Shunsuke Watanabe, Yuri Kanno, Eigo Ando, Kwang-Chul Shin, Makoto Seito, Hinata Motegi, Muneo Sato, Rui Li, Saya Kikuchi, Miki Fujita, Miyako Kusano, Makoto Kobayashi, Yoshiki Habu, Atsushi J. Nagano, Kanako Kawaura, Jun Kikuchi, Kazuki Saito, Masami Yokota Hirai, Mitsunori Seo, Kazuo Shinozaki, Toshinori Kinoshita, Motoaki Seki
Summary: This study demonstrates that exogenous application of ethanol can significantly enhance drought tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana, rice, and wheat. Ethanol treatment leads to the upregulation of genes related to sugar and phenylpropanoid metabolism, as well as the accumulation of sugars and drought-tolerance-related amino acids. Ethanol treatment induces stomatal closure and decreases transpiration rate, resulting in enhanced drought tolerance. ABA signaling and acetic acid biosynthesis are involved in ethanol-mediated drought tolerance.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Tsubasa Shoji, Kazuki Saito
Summary: A group of specialized metabolites called steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) are produced in Solanum species and their biosynthesis is regulated by the transcription factor JASMONATA-RESPONSIVE ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR 4 (JRE4). In this study, the downregulation of a cluster of genes encoding nitrate transporter 1/peptide transporter family (NPF) members was observed in a low-SGA tomato mutant with a loss-of-function mutation in JRE4. The NPF transporters, which belong to a large family of plant membrane transporters, are induced by the defense-related phytohormone jasmonate and are potentially involved in the SGA pathway.
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Tsubasa Shoji, Kazuki Saito
Summary: This study provides insights into the molecular mechanism of SGA biosynthesis and its regulation in eggplant, offering a theoretical basis for further understanding of the anti-nutritional defense in eggplant plants.
Correction
Chemistry, Medicinal
Naoko Yoshimoto, Takashi Asano, Ayuna Kisanuki, Chihiro Kanno, Machiko Asanuma, Mami Yamazaki, Isao Fujii, Kazuki Saito
JOURNAL OF NATURAL MEDICINES
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Soichiro Honda, Yumiko Yamazaki, Takumi Mukada, Weiguo Cheng, Masaru Chuba, Yozo Okazaki, Kazuki Saito, Akira Oikawa, Hayato Maruyama, Jun Wasaki, Tadao Wagatsuma, Keitaro Tawaraya
Summary: Plants have evolved mechanisms to tolerate low P, including changing their membrane lipid composition. This study investigated the membrane lipid remodeling among different rice cultivars under P deficiency. The levels of phospholipids were lower in -P plants compared to +P plants, while the levels of non-phospholipids were higher in -P plants. Decomposition of phospholipids in roots correlated with low P tolerance. These findings suggest that rice cultivars remodel membrane lipids under P deficiency, contributing to their low P tolerance.
Review
Plant Sciences
Tsubasa Shoji, Takashi Hashimoto, Kazuki Saito
Summary: Tobacco is a widely cultivated crop, but its highly addictive nature poses a significant risk to human health. Recent research in molecular and genomics has led to advancements in understanding the metabolic and regulatory genes involved in nicotine biosynthesis, allowing the development of tobacco plants with ultra-low nicotine levels through mutational breeding, genetic engineering, and genome editing.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tsubasa Shoji, Satoko Sugawara, Tetsuya Mori, Makoto Kobayashi, Miyako Kusano, Kazuki Saito
Summary: This study investigates the regulatory function of the transcription factor PhERF1 in petunia, which controls the synthesis of bioactive alkaloids and terpenoids. The study demonstrates that PhERF1 can induce the production of specialized steroids by transcriptional reprogramming. This highlights the potential of transcriptional regulators in producing specialized products.
