Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chu Zeng, Qingsong Jiao, Ting Jia, Xueyun Hu
Summary: This article reviews the latest progress in studying the splicing factors involved in the splicing of chloroplast group II introns and discusses the main issues in this research field and suggests future research directions.
CURRENT ISSUES IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Dongseok Kim, JunMo Lee, Chung Hyun Cho, Eun Jeung Kim, Debashish Bhattacharya, Hwan Su Yoon
Summary: Our study of group II introns in Porphyridium mitogenomes demonstrates the dynamic nature of group II intron evolution, strongly supports the lateral movement of group II introns among diverse eukaryotes, and reveals their ability to proliferate once integrated into mitochondrial DNA.
Article
Ecology
Simon Zumkeller, Volker Knoop
Summary: Group II introns in plant mitochondria show high variability and specificity among different plant groups. We have identified 105 conserved introns and categorized them into multiple families. The mobility of plant Group II introns is not closely related to the presence of intron-encoded maturases.
BMC ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Ronald Muryellison Oliveira da Silva Gomes, Kassia Jessica Galdino da Silva, Leonardo Capistrano Ferreira, Thales Domingos Arantes, Raquel Cordeiro Theodoro
Summary: This study evaluated the presence of group I introns in the mitochondrial genes cob and cox1 in different Cryptococcus isolates. The results showed that C. neoformans complex has fewer introns compared to C. gattii complex and there is significant polymorphism in the presence and size of these elements. It was possible to differentiate among genotypes within each species complex by combining PCRs of mtLSU and cox1 introns for C. neoformans species, and mtLSU and cob introns for C. gattii species.
Article
Plant Sciences
Qiang Zhang, Changzhao Chen, Yaliang Wang, Mengxing He, Zhiwen Li, Lan Shen, Qing Li, Li Zhu, Deyong Ren, Jiang Hu, Zhenyu Gao, Guangheng Zhang, Qian Qian
Summary: In this study, the nuclear gene OsPPR11 was found to encode the P-type PPR protein that interacts with OsCAF2 to regulate group II intron splicing and affect chloroplast development in rice. The osppr11 mutants showed yellowing leaves and a lethal phenotype, indicating inhibited chloroplast development and reduced photosynthesis-related gene expression and protein accumulation. Further analysis revealed the interaction between OsPPR11 and OsCAF2, and their essential role in group II intron splicing in rice.
PLANT CELL REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jan -Niklas Macher, Dimitra Maria Bloska, Maria Holzmann, Elsa B. Girard, Jan Pawlowski, Willem Renema
Summary: COI metabarcoding is a powerful tool for assessing Foraminiferal communities, with Foraminifera primers showing high specificity and amplifying taxa from all major groups; In a study along the North Sea coast in the Netherlands, changes in Foraminifera community composition were observed along the beach transects from high tide to low tide level.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexander Muhleip, Rasmus Kock Flygaard, Rozbeh Baradaran, Outi Haapanen, Thomas Gruhl, Victor Tobiasson, Amandine Marechal, Vivek Sharma, Alexey Amunts
Summary: In this study, it was revealed that a supercomplex containing all four respiratory chain components contributes to membrane curvature induction in ciliates. Cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-tomography techniques were used to determine the structure of the supercomplex, which is composed of 150 different proteins and 311 bound lipids. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that the divergent supercomplex actively contributes to membrane curvature induction and tubulation of cristae. These findings highlight the evolutionary significance of protein subunits of respiratory complexes in shaping the bioenergetic membrane for functional specialization.
Article
Plant Sciences
Rana Edris, Laure D. Sultan, Corinne Best, Ron Mizrahi, Ofir Weinstein, Stav Chen, Nina A. Kamennaya, Nir Keren, Hagit Zer, Hongliang Zhu, Oren Ostersetzer-Biran
Summary: Cellular respiration is crucial for plant growth and development, and the mitochondria play a key role in this process. Plant mitochondria have larger genomes compared to animals, with complex genome organization and gene expression characteristics. The maturation of plant mitochondrial transcripts involves extensive RNA editing, trimming, and splicing events. Nuclear-encoded cofactors are essential for these processing steps.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Parasitology
Kittipat Aupalee, Wichai Srisuka, Atiporn Saeung, Hiroyuki Takaoka
Summary: A new species of black fly, named Simulium (Simulium) thilorsuense sp. nov., has been discovered in Thailand. It is distinguished from other black fly species by the greater number of male upper-eye facets and is similar to the S. (S.) pingtungense Huang & Takaoka from Taiwan.
Article
Parasitology
Wichai Srisuka, Kittipat Aupalee, Masako Fukuda, Atiporn Saeung, Hiroyuki Takaoka
Summary: A comparison of adult females and males from two black fly species, Simulium sp. and S. chiangdaoense, in northern Thailand revealed morphological and genetic differences. A new species, S. mokroense, was identified based on the distinct hair tuft coloration in Simulium sp., and it was found that S. chiangdaoense exhibits genetic and morphological variability.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tianshuo Liu, Anna M. Pyle
Summary: A bioinformatic workflow was developed to identify RNA structural signatures within fungal pathogens, leading to the discovery of reactive self-splicing introns with small molecule targetability.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Md Reyad-ul Ferdous, Mohnad Abdallae, Mengjiao Yang, Li Xiaoling, Yongfeng Song
Summary: Obesity leads to various diseases and plants can provide effective drugs to treat these diseases. This study focuses on the effect of Berberine on mitochondrial UCP1 gene expression and adipocyte content reduction. Results showed that Berberine can up-regulate UCP1 gene expression and reduce fat droplets in adipocytes.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mughair Abdul Aziz, Miloofer Sabeem, Sangeeta Kutty Mullath, Faical Brini, Khaled Masmoudi
Summary: Plants have evolved defense mechanisms in response to environmental stresses, including overexpressing stress-responsive genes, among them genes encoding intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) like group II LEA proteins. These proteins play vital roles in protecting plant integrity by preventing crystallization of cellular components prior to various stresses, with studies on their distribution, structure, and genomic diversification providing insights into their role in plant stress tolerance mechanisms.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Luis Javier Galindo, Kristina Prokina, Guifre Torruella, Purificacion Lopez-Garcia, David Moreira
Summary: This study describes the morphological characteristics and genome data of two new Ophirinina species (Ophirina chinija and Agogonia voluta) and determines the phylogenetic position of Ophirinina. It is found that compared to other jakobids, Ophirinina may have retained additional mitochondrial elements, which can help to understand the early diversification of eukaryotes and the evolution of mitochondria.
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Review
Plant Sciences
Shahnawaz Hassan, Shahid Ahmad Ganiee, Aarif Yaseen, Muzafar Zaman, Abdul Jalil Shah, Bashir Ahmad Ganai
Summary: Environmental DNA-based monitoring provides critical insights for enhancing our understanding of plant-animal interactions in the context of worldwide biodiversity decrease for developing a global framework for effective plant biodiversity conservation.
Article
Plant Sciences
Wanli You, Jinglin Zhang, Xueyin Ru, Feng Xu, Zhengguo Wu, Peng Jin, Yonghua Zheng, Shifeng Cao
Summary: This study investigated the effect of calcium chloride (CaCl2) treatment on GABA accumulation in fresh-cut cantaloupe and the underlying mechanisms. The results showed that CaCl2 treatment increased GABA content and the activities of GAD and SSADH enzymes, while reducing glutamate content and GABA-T activity. Additionally, CaCl2 treatment upregulated the expressions of CmCML11 and CmCAMTA5, as well as several GABA shunt genes, through the transcriptional activation by CmCAMTA5. Furthermore, the interaction between CmCML11 and CmCAMTA5 enhanced the transcriptional activation of GABA shunt genes. Overall, this study reveals that CaCl2 treatment promotes GABA accumulation in fresh-cut cantaloupe through the combined effect of CmCML11 and CmCAMTA5 in regulating the expressions of GABA shunt genes.
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2024)
Article
Plant Sciences
Min Wang, Yupeng Wang, Xiaohui Wang, Guangwei Wei, Huiyi Yang, Xi Yang, Tinghai Shen, Huijie Qu, Sheng Fang, Ziming Wu
Summary: This study identified the high nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) black sesame variety 17-156 and analyzed its underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms. The results showed that 17-156 possesses a sophisticated nitrogen metabolizing machinery to uptake and assimilate higher quantities of inorganic nitrogen, simultaneously improving carbon metabolism and growth. Many important genes were up-regulated in 17-156 under high nitrogen condition. Additionally, 38 potential candidate genes were identified for future studies to improve sesame's NUE. These findings provide valuable resources for understanding the regulatory network of nitrogen metabolism and developing sesame cultivars with improved NUE.
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2024)
Article
Plant Sciences
He Dong, Chongmei Xu, Chengtao Zhang, Li Zhang, Yaqin Yao, Suiqi Zhang
Summary: The study found that short cells in maize leaves not only improve leaf mechanical support and photosynthetic performance, enhance drought resistance, but also participate in stomatal regulation.
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2024)
Article
Plant Sciences
Na Liu, Wenyan Shang, Mengxin Guan, Jibin Xiao, Guangxiang Tian, Baozhan Ma, Wenjing Shang, Xu Li, Shijia Zhao, Chuang Li, Kun Cheng, Wenming Zheng
Summary: This study cloned the full-length cDNA sequence of TaSPX3 gene in wheat and found that TaSPX3 responds to low phosphorus stress in multiple wheat genotypes. Overexpressing TaSPX3 can alleviate phosphorus deficiency symptoms and promote plant growth in Arabidopsis. The study also revealed the interaction of TaSPX3 with other genes related to the phosphorus starvation signaling pathway.
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2024)
Article
Plant Sciences
Kongyuan Wu, Lizhen Wang, Zihan Wu, Ziqing Liu, Zengfei Li, Jun Shen, Shengjie Shi, Hong Liu, Christopher Rensing, Renwei Feng
Summary: Selenium (Se) can reduce uptake and translocation of cadmium (Cd) in plants by regulating root morphology. This study investigated the effects of Se(IV) on root exudates, root morphology, root endogenous hormones, and Cd uptake efficiency in rice under Cd stress. The results showed that Se(IV) significantly reduced Cd concentrations in shoots and roots, and decreased Cd uptake efficiency via root hairs. Se(IV) also affected root morphology, root exudates, and the synthesis of hormones like IAA and JA. However, transcriptome analysis revealed no upregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in IAA synthesis.
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2024)
Article
Plant Sciences
Di Wang, Huaifang Zhang, Xuefei Hu, Haizhen Zhang, Shuang Feng, Aimin Zhou
Summary: This study identified a cell number regulator gene called SlCNR8 in willow, which enhances resistance to trace metals in transgenic poplar seedlings. SlCNR8 reduces Cd uptake and accumulation, and can be used as a candidate gene for genetic improvement of phytostabilisation of trace metals.
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2024)