Article
Plant Sciences
Ayako Nishizawa-Yokoi, Hiroaki Saika, Naho Hara, Lan-Ying Lee, Seiichi Toki, Stanton B. Gelvin
Summary: The mechanism of T-DNA integration into the plant genome remains controversial, with some evidence suggesting that DNA polymerase theta (PolQ) may play a crucial role. Experimental results with Arabidopsis and rice showed that while polQ mutant plants had a lower transformation frequency compared to wild-type plants, they still generated stable transformants. This implies that T-DNA integration may involve multiple redundant pathways or some as yet unidentified pathway.
Article
Agronomy
Laura Perez-Martin, Silvia Busoms, Maria Jose Almira, Nicole Azagury, Joana Teres, Roser Tolra, Charlotte Poschenrieder, Juan Barcelo
Summary: Alkaline salinity constrains crop yield. Arabidopsis thaliana shows local adaptation to saline-siliceous and non-saline carbonate soils, but no natural population is found on saline-alkaline soils. This study suggests that tolerance to saline-siliceous soils may not confer tolerance to alkaline salinity.
Article
Microbiology
Jose G. Macia-Vicente, Bing Bai, Run Qi, Sebastian Ploch, Florian Breider, Marco Thines
Summary: Nonmycorrhizal root-colonizing fungi play a significant role in plant growth by affecting nutrient uptake and immune response. This study shows that diverse nonmycorrhizal fungi can consistently promote plant growth across different habitats, but not by enhancing nutrient uptake.
Article
Plant Sciences
Wei Wang, Sonja Viljamaa, Ondrej Hodek, Thomas Moritz, Totte Niittyla
Summary: The role of SUS in cellulose biosynthesis in Arabidopsis has been refuted, as alternative UDP-glucose biosynthesis pathways were found to be employed.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Liwen Xiong, Zirong Li, Weihua Li, Lanzhi Li
Summary: In this study, a new method called DT-PICS was developed for efficient and cost-effective SNP selection in germplasm identification. The method uses a decision tree concept to select the most informative SNPs and reduces redundancy in the selection process. The results demonstrate that DT-PICS is effective in germplasm identification and management, providing support for future plant breeding and conservation efforts.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Eve Hellequin, Francoise Binet, Olivier Klarzynski, Sara Hallin, Jaanis Juhanson, Virginie Daburon, Cecile Monard
Summary: This study found that different plant species can influence soil organic carbon dynamics through their effects on soil microbial communities, but these effects do not directly translate to changes in carbon mineralization. Additionally, plant legacy effects impact microbial successions in soil, but do not have specific effects on soil respiration activity.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ryuuichi D. Itoh, Kohdai P. Nakajima, Shun Sasaki, Hiroki Ishikawa, Yusuke Kazama, Tomoko Abe, Makoto T. Fujiwara
Summary: Stromules are dynamic membrane-bound tubular structures emanating from plastids in green plants, with potential physiological and developmental roles in stress responses and plant development. A mutant, suba1, with abnormal stromule formation in non-mesophyll tissues was characterized, revealing altered plastid morphology, impaired chloroplast pigmentation, and aberrant lipid droplet accumulation. The mutated gene, TGD5, is involved in ER-to-plastid lipid trafficking, suggesting distinct mechanisms maintaining plastid morphology between mesophyll and non-mesophyll plastids.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Iqball Faheem, Richa Gupta, Valakunja Nagaraja
Summary: DNA gyrase consists of GyrA and GyrB subunits, encoded by the gyrA and gyrB genes, respectively, and forms a quaternary complex of A(2)B(2). In mycobacteria, GyrA forms tetramers unlike in other bacteria, while GyrB remains as a monomer. GyrB interacts with GyrA and triggers the dissociation of GyrA tetramer to facilitate the formation of the catalytically active A(2)B(2) complex. The presence of DNA facilitates the assembly of holoenzyme, especially in M. smegmatis.
MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Marine Messant, Umama Hani, Thanh-Lan Lai, Adjele Wilson, Ginga Shimakawa, Anja Krieger-Liszkay
Summary: In this study, the role of plastid terminal oxidase PTOX in protecting photosystem I and II was investigated using PTOX mutants in two model plants. The results show that PTOX plays a dual role as both a pro-oxidant and an antioxidant in vivo.
Letter
Plant Sciences
Justyna Jaslan, Alexis De Angeli
Summary: GABA, a molecule involved in stomata regulation and drought tolerance, does not affect vacuolar anion fluxes mediated by the anion channel AtALMT9.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiaochao Chen, Dana R. R. MacGregor, Francesca L. L. Stefanato, Naichao Zhang, Thiago Barros-Galvao, Steven Penfield
Summary: Mother plants play a crucial role in determining the dispersal characteristics of their progeny by controlling seed dormancy. The study shows that the VEL3 histone deacetylase complex establishes an epigenetic state in the maternal plant, which regulates progeny seed dormancy. This mechanism involves the association of VEL3 with a histone deacetylase complex, preferential attachment to pericentromeric chromatin, and repression of specific genes to control seed behavior.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Daniela Vlad, Jane A. Langdale
Summary: The search for genetic regulators of leaf venation patterning started over 30 years ago, primarily focused on mutant screens in Arabidopsis thaliana. Recently, a potential regulator was identified in maize leaves, but further studies in Arabidopsis showed no obvious phenotypic perturbations. Re-evaluation of previous mutations revealed potential problems in the reported mutations.
Article
Plant Sciences
Daniel Matsusaka, Javier F. Botto, Diego H. Sanchez
Summary: This study reveals the central regulatory role of specific noncoding tandem repeats in the intersection between epigenetic silencing and gene expression, and their importance in plant stress responses.
PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Tianxiang Liu, Jesse Arsenault, Elizabeth Vierling, Minsoo Kim
Summary: The research highlights the essential role of the mitochondrial ATP synthase d subunit in normal plant growth and heat stress tolerance. Downregulation of ATPd affects only subunits of the mitochondrial ATP synthase complex V, leading to increased sensitivity to heat stress, slower growth, and abnormal leaf morphology in plants.
Article
Plant Sciences
Ze-Ting Song, Lin-Lin Zhang, Jia-Jia Han, Ming Zhou, Jian-Xiang Liu
Summary: This study investigated the role of histone H3K4 methyltransferases SDG25 and ATX1 in heat stress tolerance in Arabidopsis, demonstrating their importance in regulating stress-responsive gene expression during both heat stress and stress recovery stages. Mutations of SDG25 and ATX1 were found to decrease histone H3K4me3 levels, increase DNA cytosine methylation, and inhibit the expression of a subset of heat stress-responsive genes during stress recovery. ChIP-qPCR results confirmed the binding of ATX1 to chromatin associated with these target genes, highlighting the impact of histone H3K4me3 on DNA methylation and transcriptional memory in plants under heat stress.
Article
Plant Sciences
David S. Favero, Alice Lambolez, Keiko Sugimoto
Summary: The growth of hypocotyls and petioles in plants is regulated by a complex network of molecular signals, which convey both external environmental cues and internal signals such as the circadian clock. The signaling pathways involved in regulating elongation of aerial plant organs, particularly in response to light, the circadian clock, and temperature, converge on the BAP module consisting of different transcription factors. Additionally, key positive regulators of growth, such as COP1 and SPA E3 ubiquitin ligase proteins, are also influenced by environmental cues.
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Keiko Sugimoto, Moritz K. Nowack
CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Alice Lambolez, Ayako Kawamura, Tatsuya Takahashi, Bart Rymen, Akira Iwase, David S. Favero, Momoko Ikeuchi, Takamasa Suzuki, Sandra Cortijo, Katja E. Jaeger, Philip A. Wigge, Keiko Sugimoto
Summary: This study reveals that higher temperature promotes callus formation and shoot regeneration in Arabidopsis thaliana. The increased shoot regenerative capacity at higher temperatures is correlated with enhanced expression of several regeneration-associated genes and reduced occupancy of a histone variant at specific loci. The study also provides genetic evidence that the histone variant acts as a repressor of shoot organogenesis. These findings uncover a chromatin-based mechanism and highlight the importance of incubation temperature for optimizing tissue culture.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Akira Iwase, Arika Takebayashi, Yuki Aoi, David S. Favero, Shunsuke Watanabe, Mitsunori Seo, Hiroyuki Kasahara, Keiko Sugimoto
Summary: The drug 4-phenylbutyric acid (4PBA) has been found to promote plant regeneration in Arabidopsis by mimicking the effect of exogenous auxin. This study demonstrates that 4PBA enhances auxin responses by converting to phenylacetic acid (PAA) in plants, independent of its histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor activity. This research is significant for plant tissue culture engineering and the study of plant beta-oxidation pathway.
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Adrienne H. K. Roeder, Marisa S. Otegui, Ram Dixit, Charles T. Anderson, Christine Faulkner, Yan Zhang, Maria J. Harrison, Charlotte Kirchhelle, Gohta Goshima, Jeremy E. Coate, Jeff J. Doyle, Olivier Hamant, Keiko Sugimoto, Liam Dolan, Heather Meyer, David W. Ehrhardt, Arezki Boudaoud, Carlos Messina
Summary: The open questions in plant cell biology raised by 15 experts cover a wide range of topics, including organelle maintenance, cell wall synthesis, cell division, polyploidy effects, intracellular signaling, and emergent effects of complex dynamical processes on cells, organs, and organisms.
Article
Plant Sciences
Momoko Ikeuchi, Akira Iwase, Tasuku Ito, Hayato Tanaka, David S. Favero, Ayako Kawamura, Shingo Sakamoto, Mayumi Wakazaki, Toshiaki Tameshige, Haruki Fujii, Naoki Hashimoto, Takamasa Suzuki, Kazuhiro Hotta, Kiminori Toyooka, Nobutaka Mitsuda, Keiko Sugimoto
Summary: WOX13 is a key regulator of plant tissue repair, promoting callus formation and organ reconnection by regulating cellular reprogramming and cell wall properties. The molecular function of WOX13 is partly conserved between mosses and seed plants, providing insights into the conservation and functional diversification of the WOX gene family during land plant evolution.
Article
Biology
Shannon J. McKie, Parth Rakesh Desai, Yeonee Seol, Adam M. B. Allen, Anthony Maxwell, Keir C. Neuman
Summary: DNA topoisomerase VI (topo VI) is a type IIB DNA topoisomerase predominantly found in archaea and some bacteria, as well as plants and algae. It has been discovered that topo VI preferentially decatenates DNA crossings by having a preference for certain DNA crossing geometries. Additionally, topo VI exhibits increased ATPase activity, DNA binding, and rate of strand passage with increasing DNA writhe, providing further evidence that it acts as a DNA crossing sensor. The study suggests that topo VI has evolved an intrinsic preference for the unknotting and decatenation of interlinked chromosomes by sensing and preferentially unlinking DNA crossings with geometries close to 90 degrees.
Article
Developmental Biology
Phanu T. Serivichyaswat, Kai Bartusch, Martina Leso, Constance Musseau, Akira Iwase, Yu Chen, Keiko Sugimoto, Marcel Quint, Charles W. Melnyk
Summary: This study reveals the significant impact of temperature on plant grafting and vascular regeneration. The leaves play a crucial role in accelerating vascular regeneration through the regulation of auxin and temperature. The study also finds that elevated temperatures accelerate the formation of inter-plant vascular connections between parasitic plants and hosts.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuji Nomoto, Hirotomo Takatsuka, Kesuke Yamada, Toshiya Suzuki, Takamasa Suzuki, Ying Huang, David Latrasse, Jing An, Magdolna Gombos, Christian Breuer, Takashi Ishida, Kenichiro Maeo, Miyu Imamura, Takafumi Yamashino, Keiko Sugimoto, Zoltan Magyar, Laszlo Bogre, Cecile Raynaud, Moussa Benhamed, Masaki Ito
Summary: The transcription factor SCL28 plays a critical role in regulating cell size and number during organ development by interacting with the transcription factor AtSMOS1 and promoting the transcription of SIAMESE-RELATED genes. This hierarchical transcriptional network allows for the precise control of cell size and number, leading to robust organ growth.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Caitlin N. Jacques, David S. Favero, Ayako Kawamura, Takamasa Suzuki, Keiko Sugimoto, Michael M. Neff
Summary: The AHL family transcription factor SOB3 in Arabidopsis thaliana regulates light-mediated growth, specifically hypocotyl elongation. In short day conditions, AHLs inhibit hypocotyl growth and repress PIF target genes while activating growth repressor genes. These findings suggest that AHLs affect gene expression in a time point-specific manner.
Article
Plant Sciences
Michitaro Shibata, David S. Favero, Ryu Takebayashi, Arika Takebayashi, Ayako Kawamura, Bart Rymen, Yoichiroh Hosokawa, Keiko Sugimoto
Summary: Research on wild-type Arabidopsis plants shows that root hair growth is strongly suppressed under excess nutrient conditions. Genes in the RHD6 subfamily, which positively regulate root hair growth, are downregulated in this environment, while defects in negative regulators GTL1 and DF1 lead to frail and swollen root hairs.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yuki Sakamoto, Ayako Kawamura, Takamasa Suzuki, Shoji Segami, Masayoshi Maeshima, Stefanie Polyn, Lieven De Veylder, Keiko Sugimoto
Summary: This study demonstrates the importance of transcriptional activation of auxin biosynthesis in reprogramming differentiated plant cells. Histone acetylation facilitates the activation of PLETHORAs, leading to the induction of downstream YUCCA1 gene. Auxin biosynthesis is required for initial cell division and the expression of MYB3R4 gene.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Louis-Valentin Meteignier, Cecile Lecampion, Florent Velay, Cecile Vriet, Laura Dimnet, Martin Rougee, Christian Breuer, Ludivine Soubigou-Taconnat, Keiko Sugimoto, Fredy Barneche, Christophe Laloi
Summary: This study reveals the important role of DNA Topoisomerase VI in maintaining a chromatin boundary function that safeguards gene expression within euchromatic islands in silenced heterochromatic regions.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Masa Sterle, Martina Durcik, Clare E. M. Stevenson, Sara R. Henderson, Petra Eva Szili, Marton Czikkely, David M. Lawson, Anthony Maxwell, Dominique Cahard, Danijel Kikelj, Nace Zidar, Csaba Pal, Lucija Peterlin Masic, Janez Ilas, Tihomir Tomasic, Andrej Emanuel Cotman, Anamarija Zega
Summary: We have developed a new series of DNA gyraseB inhibitors based on 2-aminobenzothiazole, showing promising activity against ESKAPE bacterial pathogens. The chemical space of the benzothiazole-based series was expanded to the C5 position of the benzothiazole ring, resulting in compound E with low nanomolar inhibition of DNA gyrase and broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. Computational analysis revealed that substitution at position C5 can enhance the inhibitory potency of the compounds and modify their physicochemical properties.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kyle M. Orritt, Lipeng Feng, Juliette F. Newell, Jack N. Sutton, Scott Grossman, Thomas Germe, Lauren R. Abbott, Holly L. Jackson, Benjamin K. L. Bury, Anthony Maxwell, Martin J. McPhillie, Colin W. G. Fishwick
Summary: By 2050, antimicrobial resistance is likely to cause 10 million global deaths annually, resulting in a massive economic burden. However, the discovery of a new medicinal chemistry strategy targeting a different binding site on DNA gyrase may provide a way to overcome this problem. Through computer-based molecular design methods, a series of novel compounds were synthesized and evaluated for their activity. The reported structure-activity relationships offer important insights for further exploration of this new binding site.
RSC MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)