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GARNet Research Roundup: November 22nd 2019

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Published on: November 22, 2019

This bumper edition of the GARNet Research Roundup begins with three papers that have a focus on the circadian clock. First is from Cambridge and looks at a novel role for TTG1 in control of the clock. The second paper also includes co-authors from Cambridge and looks at the clock Evening Complex. The final clock paper includes co-authors from York and looks at the new roles for EARLY FLOWERING 3 and GIGANTEA.

The next four papers include researchers from the John Innes Centre. Yiling Ding’s lab lead an exciting study into the role of RNA G-quadruplex to define liquid-liquid phase separations. Next David Seung and Alison Baker look at production of amylose starch across Arabidopsis accessions. The third JIC paper is from the Charpentier lab and looks at nuclear calcium signaling in the root. Finally Lars Ostergaard is a co-author on a paper that identifies a novel biostimulant that controls podshatter in Brassica.

The eighth paper is from Glasgow and describes the bioengineering of plants to express a novel antibiotic bacteriocin.

Next are three papers introduce exciting new research tools. 1. Weibei Yang in the Meyerowitz lab introduces a method for co-labeling of RNAs and protein 2. Researchers in Nottingham introduce RootNav2.0 for the automated measurement of root archtiectures 3. The Haydon Lab has developed a GAL4-GFP luciferase system for tissue-specific gene expression analysis.

Two Photosynthesis-based papers come next with firstly an analysis on the link between metabolism and the light response curve (from Manchester) and secondly a look at the role of aquaporins in control of CO2 conductance (Cambridge and Lancaster).

The fourteenth paper is from Durham and characterises an important protein regulator of the autophagy-dependent degradation pathway whilst the fifteenth is from Cambridge and uses cryo-SEM to analyse cell wall structures.

The penultimate paper is from Birmingham and looks at the role of redox signaling in aphid fecundity and the final paper includes co-authors from RHUL and looks at the interaction between the E2FB and RETINOBLASTOMA-RELATED proteins.

Airoldi CA, Hearn TJ, Brockington SF, Webb AAR, Glover BJ (2019) TTG1 proteins regulate circadian activity as well as epidermal cell fate and pigmentation. Nat Plants. doi: 10.1038/s41477-019-0544-3

This study from the University of Cambridge is led by Chiara Airoldi and introduces a new role for the TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA 1 (TTG1) WD-repeat (WDR) subfamily in the regulation of the circadian clock. TTG1 regulates epidermal cell differentiation and pigment production, while LIGHT-REGULATED WD1 and LIGHT-REGULATED WD2A are known to regulate the clock. The triple lwd1 lwd2 ttg1 mutant has no detectable circadian rhythym. This suggests that members of this protein family have undergone subfunctionalization to diverge from their core functions. This paper is of interest to those who research evolution of protein function as well as the to those interested in the control of the circadian clock.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-019-0544-3

Tong M, Lee K, Ezer D, Cortijo S, Jung J, Charoensawan V, Box MS, Jaeger K, Takahashi N, Mas P, Wigge PA, Seo PJ (2019) The Evening Complex establishes repressive chromatin domains via H2A.Z deposition. Plant Physiol. doi: 10.1104/pp.19.00881

This collaboration between the UK and South Korea is led by Meixuezi Tong and investigates how the Evening Complex (EC) component of the circadian clock interacts with chromatin to control gene expression at dusk. This occurs through direct interaction with the SWI2/SNF2-RELATED complex and together they bind to the core clock genes PRR7 and PRR9, causing the deposition of H2A.Z at these loci subsequent to causing their repression at dusk.

Anwer MU, Davis A, Davis SJ, Quint M (2019) Photoperiod sensing of the circadian clock is controlled by EARLY FLOWERING 3 and GIGANTEA. Plant J. doi: 10.1111/tpj.14604

Amanda Davies and Seth Davies from the University of York are co-authors on this German-led study with Muhammad Anwer as both first and corresponding author. They look at the role of important circadian regulators ELF3 and GIGANTEA through generation of previously unanalysed elf3gi double mutants. In these plants the circadian oscillator fails to synchronize to light-dark cycles even under diurnal conditions, demonstrating that these genes act together to convey photoperiod sensing to the central oscillator.

Zhang Y, Yang M, Duncan S, Yang X, Abdelhamid MAS, Huang L, Zhang H, Benfey PN, Waller ZAE, Ding Y (2019) G-quadruplex structures trigger RNA phase separation. Nucleic Acids Res. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkz978
Open Access

Yueying Zhang is the first author of this study conducted in the lab of Yiliang Ding at the John Innes Centre, in collaboration with the Benfey lab in the USA. They reveal an exciting mode of regulating RNA activity through the formation of RNA G-quadruplex (GQ) complexes. They use the SHORTROOT mRNA as the model for this study, showing that GQ-mediated complex formation can bring liquid-liquid phase separation. This study is of fundamental importance as it provides the first evidence that RNA can adopt structural motifs to trigger and/or maintain the specificity of RNA-driven phase separation.

https://academic.oup.com/nar/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nar/gkz978/5624975?guestAccessKey=d3913912-fdbb-4f35-aa71-625442722842

Seung D, Echevarría-Poza A, Steuernagel B, Smith AM (2019) Natural polymorphisms in Arabidopsis result in wide variation or loss of the amylose component of starch. Plant Physiol. doi: 10.1104/pp.19.01062
Open Access

David Seung at the John Innes Centre the first and corresponding author of this study that used data from the Arabidopsis 1135 Genome project to investigate the prevelance of amylose production. Plants with amylose-free starch have no detrimental phenotypes so the function of this glucose-polymer, that accounts for up to 30% of all natural starch, is unknown. They looked at the polymorphisms within the GRANULE-BOUND STARCH SYNTHASE (GBSS) enzyme, identifying natural accessions that have no GBSS activity yet are viable within their natural environments. This study is a prelude to future research that will discover the adaptive significance of amylose.

Leitão N, Dangeville P, Carter R, Charpentier M (2019) Nuclear calcium signatures are associated with root development. Nat Commun. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12845-8
Open Access

Nuno Leitao is first author on this research from the Charpentier lab at the John Innes Centre. They looked at the role of nuclear Ca2+ signalling on primary root meristem development and auxin homeostasis through activity of the nuclear membrane localised ion channel DOES NOT MAKE INFECTIONS 1 (DMI1). This study discovers a previously unappreciated role for intracellular Ca2+ signalling during plant development.

Łangowski Ł, Goñi O, Quille P, Stephenson P, Carmody N, Feeney E, Barton D, Østergaard L, O’Connell S (2019 A plant biostimulant from the seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum (Sealicit) reduces podshatter and yield loss in oilseed rape through modulation of IND expression. Sci Rep. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-52958-0
Open Access

Lars Ostergaard is a co-author on this Irish-study led by Lukasz Łangowski that investigates the factors that control pod shatter in oil seed rape. They show that the seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum-based biostimulant (Sealicit) is able to reduce podshatter by effecting the expression of the major regulator of pod shattering, INDEHISCENT. This has implications for the use of this compound by farmers wanting to reduce the amount of seed loss due to premature pod shatter.

Rooney WM, Grinter RW, Correia A, Parkhill J, Walker DC, Milner JJ (2019) Engineering bacteriocin-mediated resistance against the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. Plant Biotechnol J. doi: 10.1111/pbi.13294
Open Access

William Rooney at the University of Glasgow is lead author on this study that attempts to combat Pseudomonas syringae infections through expression of a novel protein antibiotic bacteriocin, putidacin. They show that transgenic expression of this bacterial protein provides effective protection against Pseudomonas. This proof of concept opens the possibility for more widespread use of bacteriocins as an effective plant protection strategy.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/pbi.13294

Yang W, Schuster C, Prunet N, Dong Q, Landrein B, Wightman R, Meyerowitz EM (2019) Visualization of Protein Coding, Long Non-coding and Nuclear RNAs by FISH in Sections of Shoot Apical Meristems and Developing Flowers. Plant Physiol. doi: 10.1104/pp.19.00980
This extended methods paper is led by Weibing Yang at the Sainsbury lab in Cambridge. They have adapted RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (rnaFISH) to explore RNA localization in the shoot apical meristem of Arabidopsis. They are able to label mRNA as well as long ncRNAs and have developed double labeling to assay two separate RNAs in the same cell and to assess nucleo-cytoplasmic separation of RNA species. Finally they link rnaFISH with fluorescence immunocytochemistry for the simultaneous localization of a single genes mRNA and protein.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2019.01398/full

Yasrab R, Atkinson JA, Wells DM, French AP, Pridmore TP, Pound MP (2019) RootNav 2.0: Deep learning for automatic navigation of complex plant root architectures. Gigascience. doi: 10.1093/gigascience/giz123
Open Access

Robail Yasrab is lead author on this work from the University of Nottingham that introduces the RootNav2.0 software tool. This was developed by modern deep-learning approaches and allows the fully automated measurement of vertically growth root systems. RootNav2.0 was favourably compared with its semi-automated predecessor RootNav1.0 and can be used for measurement of root architectures from a range of different plant species.

Román Á, Golz JF, Webb AA, Graham IA, Haydon MJ (2019) Combining GAL4 GFP enhancer trap with split luciferase to measure spatiotemporal promoter activity in Arabidopsis. Plant J. doi: 10.1111/tpj.14603

This technical advance is led by Angela Roman, was in the Haydon lab during its time at the University of York. They have used the GAL4-GFP enhancer trap system, to develop a tissue-specific split luciferase assay for non-invasive detection of spatiotemporal gene expression in Arabidopsis. In this example they use the study to measure dynamics of circadian gene expression but is clearly applicable to answer many other experimental questions.

Herrmann HA, Schwartz JM, Johnson GN (2019) From empirical to theoretical models of light response curves – linking photosynthetic and metabolic acclimation. Photosynth Res. doi: 10.1007/s11120-019-00681-2
Open Access

Helena Herrmann is lead author on this work fro the University of Manchester. In this study they developed and then empirically tested a series of simple kinetic models that explains the metabolic changes that are required to alter light response curves (LRCs) across a range of temperatures. This allowed them to show how changes in NADPH and CO2 utilization respond to environmental changes. This provides useful information as to how a plant adapts its metabolic response to light depending on the growth temperature.

Helena explaining her research

Kromdijk J, Głowacka K, Long SP (2019) Photosynthetic efficiency and mesophyll conductance are unaffected in Arabidopsis thaliana aquaporin knock-out lines. J Exp Bot. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erz442

Open Access
Wanne Kromdijk leads this US-led research that includes contributions from the Universities of Cambridge and Lancaster. They looked at the potential role of membrane-bound aquaporins in the control of diffusion conductance for CO2 transfer from substomatal cavity to chloroplast stroma (gm). They tested three aquaporin mutants across a range of light and CO2 concentrations and surprisingly found that they appear to play no significant contribution to the control of gm. The reporting of this type of ‘negative’ result will prevent unnecessary replication of experiments and help to streamline the research process.

Wang P, Pleskot R, Zang J, Winkler J, Wang J, Yperman K, Zhang T, Wang K, Gong J, Guan Y, Richardson C, Duckney P, Vandorpe M, Mylle E, Fiserova J, Van Damme D, Hussey PJ (2019) Plant AtEH/Pan1 proteins drive autophagosome formation at ER-PM contact sites with actin and endocytic machinery. Nat Commun. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12782-6
Open Access

Pengwei Wang is first author in this research led from Durham University that incudes Chinese and Belgian collaborators. They show that the AtEH/Pan1 protein is involved with actin cytoskeleton regulated autophagy and recruits multiple other components to autophagosomes during this process. In addition they show vesicle bound-AtEH/Pan1 interact with VAP27-1 at the ER-PM. This demonstrates that AtEH/Pan1 is a key component of the autophagy-dependent degradation pathway.

Lyczakowski JJ, Bourdon M, Terrett OM, Helariutta Y, Wightman R, Dupree P (2019) Structural Imaging of Native Cryo-Preserved Secondary Cell Walls Reveals the Presence of Macrofibrils and Their Formation Requires Normal Cellulose, Lignin and Xylan Biosynthesis. Front Plant Sci. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01398
Open Access

Jan Lyczakowski from the Dupree lab at the University of Cambridge is first author on this study that has adapted low temperature scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM) to visualize the cell walls of both angiosperm and gymnosperms. They have used Arabidopsis mutants to reveal that cell wall macrofibrils at composed of cellulose, xylan, and lignin. They demonstrate that cryo-SEM is a useful tool for native nanoscale cell wall architectures.

Rasool B, Karpinska B, Pascual J, Kangasjärvi S, Foyer CH (2019) Catalase, glutathione and protein phosphatase 2A-dependent organellar redox signalling regulate aphid fecundity under moderate and high irradiance. Plant Cell Environ. doi: 10.1111/pce.13669
Brwa Rasool is first author on this collaboration between the Universities of Birmingham and Helsinki that looks at how aphids respond to redox changes in Arabidopsis thaliana grown under different light conditions. They also identified defence-related transcription factors differentially upregulated by aphid predation in different light conditions. Overall they show aphid fecundity is in part determined by the plants cellular redox signaling.

Őszi E, Papdi C, Mohammed B, Pettkó-Szandtner A, Vaskó-Leviczky T, Molnár E, Ampudia CG, Khan S, Lopez-Juez E, Horváth B, Bögre L, Magyar Z (2019) E2FB interacts with RETINOBLASTOMA RELATED and regulates cell proliferation during leaf development. Plant Physiol. doi: 10.1104/pp.19.00212
Erika Oszi is first author of this Hungarian-led research that includes co-authors from Royal Holloway University of London. This research looks at the interaction between the transcription factors E2FB and RETINOBLASTOMA-RELATED (RBR) and how this contributes to cell proliferation during organ development in Arabidopsis leaves. The relationship between these proteins changes throughout the stages of leaf development and is critical to determine final leaf cell number.

http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/early/2019/11/06/pp.19.00212.long

GARNet Research Roundup: May 27th 2019

by Geraint

Categories: Durham University, Edinburgh University, Global, Light Signaling, Uncategorized, University of Manchester, University of Sheffield, University of York, Warwick University

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Published on: May 28, 2019

This bumper edition of the GARNet research roundup begins with a set of papers from the John Innes Centre. Anne Osbourn’s group is involved with two papers; firstly they discover how altering metabolic networks in the Arabidopsis root can cause changes in the associated microbiota. Second they characterise the role of a light-induced transcription factor in Artemisia. Next Caroline Dean’s group leads a global consortium that investigates the role of liquid-liquid phase separation in the formation of nuclear bodies. The final paper from the JIC is from Philippa Borrill and Cristobal Uauy, in which they identify novel transcription factors in wheat.

The fourth paper is led by Peter Etchells at Durham and characterises receptor kinase activity involved in vascular patterning in Arabidopsis.

The next two papers focus on stomatal patterning; firstly Julie Gray’s group at Sheffield looks at the stomatal responses to long-term pathogen infections. The second paper is from Glasgow and describes improvements in the OnGuard2 software, which models the factors controlling stomatal density.

Jose Gutierrez-Marcos is a co-author on a paper that uses FACS/ATAC-seq to define chromatin changes within cells of the shoot apical meristem. Richard Harrison leads the next paper that is also method-focused; describing use of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in Strawberry.

Andrew Miller at the University of Edinburgh is the corresponding author of the penultimate paper, which presents a whole-life-cycle, multi-model Framework that links many aspects of the Arabidopsis life cycle. The final paper is Seth Davies’s group at York and investigates the role of sucrose in the control of the circadian clock.

Huang AC, Jiang T, Liu YX, Bai YC, Reed J, Qu B, Goossens A, Nützmann HW, Bai Y, Osbourn A (2019) A specialized metabolic network selectively modulates Arabidopsis root microbiota. Science. doi: 10.1126/science.aau6389

Ancheng Huang and Ting Jiang are first authors on this UK, Chinese and Belgian collaboration led by Anne Osbourn at the John Innes Centre. They reconstitute three biosynthesic pathways in the Arabidopsis roots and show how this affects the associated microbiota.

From https://science.sciencemag.org/content/364/6440/eaau6389.long

Hao X, Zhong Y, Nützmann HW, Fu X, Yan T, Shen Q, Chen M, Ma Y, Zhao J, Osbourn A, Li L, Tang K (2019) Light-induced artemisinin biosynthesis is regulated by the bZIP transcription factor AaHY5 in Artemisia annua. Plant Cell Physiol. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcz084

Anne Osbourn is a co-author on this Chinese-led study that has identified that the basic leucine zipper transcription factor (TF) AaHY5 regulated of light-induced biosynthesis of artemisinin in Artemisia annua.

Fang X, Wang L, Ishikawa R, Li Y, Fiedler M, Liu F, Calder G, Rowan B, Weigel D, Li P, Dean C (2019) Arabidopsis FLL2 promotes liquid-liquid phase separation of polyadenylation complexes. Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1165-8

Xiaofeng Fang, Liang Wang and Ryo Ishikawa are first authors of this UK, German and Chinese collaboration led by Caroline Dean’s lab at the John Innes Centre. They characterise the molecular factors that are required for the formation of nuclear bodies through liquid-liquid phase separation (PDF). These proteins are the Arabidopsis RNA-binding protein FCA and the coiled-coil protein FLL2.

From https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1165-8

Borrill P, Harrington SA, Simmonds J, Uauy C (2019) Identification of transcription factors regulating senescence in wheat through gene regulatory network modelling. Plant Physiol. doi: 10.1104/pp.19.00380

Open Access

Philippa Borrill, now a faculty member at the University of Birmingham, conducted this work with Cristobal Uauy at the John Innes Centre. They have developed a range of research tools for use in wheat and this paper describes the identification of novel transcription factors involved in senescence.

Wang N, Bagdassarian KS, Doherty RE, Kroon JT, Connor KA, Wang XY, Wang W, Jermyn IH, Turner SR, Etchells JP (2019) Organ-specific genetic interactions between paralogues of the PXY and ER receptor kinases enforce radial patterning in Arabidopsis vascular tissue. Development. doi: 10.1242/dev.177105

Ning Wang works with Peter Etchells at Durham University where they have characterised the interactions between the receptor kinase gene families that regulate radial patterning in the development of vascular tissue.

From http://dev.biologists.org/content/early/2019/04/30/dev.177105.long

Dutton C, Hõrak H, Hepworth C, Mitchell A, Ton J, Hunt L, Gray JE (2019) Bacterial infection systemically suppresses stomatal density. Plant Cell Environ. doi: 10.1111/pce.13570

Christian Dutton leads this work conducted at the University of Sheffield. They have investigated the longer-term systemic response to the presence of pathogens that involves reducing stomatal density. This process is mediated via salicylic acid signaling and slows disease progression.

From https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pce.13570

Jezek M, Hills A, Blatt MR, Lew VL (2019) A constraint-relaxation-recovery mechanism for stomatal dynamics. Plant Cell Environ. doi: 10.1111/pce.13568

Mareike Jezek leads this work from the University of Glasgow in which they have updated the OnGuard2 modelling software that has demonstrated substantial predictive power to describe stomatal dynamics. Their improvements allow for the development of models that are more similar to in vivo observations.

Frerichs A, Engelhorn J, Altmüller J, Gutierrez-Marcos J, Werr W (2019) Specific chromatin changes mark lateral organ founder cells in the Arabidopsis thaliana inflorescence meristem. J Exp Bot. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erz181

Jose Gutierrez-Marcos from the University of Warwick is a co-author on this German study led by Anneke Frerichs in which they analysed the chromatin state of lateral organ founder cells (LOFCs) in the peripheral zone of the Arabidopsis inflorescence meristem in wildtype and apetala1-1 cauliflower-1 double mutants. Importantly they showed that the combined application of FACS/ATAC-seq is able to detect chromatin changes in a cell-type specific manner.

Wilson FM, Harrison K, Armitage AD, Simkin AJ, Harrison RJ (2019) CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis of phytoene desaturase in diploid and octoploid strawberry. Plant Methods. doi: 10.1186/s13007-019-0428-6. eCollection 2019

Open Access

This paper is lead by Fiona Wilson at NIAB-EMR in which they present their methods to undertake gene editing in the challenging experimental system of diploid and octoploid strawberries.

From https://plantmethods.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13007-019-0428-6

Zardilis A, Hume A, Millar AJ (2019) A multi-model framework for the Arabidopsis life cycle. J Exp Bot. doi: 10.1093/jxb/ery394

Open Access

Argyris Zardilis conducted this modeling-focussed research at University of Edinburgh. The authors present a whole-life-cycle, multi-model Framework that links vegetative, inflorescence as fruit growth as well as seed dormancy in Arabidopsis. This Framework allows the authors to simulate at the population level in various genotype × environment scenarios.

From https://academic.oup.com/jxb/article/70/9/2463/5336616

Philippou K, Ronald J, Sánchez-Villarreal A, Davis AM, Davis SJ (2019) Physiological and Genetic Dissection of Sucrose Inputs to the Arabidopsis thaliana Circadian System. Genes (Basel). doi: 10.3390/genes10050334

Open Access

Koumis Philippou from Seth Davis’ research group the University of York leads this work that investigates the role of sucrose into the function of the circadian clock.

GARNet Research Roundup: November 1st 2018

by Geraint

Categories: Bristol University, Glasgow University, Global, James Hutton Institute, John Innes Centre, Oxford University, Sainsbury Lab, Uncategorized, University of Bristol, University of Leeds, University of Manchester, University of York, Warwick University

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Published on: November 1, 2018

This week’s GARNet research roundup again features papers on a variety of topics. First is work from the University of Leeds that investigates the physical properties of callose:cellulose hydrogels and the implication for cell wall formation. Second is work from the University of York that assesses the role of the HSP90.2 protein in control of the circadian clock. The third paper features GARNet committee member Sarah McKim and looks at the genetic control of petal number whilst the next paper from the Universities of Warwick and Glasgow includes a proteomic analysis of different types of secretory vesicles.

The next two papers look at different aspects of hormone signaling. Firstly Alistair Hetherington from the University of Bristol is a co-author on a study that looks at the role of the BIG protein whilst Simon Turner’s lab in Manchester investigates the role of ABA in xylem fibre formation.

The penultimate paper includes Lindsey Turnbull from the University of Oxford and looks at the stability of epialleles across 5 generations of selection. Finally is a paper that includes researchers from TSL in Norwich who have contributed to a phosphoproteomic screen to identify phosphorylated amino acids that influence the defence response.

Abou-Saleh R, Hernandez-Gomez M, Amsbury S, Paniagua C, Bourdon M, Miyashima S, Helariutta Y, Fuller M, Budtova T, Connell SD, Ries ME, Benitez-Alfonso Y (2018) Interactions between callose and cellulose revealed through the analysis of biopolymer mixtures. Nature Communications DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06820-y

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-06820-y

Open Access
Radwa Abou-Saleh is lead author on this work from Yoselin Benitez-Alfonso’s lab at the University of Leeds. (1,3)-β-glucans such as callose play an important role in plant development yet their physical properties are largely unknown. This study analyses a set of callose:cellulose hydrogel mixtures as a proxy for different cell wall conditions. They show that callose:cellulose hydrogels are more elastic than those composed of only cellulose, providing evidence that the interactions between cellulose and callose are important for the structural features of cell walls.

Davis AM, Ronald J, Ma Z, Wilkinson AJ, Philippou K, Shindo T, Queitsch C, Davis SJ (2018) HSP90 Contributes To Entrainment of the Arabidopsis Circadian Clock via the Morning Loop. Genetics. doi: 10.1534/genetics.118.301586

http://www.genetics.org/content/early/2018/10/18/genetics.118.301586.long

Open Access
Amanda Davies is the first author on this study from Seth Davies’ lab at the University of York in which they assess the role of the molecular chaperone HSP90.2 on function of the circadian clock. The show hsp90.2-3 mutant plants have a lengthened circadian period with a specific defect in the morning. This data allows the authors to better understand the pathway through which HSP90.2 functions to entrain the circadian clock.

Monniaux M, Pieper B, McKim SM, Routier-Kierzkowska AL, Kierzkowski D, Smith RS, Hay A. The role of APETALA1 in petal number robustness. Elife. doi: 10.7554/eLife.39399

https://elifesciences.org/articles/39399

Open Access
GARNet committee member Sarah McKim is a co-author on this paper, that is led by Marie Monniaux, which includes research from her time at the University of Oxford. This work from the Hay lab in Cologne compares petal number in Arabidopsis thaliana, in which the number is invariant, and Cardamine hirsute, in which it varies. They show that petal number robustness can be attributed to the activity of the APETALA1 (AP1) floral regulator and that AP1 masks the activity of several genes in Arabidopsis but not in Cardamine.

Waghmare S, Lileikyte E, Karnik RA, Goodman JK, Blatt MR, Jones AME (2018) SNAREs SYNTAXIN OF PLANTS 121 (SYP121) and SYP122 mediate the secretion of distinct cargo subsets . Plant Physiol. doi: 10.1104/pp.18.00832

http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/early/2018/10/23/pp.18.00832.long

Open Access

This collaboration between the Universities of Glasgow and Warwick is led by Sakharam Waghmare, who works with Mike Blatt in Glasgow. This study uses proteomic approaches to characterise the secretory cargos within vesicles decorated with either of the SNARE proteins SYNTAXIN OF PLANTS 121 (SYP121) or SYP122. Genetic analysis suggests that SYP121 and SYP122 have redundant functions but this new research is able to identify cargo proteins that are either contained within both types of vesicle or that are specific to one or the other.

Zhang RX, Ge S, He J, Li S, Hao Y, Du H, Liu Z, Cheng R, Feng YQ, Xiong L, Li C, Hetherington AM, Liang YK (2018) BIG regulates stomatal immunity and jasmonate production in Arabidopsis. New Phytol. doi: 10.1111/nph.15568

Alistair Hetherington is a co-author on this China-based study led by Ruo‐Xi Zhang from Wuhan. This work adds to some recent interest in the BIG protein; in this study showing that it is involved in the interaction between JA and ethylene signaling during stress responses. In a complex set of interactions they show that the BIG protein differently alters opposing arms of the JA signaling pathway providing additional evidence that this protein is a key regulator of plant hormone signaling, albeit by a set of as yet unknown mechanisms.

Campbell L, Etchells JP, Cooper M, Kumar M, Turner SR. An essential role for Abscisic acid in the regulation of xylem fibre differentiation. Development. doi: 10.1242/dev.161992

This work from Simon Turner’s lab at the University of Manchester is led by Liam Campbell and identifies a novel role for ABA in the formation of xylem fibres during secondary thickening of the Arabidopsis hypocotyl. The action of ABA doesn’t alter the xylem:phloem ratio but rather the activity focuses on the formation of fibres within the already defined xylem tissue.

Schmid MW, Heichinger C, Coman Schmid D, Guthörl D, Gagliardini V, Bruggmann R, Aluri S, Aquino C, Schmid B, Turnbull LA, Grossniklaus U (2018) Contribution of epigenetic variation to adaptation in Arabidopsis. Nat Commun. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-06932-5

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-06932-5

Open Access
Lindsey Turnbull (University of Oxford) is a co-author on this paper from Ueli Grossniklaus’ group in Zurich. Marc Schmid is lead author of the study that investigates the inheritance of Arabidopsis epialleles over 5 generations during conditions of simulated selection. The authors show that variations in methylation state are subject to selection and do indeed contribute to adaptive responses

Kadota Y, Liebrand TWH, Goto Y, Sklenar J, Derbyshire P, Menke FLH, Torres MA, Molina A, Zipfel C, Coaker G, Shirasu K (2018) Quantitative phosphoproteomic analysis reveals common regulatory mechanisms between effector- and PAMP-triggered immunity in plants. New Phytol. doi: 10.1111/nph.15523

Members of Cyril Zipfel’s group at The Sainsbury lab in Norwich are co-authors on this paper led by Yasuhiro Kadota from the RIKEN in Yokohama. They use a phosphoproteomic screen to identify a set of newly identified phosphorylation sites on membrane-associated proteins involved in effector-triggered immunity (ETI). Some of these phosphosites overlap with those known to be important for pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP)-triggered immunity (PTI), indicating a convergence of signaling control of both these pathways to certain key residues.

Arabidopsis Research Roundup: February 12th

by Geraint

Categories: Cambridge University, Edinburgh University, Global, Nottingham University, Sainsbury Lab, sheffield university, SLCU, Uncategorized, University of Manchester, University of Sheffield

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Published on: February 12, 2018

This weeks Arabidopsis Research Roundup begins with a study from SLCU that investigates the interaction between nitrate and cytokinin signaling in the shoot meristem. Next is research from Sheffield that studies changes to the macromolecular composition of the photosynthetic apparatus following the transition from dark to light. Third are three papers that include University of Edinburgh faculty members as co-authors; Gary Loake is involved in a global study on NO signaling, Karen Halliday is included on a study into the relationship between clock components and the PIF-mediated hypocotyl elongation and Naomi Nakayama contributes to the development of a model that explains PIN protein localisation. Cyril Zipfel (TSL) is a co-author on the fifth paper, which introduces a new signaling component in the defence response and whilst the penultimate paper includes Denis Murphy (University of South Wales) and investigates the effect of dioxins on seed development. The final paper documents research from Manchester and Nottingham that uses a cress endosperm as a model to test the elastic properties of thin biological membranes.

Landrein B, Formosa-Jordan P, Malivert A,, Schuster C, Melnyk CW,, Yang W, Turnbull C, Meyerowitz EM, Locke JCW,, Jönsson H (2018) Nitrate modulates stem cell dynamics in Arabidopsis shoot meristems through cytokinins. PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1718670115.

Open Access

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/01/22/1718670115

Henrik Jonsson and James Locke (SLCU) are corresponding authors on this investigation into the relationship between nitrate and cytokinin signalling in the Arabidopsis shoot meristem (SAM). They show that nitrate availability determines the size of the SAM, which is controlled by the transport of cytokinin precursors from the root to the shoot. A discussion about this paper with lead author Benoit Landrien and Professor Jonsson is available on the GARNet YouTube and iTunes channels.

Wood WHJ, MacGregor-Chatwin C, Barnett SFH, Mayneord GE, Huang X, Hobbs JK, Hunter CN, Johnson MP (2018) Dynamic thylakoid stacking regulates the balance between linear and cyclic photosynthetic electron transfer. Nature Plants. doi: 10.1038/s41477-017-0092-7

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This research in this manuscript has come from the University of Sheffield with Matthew Johnson as the corresponding author. They have used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate how the transition from dark to light affects the macromolecular architecture of the photosynthetic apparatus within the thylakoid membrane. This transition does not alter the antenna size of either photosystem yet increases the number of thylakoid grana. Overall these changes serve to regulate the balance between light harvesting, CO2 fixation and enabling the protection of PSII activity from the destructive effects of non-photochemical quenching.

Imran QM, Hussain A, Lee SU, Mun BG, Falak N, Loake GJ, Yun BW (2018) Transcriptome profile of NO-induced Arabidopsis transcription factor genes suggests their putative regulatory role in multiple biological processes. Sci Rep. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-18850-5.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-18850-5

Open Access

Gary Loake (University of Edinburgh) is a contributor to this Korean-led manuscript that has performed expression analysis on plants treated with S-nitrosocysteine (CySNO). They have identified many novel NO-responsive transcription factors and were able to confirm the role of three random TFs in this response following analysis of loss of function mutants. This paper provides new insights into the molecular components that contribute to NO signalling during plant defence and immunity.

Martín G, Rovira A, Veciana N, Soy J, Toledo-Ortiz G, Gommers CMM, Boix M, Henriques R, Minguet EG, Alabadí D, Halliday KJ, Leivar P, Monte E Circadian Waves of Transcriptional Repression Shape PIF-Regulated Photoperiod-Responsive Growth in Arabidopsis. Curr Biol. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.12.021

Karen Halliday (University of Ediburgh) is a co-author on this Spanish-led study that investigates how the expression of PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs) genes is controlled. The activity of PIFs are responsible for determining the rate of hypocotyl elongation in different light conditions and this paper demonstrates that PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATORS PRR9/7/5 proteins act antagonistically to the PIFs by interacting at the promotor of the CDF5 transcription factor. This provides a mechanism to explain the circadian-controlled regulation of hypocotyl cell elongation.

Hernandez V, Barrio RA, Benítez M, Nakayama N, Romero-Arias JR, Villarreal Lujan C (2018) A physico-genetic module for the polarisation of auxin efflux carriers PIN-FORMED (PIN). Phys Biol. doi: 10.1088/1478-3975/aaac99

Naomi Nakayama (University of Edinburgh) is a co-author on this Mexican-led study that proposes a physico-genetic model that explains the localization of PIN auxin transporter proteins to the Arabidopsis plasma membrane. This model confirms experimental observations and allows the prediction that mechanical forces can predominate over molecular components.

www.cell.com/molecular-cell/fulltext/S1097-2765(17)30983-8

Wang J, Grubb LE, Wang J, Liang X, Li L, Gao C, Ma M, Feng F, Li M, Li L, Zhang X, Yu F, Xie Q, Chen S, Zipfel C, Monaghan J, Zhou JM (2018) A Regulatory Module Controlling Homeostasis of a Plant Immune Kinase. Mol Cell. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2017.12.026

This Chinese-led paper includes Cyril Zipfel (TSL) as a co-author and identifies the U-box proteins PUB25 and PUB26 as E3 ligases for the cytoplasmic kinase BIK1, which is a key rate limiting component of the plant defence response. This multi-protein regulatory module provides another level of complexity to our understanding of the molecular factors involved in plant immunity.

Hanano A, Almousally I, Shaban M, Murphy DJ (2018) Exposure of Arabidopsis Plants to Dioxin Results in a Wrinkled Seed Phenotype that is likely due to 20S Proteasomal Degradation of WRI1. J Exp Bot. doi: 10.1093/jxb/ery027

Denis Murphy (University of South Wales) is a co-author on this Syrian-led study that uses Arabidopsis seeds to test the negative effects of dioxins. Seeds treated with dioxins have a wrinked phenotype that corresponds to changes in the expression of genes related to lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. Overall this study reveals a novel set of genetic changes effects caused by dioxins that explain the profound effects on seed development.

S. P. Pearce, J. R. King, T. Steinbrecher, G. Leubner-Metzger, N. M. Everitt, M. J. Holdsworth (2018) Finite indentation of highly curved elastic shells Proceedings of the Royal Society A doi: 10.1098/rspa.2017.0482

Open Access

Plant scientist Mike Holdsworth (University of Nottingham) is a co-author on this paper that has used the endosperm from garden cress (Lepidium sativum) as the experimental model to define the elastic properties of a thin biological surface. Indentation experiments have been classically used to measure these properties and then develop mathematically models that explain their characteristics. These models rely on an assumed flat surface whereas in reality any surface will often be curved. By obtaining measurements from identations studies on the cress endosperm they are able to better refine the models that explain the properties of the membrane in this context.

Arabidopsis Research Roundup: January 10th 2018

by Geraint

Categories: Bristol University, Durham University, Global, John Innes Centre, Nottingham University, Rothamsted Research, Sainsbury Lab, SLCU, Uncategorized, University of Bristol, University of Manchester, University of Sheffield, University of York

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Published on: January 10, 2018

This Arabidopsis Research Roundup covers the final papers of 2017 and the first of this new year. The initial paper is led by researchers in Bristol and characterises how the multifaceted BIG protein influences stomatal dynamics in response to altered CO2. Second is a manuscript from SLCU that for the first time in plants demonstrates nuclear sequestration of cell cycle regulated mRNAs.

Next is a paper from Rothamsted that describes a role for the hormone GA during floral development. David Salt (Nottingham) is then a co-author on a manuscript that has determined a role for the CTL protein in ion homeostasis.

Seth Davies from York is the lead author on the next study that investigates a link between metabolism and the circadian clock. The sixth paper looks at genes involved in the control of autophagy and features Patrick Gallois (Manchester) as a co-author.

There are three papers from researchers working on Norwich Research Park with Cyril Zipfel (TSL) involved in a study that looks at vacuolar trafficking of BR signaling components. Janneke Balk leads a study that characterises enzymes involved in biosynthesis of metal co-factors whilst the final NRP-based paper from Nick Pullen and Steven Penfield (John Innes Centre) describes the Leaf-GP open software for automated plant phenotyping.

The penultimate paper uses a set of PlantProbes (developed by Paul Knox at Leeds) to study pollen development whilst the final paper from Keith Lindsey (Durham) describes the application of a Bayesian statistical methodology to model the parameters that control a hormone signaling network.

He J, Zhang RX, Peng K, Tagliavia C, Li S, Xue S, Liu A, Hu H,, Zhang J, Hubbard KE,, Held K, McAinsh MR, Gray JE, Kudla J, Schroeder JI, Liang YK, Hetherington AM (2018) The BIG protein distinguishes the process of CO2 -induced stomatal closure from the inhibition of stomatal opening by CO2. New Phytol. doi: 10.1111/nph.14957 Open Access

Alistair Hetherington (University of Bristol) leads this UK-USA-China collaboration that has characterised a role for the mysterious BIG protein during stomatal closure in response to altered CO2 concentration. Interestingly BIG mutants do not show a defect in stomatal opening in response to altered CO2, allowing the dissection of this complex response through the activity of this protein. It remains to be determined exactly how the BIG protein influences this process.

Yang W, Wightman R, Meyerowitz EM (2017) Cell Cycle Control by Nuclear Sequestration of CDC20 and CDH1 mRNA in Plant Stem Cells. Mol Cell. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2017.11.008

Elliott Meyerowitz (SLCU) is the corresponding author of this research that provides the first characterisation in plants of nuclear sequestration of mRNAs from developmental important genes. The authors show that Arabidopsis anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) coactivator genes CDC20 and CCS52B are confined to the nucleus in prophase, preventing translation of the cognate proteins until metaphase, which appears to protect cyclins from degradation at an inappropriate phase of the cell cycle

Plackett ARG, Powers SJ, Phillips AL, Wilson ZA, Hedden P, Thomas SG4 (2017) The early inflorescence of Arabidopsis thaliana demonstrates positional effects in floral organ growth and meristem patterning. Plant Reprod. doi: 10.1007/s00497-017-0320-3

This study is led from Rothamsted Research and includes Zoe Wilson from the University of Nottingham. They perform a systematic analysis of early floral organ initiation across the Arabidopsis inflorescence, discovering that both GA-dependent and independent stages are important for this process, albeit via the activity of presently unknown factors.

Gao YQ, Chen JG, Chen ZR An D, Lv QY, Han ML, Wang YL, Salt DE, Chao DY (2017) A new vesicle trafficking regulator CTL1 plays a crucial role in ion homeostasis. PLoS Biol. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2002978

Open Access

David Salt (University of Nottingham) is a co-author on this Chinese-led investigation into the role of the vesicle trafficking regulator choline transporter (CTL) during the control of ionome homeostasis. Using ctl1 mutants they show that this function is required for the action of certain ion transporters as well as during plasmodesmata (PD) development. This study provides novel insights into the role of vesicular transport in the control of ion homeostasis and how the location of these ions might alter vesicle activity.

Sánchez-Villarreal A, Davis AM, Davis SJ (2017) AKIN10 Activity as a Cellular Link Between Metabolism and Circadian-Clock Entrainment in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Plant Signal Behav. doi: 10.1080/15592324.2017.1411448

Seth Davies (University of York) is the corresponding author on this study demonstrating that overexpression of the AKIN10 subunit of the SnRK1 complex results in increased period length of the circadian clock. The authors postulate about the possible links between metabolic rate and function of the clock, allowing them to present a model of action that features each of the central regulatory elements.

Havé M, Balliau T, Cottyn-Boitte B, Dérond E, Cueff G, Soulay F, Lornac A, Reichman P, Dissmeyer N, Avice JC, Gallois P, Rajjou L, Zivy M, Masclaux-Daubresse C (2017) Increase of proteasome and papain-like cysteine protease activities in autophagy mutants: backup compensatory effect or pro cell-death effect? J Exp Bot. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erx482

Open Access
This study is led by French researchers and includes Patrick Gallois (University of Manchester) as a co-author. The work focuses on the role of the ATG genes during autophagy, the key process that controls nutrient recycling during senescence. In atg5 mutants they show that different sets of proteases are misregulated, suggestive of a complex relationship between the enzymes involved in nutrient remobilization.

Liu Q, Vain T, Viotti C, Doyle SM, Tarkowská D, Novák O, Zipfel C, Sitbon F, Robert S, Hofius D (2017) Vacuole Integrity Maintained by DUF300 Proteins Is Required for Brassinosteroid Signaling Regulation. Mol Plant. doi: 10.1016/j.molp.2017.12.015

Cyril Zipfel (TSL) is a member of this Pan-European consortium that investigates the role of the vacuolar proteins, LAZARUS1 (LAZ1) and LAZ1 HOMOLOG1 (LAZ1H1) on the cellular cycling of BR-signaling components. Plants with mutations in laz1 and laz1h1 show increased BAK1 accumulation at the tonoplast as well as enhanced BRI1 trafficking and degradation. These DUF300 proteins appear to play a specific role in BR signalling as other vacuolar-associated proteins are not involved in this process.

Kruse I, Maclean A, Hill L, Balk J (2017) Genetic dissection of cyclic pyranopterin monophosphate biosynthesis in plant mitochondria. Biochem J. doi: 10.1042/BCJ20170559 Open Access

Janneke Balk (John Innes Centre) leads this study that has identified novel alleles in mitochondrial enzymes that are involved in the biosynthesis of metal cofactors. Analysis of these enzyme mutant reveals that they show deficiencies in the synthesis of cyclic pyranopterin monophosphate (cPMP), revealing fresh insights into the metabolic processes involving this key intermediate.

Zhou J, Applegate C, Alonso AD, Reynolds D, Orford S, Mackiewicz M, Griffiths S, Penfield S, Pullen N (2017) Leaf-GP: an open and automated software application for measuring growth phenotypes for arabidopsis and wheat. Plant Methods. doi: 10.1186/s13007-017-0266-3

Open Access

Nick Pullen and Steve Penfield (John Innes Centre) introduce this new software tool for the automated measurement of plant phenotypes. This Leaf-GP software is open access and has the sophistication to discriminate between different aspects of both Arabidopsis and greenhouse growth wheat.

This paper is back of a special issue of Plant Methods that is based on the use of Computer Vision in Plant Phenotyping.

Ndinyanka Fabrice T, Vogler H, Draeger C, Munglani G, Gupta S, Herger AG, Knox JP, Grossniklaus U, Ringli C (2017) LRX Proteins play a crucial role in pollen grain and pollen tube cell wall development. Plant Physiol. doi: 10.1104/pp.17.01374

Open Access

This Swiss-led study looks into the role of LRX proteins during cell wall formation and how they affect pollen germination and pollen tube formation. The authors took advantage of the molecular tools produced by Paul Knox (University of Leeds) as part of his Plant Probes project.

Vernon I, Liu J, Goldstein M, Rowe J, Topping J, Lindsey K (2017) Bayesian uncertainty analysis for complex systems biology models: emulation, global parameter searches and evaluation of gene functions. BMC Syst Biol. doi: 10.1186/s12918-017-0484-3 Open Access

Keith Lindsey (University of Durham) leads this paper that applies a Bayesian statistical methodology to analyse a model of hormonal crosstalk in the Arabidopsis root. They show that this technique can provide new insight into the behavior of models and enables the identification of new interesting rate parameters.

Arabidopsis Research Roundup: July 18th

by Geraint

Categories: Audio, Cambridge University, Global, John Innes Centre, New Phytologist, RHUL, Uncategorized, University of Manchester

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Published on: July 18, 2017

This weeks Arabidopsis Research Roundup includes four studies from around the UK. Firstly is a systems-level study of the drought response that includes Alessandra Devoto from RHUL as a co-author. Secondly Anne Osbourn’s group at the JIC investigates sesterterpenoid biosynthesis across plant species. Thirdly Paul Jarvis from Oxford University adds to this groups portfolio of research on the mechanisms that control thylakoid import. Finally Patrick Gallois (University of Manchester) provides further insight into the regulation of programmed cell death.

Kim JM, To TK et al (2017) Acetate-mediated novel survival strategy against drought in plants Nature Plants http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2017.97

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Alessandra Devoto (Royal Holloway) is a co-author of this study led by Jong-Myong Kim, Mototaki Seki (RIKEN, Yokohama) and Taiko Kim Ko (University of Toyko) that investigates the system-wide alterations that plants make in response to drought stress. They demonstrate that the histone deacetylase HDA6 is the primary regulator of an epigenetic switch that leads to a metabolic flux conversion from glycolysis into acetate synthesis. This in turn stimulates the jasmonate signaling pathway that causes increased drought tolerance. Importantly the authors show that this critical survival response is evolutionarily conserved through monocots and dicots.

Huang AC, Kautsar SA, Hong YJ, Medema MH, Bond AD, Tantillo DJ, Osbourn A (2017) Unearthing a sesterterpene biosynthetic repertoire in the Brassicaceae through genome mining reveals convergent evolution. PNAS http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1705567114

Open Access

Anne Osbourn (JIC) leads this study in which her group works with collaborators from Cambridge, Wageningen and UC Davis to perform a cross-species genome-wide analysis of sesterterpenoid biosynthesis. They use a novel search algorithm to identify paired enzymatic components that comprise sesterterpene synthases (STS). These enzymes were transiently overexpressed in tobacco leaves, resulting in the formation of fungal-like sesterterpenes, suggestive of convergent evolution of plant and fungal STS. This study illuminates possible future strategies for the beneficial use of sesterterpenes through metabolic and protein engineering

Bédard J, Trösch R, Wu F, Ling Q, Flores-Pérez Ú, Töpel M, Nawaz F, Jarvis P (2017) New Suppressors of the Chloroplast Protein Import Mutant tic40 Reveal a Genetic Link between Protein Import and Thylakoid Biogenesis. Plant Cell. http://dx.doi.org/10.1105/tpc.16.00962 Open Access

Paul Jarvis (Oxford University) leads this global collaboration that focuses on the chloroplast protein import protein Tic40. A suppressor screen identified two novel regulators of Tic40, ALB4 and STIC2 that they postulate are involved in the thylakoid targeting of a subset of proteins and that their influence becomes more important in the absence of Tic40.

Cai YM, Yu J, Ge Y, Mironov A, Gallois P (2017) Two proteases with caspase-3-like activity, cathepsin B and proteasome, antagonistically control ER-stress-induced programmed cell death in Arabidopsis. New Phytol.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.14676 Open Access

Patrick Gallois is the corresponding author on this study that originates at the University of Manchester. They attempt to establish a role for cathepsin B and proteasome subunit PBA1 in the control of programmed cell death (PCD) and whether their functions interest with those of caspase-3. They reveal a complex system of regulation where aspects of PCD are differentially impacted by each of these proteins. They propose the role of cathepsin B might occur late in PCD following tonoplast rupture.

Arabidopsis Research Roundup: February 20th

by Geraint

Categories: Audio, Durham University, Global, John Innes Centre, Open Access, Sainsbury Lab, University of Manchester, University of York

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Published on: February 19, 2017

This weeks Arabidopsis Research Roundup begins with two papers that look at endogenous and exogenous causes of cell proliferation. Firstly Mike Bevan (JIC) leads a team that looks into the role of controlled protein degradation in this process whilst secondly, Peter Etchells from Durham is a co-author on a study that investigates how nematode pathogens stimulate cell proliferation at the site of infection.

Thirdly is work featuring Cyril Zipfel and colleagues from TSL that looks at how autophosphorylation controls the activity of calcium dependent protein kinases. Fourthly is a broad collaboration led by Richard Mott (UCL) that uses genomic structural variation to identify novel loci. Next Simon Turner from the University of Manchester phylogenetically defines the RALK peptide lineages across plant species. Finally researchers at the University of York conduct a structural analysis of the Arabidopsis AtGSTF2 glutathione transferase.

Dong H, Dumenil J, Lu FH, Na L, Vanhaeren H, Naumann C, Klecker M, Prior R, Smith C, McKenzie N, Saalbach G, Chen L, Xia T, Gonzalez N, Seguela M, Inze D, Dissmeyer N, Li Y, Bevan MW (2017) Ubiquitylation activates a peptidase that promotes cleavage and destabilization of its activating E3 ligases and diverse growth regulatory proteins to limit cell proliferation in Arabidopsis.

Genes Dev. http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/gad.292235.116

Open Access

Mike Bevan (John Innes Centre) is the corresponding author of this study that also includes researchers from labs in Belgium, Germany and China. They investigate a fundamental determinant of organ shape, the pattern of cell proliferation that leads to final cell size. They show that two RING E3 ligases activate the DA1 peptidase that in turn affects the stabilization and activity of a range of other proteins including the transcription factors TEOSINTE BRANCED 1/CYCLOIDEA/PCF 15 (TCP15) and TCP22. Overall this results in continued cell proliferation and repression of endoreduplication, which ultimately serves to regulate the timing of the transition from cell proliferation to organ differentiation.

Mike discusses the science surrounding this paper on the GARNet YouTube channel.

Guo X,, Wang J, Gardner M, Fukuda H, Kondo Y, Etchells JP, Wang X, Mitchum MG. Identification of cyst nematode B-type CLE peptides and modulation of the vascular stem cell pathway for feeding cell formation. PLoS Pathog. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1006142

Open Access

Peter Etchells (University of Durham) is a co-author on this US-led study that looks at the effect of nematode-delivered CLE-like peptides on cell growth and how that impacts parasitism. This study has identified a new class of peptides from nematodes that are similar to the plant B-type CLE-like peptide TDIF (tracheary element differentiation inhibitory factor). They show that the nematodes alter the activity of the TDIF-TDR (TDIF receptor)-WOX4 signaling module during infection, whose endogenous function acts during procambial meristem cell proliferation. A variety of mutants involved in this process show reduced infection and leading to the hypothesis that WOX4 is a potential target for nematode CLEs. When exogenous nematode CLE peptides are added to Arabidopsis roots they cause massive cell proliferation. This demonstrates that this response is clearly important for the establishment of nematode infection, usually in cambial cell files.

Bender KW, Blackburn RK, Monaghan J, Derbyshire P, Menke FL, Zipfel C, Goshe MB, Zielinski RE, Huber SC (2017) Autophosphorylation-based calcium (Ca2+) sensitivity priming and Ca2+/Calmodulin inhibition of Arabidopsis thaliana Ca2+-dependent protein kinase 28 (CPK28) J Biol Chem.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M116.763243

Cyril Zipfel (The Sainsbury Lab) features for a second consecutive week on the Arabidopsis research roundup, this time as a co-author in a study that investigates the role of autophosphorylation in the regulation of calcium (Ca2+) dependent protein kinases (CPKs). In addition they evaluated the role of Calmodulin (CaM) on the activity of CPKs, something that had been previously overlooked. Indeed they show that CPK28 is a CaM-binding protein and that autophosphorylation causes increased activity, especially in low Ca2+ concentrations. Therefore this research provides a mechanistic insight into how a cell might respond to low levels of Ca2+.

Imprialou M, Kahles A, Steffen JG, Osborne EJ, Gan X, Lempe J, Bhomra A, Belfield E, Visscher A, Greenhalgh R, Harberd NP, Goram R, Hein J, Robert-Seilaniantz A, Jones J, Stegle O, Kover P, Tsiantis M, Nordborg M, Rätsch G, Clark RM, Mott R Genomic Rearrangements in Arabidopsis Considered as Quantitative Traits. Genetics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1534/genetics.116.192823

Open Access

Richard Mott (UCL) is corresponding author on this paper includes authors from throughout the UK, Europe and the US. They provide a new analysis of Arabidopsis populations that relies on the genome structural variation. They treat these structural variants as quantitative traits and subsequently map genetically in the same way as in a gene expression study. When a structural variant locus is linked to a genotype at a distant locus then it is designated as a site of transposition. Remarkably they show 25% of the structural variants can be assigned to the transposition events. This method of assessing structural variant loci is amendable to sequencing at low-coverage and this study identified loci that might be involved in germination and resistant to pathogens. Overall they find that genes within structural variants are more likely to be silenced and that this novel analysis technique is particularly useful when mapping transposition events.

Campbell L, Turner SR1(2017) A Comprehensive Analysis of RALF Proteins in Green Plants Suggests There Are Two Distinct Functional Groups. Front Plant Sci. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00037

Open Access

This study from the lab of Simon Turner (University of Manchester) analyse Rapid Alkalinization Factor (RALFs) cysteine-rich peptides from across 51 plant species. They infer that these plant RALFs originate from four major clades in which the majority of the variation exists in the mature peptide sequence, indicative of clade-specific activities. Clade IV accounts for a third of the total peptides yet these lack a number of sequence features thought to be important for RALF function, which leads the authors to speculate that this clade should be thought of as containing RALF-related peptides instead of regular RALFs. Further experimental work is needed in order to define the true nature of the functional relationship between Clades I-III and Clade IV.

Ahmad L, Rylott EL, Bruce NC, Edwards R, Grogan G (2016) Structural evidence for Arabidopsis glutathione transferase AtGSTF2 functioning as a transporter of small organic ligands. FEBS Open Bio. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2211-5463.12168

Open Access

This paper links plant science and structural biology in a study that was undertaken at the University of York. Plant Glutathione transferases (GSTs) have multiple roles including in the detoxification of xenobiotics as well as in various non-catalytic roles. In this work the structure of the Arabidopsis AtGSTF2 is revealed in tandem with a variety of non-catalytic partners including indole-3-aldehyde, camalexin, the flavonoid quercetrin and its non-rhamnosylated analogue quercetin. These are thought to bind to AtGSTF2 by hydrophobic interactions at either one or two symmetrical binding sites. The authors speculate that this non-catalytic binding might have a possible role in ligand transport.

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Arabidopsis Research Roundup: July 27th

by Geraint

Categories: Arabidopsis, Audio, Brassica, Global, James Hutton Institute, sheffield university, Uncategorized, University of Manchester, Warwick University

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Published on: July 27, 2016

Each of the papers in this Arabidopsis Research Roundup involves the response to different stimuli. Giles Johnson at Manchester provides an audio description of work that has discovered a novel mechanism of cold sensing whilst Gordon Simpson and John Brown from Dundee are contributors to work that has interrogated the sugar signaling pathway. Finally is a study from Warwick that has identified novel loci involved in ABA signaling and seed vigour.

Dyson BC, Miller MA, Feil R, Rattray N, Bowsher C, Goodacre R, Lunn JE, Johnson GN (2016) FUM2, a cytosolic fumarase, is essential for acclimation to low temperature in Arabidopsis thaliana Plant Physiology http://dx.doi.org/10.1104/pp.16.00852

Open Access

From http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/early/2016/07/20/pp.16.00852.long

Giles Johnson (Manchester) is the corresponding author on this UK-German collaboration that looks at the mechanisms by which plants sense the low temperatures that cause significant phenotypic changes. GC-MS showed that fumarate is a key component in the cold tolerance response and that the activity of the FUM2 enzyme is responsible for accumulation of fumaric acid. Plants that lack FUM2 activity show significant alteration in gene expression and metabolite profile following a cold treatment and in particularly are unable to acclimate photosynthesis at lower temperatures. Therefore this study introduces a novel component of the temperature sensing apparatus, which might have broad significance for attempts to develop crops with an improved cold response.

Giles kindly provides an audio description of this work, which includes an overview into cold acclimation of photosynthesis. This includes an excellent ‘stress-ball’ analogy! (Apologies for pen-clicks :/).

Carvalho RF, Szakonyi D, Simpson CG, Barbosa IC, Brown JW, Baena-González E, Duque P (2016) The Arabidopsis SR45 Splicing Factor, a Negative Regulator of Sugar Signaling, Modulates SNF1-Related Protein Kinase 1 (SnRK1) Stability The Plant Cell http://dx.doi.org/10.1105/tpc.16.00301

From http://www.plantcell.org/content/early/2016/07/19/tpc.16.00301.abstract

Gordon Simpson and John Brown (James Hutton Institute) are contributors to this Portuguese-led study that investigates the role of the SR45 splicing factor in sugar signaling. In sr45-1 mutants they show that glucose-feeding causes increased levels of the energy-sensing SNF1-Related Protein Kinase 1 (SnRK1) yet without increasing its gene expression. Concomitantly the hypersensitivity of sr45-1 mutants is rescued in plants with reduced levels of SnRK1. The authors discovered that the mechanistic link between these genes involves SR45-1 regulating the alternative splicing of the 5PTase13 gene, which encodes an inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase that interacts with SnRK1 in vivo. In wildtype plants 5PTase13 modulates proteasomal-mediated degradation of SnRK1 and therefore a perturbation of this process in sr45-1 explains this defect in sugar-sensing.

Morris K, Barker GC, Walley PG, Lynn JR, Finch-Savage WE (2016) Trait to gene analysis reveals that allelic variation in three genes determines seed vigour. New Phytol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.14102 Open Access

Bill Finch-Savage is the corresponding author on this study from the Warwick University that uses Brassica oleracea natural variation to identify novel loci involved in seed vigour. The discovered QTL was termed Speed of Germination (SOG1) and contained two genes, BoLCVIG2, a homologue of the alternative-splicing regulator (AtPTB1) and BoLCVIG1, which has unknown function. Transfer of these alleles into Arabdopsis causes alterations in seed germination, which is also observed in mutants of the equivalent Arabidopsis genes (At3g01060, At3g01150). Furthermore an additional discovered QTL encodes the Reduced ABscisic Acid 1 (RABA1) gene, which influences ABA content and seed vigour. Therefore this mapping strategy has discovered three genes that promote seed vigour resulting from alterations in ABA content and sensitivity.

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