This weeks Arabidopsis Roundup again includes a broad selection of research topics. Firstly researchers at SLCU are involved in work that describes Arabidopsis sepal development. Secondly Cyril Zipfel from TSL leads a study that adds a layer of complexity to our knowledge of cellular pathogen perception. Thirdly the group of Reiner van der Hoorn from Oxford introduces the use of a novel set of inhibitors that reveals differential activity of proteosomal subunits during bacterial infection. Finally Hugh Pritchard from Kew Gardens is a co-author on a lipidomic study of the seed dessication-stress response.
Meyer HM, Teles J, Formosa-Jordan P, Refahi Y, San-Bento R, Ingram G, Jönsson H, Locke JC, Roeder AH (2017) Fluctuations of the transcription factor ATML1 generate the pattern of giant cells in the Arabidopsis sepal. Elife.
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19131
Open Access
James Locke and Henrik Jonsson (SLCU) are authors on this paper that is led by Adrienne Roeder at Cornell in the USA. The Roeder lab largely focused their research on development of the sepal. The SLCU researchers provided modeling support for this investigation into the critical role of the ATML1 gene in the differentiation of initially identical cells into giant or regular sized sepal cells. They show that there it is a threshold level of differential ATML1 expression that is key in determining cell fate. If this threshold is met during the G2 phase of the cell cycle the cells enter endoreduplication and become giant. If the threshold isn’t reached then the cells divide and remain at a ‘normal’ size. Ultimately they demonstrate a fluctuation-driven patterning mechanism that determines cell fate.
Stegmann M, Monaghan J, Smakowska-Luzan E, Rovenich H, Lehner A, Holton N, Belkhadir Y, Zipfel C (2017) The receptor kinase FER is a RALF-regulated scaffold controlling plant immune signaling Science
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aal2541
Cyril Zipfel (The Sainsbury Lab, Norwich) is the lead author of this study that builds upon his labs work into mechanisms of pathogen perception by cell-surface receptor kinases. In this latest work they show that the SITE-1 PROTEASE (ST1P) cleaves endogenous RAPID ALKALINIZATION FACTOR (RALF) propeptides to inhibit plant immunity, a response mediated via the receptor kinase FERONIA (FER). The FER protein is also involved in the formation of other immune complexes. The authors have discovered a mechanism by which FER reglates RALK signaling, indicating that they might have uncovered a more general mechanism for this key control point of immune signaling.
Misas-Villamil JC,, van der Burgh AM, Grosse-Holz F, Bach-Pages M, Kovács J,, Kaschani F, Schilasky S, Emon AE, Ruben M, Kaiser M, Overkleeft HS, van der Hoorn RA (2017) Subunit-selective proteasome activity profiling uncovers uncoupled proteasome subunit activities during bacterial infections. Plant Journal
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/tpj.13494
Reiner van der Hoorn (University of Oxford) lead this cross-Europe collaboration that introduces a range of inhibitors and probes that can discriminate between catalytic subunits of the proteasome. These tools were studied in both Arabidopsis and Nicotiana benthamiana and the authors used the plant-microbe interactions to further validate their specificity. They show that proteasomal subunits have separate paralogs that are differentiatially incorperated into the larger complex depending on an interaction with pathogenic bacteria. Aliquots of these probes are available on request from renier.vanderhoorn@plants.ox.ac.uk
The authors encourage their usage so as to increase the chance that they might become commercially available. More information from the Plant Chemetics lab.
Chen H, Yu X, Zhang X, Yang L, Huang X, Zhang J, Pritchard HW, Li W (2017) Phospholipase Dα1-mediated phosphatidic acid change is a key determinant of desiccation-induced viability loss in seeds. Plant Cell Environ.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pce.12925
Hugh Pritchard (Kew Gardens) is a co-author on this Chinese-led study that investigates the role of phosphatidic acid (PA) on seed viability. Higher levels of PA correlated with lower seed viability after a desiccation stress. Using Arabidopsis seeds they showed that the enzyme phospholipase D α1 (PLD α1) localises to the plasma membrane following desiccation, where it produces PA. When PLD α1 was suppressed, seed recovery following desiccation improved. The authors used comparative lipidomics to compare PA levels in eight plant species and from their Arabidopsis work, they propose a new model for the mechanism by which seed desiccation effects germination rates.