Journal of Integrative Plant Biology最新文献

The Sapindaceae family, also known as the soapberry family, comprises over 140 genera and approximately 1,900 species, including economically important and popular fruit trees like lychee, longan, rambutan, and ackee; timber trees as the maple and buckeye; and other species that are prized for their abundant secondary metabolites, such as saponins from soapberry and seed oil from yellowhorn. The cover features the letters “SAP”, representing the Sapindaceae genome database SapBase, filled in with images of key species within the Sapindaceae. SapBase is an integrative genomic resource and analysis platform for the Sapindaceae family established by Li et al. (pages 1561–1570). SapBase provides a critical foundation for research on the diverse species within the Sapindaceae.

It has been proposed that cortical fine actin filaments are needed for the morphogenesis of pavement cells (PCs). However, the precise role and regulation mechanisms of actin filaments in PC morphogenesis are not well understood. Here, we found that Arabidopsis thaliana ACTIN DEPOLYMERIZING FACTOR9 (ADF9) is required for the morphogenesis of PC, which is negatively regulated by the R2R3 MYELOBLASTOSIS (MYB) transcription factor MYB52. In adf9 mutants, the lobe number of cotyledon PCs was significantly reduced, while the average lobe length did not differ significantly compared to that of wild type (Col-0), except for the variations in cell area and circularity, whereas the PC shapes in ADF9 overexpression seedlings showed different results. ADF9 decorated actin filaments, and colocalized with plasma membrane. The extent of filament bundling and actin filament bundling activity in adf9 mutant decreased. In addition, MYB52 directly targeted the promoter of ADF9 and negatively regulated its expression. The myb52-2 mutant showed increased lobe number and cell area, reduced cell circularity of PCs, and the PC phenotypes were suppressed when ADF9 was knocked out. Taken together, our data demonstrate that actin filaments play an important role in the morphogenesis of PC and reveal a transcriptional mechanism underlying MYB52 regulation of ADF9-mediated actin filament bundling in PC morphogenesis.

Lysine acetylation, an evolutionarily conserved post-translational protein modification, is reversibly catalyzed by lysine acetyltransferases and lysine deacetylases. Lysine acetylation, which was first discovered on histones, mainly functions to configure the structure of chromatin and regulate gene transcriptional activity. Over the past decade, with advances in high-resolution mass spectrometry, a vast and growing number of non-histone proteins modified by acetylation in various plant species have been identified. Lysine acetylation of non-histone proteins is widely involved in regulating biological processes in plants such as photosynthesis, energy metabolism, hormone signal transduction and stress responses. Moreover, in plants, lysine acetylation plays crucial roles in regulating enzyme activity, protein stability, protein interaction and subcellular localization. This review summarizes recent progress in our understanding of the biological functions and mechanisms of non-histone protein acetylation in plants. Research prospects in this field are also noted.

Dissecting the genetic control of apple fruit harvest date (AFHD) into multiple Mendelian factors poses a significant challenge in modern genetics. Here, a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for AFHD was fine-mapped to the NAC transcription factor (TF) MdNAC18 within the interval defined by the overlap of QTLs Z03.5/Z03.6 and F03.2/F03.3. One direct target of MdNAC18 is the ethylene biosynthesis gene MdACO1. The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) SNP517 and SNP958 in the MdNAC18 coding sequence modulated activation of MdACO1 by MdNAC18. SNP1229 in the MdACO1 promoter destroyed the MdNAC18 binding site and thus abolished MdNAC18 binding. SNP517 and SNP958 also affected MdNAC18 activation of the TF gene MdARF5; MdARF5 activates the ethylene biosynthesis gene MdACS1. SNP517 and SNP958 in MdNAC18, SNP1229 and SNP769 (linked to InDel62) in MdACO1, and InDel162 in MdACS1 constituted a genetic variation network. The genetic effect of this network on AFHD was estimated as 60.3 d, accounting for 52.6% of the phenotype variation of the training population. The joint effects of these polymorphisms increased the accuracy of a genomics-assisted prediction (GAP) model for AFHD (r = 0.7125). Together, our results suggest that genetic variation in MdNAC18 affects AFHD by modulating ethylene biosynthesis and provide an optimized GAP model for apple breeding.

The programmable nuclease TnpB is significantly smaller than Cas9, can edit genes in medicinal plants, including Artemisia annua, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Scutellaria baicalensis, Isatis indigotica, and Codonopsis pilosula, and has potential uses in molecular breeding to enhance crop yield and quality.

Recent studies have documented plant responses to climate change extensively, particularly to single-stress exposures. However, critical factors for stress survival, such as sexual differentiation, are not often considered. The dioicous Marchantia polymorpha stands as an evolutionary milestone, potentially preserving ancestral traits from the early colonizers. In this study, we employed proteomic analyses complemented with physiological monitoring to investigate combined heat and drought responses in Tak-1 (male) and Tak-2 (female) accessions of this liverwort. Additionally, targeted transcriptomics was conducted using different natural populations from contrasting environments. Our findings revealed sex-biased dynamics among natural accessions, particularly evident under control conditions and during early stress responses. Although Tak-2 exhibited greater diversity than Tak-1 under control conditions, male accession demonstrated distinct and more rapid stress sensing and signaling. These differences in stress response appeared to be strongly related to sex-specific plasticity influenced by geoclimatic origin. Furthermore, we established distinct protein gene ages and genomic distribution trends, underscoring the importance of protein diversification over time. This study provides an evolutionary perspective on sexual divergence and stress emergence employing a systems biology approach, which allowed for the establishment of global and sex-specific interaction networks in the stress response.

Wheat culms, comprising four to six internodes, are critically involved in determining plant height and lodging resistance, essential factors for field performance and regional adaptability. This study revealed the regulatory function of miR319 in common wheat plant height. Repression of tae-miR319 through short tandem target mimics (STTM) caused an increased plant height, while overexpression (OE) of tae-miR319 had the opposite effect. Overexpressing a miR319-resistant target gene TaPCF8 (rTaPCF8), increased plant height. TaPCF8 acted as a transcription repressor of downstream genes TaIAAs, which interact physically with TaSPL14. The significant differences of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) contents indicate the involvement of auxin pathway in miR319-mediated plant height regulation. Finally, we identified two TaPCF8 haplotypes in global wheat collections. TaPCF8-5A-Hap2, as per association and evolution examinations, was subjected to strong substantial selection throughout wheat breeding. This haplotype, associated with shorter plant height, aligns with global breeding requirements. Consequently, in high-yield wheat breeding, we proposed a potential molecular marker for marker-assisted selection (MAS). Our findings offer fresh perspectives into the molecular mechanisms that underlie the miR319-TaPCF8 module's regulation of plant height by orchestrating auxin signaling and biosynthesis in wheat.

Salinization poses a significant challenge in agriculture, exacerbated by anthropogenic global warming. Biostimulants, derived from living microorganisms or natural extracts, have emerged as valuable tools for conventional and organic agriculture. However, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of biostimulants is very limited, especially in crops under real cultivation conditions. In this study, we adopted an integrative approach to investigate the effectiveness of the combined application of plant growth-promoting bacterium (Bacillus megaterium strain BM08) and a non-microbial biostimulant under control conditions (normal watering) and salt stress. After confirming the yield increase under both conditions, we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the observed effect by measuring a number of physiological parameters (i.e., lipid peroxidation, antioxidants, chlorophylls, total phenolics and phytohormone content), as well as RNA sequencing and primary metabolite analyses. Our findings reveal that the combined effect of the microbial and non-microbial biostimulants led to a decrease in the antioxidant response and an up-regulation of genes involved in cytokinin biosynthesis under salt stress conditions. This, in turn, resulted in a higher concentration of the bioactive cytokinin, isopentenyladenosine, in roots and leaves and an increase in γ-aminobutyric acid, a non-proteic amino acid related to abiotic stress responses. In addition, we observed a decrease in malic acid, along with an abscisic acid (ABA)-independent up-regulation of SR-kinases, a family of protein kinases associated with abiotic stress responses. Furthermore, we observed that the single application of the non-microbial biostimulant triggers an ABA-dependent response under salt stress; however, when combined with the microbial biostimulant, it potentiated the mechanisms triggered by the BM08 bacterial strain. This comprehensive investigation shows that the combination of two biostimulants is able to elicit a cytokinin-dependent response that may explain the observed yield increase under salt stress conditions.