Jie Yang, Zhonghui Zhang, Xianggui Li, Langchen Guo, Chun Li, Jun Lai, Yige Han, Weizhen Ye, Yuanyuan Miao, Meng Deng, Peng Cao, Yueran Zhang, Xiangyu Ding, Jianing Zhang, Jun Yang, Shouchuang Wang
Polyamines act as protective compounds directly protecting plants from stress-related damage, while also acting as signaling molecules to participate in serious abiotic stresses. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects are poorly understood. Here, we utilized metabolome genome-wide association study to investigate the polyamine content of wild and cultivated tomato accessions, and we discovered a new gene cluster that drove polyamine content during tomato domestication. The gene cluster contains two polyphenol oxidases (SlPPOE and SlPPOF), two BAHD acyltransferases (SlAT4 and SlAT5), a coumaroyl-CoA ligase (Sl4CL6), and a polyamine uptake transporter (SlPUT3). SlPUT3 mediates polyamine uptake and transport, while the five other genes are involved in polyamine modification. Further salt tolerance assays demonstrated that SlPPOE, SlPPOF, and SlAT5 overexpression lines showed greater phenolamide accumulation and salt tolerance as compared with wild-type (WT). Meanwhile, the exogenous application of Spm to SlPUT3-OE lines displayed salt tolerance compared with WT, while having the opposite effect in slput3 lines, confirms that the polyamine and phenolamide can play a protective role by alleviating cell damage. SlPUT3 interacted with SlPIP2;4, a H2O2 transport protein, to maintain H2O2 homeostasis. Polyamine-derived H2O2 linked Spm to stress responses, suggesting that Spm signaling activates stress response pathways. Collectively, our finding reveals that the H2O2-polyamine-phenolamide module coordinately enhanced tomato salt stress tolerance and provide a foundation for tomato stress-resistance breeding.
{"title":"A gene cluster for polyamine transport and modification improves salt tolerance in tomato.","authors":"Jie Yang, Zhonghui Zhang, Xianggui Li, Langchen Guo, Chun Li, Jun Lai, Yige Han, Weizhen Ye, Yuanyuan Miao, Meng Deng, Peng Cao, Yueran Zhang, Xiangyu Ding, Jianing Zhang, Jun Yang, Shouchuang Wang","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17074","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.17074","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Polyamines act as protective compounds directly protecting plants from stress-related damage, while also acting as signaling molecules to participate in serious abiotic stresses. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects are poorly understood. Here, we utilized metabolome genome-wide association study to investigate the polyamine content of wild and cultivated tomato accessions, and we discovered a new gene cluster that drove polyamine content during tomato domestication. The gene cluster contains two polyphenol oxidases (SlPPOE and SlPPOF), two BAHD acyltransferases (SlAT4 and SlAT5), a coumaroyl-CoA ligase (Sl4CL6), and a polyamine uptake transporter (SlPUT3). SlPUT3 mediates polyamine uptake and transport, while the five other genes are involved in polyamine modification. Further salt tolerance assays demonstrated that SlPPOE, SlPPOF, and SlAT5 overexpression lines showed greater phenolamide accumulation and salt tolerance as compared with wild-type (WT). Meanwhile, the exogenous application of Spm to SlPUT3-OE lines displayed salt tolerance compared with WT, while having the opposite effect in slput3 lines, confirms that the polyamine and phenolamide can play a protective role by alleviating cell damage. SlPUT3 interacted with SlPIP2;4, a H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> transport protein, to maintain H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> homeostasis. Polyamine-derived H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> linked Spm to stress responses, suggesting that Spm signaling activates stress response pathways. Collectively, our finding reveals that the H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>-polyamine-phenolamide module coordinately enhanced tomato salt stress tolerance and provide a foundation for tomato stress-resistance breeding.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2024-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142454407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Adéla Machelová, Martina Nešpor Dadejová, Michal Franek, Guillaume Mougeot, Lauriane Simon, Samuel Le Goff, Céline Duc, Jasmin Bassler, Martin Demko, Jana Schwarzerová, Sophie Desset, Aline V. Probst, Martina Dvořáčková
Genome stability is significantly influenced by the precise coordination of chromatin complexes that facilitate the loading and eviction of histones from chromatin during replication, transcription, and DNA repair processes. In this study, we investigate the role of the Arabidopsis H3 histone chaperones ANTI-SILENCING FUNCTION 1 (ASF1) and HISTONE REGULATOR A (HIRA) in the maintenance of telomeres and 45S rDNA loci, genomic sites that are particularly susceptible to changes in the chromatin structure. We find that both ASF1 and HIRA are essential for telomere length regulation, as telomeres are significantly shorter in asf1a1b and hira mutants. However, these shorter telomeres remain localized around the nucleolus and exhibit a comparable relative H3 occupancy to the wild type. In addition to regulating telomere length, ASF1 and HIRA contribute to silencing 45S rRNA genes and affect their copy number. Besides, ASF1 supports global heterochromatin maintenance. Our findings also indicate that ASF1 transiently binds to the TELOMERE REPEAT BINDING 1 protein and the N terminus of telomerase in vivo, suggesting a physical link between the ASF1 histone chaperone and the telomere maintenance machinery.
{"title":"The histone chaperones ASF1 and HIRA are required for telomere length and 45S rDNA copy number homeostasis","authors":"Adéla Machelová, Martina Nešpor Dadejová, Michal Franek, Guillaume Mougeot, Lauriane Simon, Samuel Le Goff, Céline Duc, Jasmin Bassler, Martin Demko, Jana Schwarzerová, Sophie Desset, Aline V. Probst, Martina Dvořáčková","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17041","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.17041","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Genome stability is significantly influenced by the precise coordination of chromatin complexes that facilitate the loading and eviction of histones from chromatin during replication, transcription, and DNA repair processes. In this study, we investigate the role of the Arabidopsis H3 histone chaperones ANTI-SILENCING FUNCTION 1 (ASF1) and HISTONE REGULATOR A (HIRA) in the maintenance of telomeres and <i>45S rDNA</i> loci, genomic sites that are particularly susceptible to changes in the chromatin structure. We find that both ASF1 and HIRA are essential for telomere length regulation, as telomeres are significantly shorter in <i>asf1a1b</i> and <i>hira</i> mutants. However, these shorter telomeres remain localized around the nucleolus and exhibit a comparable relative H3 occupancy to the wild type. In addition to regulating telomere length, ASF1 and HIRA contribute to silencing <i>45S rRNA</i> genes and affect their copy number. Besides, ASF1 supports global heterochromatin maintenance. Our findings also indicate that ASF1 transiently binds to the TELOMERE REPEAT BINDING 1 protein and the N terminus of telomerase <i>in vivo</i>, suggesting a physical link between the ASF1 histone chaperone and the telomere maintenance machinery.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2024-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tpj.17041","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142454424","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gábor Horváth, Bence Dárdai, Máté Bíró, Judit Slíz-Balogh, Dénes Száz, András Barta, Ádám Egri
Mature inflorescences of sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) orient constantly on average to the geographical east. According to one of the explanations of this phenomenon, the eastward orientation of sunflower inflorescences increases the number of attracted insect pollinators. We tested this hypothesis in three field experiments performed in flowering sunflower plantations. In experiments 1 and 2 we measured the number of insects trapped by the vertical walls of sticky sunflower models facing north, east, south, and west. In experiment 3 we counted the pollinators' landings on real sunflower inflorescences facing naturally east or turned artificially toward north, south, and west. We found that the all-day number of pollinators (predominantly bees) attracted to model and real sunflowers in H. annuus plantations is independent of the azimuth direction of sunflower heads, and after 10 h in the morning, the average number of pollinators counted every 20 min is practically constant in the rest of the day.
{"title":"The all-day pollinator visits of sunflower inflorescences in Helianthus annuus plantations are independent of head orientation: Testing a widespread hypothesis.","authors":"Gábor Horváth, Bence Dárdai, Máté Bíró, Judit Slíz-Balogh, Dénes Száz, András Barta, Ádám Egri","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.17070","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mature inflorescences of sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) orient constantly on average to the geographical east. According to one of the explanations of this phenomenon, the eastward orientation of sunflower inflorescences increases the number of attracted insect pollinators. We tested this hypothesis in three field experiments performed in flowering sunflower plantations. In experiments 1 and 2 we measured the number of insects trapped by the vertical walls of sticky sunflower models facing north, east, south, and west. In experiment 3 we counted the pollinators' landings on real sunflower inflorescences facing naturally east or turned artificially toward north, south, and west. We found that the all-day number of pollinators (predominantly bees) attracted to model and real sunflowers in H. annuus plantations is independent of the azimuth direction of sunflower heads, and after 10 h in the morning, the average number of pollinators counted every 20 min is practically constant in the rest of the day.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142454422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The cuticle is the first physical barrier covering the surface of tomatoes and plays an important role in multiple stress responses. But the molecular regulatory networks of cuticle formation are not fully understood. In this study, we found that SlMYB72 can interact with SlTAGL1 to regulate the formation of fruit cuticle in tomato. Downregulating the expression of SlMYB72 inhibits the formation of fruit cuticle, resulting in a reduced fruit cuticle thickness, accelerated postharvest water loss, and increased susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea. RNA sequencing analysis showed that downregulation of the SlMYB72 gene decreased the expression levels of genes related to fatty acid and cuticle metabolism. SlMYB72 regulates the cuticle formation by directly binding to the promoter of long-chain acyl-coA synthetases (SlLACS1) and medium-chain alkane hydroxylase (SlMAH1). Moreover, SlMYB72 interacts with SlTAGL1, which can enhance the transcriptional activation of SlMYB72 on the SlMAH1 promoter. Overall, our study expands our understanding of the regulation of cuticle formation by SlMYB72 and provides new insights into fruit shelf life extension via manipulation of cuticle content.
{"title":"SlMYB72 interacts with SlTAGL1 to regulate the cuticle formation in tomato fruit.","authors":"Mengbo Wu, Yuanyi Zhou, Haifeng Ma, Xin Xu, Mingchun Liu, Wei Deng","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.17072","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The cuticle is the first physical barrier covering the surface of tomatoes and plays an important role in multiple stress responses. But the molecular regulatory networks of cuticle formation are not fully understood. In this study, we found that SlMYB72 can interact with SlTAGL1 to regulate the formation of fruit cuticle in tomato. Downregulating the expression of SlMYB72 inhibits the formation of fruit cuticle, resulting in a reduced fruit cuticle thickness, accelerated postharvest water loss, and increased susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea. RNA sequencing analysis showed that downregulation of the SlMYB72 gene decreased the expression levels of genes related to fatty acid and cuticle metabolism. SlMYB72 regulates the cuticle formation by directly binding to the promoter of long-chain acyl-coA synthetases (SlLACS1) and medium-chain alkane hydroxylase (SlMAH1). Moreover, SlMYB72 interacts with SlTAGL1, which can enhance the transcriptional activation of SlMYB72 on the SlMAH1 promoter. Overall, our study expands our understanding of the regulation of cuticle formation by SlMYB72 and provides new insights into fruit shelf life extension via manipulation of cuticle content.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142454421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Photosynthetic electron transport is carried out by the electron carrier, plastoquinone (PQ). Recently, another form of PQ, acylplastoquinol (APQ), was discovered in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (Synechocystis), but its physiological function in photosynthesis is unclear. In the present study, we identified a lipase encoded in sll0482 gene in Synechocystis that deacylates APQ and releases a free fatty acid and a reduced PQ (plastoquinol, PQH2), which we named acylplastoquinol lipase (APL). Disruption of apl gene increased APQ content, and recovery of photodamaged PSII under low light (LL) after the exposure to very high light (vHL) at 2500 μmol photons m-2 sec-1 without aeration (vHL) for 60 min, was suppressed in the Δapl cells. Δapl cells also show the slow rate of de novo synthesis of D1, a reaction center of PSII under such condition. Under high light, the cellular growth of Δapl was inhibited; however, disruption of apl gene did not affect the photosynthetic activity or photoinhibition of PSII. In wild-type cells, APQ content increased under vHL condition. Also, APQ was converted to PQH2 after transfer to LL with aeration by ambient air. Such striking changes in APQ were not observed in Δapl cells. The deacylation of APQ by APL may help repair PSII when PSII cannot drive photosynthetic electron transport efficiently.
{"title":"Acyl-turnover of acylplastoquinol enhances recovery of photodamaged PSII in Synechocystis.","authors":"Haruhiko Jimbo, Mana Torii, Yuichiro Fujino, Yoshiki Tanase, Kazuki Kurima, Naoki Sato, Hajime Wada","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.17051","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Photosynthetic electron transport is carried out by the electron carrier, plastoquinone (PQ). Recently, another form of PQ, acylplastoquinol (APQ), was discovered in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (Synechocystis), but its physiological function in photosynthesis is unclear. In the present study, we identified a lipase encoded in sll0482 gene in Synechocystis that deacylates APQ and releases a free fatty acid and a reduced PQ (plastoquinol, PQH<sub>2</sub>), which we named acylplastoquinol lipase (APL). Disruption of apl gene increased APQ content, and recovery of photodamaged PSII under low light (LL) after the exposure to very high light (vHL) at 2500 μmol photons m<sup>-2</sup> sec<sup>-1</sup> without aeration (vHL) for 60 min, was suppressed in the Δapl cells. Δapl cells also show the slow rate of de novo synthesis of D1, a reaction center of PSII under such condition. Under high light, the cellular growth of Δapl was inhibited; however, disruption of apl gene did not affect the photosynthetic activity or photoinhibition of PSII. In wild-type cells, APQ content increased under vHL condition. Also, APQ was converted to PQH<sub>2</sub> after transfer to LL with aeration by ambient air. Such striking changes in APQ were not observed in Δapl cells. The deacylation of APQ by APL may help repair PSII when PSII cannot drive photosynthetic electron transport efficiently.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142398890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaofang Yi, Congcong Wang, Xiaoqi Yuan, Mi Zhang, Changwei Zhang, Tiaojiao Qin, Haiyun Wang, Liang Xu, Liwang Liu, Yan Wang
Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) is one of the most important root vegetable crops worldwide. However, gene function exploration and germplasm innovation still face tremendous challenges due to its extremely low transformation efficiency. Here, an economic and highly efficient genetic transformation method for radish was explored by Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation with the help of combining special developmental regulator (DR) genes and the visual identification reporter. Firstly, the RUBY gene, a betalain biosynthesis system, could result in a visual red-violet color used as a convenient and effective reporter for monitoring transgenic hairy roots screening of radish. However, the hairy roots-to-shoots conversion system of radish still stands as a barrier to the obtainment of whole transgenic plants, although different hormone combinations and various culture conditions were tried. Following, two DR genes including Wuschel2 (Wus2) and isopentenyl transferase (ipt), as well as their combination Wus2-ipt were introduced for the shoot regeneration capacity improvement. The results showed that the transgenic shoots could be directly generated without externally supplying any hormones in the presence of a Wus2-ipt combination. Then, Wus2-ipt along with the RUBY reporter was employed to establish an efficient genetic transformation system of radish. Moreover, this system was applied in generating gene-edited radish plants and the phytoene desaturase (RsPDS) gene was effectively knockout through albino phenotype observation and sequencing analysis. These findings have the potential to be widely applied in genetic transformation and genome-editing genetic improvement of other vegetable species.
{"title":"Exploring an economic and highly efficient genetic transformation and genome-editing system for radish through developmental regulators and visible reporter.","authors":"Xiaofang Yi, Congcong Wang, Xiaoqi Yuan, Mi Zhang, Changwei Zhang, Tiaojiao Qin, Haiyun Wang, Liang Xu, Liwang Liu, Yan Wang","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.17068","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) is one of the most important root vegetable crops worldwide. However, gene function exploration and germplasm innovation still face tremendous challenges due to its extremely low transformation efficiency. Here, an economic and highly efficient genetic transformation method for radish was explored by Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation with the help of combining special developmental regulator (DR) genes and the visual identification reporter. Firstly, the RUBY gene, a betalain biosynthesis system, could result in a visual red-violet color used as a convenient and effective reporter for monitoring transgenic hairy roots screening of radish. However, the hairy roots-to-shoots conversion system of radish still stands as a barrier to the obtainment of whole transgenic plants, although different hormone combinations and various culture conditions were tried. Following, two DR genes including Wuschel2 (Wus2) and isopentenyl transferase (ipt), as well as their combination Wus2-ipt were introduced for the shoot regeneration capacity improvement. The results showed that the transgenic shoots could be directly generated without externally supplying any hormones in the presence of a Wus2-ipt combination. Then, Wus2-ipt along with the RUBY reporter was employed to establish an efficient genetic transformation system of radish. Moreover, this system was applied in generating gene-edited radish plants and the phytoene desaturase (RsPDS) gene was effectively knockout through albino phenotype observation and sequencing analysis. These findings have the potential to be widely applied in genetic transformation and genome-editing genetic improvement of other vegetable species.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142454412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ferns (Pteridophyta), as the second largest group of vascular plants, play important roles in ecosystem functioning. Homosporous ferns exhibit a remarkable range of mating systems, from extreme inbreeding to obligate outcrossing, which may have significant evolutionary and ecological implications. Despite their significance, the impact of genome-wide inbreeding on genetic diversity and mutation load within the fern lineage remain largely unexplored. In this study, we utilized whole-genome sequencing to investigate the genomic signatures of inbreeding and genetic load in three Alsophila tree fern species. Our analysis revealed extremely high inbreeding in A. spinulosa, in contrast to the predominantly outcrossing observed in A. costularis and A. latebrosa. This difference likely reflects divergent mating systems and demographic histories. Consistent with its extreme inbreeding propensity, A. spinulosa exhibits reduced genetic diversity and a pronounced decline in effective population size. Comparison of genetic load revealed an overall reduction in deleterious mutations in the highly inbred A. spinulosa, highlighting that long-term inbreeding may have contributed to the purging of strongly deleterious mutations, thereby prolonging the survival of A. spinulosa. Despite this, however, A. spinulosa carries a substantive realized genetic load that may potentially instigate future fitness decline. Our findings illuminate the complex evolutionary interplay between inbreeding and mutation load in homosporous ferns, yielding insights with important implications for the conservation and management of these species.
蕨类植物(翼手目)是第二大维管束植物类群,在生态系统功能中发挥着重要作用。同孢蕨类植物的交配系统种类繁多,从极端近交到强制外交,这可能会对进化和生态产生重大影响。尽管其意义重大,但全基因组近交对蕨类植物系遗传多样性和变异负荷的影响在很大程度上仍未得到探讨。在这项研究中,我们利用全基因组测序技术研究了三种蕨类植物近交和遗传负荷的基因组特征。我们的分析发现,A. spinulosa 的近交率极高,而在 A. costularis 和 A. latebrosa 中观察到的则主要是外交。这种差异可能反映了不同的交配系统和人口历史。与极度近交倾向相一致的是,A. spinulosa 的遗传多样性减少,有效种群数量明显下降。遗传负荷的比较显示,在高度近亲繁殖的桫椤中,有害突变总体上有所减少,这表明长期近亲繁殖可能有助于清除强有害突变,从而延长了桫椤的生存期。然而,尽管如此,桫椤仍携带着大量已实现的遗传负荷,有可能导致未来的适应性下降。我们的发现揭示了同孢蕨类植物近亲繁殖与突变负荷之间复杂的进化相互作用,对这些物种的保护和管理具有重要意义。
{"title":"Genomic signatures of inbreeding and mutation load in tree ferns.","authors":"Huiqin Yi, Jing Wang, Shiyong Dong, Ming Kang","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.17064","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ferns (Pteridophyta), as the second largest group of vascular plants, play important roles in ecosystem functioning. Homosporous ferns exhibit a remarkable range of mating systems, from extreme inbreeding to obligate outcrossing, which may have significant evolutionary and ecological implications. Despite their significance, the impact of genome-wide inbreeding on genetic diversity and mutation load within the fern lineage remain largely unexplored. In this study, we utilized whole-genome sequencing to investigate the genomic signatures of inbreeding and genetic load in three Alsophila tree fern species. Our analysis revealed extremely high inbreeding in A. spinulosa, in contrast to the predominantly outcrossing observed in A. costularis and A. latebrosa. This difference likely reflects divergent mating systems and demographic histories. Consistent with its extreme inbreeding propensity, A. spinulosa exhibits reduced genetic diversity and a pronounced decline in effective population size. Comparison of genetic load revealed an overall reduction in deleterious mutations in the highly inbred A. spinulosa, highlighting that long-term inbreeding may have contributed to the purging of strongly deleterious mutations, thereby prolonging the survival of A. spinulosa. Despite this, however, A. spinulosa carries a substantive realized genetic load that may potentially instigate future fitness decline. Our findings illuminate the complex evolutionary interplay between inbreeding and mutation load in homosporous ferns, yielding insights with important implications for the conservation and management of these species.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142454414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ze Wu, Xue Gong, Yinyi Zhang, Ting Li, Jun Xiang, Qianqian Fang, Junpeng Yu, Liping Ding, Jiahui Liang, Nianjun Teng
Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins comprise one of the largest families of transcription factors in plants, which play roles in plant development, secondary metabolism, and the response to biotic/abiotic stresses. However, the roles of bHLH proteins in thermotolerance are largely unknown. Herein, we identified a heat-inducible member of the bHLH family in lily (Lilium longiflorum), named LlbHLH87, which plays a role in thermotolerance. LlbHLH87 was rapidly induced by transient heat stress, and its encoded protein was localized to the nucleus, exhibiting transactivation activity in both yeast and plant cells. Overexpression of LlbHLH87 in Arabidopsis enhanced basal thermotolerance, while silencing of LlbHLH87 in lily reduced basal thermotolerance. Further analysis showed that LlbHLH87 bound to the promoters of HEAT STRESS TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR A2 (LlHSFA2) and ETHYLENE-INSENSITIVE 3 (LlEIN3) to directly activate their expression. In addition, LlbHLH87 interacted with itself and with SPATULA (LlSPT) protein. LlSPT was activated by extended heat stress and its protein competed for the homologous interaction of LlbHLH87, which reduced the transactivation ability of LlbHLH87 for target genes. Compared with that observed under LlbHLH87 overexpression alone, co-overexpression of LlbHLH87 and LlSPT reduced the basal thermotolerance of lily to sudden heat shock, but improved its thermosensitivity to prolonged heat stress treatment. Overall, our data demonstrated that LlbHLH87 regulates thermotolerance via activation of LlEIN3 and LlHSFA2, along with an antagonistic interaction with LlSPT.
{"title":"LlbHLH87 interacts with LlSPT to modulate thermotolerance via activation of LlHSFA2 and LlEIN3 in lily.","authors":"Ze Wu, Xue Gong, Yinyi Zhang, Ting Li, Jun Xiang, Qianqian Fang, Junpeng Yu, Liping Ding, Jiahui Liang, Nianjun Teng","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.17060","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins comprise one of the largest families of transcription factors in plants, which play roles in plant development, secondary metabolism, and the response to biotic/abiotic stresses. However, the roles of bHLH proteins in thermotolerance are largely unknown. Herein, we identified a heat-inducible member of the bHLH family in lily (Lilium longiflorum), named LlbHLH87, which plays a role in thermotolerance. LlbHLH87 was rapidly induced by transient heat stress, and its encoded protein was localized to the nucleus, exhibiting transactivation activity in both yeast and plant cells. Overexpression of LlbHLH87 in Arabidopsis enhanced basal thermotolerance, while silencing of LlbHLH87 in lily reduced basal thermotolerance. Further analysis showed that LlbHLH87 bound to the promoters of HEAT STRESS TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR A2 (LlHSFA2) and ETHYLENE-INSENSITIVE 3 (LlEIN3) to directly activate their expression. In addition, LlbHLH87 interacted with itself and with SPATULA (LlSPT) protein. LlSPT was activated by extended heat stress and its protein competed for the homologous interaction of LlbHLH87, which reduced the transactivation ability of LlbHLH87 for target genes. Compared with that observed under LlbHLH87 overexpression alone, co-overexpression of LlbHLH87 and LlSPT reduced the basal thermotolerance of lily to sudden heat shock, but improved its thermosensitivity to prolonged heat stress treatment. Overall, our data demonstrated that LlbHLH87 regulates thermotolerance via activation of LlEIN3 and LlHSFA2, along with an antagonistic interaction with LlSPT.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2024-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142386726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ladislav Hodač, Kevin Karbstein, Lara Kösters, Michael Rzanny, Hans Christian Wittich, David Boho, David Šubrt, Patrick Mäder, Jana Wäldchen
Plant leaves play a pivotal role in automated species identification using deep learning (DL). However, achieving reproducible capture of leaf variation remains challenging due to the inherent "black box" problem of DL models. To evaluate the effectiveness of DL in capturing leaf shape, we used geometric morphometrics (GM), an emerging component of eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) toolkits. We photographed Ranunculus auricomus leaves directly in situ and after herbarization. From these corresponding leaf images, we automatically extracted DL features using a neural network and digitized leaf shapes using GM. The association between the extracted DL features and GM shapes was then evaluated using dimension reduction and covariation models. DL features facilitated the clustering of leaf images by source populations in both in situ and herbarized leaf image datasets, and certain DL features were significantly associated with biological leaf shape variation as inferred by GM. DL features also enabled leaf classification into morpho-phylogenomic groups within the intricate R. auricomus species complex. We demonstrated that simple in situ leaf imaging and DL reproducibly captured leaf shape variation at the population level, while combining this approach with GM provided key insights into the shape information extracted from images by computer vision, a necessary prerequisite for reliable automated plant phenotyping.
{"title":"Deep learning to capture leaf shape in plant images: Validation by geometric morphometrics.","authors":"Ladislav Hodač, Kevin Karbstein, Lara Kösters, Michael Rzanny, Hans Christian Wittich, David Boho, David Šubrt, Patrick Mäder, Jana Wäldchen","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.17053","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plant leaves play a pivotal role in automated species identification using deep learning (DL). However, achieving reproducible capture of leaf variation remains challenging due to the inherent \"black box\" problem of DL models. To evaluate the effectiveness of DL in capturing leaf shape, we used geometric morphometrics (GM), an emerging component of eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) toolkits. We photographed Ranunculus auricomus leaves directly in situ and after herbarization. From these corresponding leaf images, we automatically extracted DL features using a neural network and digitized leaf shapes using GM. The association between the extracted DL features and GM shapes was then evaluated using dimension reduction and covariation models. DL features facilitated the clustering of leaf images by source populations in both in situ and herbarized leaf image datasets, and certain DL features were significantly associated with biological leaf shape variation as inferred by GM. DL features also enabled leaf classification into morpho-phylogenomic groups within the intricate R. auricomus species complex. We demonstrated that simple in situ leaf imaging and DL reproducibly captured leaf shape variation at the population level, while combining this approach with GM provided key insights into the shape information extracted from images by computer vision, a necessary prerequisite for reliable automated plant phenotyping.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2024-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142386823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soybean is an important plant source of protein worldwide. Increasing demands for soybean can be met by improving the quality of its seed protein. In this study, GmCG-1, which encodes the β-conglycinin α' subunit, was identified via combined genome-wide association study and transcriptome analysis. We subsequently knocked down GmCG-1 and its paralogues GmCG-2 and GmCG-3 with CRISPR-Cas9 technology and generated two stable multigene knockdown mutants. As a result, the β-conglycinin content decreased, whereas the 11S/7S ratio, total protein content and sulfur-containing amino acid content significantly increased. Surprisingly, the globulin mutant exhibited salt tolerance in both the germination and seedling stages. Little is known about the relationship between seed protein composition and the salt stress response in soybean. Metabonomics and RNA-seq analysis indicated that compared with the WT, the mutant was formed through a pathway that was more similar to that of active salicylic acid biosynthesis; however, the synthesis of cytokinin exhibited greater defects, which could lead to increased expression of plant dehydrin-related salt tolerance proteins and cell membrane ion transporters. Population evolution analysis suggested that GmCG-1, GmCG-2, and GmCG-3 were selected during soybean domestication. The soybean accessions harboring GmCG-1Hap1 presented relatively high 11S/7S ratios and relatively high salt tolerance. In conclusion, knockdown of the β-conglycinin α and α' subunits can improve the nutritional quality of soybean seeds and increase the salt tolerance of soybean plants, providing a strategy for designing soybean varieties with high nutritional value and high salt tolerance.
{"title":"Knockdown of β-conglycinin α' and α subunits alters seed protein composition and improves salt tolerance in soybean.","authors":"Rufei Yang, Yujie Ma, Zhongyi Yang, Yixiang Pu, Mengyu Liu, Jingyi Du, Zhiri Xu, Zefei Xu, Shanshan Zhang, Hengyou Zhang, Wei Zhang, Deyue Yu, Guizhen Kan","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.17062","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Soybean is an important plant source of protein worldwide. Increasing demands for soybean can be met by improving the quality of its seed protein. In this study, GmCG-1, which encodes the β-conglycinin α' subunit, was identified via combined genome-wide association study and transcriptome analysis. We subsequently knocked down GmCG-1 and its paralogues GmCG-2 and GmCG-3 with CRISPR-Cas9 technology and generated two stable multigene knockdown mutants. As a result, the β-conglycinin content decreased, whereas the 11S/7S ratio, total protein content and sulfur-containing amino acid content significantly increased. Surprisingly, the globulin mutant exhibited salt tolerance in both the germination and seedling stages. Little is known about the relationship between seed protein composition and the salt stress response in soybean. Metabonomics and RNA-seq analysis indicated that compared with the WT, the mutant was formed through a pathway that was more similar to that of active salicylic acid biosynthesis; however, the synthesis of cytokinin exhibited greater defects, which could lead to increased expression of plant dehydrin-related salt tolerance proteins and cell membrane ion transporters. Population evolution analysis suggested that GmCG-1, GmCG-2, and GmCG-3 were selected during soybean domestication. The soybean accessions harboring GmCG-1<sup>Hap1</sup> presented relatively high 11S/7S ratios and relatively high salt tolerance. In conclusion, knockdown of the β-conglycinin α and α' subunits can improve the nutritional quality of soybean seeds and increase the salt tolerance of soybean plants, providing a strategy for designing soybean varieties with high nutritional value and high salt tolerance.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2024-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142386725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}