Publications by authors named "Baohong Zou"

Chromatin remodeling plays a crucial role in controlling gene transcription by modifying chromatin structure. However, the involvement of chromatin remodeling in plant stress responses, especially cold tolerance, through chromatin accessibility remains largely unexplored. Here, we report that rice (Oryza sativa L.

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Members of the cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (CNGC) proteins are reportedly involved in a variety of biotic and abiotic responses and stomatal movement. However, it is unknown if and how a single member could regulate multiple responses. Here we characterized three closely related CNGC genes in rice, OsCNGC14, OsCNGC15 and OsCNGC16, to determine whether they function in multiple abiotic stresses.

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Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate the relative effectiveness of exercise combined with cognitive training (E&CT) in improving cognitive function compared to exercise alone.

Method: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, SPORTDiscus, and OpenGrey were systematically searched. Additional screenings were performed by reviewing citations of relevant articles.

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Rice is susceptible to chilling stress. Identifying chilling tolerance genes and their mechanisms are key to improve rice performance. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study to identify regulatory genes for chilling tolerance in rice.

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Virus coat protein (CP)-mediated resistance is considered an effective antiviral defense strategy that has been used to develop robust resistance to viral infection. Rice stripe virus (RSV) causes significant losses in rice production in eastern Asia. We previously showed that the overexpression of RSV CP in Arabidopsis plants results in immunity to RSV infection, using the RSV-Arabidopsis pathosystem, and this CP-mediated viral resistance depends on the function of DCLs and is mostly involved in RNA silencing.

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Plant immune responses involve transcriptional reprograming of defense response genes, and chromatin remodeling is important for transcriptional regulation. However, nucleosome dynamics induced by pathogen infection and its association with gene transcription are largely unexplored in plants. Here, we investigated the role of the rice (Oryza sativa) gene CHROMATIN REMODELING 11 (OsCHR11) in nucleosome dynamics and disease resistance.

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The heading date and grain size are two essential traits affecting rice yield. Here, we found that OsMOS1 promotes rice heading and affects its grain size. Knocking out OsMOS1 delayed heading, while the overexpression of OsMOS1 promoted heading in rice under long-day conditions.

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The ()/ () genes are key regulators of cold acclimation and freezing tolerance in the chilling tolerant . Here, we investigated the function of three members of the 10 rice genes, , , and , in the chilling sensitive rice plants. Their loss of function (LOF) mutants were each more chilling susceptible compared to the wild type, and the LOF mutants of all three genes, , were more chilling susceptible than any of the single mutants.

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Chromatin remodeling proteins modulate nucleosome dynamic to affect global gene expression and other cellular processes. Their roles in the regulation of plant growth and development have been widely reported, but their roles in plant stress resistance, especially disease resistance, have not been extensively investigated. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis Immunity Switch (ISWI) chromatin-remodeling factors CHR11 and CHR17, are negative regulators of plant disease resistance.

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How plants maintain growth under nonfreezing low temperatures (chilling) is not well understood. Here we use hypocotyl elongation under dark to investigate the molecular mechanisms for chilling growth in Arabidopsis thaliana. The function of HsfA1d (Heat shock transcription factor A1d) in chilling growth is investigated by physiological and molecular characterization of its mutants.

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Plants are vulnerable to heat stress, especially during reproductive development. The heat shock response (HSR) in the cytosol and nucleus, as well as the unfolded protein response (UPR) in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), are two mechanisms that enable plants to survive heat stress. Excessive heat or ER stresses lead to cell death when the UPR cannot repair stress damage, but the means by which cell survival or death is determined remains unclear.

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Chloroplast ribonucleoproteins (cpRNPs) are implicated in splicing, editing, and stability control of chloroplast RNAs as well as in regulating development and stress tolerance. To facilitate a comprehensive understanding of their functions, we carried out a genome-wide identification, curation, and phylogenetic analysis of genes in (rice) and (Arabidopsis). Ten genes were identified in each of Arabidopsis and rice genomes based on the presence of two RRM (RNA-recognition motif) domains and an N-terminal chloroplast targeting signal peptide in the predicted proteins.

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Calcium signaling has been postulated to be critical for both heat and chilling tolerance in plants, but its molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Here, we investigated the function of two closely related cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel (CNGC) proteins, OsCNGC14 and OsCNGC16, in temperature-stress tolerance in rice () by examining their loss-of-function mutants generated by genome editing. Under both heat and chilling stress, both the and mutants displayed reduced survival rates, higher accumulation levels of hydrogen peroxide, and increased cell death.

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Breeding for disease resistance is the most effective strategy to control diseases, particularly with broad-spectrum disease resistance in many crops. However, knowledge on genes and mechanism of broad-spectrum resistance and trade-off between defence and growth in crops is limited. Here, we show that the rice copine genes OsBON1 and OsBON3 are critical suppressors of immunity.

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Low temperature affects seed germination in plants, and low-temperature germination (LTG) is an important agronomic trait. Natural variation of LTG has been reported in rice, but the molecular basis for this variation is largely unknown. Here we report the phenotypic analysis of LTG in 187 rice natural accessions and a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of LTG in this collection.

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ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling factors use the energy of ATP hydrolysis to alter the structure of chromatin and are important regulators of eukaryotic gene expression. One such factor encoded by CHR5 (Chromatin-Remodeling Factor 5) in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) was previously found to be involved in regulation of growth and development. Here we show that CHR5 is required for the up-regulation of the intracellular immune receptor gene SNC1 (SUPPRESSOR OF npr1-1, CONSTITUTIVE1) and consequently the autoimmunity induced by SNC1 up-regulation.

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Powdery mildew, caused by the biotrophic fungal pathogen Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), is a major threat to the production of wheat (Triticum aestivum).

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Calcium signaling is essential for environmental responses including immune responses. Here, we provide evidence that the evolutionarily conserved protein BONZAI1 (BON1) functions together with autoinhibited calcium ATPase10 (ACA10) and ACA8 to regulate calcium signals in Arabidopsis. BON1 is a plasma membrane localized protein that negatively regulates the expression of immune receptor genes and positively regulates stomatal closure.

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Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are molecular chaperones important for stress tolerance. In this study, heat induction of a rice sHSP gene OsHSP16.9C is analyzed to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying gene expression regulation in heat shock responses in rice.

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Copines are evolutionarily conserved calcium-dependent membrane-binding proteins with potentially critical biological functions. In plants, the function of these proteins has not been analyzed except for in Arabidopsis thaliana where they play critical roles in development and disease resistance. To facilitate functional studies of copine proteins in crop plants, genome-wide identification, curation, and phylogeny analysis of copines in 16 selected plant species were conducted.

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Low fall efficacy can lead to activity restriction and loss of independence, which may cause severe adverse consequences. The purpose of this study was to explore fall efficacy among elders with knee osteoarthritis and influential factors in three communities in Beijing, China. A correlational descriptive study design was used with a sample of 117 participants from July 2014 to November 2014.

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Disease resistance (R) genes are key components in plant immunity. Here, we show that Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) E3 ubiquitin ligase genes HISTONE MONOUBIQUITINATION1 (HUB1) and HUB2 regulate the expression of R genes SUPPRESSOR OF npr1-1, CONSTITUTIVE1 (SNC1) and RESISTANCE TO PERONOSPORA PARASITICA4. An increase of SNC1 expression induces constitutive immune responses in the bonzai1 (bon1) mutant, and the loss of HUB1 or HUB2 function reduces SNC1 up-regulation and suppresses the bon1 autoimmune phenotypes.

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Plant MYB transcription factors are implicated in resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Here, we demonstrate that an R2-R3 MYB transcription factor, AtMYB44, plays a role in the plant defence response to the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (PstDC3000).

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Activation of plant immune responses is often associated with an inhibition of plant growth. The molecular mechanisms underlying this fitness cost are unknown. Here, we utilize the autoimmune response mutant suppressor of npr1, constitutive1 (snc1) resulting from an activated form of the Disease Resistance (R) gene to dissect the genetic component mediating growth inhibition in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana).

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