Creating saponin-free yellow pea seeds by -enabled mutagenesis on β-amyrin synthase.

Dry pea () seeds are valuable sources of plant protein, dietary fiber, and starch, but their uses in food products are restricted to some extent due to several off-flavor compounds. Saponins are glycosylated triterpenoids and are a major source of bitter, astringent, and metallic off-flavors in pea products. () is the entry point enzyme for saponin biosynthesis in pea and therefore is an ideal target for knock-out using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to produce saponin deficient pea varieties.

A cucumber protein, Phloem Phosphate Stress-Repressed 1, rapidly degrades in response to a phosphate stress condition.

Under depleted external phosphate (Pi), many plant species adapt to this stress by initiating downstream signaling cascades. In plants, the vascular system delivers nutrients and signaling agents to control physiological and developmental processes. Currently, limited information is available regarding the direct role of phloem-borne long-distance signals in plant growth and development under Pi stress conditions.

Phloem-Mobile Negatively Regulates Expression of in Arabidopsis Roots.

Phosphorus (P) is an essential plant macronutrient; however, its availability is often limited in soils. Plants have evolved complex mechanisms for efficient phosphate (Pi) absorption, which are responsive to changes in external and internal Pi concentration, and orchestrated through local and systemic responses. To explore these systemic Pi responses, here we identified as a phloem-mobile mRNA, an Arabidopsis homolog of , that is responsive to the Pi-starvation stress.

Plasmodesmal endoplasmic reticulum proteins regulate intercellular trafficking of cucumber mosaic virus in Arabidopsis.

Plasmodesmata (PD) are plasma membrane-lined cytoplasmic nanochannels that mediate cell-to-cell communication across the cell wall. A range of proteins are embedded in the PD plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and function in regulating PD-mediated symplasmic trafficking. However, knowledge of the nature and function of the ER-embedded proteins in the intercellular movement of non-cell-autonomous proteins is limited.

Getting to the roots of N, P, and K uptake.

The soil contributes to the main pool of essential mineral nutrients for plants. These mineral nutrients are critical elements for the building blocks of plant biomolecules, play fundamental roles in cell processes, and act in various enzymatic reactions. The roots are the main entry point for mineral nutrients used within the plant to grow, develop, and produce seeds.

The Mobile Small RNAs: Important Messengers for Long-Distance Communication in Plants.

Various species of small RNAs (sRNAs), notably microRNAs and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), have been characterized as the major effectors of RNA interference in plants. Growing evidence supports a model in which sRNAs move, intercellularly, systemically, and between cross-species. These non-coding sRNAs can traffic cell-to-cell through plasmodesmata (PD), in a symplasmic manner, as well as from source to sink tissues, the phloem, to trigger gene silencing in their target cells.

Systemic Signaling: A Role in Propelling Crop Yield.

Food security has become a topic of great concern in many countries. Global food security depends heavily on agriculture that has access to proper resources and best practices to generate higher crop yields. Crops, as with other plants, have a variety of strategies to adapt their growth to external environments and internal needs.

A Plant SMALL RNA-BINDING PROTEIN 1 Family Mediates Cell-to-Cell Trafficking of RNAi Signals.

In plants, RNA interference (RNAi) plays a pivotal role in growth and development, and responses to environmental inputs, including pathogen attack. The intercellular and systemic trafficking of small interfering RNA (siRNA)/microRNA (miRNA) is a central component in this regulatory pathway. Currently, little is known with regards to the molecular agents involved in the movement of these si/miRNAs.

Plant lncRNAs are enriched in and move systemically through the phloem in response to phosphate deficiency.

In response to phosphate (Pi) deficiency, it has been shown that micro-RNAs (miRNAs) and mRNAs are transported through the phloem for delivery to sink tissues. Growing evidence also indicates that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are critical regulators of Pi homeostasis in plants. However, whether lncRNAs are present in and move through the phloem, in response to Pi deficiency, remains to be established.

Insights into plant phosphate sensing and signaling.

Phosphorus (P) is a macronutrient essential for plant growth, therefore, soil P level is critical to crop yield potential in agriculture. As Pi levels limit crop yield under many soil conditions, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms by which plants adapt to low-phosphate (Pi) soil conditions and interact with their soil microbiome to improve crop P use efficiency, in order to ensure global food security. Recent advances have been made towards achieving this goal through advancing our understanding of the plant's response to limiting Pi conditions to maintain P homeostasis.

Phloem-Mobile RNAs as Systemic Signaling Agents.

The plant vascular system plays a central role in coordinating physiological and developmental events through delivery of both essential nutrients and long-distance signaling agents. The enucleate phloem sieve tube system of the angiosperms contains a broad spectrum of RNA species. Grafting and transcriptomics studies have indicated that several thousand mRNAs move long distances from source organs to meristematic sink tissues.

Vascular-mediated signalling involved in early phosphate stress response in plants.

Depletion of finite global rock phosphate (Pi) reserves will impose major limitations on future agricultural productivity and food security. Hence, modern breeding programmes seek to develop Pi-efficient crops with sustainable yields under reduced Pi fertilizer inputs. In this regard, although the long-term responses of plants to Pi stress are well documented, the early signalling events have yet to be elucidated.

Proteomics and metabolomics analyses reveal the cucurbit sieve tube system as a complex metabolic space.

The plant vascular system, and specifically the phloem, plays a pivotal role in allocation of fixed carbon to developing sink organs. Although the processes involved in loading and unloading of sugars and amino acids are well characterized, little information is available regarding the nature of other metabolites in the sieve tube system (STS) at specific sites along the pathway. Here, we elucidate spatial features of metabolite composition mapped with phloem enzymes along the cucurbit STS.

A tomato phloem-mobile protein regulates the shoot-to-root ratio by mediating the auxin response in distant organs.

The plant vascular system serves as a conduit for delivery of both nutrients and signaling molecules to various distantly located organs. The anucleate sieve tube system of the angiosperm phloem delivers sugars and amino acids to developing organs, and has recently been shown to contain a unique population of RNA and proteins. Grafting studies have established that a number of these macromolecules are capable of moving long distances between tissues, thus providing support for operation of a phloem-mediated inter-organ communication network.

Systemic delivery of siRNA in pumpkin by a plant PHLOEM SMALL RNA-BINDING PROTEIN 1-ribonucleoprotein complex.

In plants, the vascular system, specifically the phloem, functions in delivery of small RNA (sRNA) to exert epigenetic control over developmental and defense-related processes. Although the importance of systemic sRNA delivery has been established, information is currently lacking concerning the nature of the protein machinery involved in this process. Here, we show that a PHLOEM SMALL-RNA BINDING PROTEIN 1 (PSRP1) serves as the basis for formation of an sRNA ribonucleoprotein complex (sRNPC) that delivers sRNA (primarily 24 nt) to sink organs.

The angiosperm phloem sieve tube system: a role in mediating traits important to modern agriculture.

The plant vascular system serves a vital function by distributing water, nutrients and hormones essential for growth and development to the various organs of the plant. In this review, attention is focused on the role played by the phloem as the conduit for delivery of both photosynthate and information macromolecules, especially from the context of its mediation in traits that are important to modern agriculture. Resource allocation of sugars and amino acids, by the phloem, to specific sink tissues is of importance to crop yield and global food security.

Phloem long-distance delivery of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) to the apex.

Cucurbita moschata FLOWERING LOCUS T-LIKE 2 (hereafter FTL2) and Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), components of the plant florigenic signaling system, move long-distance through the phloem from source leaves to the vegetative apex where they mediate floral induction. The mechanisms involved in long-distance trafficking of FT/FTL2 remain to be elucidated. In this study, we identified the critical motifs on both FT and FTL2 required for cell-to-cell trafficking through mutant analyses using a zucchini yellow mosaic virus expression vector.

The draft genome of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and resequencing of 20 diverse accessions.

Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus, is an important cucurbit crop grown throughout the world. Here we report a high-quality draft genome sequence of the east Asia watermelon cultivar 97103 (2n = 2× = 22) containing 23,440 predicted protein-coding genes. Comparative genomics analysis provided an evolutionary scenario for the origin of the 11 watermelon chromosomes derived from a 7-chromosome paleohexaploid eudicot ancestor.

Overexpression of Arabidopsis plasmodesmata germin-like proteins disrupts root growth and development.

In plants, a population of non-cell-autonomous proteins (NCAPs), including numerous transcription factors, move cell to cell through plasmodesmata (PD). In many cases, the intercellular trafficking of these NCAPs is regulated by their interaction with specific PD components. To gain further insight into the functions of this NCAP pathway, coimmunoprecipitation experiments were performed on a tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plasmodesmal-enriched cell wall protein preparation using as bait the NCAP, pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) PHLOEM PROTEIN16 (Cm-PP16).

Nicotiana tabacum Tsip1-interacting ferredoxin 1 affects biotic and abiotic stress resistance.

Tsip1, a Zn finger protein that was isolated as a direct interactor with tobacco stress-induced 1 (Tsi1), plays an important role in both biotic and abiotic stress signaling. To further understand Tsip1 function, we searched for more Tsip1-interacting proteins by yeast two-hybrid screening using a tobacco cDNA library. Screening identified a new Tsip1-interacting protein, Nicotiana tabacum Tsip1-interacting ferredoxin 1 (NtTfd1), and binding specificity was confirmed both in vitro and in vivo.

CmRBP50 protein phosphorylation is essential for assembly of a stable phloem-mobile high-affinity ribonucleoprotein complex.

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) form ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes that play crucial roles in RNA processing for gene regulation. The angiosperm sieve tube system contains a unique population of transcripts, some of which function as long-distance signaling agents involved in regulating organ development. These phloem-mobile mRNAs are translocated as RNP complexes.

A zinc finger protein Tsip1 controls Cucumber mosaic virus infection by interacting with the replication complex on vacuolar membranes of the tobacco plant.

• In Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) RNA replication, replicase-associated protein CMV 1a and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase protein CMV 2a are essential for formation of an active virus replicase complex on vacuolar membranes. • To identify plant host factors involved in CMV replication, a yeast two-hybrid system was used with CMV 1a protein as bait. One of the candidate genes encoded Tsi1-interacting protein 1 (Tsip1), a zinc (Zn) finger protein.

Vascular expression in Arabidopsis is predicted by the frequency of CT/GA-rich repeats in gene promoters.

Phloem-transported signals play an important role in regulating plant development and in orchestrating responses to environmental stimuli. Among such signals, phloem-mobile RNAs have been shown to play an important role as long-distance signaling agents. At maturity, angiosperm sieve elements are enucleate, and thus transcripts in the phloem translocation stream probably originate from the nucleate companion cells.