Non-Targeted Metabolomic Analysis of (L.) Heynh: Metabolic Adaptive Responses to Stress Caused by N Starvation.

As sessile organisms, plants develop the ability to respond and survive in changing environments. Such adaptive responses maximize phenotypic and metabolic fitness, allowing plants to adjust their growth and development. In this study, we analyzed the metabolic plasticity of in response to nitrate deprivation by untargeted metabolomic analysis and using wild-type (WT) genotypes and the loss-of-function / double mutant.

The use of ecological analytical tools as an unconventional approach for untargeted metabolomics data analysis: the case of Cecropia obtusifolia and its adaptive responses to nitrate starvation.

Plant metabolomics studies haves revealed new bioactive compounds. However, like other omics disciplines, the generated data are not fully exploited, mainly because the commonly performed analyses focus on elucidating the presence/absence of distinctive metabolites (and/or their precursors) and not on providing a holistic view of metabolomic changes and their participation in organismal adaptation to biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Therefore, spectral libraries generated from Cecropia obtusifolia cell suspension cultures in a previous study were considered as a case study and were reanalyzed herein.

Transcriptional Basis for Haustorium Formation and Host Establishment in Hemiparasitic Mistletoes.

The mistletoe , a keystone species in interaction networks between plants, pollinators, and seed dispersers, infects a wide range of native and non-native tree species of commercial interest. Here, using RNA-seq methodology we assembled the whole circularized quadripartite structure of chloroplast genome and described changes in the gene expression of the nuclear genomes across time of experimentally inoculated seeds. Of the 140,467 assembled and annotated uniGenes, 2,000 were identified as differentially expressed (DEGs) and were classified in six distinct clusters according to their expression profiles.

Antifungal Effect of Copper Nanoparticles against , an Obligate Symbiont of Ambrosia Beetle.

Copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) have shown great antifungal activity against phytopathogenic fungi, making them a promising and affordable alternative to conventional fungicides. In this study, we evaluated the antifungal activity of Cu-NPs against , the causal agent of dieback, and this might be the first study to do so. The Cu-NPs (at different concentrations) inhibited more than 80% of growth and were even more efficient than a commercial fungicide used as a positive control (cupric hydroxide).

Molecular evidence of the avocado defense response to infection: a deep transcriptome analysis using RNA-Seq.

is a novel member of the Ambrosia Clade (AFC) that has been recognized as one of the symbionts of the invasive Kuroshio shot hole borer, an Asian ambrosia beetle. This complex is considered the causal agent of dieback, a disease that has severely threatened natural forests, landscape trees, and avocado orchards in the last 8 years. Despite the interest in this species, the molecular responses of both the host and during the infection process and disease establishment remain unknown.

Design of a diagnostic system based on molecular markers derived from the ascomycetes pan-genome analysis: The case of Fusarium dieback disease.

A key factor to take actions against phytosanitary problems is the accurate and rapid detection of the causal agent. Here, we develop a molecular diagnostics system based on comparative genomics to easily identify fusariosis and specific pathogenic species as the Fusarium kuroshium, the symbiont of the ambrosia beetle Euwallaceae kuroshio Gomez and Hulcr which is responsible for Fusarium dieback disease in San Diego CA, USA. We performed a pan-genome analysis using sixty-three ascomycetes fungi species including phytopathogens and fungi associated with the ambrosia beetles.

Novel findings to the biosynthetic pathway of magnoflorine and taspine through transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of Croton draco (Euphorbiaceae).

Background: Croton draco is an arboreal species and its latex as well as some other parts of the plant, are traditionally used in the treatment of a wide range of ailments and diseases. Alkaloids, such as magnoflorine, prevent early atherosclerosis progression while taspine, an abundant constituent of latex, has been described as a wound-healer and antitumor-agent. Despite the great interest for these and other secondary metabolites, no omics resources existed for the species and the biosynthetic pathways of these alkaloids remain largely unknown.

The avocado genome informs deep angiosperm phylogeny, highlights introgressive hybridization, and reveals pathogen-influenced gene space adaptation.

The avocado, , is a fruit crop of immense importance to Mexican agriculture with an increasing demand worldwide. Avocado lies in the anciently diverged magnoliid clade of angiosperms, which has a controversial phylogenetic position relative to eudicots and monocots. We sequenced the nuclear genomes of the Mexican avocado race, var.

Genomic Signals of Adaptation towards Mutualism and Sociality in Two Ambrosia Beetle Complexes.

Mutualistic symbiosis and eusociality have developed through gradual evolutionary processes at different times in specific lineages. Like some species of termites and ants, ambrosia beetles have independently evolved a mutualistic nutritional symbiosis with fungi, which has been associated with the evolution of complex social behaviors in some members of this group. We sequenced the transcriptomes of two ambrosia complexes ( sp.

Environmental pH modulates transcriptomic responses in the fungus Fusarium sp. associated with KSHB Euwallacea sp. near fornicatus.

Background: The Ambrosia Fusarium Clade phytopathogenic Fusarium fungi species have a symbiotic relationship with ambrosia beetles in the genus Euwallacea (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Related beetle species referred to as Euwallacea sp. near fornicatus have been spread in California, USA and are recognized as the causal agents of Fusarium dieback, a disease that causes mortality of many plant species.

Draft Genome Sequence of the Phytopathogenic Fungus , the Causal Agent of Dieback.

Here, we report the genome of strain HFEW-16-IV-019, an isolate obtained from Kuroshio shot hole borer (a sp.). These beetles were collected in Tijuana, Mexico, from elm trees showing typical symptoms of dieback.

De novo sequencing and analysis of Lophophora williamsii transcriptome, and searching for putative genes involved in mescaline biosynthesis.

Background: Lophophora williamsii (commonly named peyote) is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. Peyote utilizes crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), an alternative form of photosynthesis that exists in succulents such as cacti and other desert plants. Therefore, its transcriptome can be considered an important resource for future research focused on understanding how these plants make more efficient use of water in marginal environments and also for research focused on better understanding of the overall mechanisms leading to production of plant natural products and secondary metabolites.

An improved, low-cost, hydroponic system for growing Arabidopsis and other plant species under aseptic conditions.

Background: Hydroponics is a plant growth system that provides a more precise control of growth media composition. Several hydroponic systems have been reported for Arabidopsis and other model plants. The ease of system set up, cost of the growth system and flexibility to characterize and harvest plant material are features continually improved in new hydroponic system reported.

Architecture and evolution of a minute plant genome.

It has been argued that the evolution of plant genome size is principally unidirectional and increasing owing to the varied action of whole-genome duplications (WGDs) and mobile element proliferation. However, extreme genome size reductions have been reported in the angiosperm family tree. Here we report the sequence of the 82-megabase genome of the carnivorous bladderwort plant Utricularia gibba.

Translational regulation of Arabidopsis XIPOTL1 is modulated by phosphocholine levels via the phylogenetically conserved upstream open reading frame 30.

In Arabidopsis thaliana, XIPOTL1 encodes a phosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase with a central role in phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis via the methylation pathway. To gain further insights into the mechanisms that regulate XIPOTL1 expression, the effect of upstream open reading frame 30 (uORF30) on the translation of the major ORF (mORF) in the presence or absence of endogenous choline (Cho) or phosphocholine (PCho) was analysed in Arabidopsis seedlings. Dose-response assays with Cho or PCho revealed that both metabolites at physiological concentrations are able to induce the translational repression of a mORF located downstream of the intact uORF30, without significantly altering its mRNA levels.

Low phosphate signaling induces changes in cell cycle gene expression by increasing auxin sensitivity in the Arabidopsis root system.

Lateral root development is an important morphogenetic process in plants, which allows the modulation root architecture and substantially determines the plant's efficiency for water and nutrient uptake. Postembryonic root development is under the control of both endogenous developmental programs and environmental stimuli. Nutrient availability plays a major role among environmental signals that modulate root development.

Phosphate availability alters lateral root development in Arabidopsis by modulating auxin sensitivity via a mechanism involving the TIR1 auxin receptor.

The survival of plants, as sessile organisms, depends on a series of postembryonic developmental events that determine the final architecture of plants and allow them to contend with a continuously changing environment. Modulation of cell differentiation and organ formation by environmental signals has not been studied in detail. Here, we report that alterations in the pattern of lateral root (LR) formation and emergence in response to phosphate (Pi) availability is mediated by changes in auxin sensitivity in Arabidopsis thaliana roots.