Interaction Dynamics of Plant-Specific Insert Domains from : A Study of Homo- and Heterodimer Formation.

Plant aspartic proteinases (APs) from feature unique plant-specific insert (PSI) domains, which serve as essential vacuolar sorting determinants, mediating the transport of proteins to the vacuole. Although their role in vacuolar trafficking is well established, the exact molecular mechanisms that regulate PSI interactions and functions remain largely unknown. This study explores the ability of PSI A and PSI B to form homo- and heterodimers using a combination of pull-down assays, the mating-based split-ubiquitin system (mbSUS), and FRET-FLIM analyses.

Highly Efficient Verbascoside Production from Olive ( L. var. Cellina di Nardò) Cell Cultures.

Olive ( L.) is one of the oldest and most important fruit tree species cultivated in the Mediterranean region. Various plant tissues, drupes, and olive oil contain several phenolics (including verbascoside, although it is present in the plant at a low level) that are well-known for their highly beneficial effects on human health.

Correction: Anglana et al. Selection Strategy Based on Stress Produces Stable Clonal Lines for Phytoremediation Applications. 2023, , 2499.

In the original publication [...

Methanolic Extracts of Specifically Affect the Cytoskeleton and Exert an Antiproliferative Effect on Human Colorectal Cancer Cell Lines, According to Their Proliferation Rate.

Numerous studies have reported the pharmacological effects exhibited by , () including antioxidant, cytotoxic, antiproliferative, and anticancer properties. In our research, our primary objective was to validate a prescreening methodology aimed at identifying the fraction that demonstrates the most potent antiproliferative and anticancer effects. Specifically, we investigated the impact of various extract fractions on the cytoskeleton using a screening method involving transgenic plants.

Selection Strategy Based on Stress Produces Stable Clonal Lines for Phytoremediation Applications.

uptake and translocation of the metalloid As is not fully understood and some data are contradictory, but its adaptability to this pollutant is known and is dependent on its genetic variability. is not a hyperaccumulator plant, but it can grow in high-drought conditions while still producing large biomass, even tolerating significant concentrations of As and As. In spite of these remarkable characteristics, adaptive modification of performances is not predictable in wild populations.

Evaluation of Aquaporin Gene as Marker for Arsenic-Tolerant Plant Selection.

(L.) Greuter is gaining attention for its high genetic plasticity and ability to adapt to adverse environmental conditions, including heavy metal and metalloid pollution. Uptake and translocation of cadmium, copper, iron, nickel, lead, and zinc to the shoots have been characterized, but its performance with arsenic is less known and sometimes contradictory.

Mechanisms of membrane traffic in plant cells.

The organelles of the secretory pathway are characterized by specific organization and function but they communicate in different ways with intense functional crosstalk. The best known membrane-bound transport carriers are known as protein-coated vesicles. Other traffic mechanisms, despite the intense investigations, still show incongruences.

Physico-Chemical Properties of Inorganic NPs Influence the Absorption Rate of Aquatic Mosses Reducing Cytotoxicity on Intestinal Epithelial Barrier Model.

Noble metals nanoparticles (NPs) and metal oxide NPs are widely used in different fields of application and commercial products, exposing living organisms to their potential adverse effects. Recent evidences suggest their presence in the aquifers water and consequently in drinking water. In this work, we have carefully synthesized four types of NPs, namely, silver and gold NPs (Ag NPs and Au NPs) and silica and titanium dioxide NPs (SiO NPs and TiO NPs) having a similar size and negatively charged surfaces.

Actin and Microtubules Differently Contribute to Vacuolar Targeting Specificity during the Export from the ER.

Plants rely on both actin and microtubule cytoskeletons to fine-tune sorting and spatial targeting of membranes during cell growth and stress adaptation. Considerable advances have been made in recent years in the comprehension of the relationship between the trans-Golgi network/early endosome (TGN/EE) and cytoskeletons, but studies have mainly focused on the transport to and from the plasma membrane. We address here the relationship of the cytoskeleton with different endoplasmic reticulum (ER) export mechanisms toward vacuoles.

Investigation of Drug Efficacy by Screening Bioactive Chemical Effects on Plant Cell Subcellular Architecture.

New biologically active compounds are regularly discovered through screening procedures using microorganisms. This very cheap procedure is followed by drug discovery that is usually seen as a highly focused approach, testing new compounds on animals or cell lines. In vivo assays of candidate drugs in mammals are expensive and sometimes not affordable at the preliminary stages of drug development.

Genome-Wide Identification of WRKY Genes in : Characterization of a Putative Ortholog of .

L. is well-known as the plant source of artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone with effective antimalarial activity. Here, a putative ortholog of the WRKY40 transcription factor (TF) was isolated via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends in and named .

TCMP-2 affects tomato flowering and interacts with BBX16, a homolog of the arabidopsis B-box MiP1b.

Flowering and fruiting are processes subject to complex control by environmental and endogenous signals. Endogenous signals comprise, besides classical phytohormones, also signaling peptides and miniproteins. Tomato cystine-knot miniproteins (TCMPs), which belong to a Solanaceous-specific group of Cys-rich protein family, have been recently involved in fruit development.

Salycilic Acid Induces Exudation of Crocin and Phenolics in Saffron Suspension-Cultured Cells.

The production of crocin, an uncommon and valuable apocarotenoid with strong biological activity, was obtained in a cell suspension culture of saffron ( L.) established from style-derived calli to obtain an in-vitro system for metabolite production. Salycilic acid (SA) was used at different concentrations to elicit metabolite production, and its effect was analyzed after a 4 days of treatment.

Aquatic Mosses as Adaptable Bio-Filters for Heavy Metal Removal from Contaminated Water.

Heavy metals (HMs) are released into the environment by many human activities and persist in water even after remediation. The efficient filtration of solubilized HMs is extremely difficult. Phytoremediation appears a convenient tool to remove HMs from polluted water, but it is limited by the choice of plants able to adapt to filtration of polluted water in terms of space and physiological needs.

CesA6 and PGIP2 Endocytosis Involves Different Subpopulations of TGN-Related Endosomes.

Endocytosis is an essential process for the internalization of plasma membrane proteins, lipids and extracellular molecules into the cells. The mechanisms underlying endocytosis in plant cells involve several endosomal organelles whose origins and specific role needs still to be clarified. In this study we compare the internalization events of a GFP-tagged polygalacturonase-inhibiting protein of (PGIP2-GFP) to that of a GFP-tagged subunit of cellulose synthase complex of (secGFP-CesA6).

Endomembrane Reorganization Induced by Heavy Metals.

Plant cells maintain plasmatic concentrations of essential heavy metal ions, such as iron, zinc, and copper, within the optimal functional range. To do so, several molecular mechanisms have to be committed to maintain concentrations of non-essential heavy metals and metalloids, such as cadmium, mercury and arsenic below their toxicity threshold levels. Compartmentalization is central to heavy metals homeostasis and secretory compartments, finely interconnected by traffic mechanisms, are determinant.

Variation in Membrane Trafficking Linked to SNARE AtSYP51 Interaction With Aquaporin NIP1;1.

SYP51 and 52 are the two members of the SYP5 Qc-SNARE gene family in . These two proteins, besides their high level of sequence identity (85%), have shown to have differential functional specificity and possess a different interactome. Here we describe a unique and specific interaction of SYP51 with an ER aquaporin, AtNIP1;1 (also known as NLM1) indicated to be able to transport arsenite [As(III)] and previously localized on PM.

AQUA1 is a mercury sensitive poplar aquaporin regulated at transcriptional and post-translational levels by Zn stress.

Aquaporins are water channel proteins that regulate plant development, growth, and response to environmental stresses. Populus trichocarpa is one of the plants with the highest number of aquaporins in its genome, but only few of them have been characterized at the whole plant functional level. Here we analyzed a putative aquaporin gene, aqua1, a gene that encodes for a protein of 257 amino acid with the typical NPA (Asp-Pro-Ala) signature motif of the aquaporin gene family.

Trafficking routes to the plant vacuole: connecting alternative and classical pathways.

Due to the numerous roles plant vacuoles play in cell homeostasis, detoxification, and protein storage, the trafficking pathways to this organelle have been extensively studied. Recent evidence, however, suggests that our vision of transport to the vacuole is not as simple as previously imagined. Alternative routes have been identified and are being characterized.

A Tonoplast P-ATPase Mediates Fusion of Two Types of Vacuoles in Petal Cells.

It is known that plant cells can contain multiple distinct vacuoles; however, the abundance of multivacuolar cells and the mechanisms underlying vacuolar differentiation and communication among different types of vacuoles remain unknown. PH1 and PH5 are tonoplast P-ATPases that form a heteromeric pump that hyper-acidifies the central vacuole (CV) of epidermal cells in petunia petals. Here, we show that the sorting of this pump and other vacuolar proteins to the CV involves transit through small vacuoles: vacuolinos.

Glutathione S-transferase related detoxification processes are correlated with receptor-mediated vacuolar sorting mechanisms.

Triticum durum Glutathione S-transferase Z1 is specifically responsive to glyphosate. Its expression influences the receptor-mediated vacuolar sorting mechanisms involved in tolerance mechanisms. A zeta subfamily glutathione S-transferase gene from Triticum durum (cv Cappelli) (TdGSTZ1) was characterized as part of a complex detoxification mechanism.

Unconventional Transport Routes of Soluble and Membrane Proteins and Their Role in Developmental Biology.

Many proteins and cargoes in eukaryotic cells are secreted through the conventional secretory pathway that brings proteins and membranes from the endoplasmic reticulum to the plasma membrane, passing through various cell compartments, and then the extracellular space. The recent identification of an increasing number of leaderless secreted proteins bypassing the Golgi apparatus unveiled the existence of alternative protein secretion pathways. Moreover, other unconventional routes for secretion of soluble or transmembrane proteins with initial endoplasmic reticulum localization were identified.

Cisplatin, Oxaliplatin, and Kiteplatin Subcellular Effects Compared in a Plant Model.

The immediate visual comparison of platinum chemotherapeutics' effects in eukaryotic cells using accessible plant models of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana is reported. The leading anticancer drug cisplatin, a third generation drug used for colon cancer, oxaliplatin and kiteplatin, promising Pt-based anticancer drugs effective against resistant lines, were administered to transgenic A. thaliana plants monitoring their effects on cells from different tissues.

Functional components of the bacterial CzcCBA efflux system reduce cadmium uptake and accumulation in transgenic tobacco plants.

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic trace element released into the environment by industrial and agricultural practices, threatening the health of plants and contaminating the food/feed chain. Biotechnology can be used to develop plant varieties with a higher capacity for Cd accumulation (for use in phytoremediation programs) or a lower capacity for Cd accumulation (to reduce Cd levels in food and feed). Here we generated transgenic tobacco plants expressing components of the Pseudomonas putida CzcCBA efflux system.