Carbon and nitrogen signaling regulate FLOWERING LOCUS C and impact flowering time in Arabidopsis.

The timing of flowering in plants is modulated by both carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) signaling pathways. In a previous study, we established a pivotal role of the sucrose-signaling trehalose 6-phosphate pathway in regulating flowering under N-limited short-day conditions. In this work, we show that both wild-type Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants grown under N-limited conditions and knock-down plants of TREHALOSE PHOSPHATE SYNTHASE 1 induce FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) expression, a well-known floral repressor associated with vernalization.

Shoot and root single cell sequencing reveals tissue- and daytime-specific transcriptome profiles.

Although several large-scale single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) studies addressing the root of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) have been published, there is still need for a de novo reference map for both root and especially above-ground cell types. As the plants' transcriptome substantially changes throughout the day, shaped by the circadian clock, we performed scRNAseq on both Arabidopsis root and above-ground tissues at defined times of the day. For the root scRNAseq analysis, we used tissue-specific reporter lines grown on plates and harvested at the end of the day (ED).

Primary carbohydrate metabolism genes participate in heat-stress memory at the shoot apical meristem of Arabidopsis thaliana.

In plants, the shoot apical meristem (SAM) is essential for the growth of aboveground organs. However, little is known about its molecular responses to abiotic stresses. Here, we show that the SAM of Arabidopsis thaliana displays an autonomous heat-stress (HS) memory of a previous non-lethal HS, allowing the SAM to regain growth after exposure to an otherwise lethal HS several days later.

Regulation of alternative splicing in response to temperature variation in plants.

Plants have evolved numerous molecular strategies to cope with perturbations in environmental temperature, and to adjust growth and physiology to limit the negative effects of extreme temperature. One of the strategies involves alternative splicing of primary transcripts to encode alternative protein products or transcript variants destined for degradation by nonsense-mediated decay. Here, we review how changes in environmental temperature-cold, heat, and moderate alterations in temperature-affect alternative splicing in plants, including crops.

A-Type Carrier Proteins Are Involved in [4Fe-4S] Cluster Insertion into the Radical -Adenosylmethionine Protein MoaA for the Synthesis of Active Molybdoenzymes.

Iron sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are important biological cofactors present in proteins with crucial biological functions, from photosynthesis to DNA repair, gene expression, and bioenergetic processes. For the insertion of Fe-S clusters into proteins, A-type carrier proteins have been identified. So far, three of them have been characterized in detail in Escherichia coli, namely, IscA, SufA, and ErpA, which were shown to partially replace each other in their roles in [4Fe-4S] cluster insertion into specific target proteins.

Priming with a Seaweed Extract Strongly Improves Drought Tolerance in Arabidopsis.

Drought represents a major threat to plants in natural ecosystems and agricultural settings. The biostimulant Super Fifty (SF), produced from the brown alga , enables ecologically friendly stress mitigation. We investigated the physiological and whole-genome transcriptome responses of to drought stress after a treatment with SF.

Developmental stage-specific metabolite signatures in Arabidopsis thaliana under optimal and mild nitrogen limitation.

Metabolites influence flowering time, and thus are among the major determinants of yield. Despite the reported role of trehalose 6-phosphate and nitrate signaling on the transition from the vegetative to the reproductive phase, little is known about other metabolites contributing and responding to developmental phase changes. To increase our understanding which metabolic traits change throughout development in Arabidopsis thaliana and to identify metabolic markers for the vegetative and reproductive phases, especially among individual amino acids (AA), we profiled metabolites of plants grown in optimal (ON) and limited nitrogen (N) (LN) conditions, the latter providing a mild but consistent limitation of N.

Physiological Profiling of Embryos and Dormant Seeds in Two Accessions Reveals a Metabolic Switch in Carbon Reserve Accumulation.

In flowering plants, sugars act as carbon sources providing energy for developing embryos and seeds. Although most studies focus on carbon metabolism in whole seeds, knowledge about how particular sugars contribute to the developmental transitions during embryogenesis is scarce. To develop a quantitative understanding of how carbon composition changes during embryo development, and to determine how sugar status contributes to final seed or embryo size, we performed metabolic profiling of hand-dissected embryos at late torpedo and mature stages, and dormant seeds, in two accessions with medium [Columbia-0 (Col-0)] and large [Burren-0 (Bur-0)] seed sizes, respectively.

All roads lead to growth: imaging-based and biochemical methods to measure plant growth.

Plant growth is a highly complex biological process that involves innumerable interconnected biochemical and signalling pathways. Many different techniques have been developed to measure growth, unravel the various processes that contribute to plant growth, and understand how a complex interaction between genotype and environment determines the growth phenotype. Despite this complexity, the term 'growth' is often simplified by researchers; depending on the method used for quantification, growth is viewed as an increase in plant or organ size, a change in cell architecture, or an increase in structural biomass.

Nitrate acts at the Arabidopsis thaliana shoot apical meristem to regulate flowering time.

Optimal timing of flowering, a major determinant for crop productivity, is controlled by environmental and endogenous cues. Nutrients are known to modify flowering time; however, our understanding of how nutrients interact with the known pathways, especially at the shoot apical meristem (SAM), is still incomplete. Given the negative side-effects of nitrogen fertilization, it is essential to understand its mode of action for sustainable crop production.

GROWTH-REGULATING FACTOR 9 negatively regulates arabidopsis leaf growth by controlling ORG3 and restricting cell proliferation in leaf primordia.

Leaf growth is a complex process that involves the action of diverse transcription factors (TFs) and their downstream gene regulatory networks. In this study, we focus on the functional characterization of the Arabidopsis thaliana TF GROWTH-REGULATING FACTOR9 (GRF9) and demonstrate that it exerts its negative effect on leaf growth by activating expression of the bZIP TF OBP3-RESPONSIVE GENE 3 (ORG3). While grf9 knockout mutants produce bigger incipient leaf primordia at the shoot apex, rosette leaves and petals than the wild type, the sizes of those organs are reduced in plants overexpressing GRF9 (GRF9ox).

Circadian, Carbon, and Light Control of Expansion Growth and Leaf Movement.

We used Phytotyping to investigate the contribution of clock and light signaling to the diurnal regulation of rosette expansion growth and leaf movement in Arabidopsis (). Wild-type plants and clock mutants with a short () and long () period were analyzed in a T24 cycle and in T-cycles that were closer to the mutants' period. Wild types also were analyzed in various photoperiods and after transfer to free-running light or darkness.