The Combination of Low-Cost, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) Image Analysis and Machine Learning to Screen for Barley Plant Resistance to Net Blotch.

Challenges of climate change and growth population are exacerbated by noticeable environmental changes, which can increase the range of plant diseases, for instance, net blotch (NB), a foliar disease which significantly decreases barley ( L.) grain yield and quality. A resistant germplasm is usually identified through visual observation and the scoring of disease symptoms; however, this is subjective and time-consuming.

The effect of ectomycorrhizal fungal exposure on nursery-raised Pinus sylvestris seedlings: plant transpiration under short-term drought, root morphology and plant biomass.

Drought is a major environmental stressor that limits seedling growth. Several studies have found that some ectomycorrhizal fungi may increase the drought tolerance of nursery-raised seedlings. However, the precise role that different ectomycorrhizal fungi species play in drought tolerance remains unclear.

Tree architecture: A strigolactone-deficient mutant reveals a connection between branching order and auxin gradient along the tree stem.

Due to their long lifespan, trees and bushes develop higher order of branches in a perennial manner. In contrast to a tall tree, with a clearly defined main stem and branching order, a bush is shorter and has a less apparent main stem and branching pattern. To address the developmental basis of these two forms, we studied several naturally occurring architectural variants in silver birch ().

Image-based time series analysis to establish differential disease progression for two head blight pathogens in oat spikelets with variable resistance.

Oat-based value-added products have increased their value as healthy foodstuff. head blight (FHB) infections and the mycotoxins accumulated to the oat seeds, however, pose a challenge to oat production. The FHB infections are predicted to become more prevalent in the future changing climates and under more limited use of fungicides.

Regulation of PaRBOH1-mediated ROS production in Norway spruce by Ca binding and phosphorylation.

Plant respiratory burst oxidase homologs (RBOHs) are plasma membrane-localized NADPH oxidases that generate superoxide anion radicals, which then dismutate to HO, into the apoplast using cytoplasmic NADPH as an electron donor. is the most highly expressed gene in developing xylem as well as in a lignin-forming cell culture of Norway spruce ( L. Karst.

Functional phenomics for improved climate resilience in Nordic agriculture.

The five Nordic countries span the most northern region for field cultivation in the world. This presents challenges per se, with short growing seasons, long days, and a need for frost tolerance. Climate change has additionally increased risks for micro-droughts and water logging, as well as pathogens and pests expanding northwards.

Image-Based Methods to Score Fungal Pathogen Symptom Progression and Severity in Excised Leaves.

Image-based symptom scoring of plant diseases is a powerful tool for associating disease resistance with plant genotypes. Advancements in technology have enabled new imaging and image processing strategies for statistical analysis of time-course experiments. There are several tools available for analyzing symptoms on leaves and fruits of crop plants, but only a few are available for the model plant (Arabidopsis).

Two chloroplast thioredoxin systems differentially modulate photosynthesis in Arabidopsis depending on light intensity and leaf age.

Various regulatory mechanisms have evolved in plants to optimize photosynthetic activity under fluctuating light. Thioredoxins (TRX) are members of the regulatory network balancing activities of light and carbon fixation reactions in chloroplasts. We have studied the impact of two chloroplast TRX systems, the ferredoxin-dependent TRX reductase (FTR) and the NADPH-dependent TRX reductase C (NTRC) on regulation of photosynthesis by mutants lacking or overexpressing a component of either system.

Histone 2B monoubiquitination complex integrates transcript elongation with RNA processing at circadian clock and flowering regulators.

HISTONE MONOUBIQUITINATION1 (HUB1) and its paralog HUB2 act in a conserved heterotetrameric complex in the chromatin-mediated transcriptional modulation of developmental programs, such as flowering time, dormancy, and the circadian clock. The KHD1 and SPEN3 proteins were identified as interactors of the HUB1 and HUB2 proteins with in vitro RNA-binding activity. Mutants in and had reduced rosette and leaf areas.

A transnational and holistic breeding approach is needed for sustainable wheat production in the Baltic Sea region.

The Baltic Sea is one of the largest brackish water bodies in the world. Eutrophication is a major concern in the Baltic Sea due to the leakage of nutrients to the sea with agriculture being the primary source. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.

Genome sequencing and population genomic analyses provide insights into the adaptive landscape of silver birch.

Silver birch (Betula pendula) is a pioneer boreal tree that can be induced to flower within 1 year. Its rapid life cycle, small (440-Mb) genome, and advanced germplasm resources make birch an attractive model for forest biotechnology. We assembled and chromosomally anchored the nuclear genome of an inbred B.

Functional Analysis of the Arabidopsis TETRASPANIN Gene Family in Plant Growth and Development.

TETRASPANIN (TET) genes encode conserved integral membrane proteins that are known in animals to function in cellular communication during gamete fusion, immunity reaction, and pathogen recognition. In plants, functional information is limited to one of the 17 members of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) TET gene family and to expression data in reproductive stages. Here, the promoter activity of all 17 Arabidopsis TET genes was investigated by pAtTET::NUCLEAR LOCALIZATION SIGNAL-GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN/β-GLUCURONIDASE reporter lines throughout the life cycle, which predicted functional divergence in the paralogous genes per clade.

Is HUB1 a hub for plant fitness?

Recently, we have identified circadian clock genes as targets of Histone Monoubiquitination1 (HUB1) in Arabidopsis from a transcriptome comparison between the hub1-1 mutant and HUB1 overexpression lines. HUB1 affected the amplitudes of the circadian clock gene expression profiles in the hub1-1 mutant that coincided with reduced monoubiquitination of histone H2B at their coding regions. Here we showed that parameters for plant fitness are altered in HUB1 mutant and overexpression lines, suggesting that the histone H2B monoubiquitination status affects plant fitness.

Histone H2B monoubiquitination is required to reach maximal transcript levels of circadian clock genes in Arabidopsis.

Previously, we identified HISTONE MONOUBIQUITINATION1 (HUB1) as an unconventional ubiquitin E3 ligase that is not involved in protein degradation but in the histone H2B modification that is implicated in transcriptional activation in plants. HUB1-mediated regulation of gene expression played a role in periodic and inducible processes such as the cell cycle, dormancy, flowering time and defense responses. Here, we determined the effects of the hub1-1 mutation on expression of a set of diurnally induced circadian clock genes identified from a comparative microarray analysis between the hub1-1 mutant and an HUB1 over-expression line.

The transcript elongation factor FACT affects Arabidopsis vegetative and reproductive development and genetically interacts with HUB1/2.

The facilitates chromatin transcription (FACT) complex, consisting of the SSRP1 and SPT16 proteins, is a histone chaperone that assists the progression of transcribing RNA polymerase on chromatin templates by destabilizing nucleosomes. Here, we examined plants that harbour mutations in the genes encoding the subunits of Arabidopsis FACT. These experiments revealed that (i) SSRP1 is critical for plant viability, and (ii) plants with reduced amounts of SSRP1 and SPT16 display various defects in vegetative and reproductive development.

Ectopic expression of PtaRHE1, encoding a poplar RING-H2 protein with E3 ligase activity, alters plant development and induces defence-related responses.

RING (really interesting new gene)-H2 domain-containing proteins are widely represented in plants and play important roles in the regulation of many developmental processes as well as in plant-environment interactions. In the present report, experiments were performed to unravel the role of the poplar gene PtaRHE1, coding for a RING-H2 protein. In vitro ubiquitination assays indicate a functional E3 ligase activity for PtaRHE1 with the specific E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UbcH5a.

Overexpression of the Arabidopsis anaphase promoting complex subunit CDC27a increases growth rate and organ size.

The Anaphase Promoting Complex (APC) controls CDK activity by targeting the ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis of S-phase and mitosis-promoting cyclins. Here, we report that the ectopic expression of the Arabidopsis CDC27a, an APC subunit, accelerates plant growth and results in plants with increased biomass production. CDC27a overexpression was associated to apical meristem restructuration, protoplasts with higher (3)H-thimidine incorporation and altered cell-cycle marker expression.

Novel plant-specific cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors induced by biotic and abiotic stresses.

The EL2 gene of rice (Oryza sativa), previously classified as early response gene against the potent biotic elicitor N-acetylchitoheptaose and encoding a short polypeptide with unknown function, was identified as a novel cell cycle regulatory gene related to the recently reported SIAMESE (SIM) gene of Arabidopsis thaliana. Iterative two-hybrid screens, in vitro pull-down assays, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer analyses showed that Orysa; EL2 binds the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) CDKA1;1 and D-type cyclins. No interaction was observed with the plant-specific B-type CDKs.

The Arabidopsis thaliana homolog of yeast BRE1 has a function in cell cycle regulation during early leaf and root growth.

Chromatin modification and transcriptional activation are novel roles for E3 ubiquitin ligase proteins that have been mainly associated with ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis. We identified HISTONE MONOUBIQUITINATION1 (HUB1) (and its homolog HUB2) in Arabidopsis thaliana as RING E3 ligase proteins with a function in organ growth. We show that HUB1 is a functional homolog of the human and yeast BRE1 proteins because it monoubiquitinated histone H2B in an in vitro assay.

Transcript profiling of early lateral root initiation.

At the onset of lateral root initiation in Arabidopsis thaliana, the phytohormone auxin activates xylem pole pericycle cells for asymmetric cell division. However, the molecular events leading from auxin to lateral root initiation are poorly understood, in part because the few responsive cells in the process are embedded in the root and are thus difficult to access. A lateral root induction system, in which most xylem pole pericycle cells were synchronously activated by auxin transport inhibition followed by auxin application, was used for microarray transcript profiling.

The Arabidopsis locus RCB mediates upstream regulation of mitotic gene expression.

Transcriptional regulation of cell cycle regulatory genes, such as B-type cyclins, is tightly linked with the mitotic activity in the meristems. To study the regulation of a B-type cyclin gene, a targeted genetic approach was undertaken. An Arabidopsis line containing a fusion construct between the CYCB1;1 promoter and a bacterial beta-glucuronidase marker gene (uidA) was used in ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis.