Profiling sorghum-microbe interactions with a specialized photoaffinity probe identifies key sorgoleone binders in .

Interactions between plants and soil microbial communities that benefit plant growth and enhance nutrient acquisition are driven by the selective release of metabolites from plant roots, or root exudation. To investigate these plant-microbe interactions, we developed a photoaffinity probe based on sorgoleone (rgoleone iazirine lkyne for hotoffinity abeling, SoDA-PAL), a hydrophobic secondary metabolite and allelochemical produced in root exudates. We applied SoDA-PAL to the identification of sorgoleone-binding proteins in SO1, a potential plant growth-promoting microbe isolated from sorghum rhizosphere soil.

Emerging sensing, imaging, and computational technologies to scale nano-to macroscale rhizosphere dynamics - Review and research perspectives.

The soil region influenced by plant roots, i.e., the rhizosphere, is one of the most complex biological habitats on Earth and significantly impacts global carbon flow and transformation.

Light-Dependence of Formate (C) and Acetate (C) Transport and Oxidation in Poplar Trees.

Although apparent light inhibition of leaf day respiration is a widespread reported phenomenon, the mechanisms involved, including utilization of alternate respiratory pathways and substrates and light inhibition of TCA cycle enzymes are under active investigation. Recently, acetate fermentation was highlighted as a key drought survival strategy mediated through protein acetylation and jasmonate signaling. Here, we evaluate the light-dependence of acetate transport and assimilation in trees using the dynamic xylem solution injection (DXSI) method developed here for continuous studies of C1 and C2 organic acid transport and light-dependent metabolism.

Activation of the plant mevalonate pathway by extracellular ATP.

The mevalonate pathway plays a critical role in multiple cellular processes in both animals and plants. In plants, the products of this pathway impact growth and development, as well as the response to environmental stress. A forward genetic screen of Arabidopsis thaliana using Ca-imaging identified mevalonate kinase (MVK) as a critical component of plant purinergic signaling.

Visualizing the Hidden Half: Plant-Microbe Interactions in the Rhizosphere.

Plant roots and the associated rhizosphere constitute a dynamic environment that fosters numerous intra- and interkingdom interactions, including metabolite exchange between plants and soil mediated by root exudates and the rhizosphere microbiome. These interactions affect plant fitness and performance, soil health, and the belowground carbon budget. Exploring and understanding the molecular mechanisms governing ecosystem responses via rhizosphere interactions allow the rational and sustainable design of future ecosystems.

Crops for Carbon Farming.

Agricultural cropping systems and pasture comprise one third of the world's arable land and have the potential to draw down a considerable amount of atmospheric CO for storage as soil organic carbon (SOC) and improving the soil carbon budget. An improved soil carbon budget serves the dual purpose of promoting soil health, which supports crop productivity, and constituting a pool from which carbon can be converted to recalcitrant forms for long-term storage as a mitigation measure for global warming. In this perspective, we propose the design of crop ideotypes with the dual functionality of being highly productive for the purposes of food, feed, and fuel, while at the same time being able to facilitate higher contribution to soil carbon and improve the below ground ecology.

Distinct Preflowering Drought Tolerance Strategies of Genotype RTx430 Revealed by Subcellular Protein Profiling.

Drought is the largest stress affecting agricultural crops, resulting in substantial reductions in yield. Plant adaptation to water stress is a complex trait involving changes in hormone signaling, physiology, and morphology. Sorghum ( (L.

Evolutionary Variation in MADS Box Dimerization Affects Floral Development and Protein Abundance in Maize.

Interactions between MADS box transcription factors are critical in the regulation of floral development, and shifting MADS box protein-protein interactions are predicted to have influenced floral evolution. However, precisely how evolutionary variation in protein-protein interactions affects MADS box protein function remains unknown. To assess the impact of changing MADS box protein-protein interactions on transcription factor function, we turned to the grasses, where interactions between B-class MADS box proteins vary.

Correlative surface imaging reveals chemical signatures for bacterial hotspots on plant roots.

The rhizosphere is arguably the most complex microbial habitat on Earth, comprising an integrated network of plant roots, soil and a highly diverse microbial community (the rhizosphere microbiome). Understanding, predicting and controlling plant-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere will allow us to harness the plant microbiome as a means to increase or restore plant ecosystem productivity, improve plant responses to a wide range of environmental perturbations, and mitigate the effects of climate change by designing ecosystems for long-term soil carbon storage. To this end, it is imperative to develop new molecular approaches with high spatial resolution to capture interactions at the plant-microbe, microbe-microbe, and plant-plant interfaces.

Metabotyping as a Stopover in Genome-to-Phenome Mapping.

Predicting phenotypic expression from genomic and environmental information is arguably the greatest challenge in today's biology. Being able to survey genomic content, e.g.

SECONDARY WALL ASSOCIATED MYB1 is a positive regulator of secondary cell wall thickening in Brachypodium distachyon and is not found in the Brassicaceae.

Grass biomass is comprised chiefly of secondary walls that surround fiber and xylem cells. A regulatory network of interacting transcription factors in part regulates cell wall thickening. We identified Brachypodium distachyon SECONDARY WALL ASSOCIATED MYB1 (SWAM1) as a potential regulator of secondary cell wall biosynthesis based on gene expression, phylogeny, and transgenic plant phenotypes.

Perturbation of Brachypodium distachyon CELLULOSE SYNTHASE A4 or 7 results in abnormal cell walls.

Background: Cellulose is an integral component of the plant cell wall and accounts for approximately forty percent of total plant biomass but understanding its mechanism of synthesis remains elusive. CELLULOSE SYNTHASE A (CESA) proteins function as catalytic subunits of a rosette-shaped complex that synthesizes cellulose at the plasma membrane. Arabidopsis thaliana and rice (Oryza sativa) secondary wall CESA loss-of-function mutants have weak stems and irregular or thin cell walls.

Transcriptional Regulation of Grass Secondary Cell Wall Biosynthesis: Playing Catch-Up with Arabidopsis thaliana.

Secondary cell wall synthesis occurs in specialized cell types following completion of cell enlargement. By virtue of mechanical strength provided by a wall thickened with cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin, these cells can function as water-conducting vessels and provide structural support. Several transcription factor families regulate genes encoding wall synthesis enzymes.