The bHLH transcription factor OsPRI1 activates the Setaria viridis PEPC1 promoter in rice.

Photosynthetic efficiency is reduced by the dual role of Rubisco, which acts either as a carboxylase or as an oxygenase, the latter leading to photorespiration. C photosynthesis evolved as a carbon-concentrating mechanism to reduce photorespiration. To engineer C into a C plant, it is essential to understand how C genes, such as phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC1), are regulated to be expressed at high levels and in a cell-specific manner.

Screening for Abiotic Stress Response in Rice.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the staple food for over half of the world population. However, most rice varieties are severely injured by abiotic stresses, with strong social and economic impacts.

Evaluating Root Mechanosensing Response in Rice.

Unable to move, plants are physically restrained to the place where they grow. Remarkably, plants have developed a myriad of mechanisms to perceive the surrounding environment in order to maximize growth and survival. One of those mechanisms is the ability to perceive mechanical stimulus such as touch (thigmomorphogenesis), in order to adjust growth patterns (in different organs) to either attach to or surround an object.

DNA-Based Tools to Certify Authenticity of Rice Varieties-An Overview.

Rice ( L.) is one of the most cultivated and consumed crops worldwide. It is mainly produced in Asia but, due to its large genetic pool, it has expanded to several ecosystems, latitudes and climatic conditions.

A novel panel of yeast assays for the assessment of thiamin and its biosynthetic intermediates in plant tissues.

Thiamin (or thiamine), known as vitamin B1, represents an indispensable component of human diets, being pivotal in energy metabolism. Thiamin research depends on adequate vitamin quantification in plant tissues. A recently developed quantitative liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method is able to assess the level of thiamin, its phosphorylated entities and its biosynthetic intermediates in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, as well as in rice.

ZmOrphan94 Transcription Factor Downregulates Gene Expression in Maize Bundle Sheath Cells.

Spatial separation of the photosynthetic reactions is a key feature of C metabolism. In most C plants, this separation requires compartmentation of photosynthetic enzymes between mesophyll (M) and bundle sheath (BS) cells. The upstream region of the gene encoding the maize PHOSPHOENOLPYRUVATE CARBOXYLASE 1 (ZmPEPC1) has been shown sufficient to drive M-specific gene expression.

Modulation of Abiotic Stress Responses in Rice by E3-Ubiquitin Ligases: A Promising Way to Develop Stress-Tolerant Crops.

Plants are unable to physically escape environmental constraints and have, therefore, evolved a range of molecular and physiological mechanisms to maximize survival in an ever-changing environment. Among these, the post-translational modification of ubiquitination has emerged as an important mechanism to understand and improve the stress response. The ubiquitination of a given protein can change its abundance (through degradation), alter its localization, or even modulate its activity.

ZmbHLH80 and ZmbHLH90 transcription factors act antagonistically and contribute to regulate PEPC1 cell-specific gene expression in maize.

Compartmentation of photosynthetic reactions between mesophyll and bundle sheath cells is a key feature of C photosynthesis and depends on the cell-specific accumulation of major C enzymes, such as phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase 1. The ZmPEPC1 upstream region, which drives light-inducible and mesophyll-specific gene expression in maize, has been shown to keep the same properties when introduced into rice (C plant), indicating that rice has the transcription factors (TFs) needed to confer C -like gene expression. Using a yeast one-hybrid approach, we identified OsbHLH112, a rice basic Helix-Loop-Helix (bHLH) TF that interacts with the maize ZmPEPC1 upstream region.

The Rice E3-Ubiquitin Ligase HIGH EXPRESSION OF OSMOTICALLY RESPONSIVE GENE1 Modulates the Expression of ROOT MEANDER CURLING, a Gene Involved in Root Mechanosensing, through the Interaction with Two ETHYLENE-RESPONSE FACTOR Transcription Factors.

Plant roots can sense and respond to a wide diversity of mechanical stimuli, including touch and gravity. However, little is known about the signal transduction pathways involved in mechanical stimuli responses in rice (Oryza sativa). This work shows that rice root responses to mechanical stimuli involve the E3-ubiquitin ligase rice HIGH EXPRESSION OF OSMOTICALLY RESPONSIVE GENE1 (OsHOS1), which mediates protein degradation through the proteasome complex.