The role of lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase 1 in reproductive growth of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase1 (LPAT1) catalyzes the second step of de novo glycerolipid biosynthesis in chloroplasts. However, the embryonic-lethal phenotype of the knockout mutant suggested an unknown role for LPAT1 in non-photosynthetic reproductive organs. Reciprocal genetic crossing of the lpat1-1 heterozygous line suggested a female gametophytic defect of the lpat1-1 knockout mutant.

A newly evolved rice-specific gene JAUP1 regulates jasmonate biosynthesis and signalling to promote root development and multi-stress tolerance.

Root architecture and function are critical for plants to secure water and nutrient supply from the soil, but environmental stresses alter root development. The phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA) regulates plant growth and responses to wounding and other stresses, but its role in root development for adaptation to environmental challenges had not been well investigated. We discovered a novel JA Upregulated Protein 1 gene (JAUP1) that has recently evolved in rice and is specific to modern rice accessions.

Potential PCR amplification bias in identifying complex ecological patterns: Higher species compositional homogeneity revealed in smaller-size coral reef zooplankton by metatranscriptomics.

PCR-based high-throughput sequencing has permitted comprehensive resolution analyses of zooplankton diversity dynamics. However, significant methodological issues still surround analyses of complex bulk community samples, not least as in prevailing PCR-based approaches. Marine drifting animals-zooplankton-play essential ecological roles in the pelagic ecosystem, transferring energy and elements to higher trophic levels, such as fishes, cetaceans and others.

Protein Phosphorylation Orchestrates Acclimations of Arabidopsis Plants to Environmental pH.

Environment pH (pH) is a key parameter dictating a surfeit of conditions critical to plant survival and fitness. To elucidate the mechanisms that recalibrate cytoplasmic and apoplastic pH homeostasis, we conducted a comprehensive proteomic/phosphoproteomic inventory of plants subjected to transient exposure to acidic or alkaline pH, an approach that covered the majority of protein-coding genes of the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Our survey revealed a large set-of so far undocumented pH-dependent phospho-sites, indicative of extensive post-translational regulation of proteins involved in the acclimation to pH.

Arabidopsis leaf-expressed AGAMOUS-LIKE 24 mRNA systemically specifies floral meristem differentiation.

Plants can record external stimuli in mobile mRNAs and systemically deliver them to distal tissues to adjust development. Despite the identification of thousands of mobile mRNAs, the functional relevance of mobile mRNAs remains limited. Many mobile mRNAs are synthesized in the source cells that perceive environmental stimuli, but specifically exert their functions upon transportation to the recipient cells.

Metabolomic Analysis Demonstrates the Impacts of Polyketide Synthases PKS14 and PKS15 on the Production of Beauvericins, Bassianolide, Enniatin A, and Ferricrocin in Entomopathogen .

is a globally distributed entomopathogenic fungus that produces various secondary metabolites to support its pathogenesis in insects. Two polyketide synthase genes, and , are highly conserved in entomopathogenic fungi and are important for insect virulence. However, understanding of their mechanisms in insect pathogenicity is still limited.

Conservation of land plant-specific receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase subfamily XI possessing a unique kinase insert domain.

The number of genes encoding receptor-like kinases (RLKs) has expanded in the plant lineage. Their expansion has resulted in the emergence of diverse domain architectures that function in signaling cascades related to growth, development, and stress response. In this study, we focused on receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase subfamily XI (RLCK XI) in plants.

Distinctly localized lipid phosphate phosphatases mediate endoplasmic reticulum glycerolipid metabolism in Arabidopsis.

Inter-organelle communication is an integral subcellular process in cellular homeostasis. In plants, cellular membrane lipids are synthesized in the plastids and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). However, the crosstalk between these organelles in lipid biosynthesis remains largely unknown.

β-Hydroxylation of α-amino-β-hydroxylbutanoyl-glycyluridine catalyzed by a nonheme hydroxylase ensures the maturation of caprazamycin.

Caprazamycin is a nucleoside antibiotic that inhibits phospho-N-acetylmuramyl-pentapeptide translocase (MraY). The biosynthesis of nucleoside antibiotics has been studied but is still far from completion. The present study characterized enzymes Cpz10, Cpz15, Cpz27, Mur17, Mur23 out of caprazamycin/muraymycin biosynthetic gene cluster, particularly the nonheme αKG-dependent enzyme Cpz10.

Tandem Mass Tag-Based Phosphoproteomics in Plants.

Mass spectrometry-based proteomics provide a powerful tool for plant research, allowing global detection of steady-state levels of proteins under a given experimental setup. Here, we provide an optimized protocol for proteomic profiling using tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to quantitate phosphopeptides and non-phosphopeptides from the same samples. The outlined protocol comprises a series of successive steps, namely, SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) protein extraction, protein precipitation, digestion, TMT labeling, phosphopeptide enrichment, high pH reversed-phase fractionation, LC-MS/MS analysis, protein identification, and data analysis.

LYSOPHOSPHATIDIC ACID ACYLTRANSFERASE 2 (LPAT2) is required for de novo glycerolipid biosynthesis, growth, and development in vegetative and reproductive tissues of Arabidopsis.

The Kennedy pathway is a highly conserved de novo glycerolipid biosynthesis pathway in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In Arabidopsis, LYSOPHOSPHATIDIC ACID ACYLTRANSFERASE 2 (LPAT2) was assumed to catalyze a crucial reaction step of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized Kennedy pathway because of lethality in the lpat2-1 knockout mutant. However, whether this lethal phenotype was due to the essential role of the Kennedy pathway or LPAT2 as the key enzyme of the Kennedy pathway was unclear.

MicroRNA-Mediated Mitochondrial Dysfunction Is Involved in the Anti-triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cell Activity of Phytosesquiterpene Lactones.

Emerging evidence suggests that modulating redox homeostasis through targeting mitochondrial functions may be a useful strategy for suppressing triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) activities. However, whether there are specific microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in regulating oxidative stress-associated mitochondrial functions that can act as therapeutic targets to suppress TNBC activities remains unclear. Here, we aimed to identify the role of redox-associated miRNAs in TNBC and investigated their potential as therapeutic targets.

Microbial polyketides and their roles in insect virulence: from genomics to biological functions.

Covering: May 1966 up to January 2022Entomopathogenic microorganisms have potential for biological control of insect pests. Their main secondary metabolites include polyketides, nonribosomal peptides, and polyketide-nonribosomal peptide (PK-NRP) hybrids. Among these secondary metabolites, polyketides have mainly been studied for structural identification, pathway engineering, and for their contributions to medicine.

Utilisation of Oxford Nanopore sequencing to generate six complete gastropod mitochondrial genomes as part of a biodiversity curriculum.

High-throughput sequencing has enabled genome skimming approaches to produce complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) for species identification and phylogenomics purposes. In particular, the portable sequencing device from Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) has the potential to facilitate hands-on training from sampling to sequencing and interpretation of mitogenomes. In this study, we present the results from sampling and sequencing of six gastropod mitogenomes (Aplysia argus, Cellana orientalis, Cellana toreuma, Conus ebraeus, Conus miles and Tylothais aculeata) from a graduate level biodiversity course.

The phospho-base N-methyltransferases PMT1 and PMT2 produce phosphocholine for leaf growth in phosphorus-starved Arabidopsis.

Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for plants. Membrane lipid remodeling is an adaptive mechanism for P-starved plants that replaces membrane phospholipids with non-P galactolipids, presumably to retrieve scarce P sources and maintain membrane integrity. Whereas metabolic pathways to convert phospholipids to galactolipids are well-established, the mechanism by which phospholipid biosynthesis is involved in this process remains elusive.

The importance of Arabidopsis PHOSPHOLIPID N-METHYLTRANSFERASE in glycerolipid metabolism and plant growth.

Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is a major class of phospholipids that are essential for post-embryonic growth in plants. In Arabidopsis, three copies of the phospho-base N-methyltransferase, PMT1, PMT2, and PMT3, are known to account for PC biosynthesis because the triple-knockout mutant is devoid of biosynthesis and shows lethality in post-embryonic but not embryonic growth. Arabidopsis also contains a distinct phospholipid N-methyltransferase (PLMT) that is homologous with yeast and animal PLMT that methylates phospholipids to produce PC.

Functional divergence of a pair of Arabidopsis phospho-base methyltransferases, PMT1 and PMT3, conferred by distinct N-terminal sequences.

In seed plants, phospho-base N-methyltransferase (PMT) catalyzes a key step in the biosynthesis pathway of phosphatidylcholine (PC), the most abundant phospholipid class. Arabidopsis thaliana possesses three copies of PMT, with PMT1 and PMT3 play a primary role because the pmt1 pmt3 double mutant shows considerably reduced PC content with a pale seedling phenotype. Although the function of PMT1 and PMT3 may be redundant because neither of the parental single mutants showed a similar mutant phenotype, major developmental defects and possible functional divergence of these PMTs underlying the pale pmt1 pmt3 seedling phenotype are unknown.

IRONMAN tunes responses to iron deficiency in concert with environmental pH.

Iron (Fe) is an essential mineral element that governs the composition of natural plant communities and limits crop yield in agricultural ecosystems due to its extremely low availability in most soils, particularly at alkaline pH. To extract sufficient Fe from the soil under such conditions, some plants, including Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), secrete Fe-mobilizing phenylpropanoids, which mobilize sparingly soluble Fe hydroxides by reduction and chelation. We show here that ectopic expression of the peptides IRONMAN (IMA1) and IMA2 improves growth on calcareous soil by inducing biosynthesis and secretion of the catecholic coumarin 7,8-dihydroxy-6-methoxycoumarin (fraxetin) via increased expression of MYB72 and SCOPOLETIN 8-HYDROXYLASE, a response that is strictly dependent on elevated environmental pH (pHe).

Utilization of Monosaccharides by ATCC 27405 through Adaptive Evolution.

ATCC 27405 is a promising bacterium for consolidated bioprocessing with a robust ability to degrade lignocellulosic biomass through a multienzyme cellulosomal complex. The bacterium uses the released cellodextrins, glucose polymers of different lengths, as its primary carbon source and energy. In contrast, the bacterium exhibits poor growth on monosaccharides such as fructose and glucose.

Iron insufficiency in floral buds impairs pollen development by disrupting tapetum function.

Reduction of crop yield due to iron (Fe) deficiency has always been a concern in agriculture. How Fe insufficiency in floral buds affects pollen development remains unexplored. Here, plants transferred to Fe-deficient medium at the reproductive stage had reduced floral Fe content and viable pollen and showed a defective pollen outer wall, all restored by supplying floral buds with Fe.

Roles of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) in Stimulating Salinity Stress Defense in Plants: A Review.

To date, soil salinity becomes a huge obstacle for food production worldwide since salt stress is one of the major factors limiting agricultural productivity. It is estimated that a significant loss of crops (20-50%) would be due to drought and salinity. To embark upon this harsh situation, numerous strategies such as plant breeding, plant genetic engineering, and a large variety of agricultural practices including the applications of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and seed biopriming technique have been developed to improve plant defense system against salt stress, resulting in higher crop yields to meet human's increasing food demand in the future.

Arabidopsis JMJ17 promotes cotyledon greening during de-etiolation by repressing genes involved in tetrapyrrole biosynthesis in etiolated seedlings.

Arabidopsis histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) demethylases play crucial roles in several developmental processes, but their involvement in seedling establishment remain unexplored. Here, we show that Arabidopsis JUMONJI DOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN17 (JMJ17), an H3K4me3 demethylase, is involved in cotyledon greening during seedling establishment. Dark-grown seedlings of jmj17 accumulated a high concentration of protochlorophyllide, an intermediate metabolite in the tetrapyrrole biosynthesis (TPB) pathway that generates chlorophyll (Chl) during photomorphogenesis.

Construction of engineered RuBisCO Kluyveromyces marxianus for a dual microbial bioethanol production system.

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) genes play important roles in CO2 fixation and redox balancing in photosynthetic bacteria. In the present study, the kefir yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus 4G5 was used as host for the transformation of form I and form II RubisCO genes derived from the nonsulfur purple bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris using the Promoter-based Gene Assembly and Simultaneous Overexpression (PGASO) method. Hungateiclostridium thermocellum ATCC 27405, a well-known bacterium for its efficient solubilization of recalcitrant lignocellulosic biomass, was used to degrade Napier grass and rice straw to generate soluble fermentable sugars.

Non-specific phospholipases C2 and C6 redundantly function in pollen tube growth via triacylglycerol production in Arabidopsis.

Non-specific phospholipase Cs (NPCs) are responsible for membrane lipid remodeling that involves hydrolysis of the polar head group of membrane phospholipids. Arabidopsis NPC2 and NPC6 are essential in gametogenesis, but their underlying role in the lipid remodeling remains elusive. Here, we show that these NPCs are required for triacylglycerol (TAG) production in pollen tube growth.