Twitching and Swimming Motility Play a Role in Ralstonia solanacearum Pathogenicity.

is a bacterial plant pathogen causing important economic losses worldwide. In addition to the polar flagella responsible for swimming motility, this pathogen produces type IV pili (TFP) that govern twitching motility, a flagellum-independent movement on solid surfaces. The implication of chemotaxis in plant colonization, through the control flagellar rotation by the proteins CheW and CheA, has been previously reported in In this work, we have identified in this bacterium homologues of the and genes, suggested to play roles in TFP-associated motility analogous to those played by the and genes, respectively.

An Improved Melon Reference Genome With Single-Molecule Sequencing Uncovers a Recent Burst of Transposable Elements With Potential Impact on Genes.

The published melon ( L.) reference genome assembly (v3.6.

Silencing against the conserved NAC domain of the potato StNAC103 reveals new NAC candidates to repress the suberin associated waxes in phellem.

Both suberin and its associated waxes contribute to the formation of apoplastic barriers that protect plants from the environment. Some transcription factors have emerged as regulators of the suberization process. The potato StNAC103 gene was reported as a repressor of suberin polyester and suberin-associated waxes deposition because its RNAi-mediated downregulation (StNAC103-RNAi) over-accumulated suberin and associated waxes in the tuber phellem concomitantly with the induction of representative biosynthetic genes.

A comprehensive genome variation map of melon identifies multiple domestication events and loci influencing agronomic traits.

Melon is an economically important fruit crop that has been cultivated for thousands of years; however, the genetic basis and history of its domestication still remain largely unknown. Here we report a comprehensive map of the genomic variation in melon derived from the resequencing of 1,175 accessions, which represent the global diversity of the species. Our results suggest that three independent domestication events occurred in melon, two in India and one in Africa.

Biotechnological Production of the Cell Penetrating Antifungal PAF102 Peptide in .

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have potent and durable antimicrobial activity to a wide range of fungi and bacteria. The growing problem of drug-resistant pathogenic microorganisms, together with the lack of new effective compounds, has stimulated interest in developing AMPs as anti-infective molecules. PAF102 is an AMP that was rationally designed for improved antifungal properties.

Cucurbit Genomics Database (CuGenDB): a central portal for comparative and functional genomics of cucurbit crops.

The Cucurbitaceae family (cucurbit) includes several economically important crops, such as melon, cucumber, watermelon, pumpkin, squash and gourds. During the past several years, genomic and genetic data have been rapidly accumulated for cucurbits. To store, mine, analyze, integrate and disseminate these large-scale datasets and to provide a central portal for the cucurbit research and breeding community, we have developed the Cucurbit Genomics Database (CuGenDB; http://cucurbitgenomics.

Association between the GHR, GHRHR, and IGF1 gene polymorphisms and milk yield and quality traits in Sarda sheep.

The growth hormone receptor (GHR), the growth hormone releasing hormone receptor (GHRHR), and the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) genes are known to modulate growth, reproduction, and lactation traits in livestock. The aim of the current work was to investigate if the variation of the sheep GHR, GHRHR, and IGF1 genes is associated with milk yield and quality traits. Three hundred eighty dairy Sarda sheep were genotyped for 36 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) mapping to these 3 loci, and records for milk yield and daily fat and protein yield, as well as for fat, protein, casein, lactose, and milk urea contents, pH, somatic cell score, logarithmic bacterial count, and milk energy were obtained.

Type III secretion inhibitors for the management of bacterial plant diseases.

The identification of chemical compounds that prevent and combat bacterial diseases is fundamental for crop production. Bacterial virulence inhibitors are a promising alternative to classical control treatments, because they have a low environmental impact and are less likely to generate bacterial resistance. The major virulence determinant of most animal and plant bacterial pathogens is the type III secretion system (T3SS).

A technical assessment of the porcine ejaculated spermatozoa for a sperm-specific RNA-seq analysis.

Unlabelled: The study of the boar sperm transcriptome by RNA-seq can provide relevant information on sperm quality and fertility and might contribute to animal breeding strategies. However, the analysis of the spermatozoa RNA is challenging as these cells harbor very low amounts of highly fragmented RNA, and the ejaculates also contain other cell types with larger amounts of non-fragmented RNA. Here, we describe a strategy for a successful boar sperm purification, RNA extraction and RNA-seq library preparation.

The Polycistronic miR166k-166h Positively Regulates Rice Immunity via Post-transcriptional Control of .

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNAs acting as regulators of gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. In plants, most miRNAs are generated from independent transcriptional units, and only a few polycistronic miRNAs have been described. miR166 is a conserved miRNA in plants targeting the transcription factor genes.

Autophagy-related approaches for improving nutrient use efficiency and crop yield protection.

Autophagy is a eukaryotic catabolic pathway essential for growth and development. In plants, it is activated in response to environmental cues or developmental stimuli. However, in contrast to other eukaryotic systems, we know relatively little regarding the molecular players involved in autophagy and the regulation of this complex pathway.

QTL Analyses in Multiple Populations Employed for the Fine Mapping and Identification of Candidate Genes at a Locus Affecting Sugar Accumulation in Melon ( L.).

Sugar content is the major determinant of both fruit quality and consumer acceptance in melon ( L), and is a primary target for crop improvement. Near-isogenic lines (NILs) derived from the intraspecific cross between a "Piel de Sapo" (PS) type and the exotic cultivar "Songwhan Charmi" (SC), and several populations generated from the cross of PS × Ames 24294 ("Trigonus"), a wild melon, were used to identify QTL related to sugar and organic acid composition. Seventy-eight QTL were detected across several locations and different years, with three important clusters related to sugar content located on chromosomes 4, 5, and 7.

Type III Secretion-Dependent and -Independent Phenotypes Caused by Ralstonia solanacearum in Arabidopsis Roots.

The causal agent of bacterial wilt, Ralstonia solanacearum, is a soilborne pathogen that invades plants through their roots, traversing many tissue layers until it reaches the xylem, where it multiplies and causes plant collapse. The effects of R. solanacearum infection are devastating, and no effective approach to fight the disease is so far available.

Quantitative trait loci analysis of melon (Cucumis melo L.) domestication-related traits.

Loci on LGIV, VI, and VIII of melon genome are involved in the control of fruit domestication-related traits and they are candidate to have played a role in the domestication of the crop. The fruit of wild melons is very small (20-50 g) without edible pulp, contrasting with the large size and high pulp content of cultivated melon fruits. An analysis of quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling fruit morphology domestication-related traits was carried out using an in vitro maintained F population from the cross between the Indian wild melon "Trigonus" and the western elite cultivar 'Piel de Sapo'.

Autophagy as an emerging arena for plant-pathogen interactions.

Autophagy is a highly conserved degradation and recycling process that controls cellular homeostasis, stress adaptation, and programmed cell death in eukaryotes. Emerging evidence indicates that autophagy is a key regulator of plant innate immunity and contributes with both pro-death and pro-survival functions to antimicrobial defences, depending on the pathogenic lifestyle. In turn, several pathogens have co-opted and evolved strategies to manipulate host autophagy pathways to the benefit of infection, while some eukaryotic microbes require their own autophagy machinery for successful pathogenesis.

ETHQV6.3 is involved in melon climacteric fruit ripening and is encoded by a NAC domain transcription factor.

Fruit ripening is divided into climacteric and non-climacteric types depending on the presence or absence of a transient rise in respiration rate and the production of autocatalytic ethylene. Melon is ideal for the study of fruit ripening, as both climacteric and non-climacteric varieties exist. Two introgressions of the non-climacteric accession PI 161375, encompassed in the QTLs ETHQB3.

AtSERPIN1 is an inhibitor of the metacaspase AtMC1-mediated cell death and autocatalytic processing in planta.

The hypersensitive response (HR) is a localized programmed cell death phenomenon that occurs in response to pathogen recognition at the site of attempted invasion. Despite more than a century of research on HR, little is known about how it is so tightly regulated and how it can be contained spatially to a few cells. AtMC1 is an Arabidopsis thaliana plant metacaspase that positively regulates the HR.

Dying two deaths - programmed cell death regulation in development and disease.

Programmed cell death (PCD) is a fundamental cellular process that has adopted a plethora of vital functions in multicellular organisms. In plants, PCD processes are elicited as an inherent part of regular development in specific cell types or tissues, but can also be triggered by biotic and abiotic stresses. Although over the last years we have seen progress in our understanding of the molecular regulation of different plant PCD processes, it is still unclear whether a common core machinery exists that controls cell death in development and disease.

The photomorphogenic factors UV-B RECEPTOR 1, ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5, and HY5 HOMOLOGUE are part of the UV-B signalling pathway in grapevine and mediate flavonol accumulation in response to the environment.

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is a species well known for its adaptation to radiation. However, photomorphogenic factors related to UV-B responses have not been molecularly characterized.

Detection and Quantification of Protein Aggregates in Plants.

Plants are constantly exposed to a complex and changing environment that challenges their cellular homeostasis. Stress responses triggered as a consequence of unfavorable conditions result in increased protein aggregate formation at the cellular level. When the formation of misfolded proteins surpasses the capacity of the cell to remove them, insoluble protein aggregates accumulate.

The effector AWR5 from the plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum is an inhibitor of the TOR signalling pathway.

Bacterial pathogens possess complex type III effector (T3E) repertoires that are translocated inside the host cells to cause disease. However, only a minor proportion of these effectors have been assigned a function. Here, we show that the T3E AWR5 from the phytopathogen Ralstonia solanacearum is an inhibitor of TOR, a central regulator in eukaryotes that controls the switch between cell growth and stress responses in response to nutrient availability.

Yeast as a Heterologous Model System to Uncover Type III Effector Function.

Type III effectors (T3E) are key virulence proteins that are injected by bacterial pathogens inside the cells of their host to subvert cellular processes and contribute to disease. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae represents an important heterologous system for the functional characterisation of T3E proteins in a eukaryotic environment. Importantly, yeast contains eukaryotic processes with low redundancy and are devoid of immunity mechanisms that counteract T3Es and mask their function.