The Energetic Viability of Δ¹-Piperideine Dimerization in Lysine-derived Alkaloid Biosynthesis.

Lys-derived alkaloids widely distributed in plant kingdom have received considerable attention and have been intensively studied; however, little is known about their biosynthetic mechanisms. In terms of the skeleton formation, for example, of quinolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis, only the very first two steps have been identified and the later steps remain unknown. In addition, there is no available information on the number of enzymes and reactions required for their skeletal construction.

Computational study on a puzzle in the biosynthetic pathway of anthocyanin: Why is an enzymatic oxidation/ reduction process required for a simple tautomerization?

In the late stage of anthocyanin biosynthesis, dihydroflavonol reductase (DFR) and anthocyanidin synthase (ANS) mediate a formal tautomerization. However, such oxidation/reduction process requires high energy and appears to be unnecessary, as the oxidation state does not change during the transformation. Thus, a non-enzymatic pathway of tautomerization has also been proposed.

Autophagy-mediated regulation of phytohormone metabolism during rice anther development.

Autophagy has recently been shown to be required for postmeiotic anther development including anther dehiscence, programmed cell death-mediated degradation of the tapetum and pollen maturation in rice. Several phytohormones are known to play essential roles during male reproductive development including pollen maturation. However, the relationship between phytohormone metabolism and autophagy in plant reproductive development is unknown.

The Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Suberoylanilide Hydroxamic Acid Alleviates Salinity Stress in Cassava.

Cassava ( Crantz) demand has been rising because of its various applications. High salinity stress is a major environmental factor that interferes with normal plant growth and limits crop productivity. As well as genetic engineering to enhance stress tolerance, the use of small molecules is considered as an alternative methodology to modify plants with desired traits.

Comparative Characterization of the Leaf Tissue of and Using RNA-seq and Metabolite Profiling.

The genus in the family contains several species of benefit to humans. Examples include (Chinese-lantern plant, hôzuki in Japanese) used for medicinal and for decorative purposes, and , also known as Cape gooseberry, which bears an edible, vitamin-rich fruit. Members of the genus are a valuable resource for phytochemicals needed for the development of medicines and functional foods.

Succinate and Lactate Production from during Dark, Anaerobic Conditions.

is a eukaryotic, unicellular phytoflagellate that has been widely studied in basic science and applied science. Under dark, anaerobic conditions, the cells of produce a wax ester that can be converted into biofuel. Here, we demonstrate that under dark, anaerobic conditions, excretes organic acids, such as succinate and lactate, which are bulk chemicals used in the production of bioplastics.

Expression of and Is Associated with Color Variation in Tan-Colored Injured Leaves of Sorghum.

Sorghum ( L. Moench) exhibits various color changes in injured leaves in response to cutting stress. Here, we aimed to identify key genes for the light brown and dark brown color variations in tan-colored injured leaves of sorghum.

Phytohormonal Regulation of Biomass Allocation and Morphological and Physiological Traits of Leaves in Response to Environmental Changes in Polygonum cuspidatum.

Plants plastically change their morphological and physiological traits in response to environmental changes, which are accompanied by changes in endogenous levels of phytohormones. Although roles of phytohormones in various aspects of plant growth and development were elucidated, their importance in the regulation of biomass allocation was not fully investigated. This study aimed to determine causal relationships among changes in biomass allocation, morphological and physiological traits, and endogenous levels of phytohormones such as gibberellins (GAs) and cytokinins (CKs) in response to environmental changes in Polygonum cuspidatum.

N availability modulates the role of NPF3.1, a gibberellin transporter, in GA-mediated phenotypes in Arabidopsis.

AtNPF3.1 gene expression is promoted by limiting nitrogen nutrition. Atnpf3.

Sm-Like Protein-Mediated RNA Metabolism Is Required for Heat Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis.

Sm-like proteins play multiple functions in RNA metabolism, which is essential for biological processes such as stress responses in eukaryotes. The Arabidopsis thaliana sad1 mutant has a mutation of sm-like protein 5 (LSM5) and shows impaired drought and salt stress tolerances. The lsm5/sad1 mutant also showed hypersensitivity to heat stress.

Circadian Profiling of the Arabidopsis Proteome Using 2D-DIGE.

Clock-generated biological rhythms provide an adaptive advantage to an organism, resulting in increased fitness and survival. To better elucidate the plant response to the circadian system, we surveyed protein oscillations in Arabidopsis seedlings under constant light. Using large-scale two-dimensional difference in gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) the abundance of more than 1000 proteins spots was reproducibly resolved quantified and profiled across a circadian time series.

Oligouridylate Binding Protein 1b Plays an Integral Role in Plant Heat Stress Tolerance.

Stress granules (SGs), which are formed in the plant cytoplasm under stress conditions, are transient dynamic sites (particles) for mRNA storage. SGs are actively involved in protecting mRNAs from degradation. Oligouridylate binding protein 1b (UBP1b) is a component of SGs.

Heterologous Overexpression of Poplar SnRK2 Genes Enhanced Salt Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Subfamily 2 of SNF1-related protein kinase (SnRK2) plays important roles in plant abiotic stress responses as a global positive regulator of abscisic acid signaling. In the genome of the model tree Populus trichocarpa, 12 SnRK2 genes have been identified, and some are upregulated by abiotic stresses. In this study, we heterologously overexpressed the PtSnRK2 genes in Arabidopsis thaliana and found that overexpression of PtSnRK2.

Mathematical Modeling and Dynamic Simulation of Metabolic Reaction Systems Using Metabolome Time Series Data.

The high-throughput acquisition of metabolome data is greatly anticipated for the complete understanding of cellular metabolism in living organisms. A variety of analytical technologies have been developed to acquire large-scale metabolic profiles under different biological or environmental conditions. Time series data are useful for predicting the most likely metabolic pathways because they provide important information regarding the accumulation of metabolites, which implies causal relationships in the metabolic reaction network.

Boosting Sensitivity in Liquid Chromatography-Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance-Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Product Ion Analysis of Monoterpene Indole Alkaloids.

In metabolomics, the analysis of product ions in tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is noteworthy to chemically assign structural information. However, the development of relevant analytical methods are less advanced. Here, we developed a method to boost sensitivity in liquid chromatography-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance-tandem mass spectrometry analysis (MS/MS boost analysis).

Chitin Nanofiber Elucidates the Elicitor Activity of Polymeric Chitin in Plants.

Chitin, an N-acetyl-D-glucosamine polymer, is a component of fungal cell walls and a microbe/pathogen-associated molecular pattern that elicits plant defense responses. As polymeric chitin is difficult to handle due to its insolubility in water, many studies on chitin-induced immune responses have used water-soluble low-molecular weight chitin instead. Thus, it is unclear if polymeric chitin can induce resistance.

Behavior of Leaf Meristems and Their Modification.

A major source of diversity in flowering plant form is the extensive variability of leaf shape and size. Leaf formation is initiated by recruitment of a handful of cells flanking the shoot apical meristem (SAM) to develop into a complex three-dimensional structure. Leaf organogenesis depends on activities of several distinct meristems that are established and spatiotemporally differentiated after the initiation of leaf primordia.

Modification of photosynthetic electron transport and amino acid levels by overexpression of a circadian-related histidine kinase hik8 in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

Cyanobacteria perform oxygenic photosynthesis, and the maintenance of photosynthetic electron transport chains is indispensable to their survival in various environmental conditions. Photosynthetic electron transport in cyanobacteria can be studied through genetic analysis because of the natural competence of cyanobacteria. We here show that a strain overexpressing hik8, a histidine kinase gene related to the circadian clock, exhibits an altered photosynthetic electron transport chain in the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp.

Genetic manipulation of a metabolic enzyme and a transcriptional regulator increasing succinate excretion from unicellular cyanobacterium.

Succinate is a building block compound that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has declared as important in biorefineries, and it is widely used as a commodity chemical.

Comparative analysis of root transcriptomes from two contrasting drought-responsive Williams 82 and DT2008 soybean cultivars under normal and dehydration conditions.

The economically important DT2008 and the model Williams 82 (W82) soybean cultivars were reported to have differential drought-tolerant degree to dehydration and drought, which was associated with root trait. Here, we used 66K Affymetrix Soybean Array GeneChip to compare the root transcriptomes of DT2008 and W82 seedlings under normal, as well as mild (2 h treatment) and severe (10 h treatment) dehydration conditions. Out of the 38172 soybean genes annotated with high confidence, 822 (2.

Correlation between differential drought tolerability of two contrasting drought-responsive chickpea cultivars and differential expression of a subset of CaNAC genes under normal and dehydration conditions.

Drought causes detrimental effect to growth and productivity of many plants, including crops. NAC transcription factors have been reported to play important role in drought tolerance. In this study, we assessed the expression profiles of 19 dehydration-responsive CaNAC genes in roots and leaves of two contrasting drought-responsive chickpea varieties treated with water (control) and dehydration to examine the correlation between the differential expression levels of the CaNAC genes and the differential drought tolerability of these two cultivars.

Hydrogen peroxide priming modulates abiotic oxidative stress tolerance: insights from ROS detoxification and scavenging.

Plants are constantly challenged by various abiotic stresses that negatively affect growth and productivity worldwide. During the course of their evolution, plants have developed sophisticated mechanisms to recognize external signals allowing them to respond appropriately to environmental conditions, although the degree of adjustability or tolerance to specific stresses differs from species to species. Overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS; hydrogen peroxide, H2O2; superoxide, [Formula: see text]; hydroxyl radical, OH(⋅) and singlet oxygen, (1)O2) is enhanced under abiotic and/or biotic stresses, which can cause oxidative damage to plant macromolecules and cell structures, leading to inhibition of plant growth and development, or to death.

NAC-MYB-based transcriptional regulation of secondary cell wall biosynthesis in land plants.

Plant cells biosynthesize primary cell walls (PCW) in all cells and produce secondary cell walls (SCWs) in specific cell types that conduct water and/or provide mechanical support, such as xylem vessels and fibers. The characteristic mechanical stiffness, chemical recalcitrance, and hydrophobic nature of SCWs result from the organization of SCW-specific biopolymers, i.e.

Seawater cultivation of freshwater cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 drastically alters amino acid composition and glycogen metabolism.

Water use assessment is important for bioproduction using cyanobacteria. For eco-friendly reasons, seawater should preferably be used for cyanobacteria cultivation instead of freshwater. In this study, we demonstrated that the freshwater unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp.

MRM-DIFF: data processing strategy for differential analysis in large scale MRM-based lipidomics studies.

Based on theoretically calculated comprehensive lipid libraries, in lipidomics as many as 1000 multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions can be monitored for each single run. On the other hand, lipid analysis from each MRM chromatogram requires tremendous manual efforts to identify and quantify lipid species. Isotopic peaks differing by up to a few atomic masses further complicate analysis.