{"title":"The rice asura mutant exhibits abnormal stigma morphology caused by a T-DNA insertion in the gene for serine carboxypeptidase SCP5, a putative regulator of homeotic proteins.","authors":"Hiroaki Shimada, Yukiko Nishino, Shoko Izumi, Megumi Otani, Kana Takahashi, Hitomi Onodera, Saeko Shingu, Naoki Ono, Tadamasa Sasaki, Hiroaki Kusano, Hiroshi Teramura, Ami Takeuchi, Tomohiro Imamura","doi":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf068","DOIUrl":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf068","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The rice asura mutant, which shows an increased number of stigmas, was found to contain a T-DNA insertion in one of the two alleles of the Os01g0833500 gene, encoding a serine carboxy peptidase II-like protein, SCP5. In the mutant allele, a T-DNA was inserted in the region between Chains A and B domains, resulting in the generation of an aberrant transcript with a stop codon downstream of the Chain A domain region. In the asura mutant, the transcripts corresponding to the Chain A domain were more abundant than those corresponding to the Chain B domain. From the mutant gene, an additional protein consisting only of the Chain A domain was expected to be produced. This was predicted to recognize the substrates but did not exhibit catalytic activity. The same phenotype of increased stigma numbers was detected in both the transformants overexpressing the Chain A domain region in SCP5 and in genome-edited mutants in which the downstream region of the Chain A domain was disrupted. SCP5 interacted with several regulatory proteins involved in flower morphogenesis. Furthermore, a protein consisting only of the Chain A domain interacted with these proteins. These findings imply that excess production of the Chain A domain protein in the asura mutant impairs the function of these regulatory proteins, resulting in insufficient control of stigma number within spikelets.</p>","PeriodicalId":20575,"journal":{"name":"Plant and Cell Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1205-1219"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144497886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tomoko Hirano, Tomoaki Sakamoto, Seisuke Kimura, Takumi Nakayama, Mitsuhiko P Sato, Kenta Shirasawa, Masa H Sato
{"title":"CAP peptides artificially induce insect-gall-like growth in different plant species.","authors":"Tomoko Hirano, Tomoaki Sakamoto, Seisuke Kimura, Takumi Nakayama, Mitsuhiko P Sato, Kenta Shirasawa, Masa H Sato","doi":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf061","DOIUrl":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf061","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The formation of galls by gall-inducing insects on their host plants demonstrates the concept of 'extended phenotype', referring to traits expressed in a host organism manipulated by a parasite. Phytohormones, amino acids, and proteins have been suggested as compound types involved in gall formation, and a few specific molecules have been proposed as candidate effector molecules; however, no specific gall-inducing effector molecules have been identified. Hence, in this study, we identified the cysteine-rich secretory proteins, antigen 5, and pathogenesis-related 1 proteins (CAP) peptide from horned gall aphid Schlechtendalia chinensis transcripts through in silico screening and the Arabidopsis-based gall-forming assay, a bioassay system for analysing the molecular mechanisms of gall formation. Furthermore, we successfully generated the insect-gall-like structure in Veronica peregrina-the host plant of the gall-forming weevil Gymnaetron miyoshii Miyoshi-without insect parasitism, using three minimal effector elements: the CAP peptide, auxin, and cytokinin. Given the similarity of the gall structure to the native gall, both in gene expression profile and morphology, we experimentally demonstrated that the gall-like structure was artificially generated using effector molecules, the CAP peptide, auxin, and cytokinin.</p>","PeriodicalId":20575,"journal":{"name":"Plant and Cell Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1155-1168"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12448287/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144249354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The mitochondrial respiratory chain is important as an electron sink to avoid over-reduction of chloroplasts in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves under high-light stress.","authors":"Tatsuhisa Konishi, Ko Noguchi","doi":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf062","DOIUrl":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf062","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The respiratory chain in plant mitochondria has two pathways: the ATP-coupling cytochrome pathway (CP) and ATP-uncoupling alternative oxidase (AOX). Under high-light (HL) conditions, AOX has been considered to have important roles in avoiding the over-reduction of chloroplasts. The inhibition of the respiratory chain under HL conditions accelerates photosystem II (PSII) damage and represses PSII repair in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves. However, it is not known precisely how the respiratory chain contributes to maintenance of photosynthetic electron transport activity. In this study, we investigated photosynthetic electron transport activity, protein amounts of the photosynthetic electron transport, and electron pool size in the intersystem photosynthetic electron transport and the stroma, before and after 2 h-HL treatment in the leaves of wild-type (WT) and AOX1a-knockout (aox1a) A. thaliana, in which the CP was partially inhibited by a complex-III inhibitor. The electron transport rate around PSII was decreased by CP inhibition in aox1a. After 2 h-HL treatment, CP inhibition barely changed the protein amounts of photosynthetic electron transport, but the protein amount of AOX was increased in WT. The lack of AOX further led to over-reduction of chloroplasts under CP inhibition. Under HL conditions, AOX is important in preventing over-reduction of chloroplasts as an electron sink.</p>","PeriodicalId":20575,"journal":{"name":"Plant and Cell Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1141-1154"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144226477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Shoot apex-derived CLE46 peptide signal spatiotemporally restricts root regeneration in Arabidopsis.","authors":"Tatsuya Ito, Kazuhiro Otsuki, Hiroo Fukuda, Satoshi Endo","doi":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf065","DOIUrl":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf065","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plants have evolved sophisticated cell-to-cell signaling systems to adapt to environmental stimuli. In response to the environmental stimuli, signals are transmitted to distant areas within the plant by mobile molecules such as plant hormones, nutrients, and peptides. Various CLAVATA3/ESR-related (CLE) peptides play pivotal roles in developmental regulation and stress-response processes. Although CLE46 peptide exhibits high amino acid sequence similarity in the conserved CLE domain with vascular meristem-regulating CLE41 and CLE44, the biological function of CLE46 remains unknown. Here, we investigated the biological role of CLE46 peptide in Arabidopsis thaliana. Spatial expression analysis revealed that CLE46 promoter-β-glucuronidase (GUS) activity is restricted to the shoot apex of young seedlings. However, the cle46 loss-of-function mutant showed no developmental defect under normal conditions. We also found transient CLE46 promoter-GUS activity at the wound site of leaves following petiole excision. The cle46 mutant exhibited enhanced root regeneration at the cut end of leaves. To further investigate the role of CLE46 in root regeneration, we employed a hypocotyl excision-induced system, in which CLE46-GUS activity did not appear at the wound site. In hypocotyl-excised seedlings, CLE46-GUS activity in the shoot apex was decreased prior to root regeneration. Root regeneration rate was higher in the cle46 mutant than wild-type. The root regeneration phenotype of cle46 was rescued not only by the genetic complementation of CLE46 sequence but by the exogenous application of the synthetic CLE46 peptide. These results suggest that CLE46 expressed in the shoot apex may repress root regeneration in the lower part of the tissue as a shoot apex-derived signal.</p>","PeriodicalId":20575,"journal":{"name":"Plant and Cell Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1184-1191"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144512413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ari Yoshimura, Yura Seo, Sora Kobayashi, Tomoko Igawa
{"title":"Production of homozygous fertilization regulator gene deletion mutants through multiplex genome editing.","authors":"Ari Yoshimura, Yura Seo, Sora Kobayashi, Tomoko Igawa","doi":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf058","DOIUrl":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf058","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20575,"journal":{"name":"Plant and Cell Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1137-1140"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144174660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"OsWRKY18, a WRKY transcription factor, is involved in rice salt tolerance.","authors":"Liyun Peng, Dong Chao, Xiaoqian Sun, Longying Li, Jinyu Yu, Ziheng Li, Baolei Zhang, Chunping Liu, Shan Fu, Zhufeng Chen, Jixing Xia","doi":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf063","DOIUrl":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf063","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Salinity stress significantly impairs plant growth and leads to substantial yield losses in rice and other crops. WRKY transcription factors (TFs) are well-documented regulators of plant stress responses, yet their specific roles in rice salt tolerance remain largely unexplored. This study investigates the function of OsWRKY18, a rice WRKY TF with transcriptional activation activity, in salt stress adaptation. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that OsWRKY18 contains conserved motifs and domains shared with other salt-tolerant WRKY TFs, indicating its potential involvement in stress response. Expression analysis showed that OsWRKY18 is predominantly expressed in roots, with significant upregulation under salt stress. Subcellular localization in rice protoplasts revealed that OsWRKY18 is primarily localized in the nucleus. Immunostaining assays confirmed its widespread expression in root tissues, particularly in the stele, but not in epidermal cells. Using CRISPR/Cas9, we generated Oswrky18 knockout mutants, which displayed increased salt sensitivity, marked by elevated Na+ accumulation in shoots and stunted growth compared to wild-type plants. Transcriptome sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed that OsWRKY18 regulates key genes involved in ABA signaling, osmotic adjustment, and ion homeostasis, including OsHOX22, OsSALP1, OsNHX4, and OsHKT1;5. Yeast one-hybrid assays further confirmed the direct binding of OsWRKY18 to the OsHKT1;5 promoter. These results highlight OsWRKY18's critical role in enhancing rice salt tolerance by maintaining ion balance and activating stress-responsive gene networks. This study advances our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying OsWRKY18-mediated salt-stress responses and the functional roles of WRKY TFs in rice.</p>","PeriodicalId":20575,"journal":{"name":"Plant and Cell Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1169-1183"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144226467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Degradation of structure variants of boric acid channels through the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation pathway in Arabidopsis.","authors":"Zhe Zhang, Sheliang Wang, Junpei Takano","doi":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf070","DOIUrl":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf070","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The nodulin 26-like intrinsic protein NIP5;1 is a boric acid channel localized in the plasma membrane (PM) for efficient uptake of B in roots of Arabidopsis thaliana under low B conditions. NIP6;1 is the closest paralog of NIP5;1 and is responsible for B distribution to young tissues in shoots. In the present study, we analyzed the contribution of the N-terminal cytosolic region of these boric acid channels to their localization and identified critical leucine residues at the boundary of the N-terminal cytosolic region and the first transmembrane helix (L76 of NIP5;1 and L78 of NIP6;1). Substitution of the leucine residues by an alanine residue but not by phenylalanine in GFP-NIP5;1 and GFP-NIP6;1 reduced protein levels in the PM in nip5;1 mutant background. The GFP-NIP5;1 L76A was observed in the PM when expressed in a WT Col-0 background, suggesting that the defective variant can be transported to the PM as oligomers containing endogenous NIP5;1. When proteasome activity was inhibited by MG132, GFP signal derived from GFP-NIP5;1 L76A and GFP-NIP6;1 L78A accumulated in the cytoplasm. These results suggest that NIP5;1 L76A and NIP6;1 L78A were subjected to endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated degradation (ERAD). These findings indicate that the conserved leucine or phenylalanine is essential for the folding and PM targeting of boric acid channels, and that ERAD operates to eliminate unfolded/misfolded boric acid channels in plant cells. GFP-NIP5;1 L76A and GFP-NIP6;1 L78A will be used as fluorescent markers for ERAD studies in plant cells.</p>","PeriodicalId":20575,"journal":{"name":"Plant and Cell Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1220-1228"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144497884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"CAPtivating morphogenesis: peptide-guided developmental reprogramming in insect gall formation.","authors":"Hatsune Morinaka","doi":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf093","DOIUrl":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf093","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20575,"journal":{"name":"Plant and Cell Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1119-1122"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144837470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The chromatin remodelling factor BrCHR39 positively regulates apical dominance by auxin signalling in Brassica rapa.","authors":"Jiayin Liu, Lanlan Yang, Wei Zhu, Zhaoran Tian, Zhengqing Xie, Luyue Zhang, Baoming Tian, Fang Wei, Gongyao Shi","doi":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf075","DOIUrl":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf075","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chromatin remodelling complexes like the SHPRH (sucrose non-fermenting 2 (SNF2), histone linker, plant homeodomain (PHD), really interesting new gene (RING), and helicase domains) control gene expression via ATPase and nucleosome-E3 ubiquitin ligase activities. The members of SHPRH have been shown to play substantial roles in DNA repair in mammals, while their functions remain largely unknown in plants. In this study, we further investigated a SHPRH member designated as BrCHR39 in Brassica rapa, building on earlier experimental evidence from our laboratory that highlighted its functional significance. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown of endogenous BrCHR39 expression, consistent with our prior findings, resulted in impaired apical dominance, semi-dwarfism, and enhanced axillary bud outgrowth in B. rapa. These results confirm and extend our earlier observations. The transgenic B. rapa lines had reduced cell numbers in parenchyma due to the affected cell division in the main stem. Suppression of BrCHR39 expression resulted in a significant decrease in the expression levels of auxin-related genes, and the application of exogenous auxin sufficiently restored the apical dominance in the silenced B. rapa lines. In addition, the silencing of BrCHR39 triggered a negative regulatory expression pattern in auxin-responsive genes. Furthermore, we demonstrated that BrCHR39 interacts with BrASK18 via its F-box domain, playing a critical role in the auxin signalling pathway. Taken all together, our study provides compelling evidence that BrCHR39 positively regulates apical dominance through auxin signalling in B. rapa.</p>","PeriodicalId":20575,"journal":{"name":"Plant and Cell Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1240-1253"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144609196","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Qingfen Wang, Mingjing Wang, Zhengxue Zhang, Meng Li, Xuan Wang, Shusen Gong, Gangqiang Dong, Can Wang, Tian Wu
{"title":"McACO2 gene promotes ethylene-mediated scopoletin biosynthesis in noni (Morinda citrifolia).","authors":"Qingfen Wang, Mingjing Wang, Zhengxue Zhang, Meng Li, Xuan Wang, Shusen Gong, Gangqiang Dong, Can Wang, Tian Wu","doi":"10.1093/pcp/pcaf109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcaf109","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The noni (Morinda citrifolia) fruit undergoes exclusive post-harvest changes in metabolites to counteract spoilage. The second day after harvest is the key time point for noni fruit, which would generate high content of scopoletin after that. According to our previous RNA-seq data, the McACO2 genes encode aminocyclopropane carboxylic acid oxidase, a key enzyme involved in ethylene biosynthesis, were identified to be closely related to the postharvest ripening process of noni fruit. Ethylene is a signaling molecule for scopoletin biosynthesis. To reveal the relationship between McACO2 and scopoletin biosynthesis, here we cloned the McACO2 gene and verified its function through noni genetic transformation. In McACO2-OE lines, McACO2 expression, McACO enzyme activity and scopoletin content were significantly higher than those of wild type (WT). Conversely, in McACO2-RNAi lines, McACO2 expression, McACO enzyme activity and scopoletin content were significantly lower than those of WT. The expression levels of genes enriched in the MAPK signaling, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, ethylene biosynthesis and plant hormone signal transduction pathways were altered by McACO2. The McACO2 gene promoter responded to ethylene, and the ethylene-responsive element in -1802 ~ -1619 bp was negatively regulated by exogenous ethylene, suppressing the expression of downstream McACO2 gene, while the ethylene-responsive element in -659 ~ -467 bp was positively regulated by exogenous ethylene, promoting the expression of downstream McACO2 gene. In summary, the McACO2 gene played a critical role in scopoletin biosynthesis regulation through altering ethylene levels and the expression of corresponding genes related to the phenylpropanoid pathway, and improved scopoletin contents in the postharvest noni fruit. Our findings suggested an ethylene-mediated scopoletin biosynthesis pathway involving a McACO2 gene, which would provide new insights for maintaining or improving the quality of postharvest noni fruit.</p>","PeriodicalId":20575,"journal":{"name":"Plant and Cell Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145086640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}