Steven W. de Taeye, Loïc Faye, Bertrand Morel, Angela I. Schriek, Jeffrey C. Umotoy, Meng Yuan, Natalia A. Kuzmina, Hannah L. Turner, Xueyong Zhu, Clemens Grünwald-Gruber, Meliawati Poniman, Judith A. Burger, Tom G. Caniels, Anne-Catherine Fitchette, Réjean Desgagnés, Virginie Stordeur, Lucie Mirande, Guillaume Beauverger, Godelieve de Bree, Gabriel Ozorowski, Andrew B. Ward, Ian A. Wilson, Alexander Bukreyev, Rogier W. Sanders, Louis-Philippe Vezina, Tim Beaumont, Marit J. van Gils, Véronique Gomord
{"title":"Plant-produced SARS-CoV-2 antibody engineered towards enhanced potency and in vivo efficacy","authors":"Steven W. de Taeye, Loïc Faye, Bertrand Morel, Angela I. Schriek, Jeffrey C. Umotoy, Meng Yuan, Natalia A. Kuzmina, Hannah L. Turner, Xueyong Zhu, Clemens Grünwald-Gruber, Meliawati Poniman, Judith A. Burger, Tom G. Caniels, Anne-Catherine Fitchette, Réjean Desgagnés, Virginie Stordeur, Lucie Mirande, Guillaume Beauverger, Godelieve de Bree, Gabriel Ozorowski, Andrew B. Ward, Ian A. Wilson, Alexander Bukreyev, Rogier W. Sanders, Louis-Philippe Vezina, Tim Beaumont, Marit J. van Gils, Véronique Gomord","doi":"10.1111/pbi.14458","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14458","url":null,"abstract":"Prevention of severe COVID-19 disease by SARS-CoV-2 in high-risk patients, such as immuno-compromised individuals, can be achieved by administration of antibody prophylaxis, but producing antibodies can be costly. Plant expression platforms allow substantial lower production costs compared to traditional bio-manufacturing platforms depending on mammalian cells in bioreactors. In this study, we describe the expression, production and purification of the originally human COVA2-15 antibody in plants. Our plant-produced mAbs demonstrated comparable neutralizing activity with COVA2-15 produced in mammalian cells. Furthermore, they exhibited similar capacity to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in a hamster model. To further enhance these biosimilars, we performed three glyco- and protein engineering techniques. First, to increase antibody half-life, we introduced YTE-mutation in the Fc tail; second, optimization of <i>N</i>-linked glycosylation by the addition of a C-terminal ER-retention motif (HDEL), and finally; production of mAb in plant production lines lacking β-1,2-xylosyltransferase and α-1,3-fucosyltransferase activities (FX-KO). These engineered biosimilars exhibited optimized glycosylation, enhanced phagocytosis and NK cell activation capacity compared to conventional plant-produced S15 and M15 biosimilars, in some cases outperforming mammalian cell produced COVA2-15. These engineered antibodies hold great potential for enhancing <i>in vivo</i> efficacy of mAb treatment against COVID-19 and provide a platform for the development of antibodies against other emerging viruses in a cost-effective manner.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142672916","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Creation of high-resistant starch rice through systematic editing of amylopectin biosynthetic genes in rs4.","authors":"Anqi Wang, Qiao Cheng, Wenjia Li, Mingxi Kan, Yuxin Zhang, Xiangbing Meng, Hongyan Guo, Yanhui Jing, Mingjiang Chen, Guifu Liu, Dianxing Wu, Jiayang Li, Hong Yu","doi":"10.1111/pbi.14511","DOIUrl":"10.1111/pbi.14511","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Resistant starch (RS) is a special kind of starch with beneficial effects on obesity, type 2 diabetes and other chronic complications. Breeding high-RS rice varieties is considered a valuable way to improve public health. However, most rice cultivars only contain an RS level lower than 2% in cooked rice, and cloning of RS genes is critical to improve RS levels in rice. The loss of function of Starch Synthases IIIa (SSIIIa) and SSIIIb, two amylopectin biosynthetic genes, could elevate RS levels up to 10%. Here, we performed a systematic genetic study of 14 amylopectin biosynthetic genes in the ssIIIa ssIIIb double mutant via genome editing, and investigated their effects on RS formation, the eating quality and grain yield. The results showed that deficiency in SSIIa, SSIVb or ISA2 under the ssIIIa ssIIIb background could each elevate RS content to above 14%, and the quadruple mutants of sbeI sbeIIb ssIIIa ssIIIb and sbeI ssIVb ssIIIa ssIIIb could further increase RS levels to over 18%. Furthermore, the eating quality of cooked rice and grain yield decreased along with the elevated RS contents, showing a trade-off among these traits. In these mutants, ssIIIa ssIIIb showed the balanced performance of RS and grain yield. This study provides insights into RS biosynthesis with a series of RS genes in the amylopectin biosynthesis pathway and practical strategy to breed high-RS rice varieties with balanced performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142666202","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pathway elucidation and heterologous reconstitution of the long-chain alkane pentadecane biosynthesis from Pogostemon cablin.","authors":"Jing Wen, Wanxian Xia, Ying Wang, Juan Li, Ruihao Guo, Yue Zhao, Jing Fen, Xinyu Duan, Guo Wei, Guodong Wang, Zhengguo Li, Haiyang Xu","doi":"10.1111/pbi.14520","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14520","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Very-long-chain (VLC) alkanes are major components of hydrophobic cuticular waxes that cover the aerial epidermis of land plants, serving as a waterproofing barrier to protect the plant against environmental stresses. The mechanism of VLC-alkane biosynthesis has been extensively elucidated in plants. However, little is known about the biosynthesis of long-chain alkanes (LC, C<sub>13</sub> ~ C<sub>19</sub>) such as pentadecane in plants. Alkanes with different chain lengths are also major constituents of fossil fuels and thus the discovery of the alkane biosynthetic machinery in plants would provide a toolbox of enzymes for the production of renewable hydrocarbon sources and next generations of biofuels. The top leaves of Pogostemon cablin at young stage accumulate large amounts of LC-alkane pentadecane, making this plant an excellent system for the elucidation of LC-alkane biosynthetic machinery in plant. We show here that LC-alkane pentadecane biosynthesis in P. cablin involves an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized complex made of PcCER1-LIKE3 and PcCER3, homologues of Arabidopsis ECERIFERUM1 (AtCER1) and AtCER3 proteins that are involved in Arabidopsis VLC-alkane biosynthesis. We reconstitute the biosynthesis of pentadecane in Nicotiana benthamiana by co-expression of PcCER1-LIKE3 and PcCER3 and further improve its production by silencing multifunctional acetyl-CoA carboxylases involved in fatty acid elongation pathway. Taken together, we uncovered the key biosynthetic machinery of LC-alkane pentadecane in P. cablin and demonstrated that using these newly identified enzymes to engineer this LC-alkane for liquid biofuel production in a heterologous plant host is possible.</p>","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142646455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ludmila V. Roze, Anna Antoniak, Daipayan Sarkar, Aaron H. Liepman, Mauricio Tejera-Nieves, Josh V. Vermaas, Berkley J. Walker
{"title":"Increasing thermostability of the key photorespiratory enzyme glycerate 3-kinase by structure-based recombination","authors":"Ludmila V. Roze, Anna Antoniak, Daipayan Sarkar, Aaron H. Liepman, Mauricio Tejera-Nieves, Josh V. Vermaas, Berkley J. Walker","doi":"10.1111/pbi.14508","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14508","url":null,"abstract":"As global temperatures rise, improving crop yields will require enhancing the thermotolerance of crops. One approach for improving thermotolerance is using bioengineering to increase the thermostability of enzymes catalysing essential biological processes. Photorespiration is an essential recycling process in plants that is integral to photosynthesis and crop growth. The enzymes of photorespiration are targets for enhancing plant thermotolerance as this pathway limits carbon fixation at elevated temperatures. We explored the effects of temperature on the activity of the photorespiratory enzyme glycerate kinase (GLYK) from various organisms and the homologue from the thermophilic alga <i>Cyanidioschyzon merolae</i> was more thermotolerant than those from mesophilic plants, including <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>. To understand enzyme features underlying the thermotolerance of <i>C. merolae</i> GLYK (CmGLYK), we performed molecular dynamics simulations using AlphaFold-predicted structures, which revealed greater movement of loop regions of mesophilic plant GLYKs at higher temperatures compared to CmGLYK. Based on these simulations, hybrid proteins were produced and analysed. These hybrid enzymes contained loop regions from CmGLYK replacing the most mobile corresponding loops of AtGLYK. Two of these hybrid enzymes had enhanced thermostability, with melting temperatures increased by 6 °C. One hybrid with three grafted loops maintained higher activity at elevated temperatures. Whilst this hybrid enzyme exhibited enhanced thermostability and a similar K<sub>m</sub> for ATP compared to AtGLYK, its K<sub>m</sub> for glycerate increased threefold. This study demonstrates that molecular dynamics simulation-guided structure-based recombination offers a promising strategy for enhancing the thermostability of other plant enzymes with possible application to increasing the thermotolerance of plants under warming climates.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142645880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Genetic improvement of eating and cooking quality of rice cultivars in southern China","authors":"Yue Cai, Zichun Chen, Jianju Liu, Ling Yu, Zhiping Wang, Shuhao Zhu, Wei Shi, Cunhong Pan, Yunyu Wu, Yuhong Li, Hongjuan Ji, Niansheng Huang, Xiaoxiang Zhang, Peng Gao, Ning Xiao, Shimin Zuo, Aihong Li","doi":"10.1111/pbi.14517","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14517","url":null,"abstract":"The genetic improvement of rice eating and cooking quality (ECQ) is an important goal in rice breeding. It is important to understand the genetic regulation of ECQ at the genomic level for effective breeding to improve ECQ. However, the mechanisms underlying the improvement of ECQ of <i>indica</i> and <i>japonica</i> cultivars in southern China remain unclear. In this study, 290 rice cultivars (155 <i>indica</i> and 135 <i>japonica</i> cultivars) bred in southern China in the past 30 years were collected. Physicochemical indicators, namely, apparent amylose content (AAC), protein content (PC), lipid content and taste value, were measured and correlation analysis was performed. A decrease in AAC and PC was a crucial factor for the ECQ improvement of the rice cultivars in southern China. Genome-wide association analysis and selective domestication analysis preliminarily clarified that the comprehensive utilization of major and minor genes was an important genetic basis for improvement of ECQ. An elite allele, <i>RAmy1A</i><sup><i>A</i></sup>, with potential application in breeding to improve starch viscosity characteristics and ECQ, was mined. The <i>Wx</i><sup><i>b</i></sup>/<i>OsmtSSB1L</i><sup><i>T</i></sup>/<i>OsDML4</i><sup><i>G</i></sup>/<i>RPBF</i><sup><i>T</i></sup>/<i>Du3</i><sup><i>T</i></sup> and <i>Wx</i><sup><i>b</i></sup>/<i>OsEro1</i><sup><i>T</i></sup><i>/Glup3</i><sup><i>G</i></sup><i>/OsNAC25</i><sup><i>G</i></sup>/<i>OsBEIIb</i><sup><i>C</i></sup>/<i>RAmy1A</i><sup><i>A</i></sup>/<i>FLO12</i><sup><i>A</i></sup> gene modules, neither of which have been widely used, are proposed as the optimal allele combinations for ECQ improvement of <i>indica</i> and <i>japonica</i> cultivars in southern China. The results clarify the genetic regulation of rice ECQ improvement in southern China and provide novel genetic resources and breeding strategies for ECQ improvement in rice.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142637641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Faqiang Feng, Yufeng Yang, Qiuquan Yu, Dan Lei, Jinjie Ye, Kun Li, Bo Wang
{"title":"Overexpression of ZmSPS2 increases α/γ-tocopherol ratio to improve maize nutritional quality","authors":"Faqiang Feng, Yufeng Yang, Qiuquan Yu, Dan Lei, Jinjie Ye, Kun Li, Bo Wang","doi":"10.1111/pbi.14516","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14516","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Severe vitamin E deficiency causes ataxia, neuropathy, anaemia and other health conditions, and inadequate vitamin E status is prevalent in healthy population (Malik <i>et al</i>., <span>2021</span>). Meanwhile, global food production falls short in delivering sufficient vitamin E, resulting in a nutrient gap of 31% (Smith <i>et al</i>., <span>2021</span>). Although various tocochromanol isoforms are found in crop seeds, only α-tocopherol exhibits the highest biological activity and liver tissue concentration (Traber, <span>2024</span>). However, crop tend to accumulate abundant γ-tocopherol and α-tocopherol content is lower than that of γ-tocopherol (Mène-Saffrané and Pellaud, <span>2017</span>). Therefore, exploring new genes to enhance α-tocopherol content and α/γ-tocopherol ratio in staple crop is attractive.</p>\u0000<p>As a globally significant staple crop, maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) provides abundant tocopherols for enhancing human health. The biosynthesis of α-tocopherol regulated by two key enzymes ZmVTE1 and ZmVTE4 in maize (Li <i>et al</i>., <span>2012</span>; Sattler <i>et al</i>., <span>2003</span>). In our previous study, we identified a quantitative trait locus (QTL) within the umc1177–bnlg1429 interval on chromosome 1 that contributes to the highest α/γ-tocopherol ratio (41.16%) in sweet corn (Feng <i>et al</i>., <span>2013</span>). <i>ZmSPS2</i> (<i>Zm00001d027694</i>, named according to the genome annotation ‘Solanesyl diphosphate synthase 2 chloroplastic’), located in this genomic region (Table S1), is co-expressed with vitamin E biosynthesis genes (<i>ZmVTE1</i> and <i>ZmVTE4</i>) (Tables S2, S3). Furthermore, the expression profile of <i>ZmSPS2</i> is consistent with changes in α/γ-tocopherol ratio during the kernel development (Figure 1a). In addition, three ZmSPS2 homologues with complete conserved domain were obtained in maize (Figure S1, Table S4). And the expression profile of these SPS2 homologues is not correlated with changes in α/γ-tocopherol ratio during the kernel development (Figure S2). These findings suggest the possibility of modulating α/γ-tocopherol ratio through <i>ZmSPS2</i>. In the present study, both maize mutants and overexpression lines were obtained; subsequently, the tocopherol contents compared to the wild-type plants were explored.</p>\u0000<figure><picture>\u0000<source media=\"(min-width: 1650px)\" srcset=\"/cms/asset/d6bd057c-fe27-494e-ad93-e3b2dda09ada/pbi14516-fig-0001-m.jpg\"/><img alt=\"Details are in the caption following the image\" data-lg-src=\"/cms/asset/d6bd057c-fe27-494e-ad93-e3b2dda09ada/pbi14516-fig-0001-m.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/cms/asset/33034fae-8c3a-49d7-96fb-b2207ceb558a/pbi14516-fig-0001-m.png\" title=\"Details are in the caption following the image\"/></picture><figcaption>\u0000<div><strong>Figure 1<span style=\"font-weight:normal\"></span></strong><div>Open in figure viewer<i aria-hidden=\"true\"></i><span>PowerPoint</span></div>\u0000</div>\u0000<div>Overexpression <i>ZmSPS2</i> increases α-tocopherol accumulati","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"153 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142601435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gamarelanbia Mohamed, Ao Ji, Xinyu Cao, Md. Samiul Islam, Mohamed F. Hassan, Yang Zhao, Xing Lan, Wubei Dong, Hongqu Wu, Wenxing Xu
{"title":"A small antimicrobial peptide derived from a Burkholderia bacterium exhibits a broad-spectrum and high inhibiting activities against crop diseases","authors":"Gamarelanbia Mohamed, Ao Ji, Xinyu Cao, Md. Samiul Islam, Mohamed F. Hassan, Yang Zhao, Xing Lan, Wubei Dong, Hongqu Wu, Wenxing Xu","doi":"10.1111/pbi.14506","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14506","url":null,"abstract":"Crop diseases cause significant quality and yield losses to global crop products each year and are heavily controlled by chemicals along with very limited antibiotics composed of small molecules. However, these methods often result in environmental pollution and pest resistance, necessitating the development of new bio-controlling products to mitigate these hazards. To identify effective antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) considered as potential sources of future antibiotics, AMPs were screened from five bacterial strains showing antagonism against a representative phytopathogenic fungus (<i>Rhizoctonia Solani</i>) through the <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> expression system, which has been developed for identifying bacterial AMPs by displaying autolysis morphologies. A total of 5000 colonies were screened, and five displaying autolysis morphologies showed antagonism against <i>R. solani.</i> A novel AMP with the strongest antagonism efficiency was determined and tentatively named HR2-7, which is composed of 24 amino acids with an alpha-helical structure. HR2-7 has strong and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, tested against 10 g-positive and -negative bacteria and four phytopathogenic fungi by contact culture in plates with minimal lethal concentrations of 4.0 μM. When applied as purified peptide or in fermented <i>B. subtilis</i> culture solution, HR2-7 showed strong controlling efficiency on plants against diverse fungal and bacterial pathogens. Based on current understanding, HR2-7 is recognized as the first AMP derived from an agricultural antagonistic bacterium. It exhibits wide-ranging and notable antimicrobial efficacy, offering a supplementary approach for managing plant diseases, in addition to conventional chemical pesticides and antibiotics.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142610206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhiyong Xu, Liya Zhang, Keke Kong, Jiejie Kong, Ronghuan Ji, Yi Liu, Jun Liu, Hongyu Li, Yulong Ren, Wenbin Zhou, Tao Zhao, Tuanjie Zhao, Bin Liu
{"title":"Creeping Stem 1 regulates directional auxin transport for lodging resistance in soybean","authors":"Zhiyong Xu, Liya Zhang, Keke Kong, Jiejie Kong, Ronghuan Ji, Yi Liu, Jun Liu, Hongyu Li, Yulong Ren, Wenbin Zhou, Tao Zhao, Tuanjie Zhao, Bin Liu","doi":"10.1111/pbi.14503","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14503","url":null,"abstract":"Soybean, a staple crop on a global scale, frequently encounters challenges due to lodging under high planting densities, which results in significant yield losses. Despite extensive research, the fundamental genetic mechanisms governing lodging resistance in soybeans remain elusive. In this study, we identify and characterize the <i>Creeping Stem 1</i> (<i>CS1</i>) gene, which plays a crucial role in conferring lodging resistance in soybeans. The <i>CS1</i> gene encodes a HEAT-repeat protein that modulates hypocotyl gravitropism by regulating amyloplast sedimentation. Functional analysis reveals that the loss of <i>CS1</i> activity disrupts polar auxin transport, vascular bundle development and the biosynthesis of cellulose and lignin, ultimately leading to premature lodging and aberrant root development. Conversely, increasing <i>CS1</i> expression significantly enhances lodging resistance and improves yield under conditions of high planting density. Our findings shed light on the genetic mechanisms that underlie lodging resistance in soybeans and highlight the potential of <i>CS1</i> as a valuable target for genetic engineering to improve crop lodging resistance and yield.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"156 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142600908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mitochondrial AOX1a and an H2O2 feed-forward signalling loop regulate flooding tolerance in rice","authors":"Cong Danh Nguyen, Chun-Hsien Lu, Yi-Shih Chen, Hsiang-Ting Lee, Shuen-Fang Lo, An-Chi Wei, Tuan-Hua David Ho, Su-May Yu","doi":"10.1111/pbi.14504","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14504","url":null,"abstract":"Flooding is a widespread natural disaster that causes tremendous yield losses of global food production. Rice is the only cereal capable of growing in aquatic environments. Direct seeding by which seedlings grow underwater is an important cultivation method for reducing rice production cost. Hypoxic germination tolerance and root growth in waterlogged soil are key traits for rice adaptability to flooded environments. Alternative oxidase (AOX) is a non-ATP-producing terminal oxidase in the plant mitochondrial electron transport chain, but its role in hypoxia tolerance had been unclear. We have discovered that <i>AOX1a</i> is necessary and sufficient to promote germination/coleoptile elongation and root development in rice under flooding/hypoxia. Hypoxia enhances endogenous H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> accumulation, and H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> in turn activates an ensemble of regulatory genes including <i>AOX1a</i> to facilitate the conversion of deleterious reactive oxygen species to H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> in rice under hypoxia. We show that <i>AOX1a</i> and H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> act interdependently to coordinate three key downstream events, that is, glycolysis/fermentation for minimal ATP production, root aerenchyma development and lateral root emergence under hypoxia. Moreover, we reveal that ectopic <i>AOX1a</i> expression promotes vigorous root and plant growth, and increases grain yield under regular irrigation conditions. Our discoveries provide new insights into a unique sensor–second messenger pair in which <i>AOX1a</i> acts as the sensor perceiving low oxygen tension, while H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> accumulation serves as the second messenger triggering downstream root development in rice against hypoxia stress. This work also reveals <i>AOX1a</i> genetic manipulation and H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> pretreatment as potential targets for improving flooding tolerance in rice and other crops.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142600986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"ZmCCD8 regulates sugar and amino acid accumulation in maize kernels via strigolactone signalling","authors":"Yanting Zhong, Yongqi Wang, Xiaoying Pan, Ruifeng Wang, Dongdong Li, Wei Ren, Ziyi Hao, Xionggao Shi, Jingyu Guo, Elia Ramarojaona, Mario Schilder, Harro Bouwmeester, Limei Chen, Peng Yu, Jijun Yan, Jinfang Chu, Yanjun Xu, Wenxin Liu, Zhaobin Dong, Yi Wang, Xiaolan Zhang, Fusuo Zhang, Xuexian Li","doi":"10.1111/pbi.14513","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14513","url":null,"abstract":"How carbon (sucrose) and nitrogen (amino acid) accumulation is coordinatively controlled in cereal grains remains largely enigmatic. We found that overexpression of the strigolactone (SL) biosynthesis gene <i>CAROTENOID CLEAVAGE DIOXYGENASE 8</i> (<i>CCD8</i>) resulted in greater ear diameter and enhanced sucrose and amino acid accumulation in maize kernels. Loss of <i>ZmCCD8</i> function reduced kernel growth with lower sugar and amino acid concentrations. Transcriptomic analysis showed down-regulation of the transcription factors <i>ZmMYB42</i> and <i>ZmMYB63</i> in <i>ZmCCD8</i> overexpression alleles and up-regulation in <i>zmccd8</i> null alleles. Importantly, <i>ZmMYB42</i> and <i>ZmMYB63</i> were negatively regulated by the SL signalling component UNBRANCHED 3, and repressed expression of the sucrose transporters <i>ZmSWEET10</i> and <i>ZmSWEET13c</i> and the lysine/histidine transporter <i>ZmLHT14</i>. Consequently, null alleles of <i>ZmMYB42</i> or <i>ZmMYB63</i> promoted accumulation of soluble sugars and free amino acids in maize kernels, whereas <i>ZmLHT14</i> overexpression enhanced amino acid accumulation in kernels. Moreover, overexpression of the SL receptor <i>DWARF 14B</i> resulted in more sucrose and amino acid accumulation in kernels, down-regulation of <i>ZmMYB42</i> and <i>ZmMYB63</i> expression, and up-regulation of <i>ZmSWEET</i>s and <i>ZmLHT14</i> transcription. Together, we uncover a distinct SL signalling pathway that regulates sucrose and amino acid accumulation in kernels. Significant association of two SNPs in the 5′ upstream region of <i>ZmCCD8</i> with ear and cob diameter implicates its potential in breeding toward higher yield and nitrogen efficiency.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142597603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}