The Plant Journal最新文献

{"title":"Understanding the electron pathway fluidity of Synechocystis in biophotovoltaics","authors":"Hans Schneider,&nbsp;Bin Lai,&nbsp;Jens O. Krömer","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17225","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.17225","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Biophotovoltaics offers a promising low-carbon footprint approach to utilize solar energy. It aims to couple natural oxygenic photosynthetic electrons to an external electron sink. This lays the foundation for a potentially high light-to-energy efficiency of the Biophotovoltaic process. However, there are still uncertainties around demonstrating the direct coupling of electron fluxes between photosystems and the external electrode. The dynamic cellular electron transfer network linked to physiological and environmental parameters poses a particular challenge here. In this work, the active cellular electron transfer network was modulated by tuning the cultivating conditions of <i>Synechocystis</i> and the operating conditions in Biophotovoltaics. The current output during darkness was found to be determined by the intracellular glycogen levels. Minimizing the intracellular glycogen pools also eliminated the dark-current output. Moreover, our results provide strong evidence that water splitting in photosystem II is the electron source enabling photocurrent, bypassing the microbe's metabolism. Eliminating the storage carbon as possible source of electrons did not reduce the specific photocurrent output, indicating an efficient coupling of photosynthetic electron flux to the anode. Furthermore, inhibiting respiration on the one hand increased the photocurrent and on the other hand showed a negative effect on the dark-current output. This suggested a switchable role of the respiratory electron transfer chain in the extracellular electron transfer pathway. Overall, we conclude that <i>Synechocystis</i> dynamically switches electron sources and utilizes different extracellular transfer pathways for the current output toward the external electron sink, depending on the physiological and environmental conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"121 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11771661/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143045238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of glutathione reductase on photosystem II characterization and reactive oxygen species metabolism in cotton cytoplasmic male sterile line Jin A","authors":"Li Zhang,&nbsp;Panpan Jing,&nbsp;Biao Geng,&nbsp;Jinjiang Shi,&nbsp;Jinlong Zhang,&nbsp;Dong Liang,&nbsp;Yujie Yang,&nbsp;Yunfang Qu,&nbsp;Jinling Huang","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17217","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.17217","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Glutathione reductase (GR) maintains the cellular redox state by reducing oxidized glutathione to glutathione (GSH), which regulates antioxidant defense. Additionally, GR plays an essential role in photosynthesis; however, the mechanism by which GR regulates photosystem II (PSII) is largely unknown. We identified six, three, and three <i>GR</i> genes in <i>Gossypium hirsutum</i>, <i>Gossypium arboreum</i>, and <i>Gossypium raimondii</i>, respectively. We found that GhGR1 and GhGR3 proteins were localized in the chloroplasts, whereas GhGR5 was localized in the cell membrane. Cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) line Jin A was ideal to explore GR functions because accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was increased and expression of GhGR was downregulated at the key stage of microspore abortion in anthers compared to maintainer Jin B. The GR activity and relative <i>GhGR1</i>, <i>GhGR3</i>, <i>GhGR5</i> gene expressions decreased significantly at the key stage of microspore abortion in Jin A-CMS compared to that in Jin B, resulting in an increase in ROS and a decrease in photochemical efficiency in PSII. <i>GhGR1</i> and <i>GhGR3</i> overexpression in Arabidopsis decreased ROS levels in anthers and leaves compared to the wild-type. Biochemical analysis of <i>GhGR1</i> and <i>GhGR3</i> silencing in <i>Gossypium</i> L. showed that ROS content was increased and photochemical efficiency of PSII was inhibited in leaves. Complementation experiments in tobacco and yeast indicated that GhGR1 interacted with GhPsbX, which was one of the subunits of the PSII protein complex. Taken together, these findings suggest that chloroplast GR plays an important role in PSII and ROS metabolism by interacting with PsbX in cotton plants.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"121 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143045225","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":"Phosphorus starvation induces the synthesis of novel lipid class diacylglyceryl glucuronide and diacylglyceryl-N,N,N-trimethylhomoserine in two species of cold-adapted microalgae Raphidonema (Chlorophyta)","authors":"Hirono Suzuki,&nbsp;Stéphan Cuiné,&nbsp;Bertrand Légeret,&nbsp;René H. Wijffels,&nbsp;Chris J. Hulatt,&nbsp;Yonghua Li-Beisson,&nbsp;Viswanath Kiron","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17227","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.17227","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Microalgae possess diverse lipid classes as components of structural membranes and have adopted various lipid remodeling strategies involving phospholipids to cope with a phosphorus (P)-limited environment. Here, we report a unique adaptative strategy to P deficient conditions in two cold-adapted microalgae, <i>Raphidonema monicae</i> and <i>Raphidonema nivale,</i> involving the lipid class diacylglyceryl glucuronide (DGGA) and the betaine lipid diacylglyceryl-<i>N,N,N</i>-trimethylhomoserine. Lipidomic analyses showed that these two lipid classes were present only in trace amounts in nutrient replete conditions, whereas they significantly increased under P-starvation concomitant with a reduction in phospholipids, suggesting a physiological significance of these lipid classes to combat P-starvation. Additionally, we found two putative sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG) synthases, known to be involved in DGGA synthesis in higher plants, in the draft genome of <i>R. monicae</i>, and compared it with SQDG synthases found in other organisms such as higher plants, Streptophyta, and Chlorophyta. DGGA has not been previously recognized in Chlorophyta, and our findings suggest that the lipid class may be present in other closely related green algae too. Thus, this study expands our knowledge on diverse lipid remodeling responses of Chlorophycean algae to adapt to low P environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"121 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11771548/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143057613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dimerization among multiple NAC proteins mediates secondary cell wall cellulose biosynthesis in cotton fibers","authors":"Feng Chen,&nbsp;Mengfei Qiao,&nbsp;Li Chen,&nbsp;Min Liu,&nbsp;Jingwen Luo,&nbsp;Yanan Gao,&nbsp;Mengyun Li,&nbsp;Jinglong Cai,&nbsp;Staffan Persson,&nbsp;Gengqing Huang,&nbsp;Wenliang Xu","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.17223","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Cotton fibers, essentially cellulosic secondary cell walls (SCWs) when mature, are the most important raw material for natural textiles. SCW cellulose biosynthesis determines fiber thickness and industrially important fiber quality parameters, such as fiber strength and fiber length. However, transcriptional regulatory networks controlling fiber SCW cellulose formation remain incomplete. Here, we identify eight NAC domain proteins (GhNACs) that are involved in fiber SCW cellulose synthesis. These eight GhNACs can form pairwise heterodimers that may act as dimers, or perhaps even as an octameric protein complex, to transactivate <i>GhCesA</i> expression. Moreover, heterodimerization of GhNACs can in different combinations synergistically activate <i>GhCesA</i> genes. Through our analyses of transcription factor—DNA and transcription factor—transcription factor interactions, we propose a multi-layered transcriptional regulatory network in which the regulation of SCW cellulose biosynthesis in cotton fiber is mediated by multiple NAC protein dimers. These findings enhance our understanding of the roles of NAC proteins in SCW formation and offer new insights into fiber-specific transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of cellulose synthesis.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"121 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143119877","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":"Deciphering the biosynthetic pathway of triterpene saponins in Prunella vulgaris","authors":"Si-Jie Liu,&nbsp;Zhengtai Liu,&nbsp;Bing-Yan Shao,&nbsp;Tao Li,&nbsp;Xinning Zhu,&nbsp;Ren Wang,&nbsp;Lei Shi,&nbsp;Sheng Xu,&nbsp;Yves Van de Peer,&nbsp;Jia-Yu Xue","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17220","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.17220","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The traditional Chinese medicinal plant <i>Prunella vulgaris</i> contains numerous triterpene saponin metabolites, notably ursolic and oleanolic acid saponins, which have significant pharmacological values. Despite their importance, the genes responsible for synthesizing these triterpene saponins in <i>P. vulgaris</i> remain unidentified. This study used a comprehensive screening methodology, combining phylogenetic analysis, gene expression assessment, metabolome–transcriptome correlation and co-expression analysis, to identify candidate genes involved in triterpene saponins biosynthesis. Nine candidate genes – two OSCs, three CYP716s and four UGT73s – were precisely identified from large gene families comprising hundreds of members. These genes were subjected to heterologous expression and functional characterization, with enzymatic activity assays confirming their roles in the biosynthetic pathway, aligning with bioinformatics predictions. Analysis revealed that these genes originated from a whole-genome duplication (WGD) event in <i>P. vulgaris</i>, highlighting the potential importance of WGD for plant metabolism. This study addresses the knowledge gap in the biosynthesis of triterpene saponins in <i>P. vulgaris</i>, establishing a theoretical foundation for industrial production via synthetic biology. Additionally, we present an efficient methodological protocol that integrates evolutionary principles and bioinformatics techniques in metabolite biosynthesis research. This approach holds significant value for studies focused on unraveling various biosynthetic pathways.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"121 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143045222","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":"Expression of spider silk protein in tobacco improves drought tolerance with minimal effects on its mechanotype","authors":"Shamitha Rao Morey-Yagi,&nbsp;Yoichi Hashida,&nbsp;Masanori Okamoto,&nbsp;Masaki Odahara,&nbsp;Takehiro Suzuki,&nbsp;Chonprakun Thagun,&nbsp;Choon Pin Foong,&nbsp;Keiji Numata","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17213","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.17213","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Spider silk, especially dragline silk from golden silk spiders (<i>Trichonephila clavipes</i>), is an excellent natural material with remarkable mechanical properties. Many studies have focused on the use of plants as biofactories for the production of recombinant spider silk. However, the effects of this material on the mechanical properties or physiology of transgenic plants remain poorly understood. Since glycine-rich proteins play key roles in plants, we evaluated the effects of a glycine-rich spider silk protein on plant mechanical properties (mechanotype) and physiology. We generated tobacco (<i>Nicotiana tabacum</i>) plants producing a nucleus- or plastid-encoded partial component of dragline silk, MaSp1 (major ampullate spidroin-1; <i>MaSp1</i>-tobacco), containing six repetitive glycine-rich and polyalanine tandem domains. MaSp1 accumulation had minimal effect on leaf mechanical properties, but improved drought tolerance. Transcriptome analysis of drought-stressed <i>MaSp1</i>-tobacco revealed the upregulation of genes involved in stress response, antioxidant activity, cellular metabolism and homeostasis, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. The effects of drought treatment differed between the nucleus- and the plastid-encoded <i>MaSp1</i>-tobacco, with the latter showing a stronger transcriptomic response and a higher total antioxidant status (TAS). Well-watered <i>MaSp1</i>-tobacco displayed elevated levels of the stress phytohormone ABA, leading to stomatal closure, reduced water loss, activation of stress response, and increased TAS. We show that the moderately enhanced ABA content in these plants plays a pivotal role in drought tolerance, alongside, ABA priming, which causes overall adjustments in multiple drought tolerance mechanisms. Thus, our findings highlight the potential of utilizing glycine-rich spider silk proteins to enhance plant resilience to drought.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"121 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11771620/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143045236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Variation in relaxation of non-photochemical quenching between the founder genotypes of the soybean (Glycine max) nested association mapping population","authors":"Dhananjay Gotarkar,&nbsp;Anthony Digrado,&nbsp;Yu Wang,&nbsp;Lynn Doran,&nbsp;Ignacio Sparrow-Muñoz,&nbsp;Sarah Chung,&nbsp;Nicholas Lisa,&nbsp;Farwah Wasiq,&nbsp;Gerardo Amaro,&nbsp;Bethany Blakely,&nbsp;Brian W. Diers,&nbsp;Daniel J. Eck,&nbsp;Steven J. Burgess","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.17219","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Improving the efficiency of crop photosynthesis has the potential to increase yields. Genetic manipulation showed photosynthesis can be improved by speeding up the relaxation of photoprotective mechanisms during sun-to-shade transitions. However, it is unclear if natural variation in the relaxation of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) can be exploited in crop breeding programs. To address this issue, we measured six NPQ parameters in the 40 founder lines and common parent of a Soybean Nested Association Mapping (SoyNAM) panel over two field seasons in Illinois. Leaf disks were sampled from plants grown in the field, and induction and relaxation of NPQ were measured under controlled conditions. NPQ parameters did not show consistently variable trends throughout development, and variation between sampling days suggests environmental impacts on NPQ dynamics. Seventeen genotypes were found to show small but consistent differences in NPQ relaxation kinetics relative to a reference line, providing a basis for future mapping studies. Finally, a soybean canopy model predicted available phenotypic variation could result in a 1.6% difference in carbon assimilation when comparing the fastest and slowest relaxing NPQ values. No correlation could be found between yield and rates of NPQ relaxation, but a full test will require an analysis of isogenic lines.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"121 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tpj.17219","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143119878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Ralstonia effector RipAU impairs peanut AhSBT1.7 immunity for pathogenicity via AhPME-mediated cell wall degradation","authors":"Kun Chen,&nbsp;Yuhui Zhuang,&nbsp;Hua Chen,&nbsp;Taijie Lei,&nbsp;Mengke Li,&nbsp;Shanshan Wang,&nbsp;Lihui Wang,&nbsp;Huiwen Fu,&nbsp;Wenzhi Lu,&nbsp;Abhishek Bohra,&nbsp;Qiaoqiao Lai,&nbsp;Xiaolin Xu,&nbsp;Vanika Garg,&nbsp;Rutwik Barmukh,&nbsp;Biaojun Ji,&nbsp;Chong Zhang,&nbsp;Manish K. Pandey,&nbsp;Ronghua Tang,&nbsp;Rajeev K. Varshney,&nbsp;Weijian Zhuang","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17210","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.17210","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Bacterial wilt caused by <i>Ralstonia solanacearum</i> is a devastating disease affecting a great many crops including peanut. The pathogen damages plants via secreting type Ш effector proteins (T3Es) into hosts for pathogenicity. Here, we characterized RipAU was among the most toxic effectors as <i>ΔRipAU</i> completely lost its pathogenicity to peanuts. A serine residue of RipAU is the critical site for cell death. The RipAU targeted a subtilisin-like protease (AhSBT1.7) in peanut and both protein moved into nucleus. Heterotic expression of <i>AhSBT1.7</i> in transgenic tobacco and <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> significantly improved the resistance to <i>R. solanacearum</i>. The enhanced resistance was linked with the upregulating ERF1 defense marker genes and decreasing pectin methylesterase (PME) activity like PME2&amp;4 in cell wall pathways. The RipAU played toxic effect by repressing R-gene, defense hormone signaling, and <i>AhSBTs</i> metabolic pathways but increasing PMEs expressions. Furthermore, we discovered AhSBT1.7 interacted with AhPME4 and was colocalized at nucleus. The AhPME speeded plants susceptibility to pathogen via mediated cell wall degradation, which inhibited by AhSBT1.7 but upregulated by RipAU. Collectively, RipAU impaired AhSBT1.7 defense for pathogenicity by using PME-mediated cell wall degradation. This study reveals the mechanism of RipAU pathogenicity and <i>AhSBT1.7</i> resistance, highlighting peanut immunity to bacterial wilt for future improvement.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"121 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143045198","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":"Chromosome-level assembly of basil genome unveils the genetic variation driving Genovese and Thai aroma types","authors":"Jing Zhang,&nbsp;Mohamad Abu-Abied,&nbsp;Renana Milavski,&nbsp;Chen Adler,&nbsp;Alona Shachter,&nbsp;Tali Kahane-Achinoam,&nbsp;Hadas Melnik-Ben-Gera,&nbsp;Rachel Davidovich-Rikanati,&nbsp;Adrian F. Powell,&nbsp;David Chaimovitsh,&nbsp;Gon Carmi,&nbsp;Nativ Dudai,&nbsp;Susan R. Strickler,&nbsp;Itay Gonda","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17224","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.17224","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Basil, <i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L., is a widely cultivated aromatic herb, prized for its culinary and medicinal uses, predominantly owing to its unique aroma, primarily determined by eugenol for Genovese cultivars or methyl chavicol for Thai cultivars. To date, a comprehensive basil reference genome has been lacking, with only a fragmented draft available. To fill this gap, we employed PacBio HiFi and Hi-C sequencing to construct a homeolog-phased chromosome-level genome for basil. The tetraploid basil genome was assembled into 26 pseudomolecules and further categorized into subgenomes. High levels of synteny were observed between the two basil subgenomes but comparisons to <i>Salvia rosmarinus</i> show collinearity quickly breaks down in near relatives. We utilized a bi-parental population derived from a Genovese × Thai cross to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) for the aroma chemotype. We discovered a single QTL governing the eugenol/methyl chavicol ratio, which encompassed a genomic region with 95 genes, including 15 genes encoding a shikimate <i>O</i>-<i>hydroxycinnamoyltransferase</i> (HCT/CST) enzyme. Of them, only <i>ObHCT1</i> exhibited significantly higher expression in the Genovese cultivar and showed a trichome-specific expression. ObHCT1 was functionally confirmed as a genuine HCT enzyme using an <i>in vitro</i> assay. The high-quality, contiguous basil reference genome is now publicly accessible at BasilBase, a valuable resource for the scientific community. Combined with insights into cell-type-specific gene expression, it promises to elucidate specialized metabolite biosynthesis pathways at the cellular level.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"121 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143045216","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":"In conversation with Prof. Rosa Lozano-Durán","authors":"Verónica G. Doblas","doi":"10.1111/tpj.17222","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.17222","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;What motivated you to do research? Why did you choose to work on plant viruses?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I was extremely curious since a very early age and fascinated by nature—so when I discovered that a job existed in which your task was to systematically look for answers to better understand the world around us, I immediately knew &lt;i&gt;that&lt;/i&gt; was what I wanted to do. I had absolutely no idea what a scientific career would look like (understandable, since I was five at the time), but the premise sounded simply perfect. Luckily, I had the opportunity to be involved in research later during my studies and therefore to make an informed decision to make it my profession.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Viruses are absolutely enthralling—just think about this: they are ridiculously small, not even living, strictly speaking, and yet they take control of incredibly complex organisms, with proteomes that are several orders of magnitude larger than theirs, and turn them into viral replication factories without breaking a sweat! However, I have to confess that when I started my degree in biology at the University of Málaga, my goal was to become a marine biologist, since I had grown up on the Mediterranean shore and was captivated by marine life. My second-year genetics teacher, Eduardo R Bejarano, is to blame for this twist of fate. His lectures were incredibly engaging, and through them I became very intrigued by molecular biology and genetics; it was only natural that, when he announced they were looking for undergraduates to join his research group, I applied. He happened to be working on the molecular interactions between a family of plant viruses called geminiviruses, causal agents of devastating crop diseases worldwide and plants; I ended up doing my PhD thesis under his supervision—and I got hooked. Too many questions we don't yet have answers for!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;How has been your experience living in different countries? What would you highlight about each country you have lived in?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To me, one additional perk of the scientific career is that it gives you the opportunity to travel and live in different places, which widens your horizons like nothing else. Since I started my PhD in Spain, I have lived and worked in the United States, the UK, China and Germany. I cherish all these experiences, and they have shaped me into the person I am today. Living abroad opens your mind and, in my opinion, makes you more understanding and tolerant—which will also have a positive impact on your performance as a PI at several different levels.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;How was your transition to becoming a PI? Any advice for young PIS?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When I had been a post-doctoral researcher for almost 4 years, I was really looking forward to becoming independent and leading my own group. I had enjoyed my post-doc time investigating plant innate immunity with Silke Robatzek and Cyril Zipfel at The Sainsbury Laboratory, and I had learnt a lot, but I was eager to go back to the research topic I was truly passionate about (plant viruses)","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"121 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tpj.17222","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142997168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}