查看更多>>摘要：Plant non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) are usually defined as small, basic proteins, with a wide distribution in all orders of higher plants. Structurally, nsLTPs contain a conserved motif of eight cysteines, linked by four disulphide bonds, and a hydrophobic cavity in which the ligand is housed. This structure confers stability and enhances the ability to bind and transport a variety of hydrophobic molecules. Their highly conserved structural resemblance but low sequence identity reflects the wide variety of ligands they can carry, as well as the broad biological functions to which they are linked to, such as membrane stabilization, cell wall organization and signal transduction. In addition, they have also been described as essential in resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, plant growth and development, seed development, and germination. Hence, there is growing interest in this family of proteins for their critical roles in plant development and for the many unresolved questions that need to be clarified, regarding their subcellular localization, transfer capacity, expression profile, biological function, and evolution.
查看更多>>摘要：Sufficient amount of minerals, vitamins, and proteins in human diet play indispensable role in maintaining the active metabolism for better human health. All the essential nutrients that are requisite for an individual's survival are acquired from plants as well as animals. Micronutrients and macronutrients directly influence the metabolic pathways and their deficiencies play a substantial role in development of manifold disorders. In addition to environmental factors, quality and quantity of foods are key factors in maintaining the human health. Transition from healthy to diseased state is concurrent with the pattern of gene expression that is largely influenced by nutrition and environment. A combined approach to study the influence of nutrition on expression of numerous genes can be well explored through nutrigenomic studies. Nutrigenomics includes studies wherein applied genomics is used to investigate nutritional science to understand the compartmentalization of genes that influence the cause of diet-related complications. This review describes the role of underutilized crops as frontline foods to circumvent the health complications through the nutrigenomic studies. Further dynamics of nutrigenomic tools to study the impact of nutrition on the changing pattern of genome stability and gene expression for developing precise safety measures against wide range of health ailments linked to metabolic networks. Additionally, this review provides detailed information on nutrigenomic studies undertaken to unravel the potential of underutilized crops to augment the human health and to carry the agronomic/genomic approaches to enhance nutritional profile of underutilized crops to overcome diet-related disorders.
查看更多>>摘要：Excessive inputs of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) trigger eutrophication of the water bodies, which promotes the undesirable growth of algal bloom and deterioration of the water quality, and aquatic biodiversity. Macrophytes provide an environmentally benign and economically viable paradigm for the ecological restoration of eutrophic aquatic ecosystems. Water lily (Nymphaea) is largely used as ornamental plant for landscaping, and it has been documented that water lily possesses the potentiality in mitigating polluted aquatic environments. In the present study, water lily cultivars Nymphaea Texas Dawn (NTD), Nymphaea Colorado (NC), Nymphaea Madame Wilfron Gonne`re (NMWG), and Nymphaea Sunshine Princess (NSP) were investigated for their potency in alleviating the eutrophication. The concentrations of total P and total N were significantly higher in the leaves of NC and NSP compared with NTD and NMWG. Therefore, NC and NSP were selected for subsequent studies to decipher their recuperation efficacy on eutrophic waters at different growth stages. NC and NSP significantly reduced the concentrations of eutrophication indicators i.e., total P, NH4+-N, and chemical oxygen demand in different gradients of the simulated eutrophic water in a growth-dependent manner. On the contrary, NC and NSP triggered a significant increase in the concentration of dissolved oxygen particularly at the seedling stage. Notably, the concentrations of total P (shoot and root) and total N (root) were relatively higher in NSP than NC. The study thus revealed a growth-dependent differential efficacy of NSP and NC in mitigating the different eutrophic waters.
查看更多>>摘要：Using tolerant genotypes and the correct use of fertilizers can mitigate the negative effect of elevated Cu levels in the growing medium. In this context, the study aimed to evaluate the effects of excess Cu in the root system and the effectiveness of phosphorus (P) in minimizing the phytotoxicity of Cu in three genotypes: IAC 572 [(Vitis riparia x V. rupestris) x V. caribaea], Magnolia (V. rotundifolia) and Paulsen 1103 (V. berlandieri x V. rupestris). The plants were grown in nutrient solutions and were supplemented with the following treatments: 0.3 mu M Cu (Control), 60 mu M Cu (Cu) and 60 mu M Cu and 62 mg L-1 P (Cu + P). Root samples were sectioned for microscopy analyses, and the shoot lengths, shoot and root dry matter, relative growth rates (RGR) and tissue nutrient contents were also evaluated. The roots of the genotypes that were cultivated with high Cu concentrations produced greater numbers of branches and larger diameters, except for Magnolia genotype that was cultivated in a Cu + P solution, which had an organization similar to the control. Excess Cu caused accumulations of phenolic compounds and decreased shoot lengths, dry matter and RGR in the genotypes. In the treatments with excess Cu, there were increases in this element in the tissues, but P decreased the metal concentrations in Magnolia roots. Therefore, Cu accumulations alter the root system development patterns, growth parameters and tissue nutrient contents in the studied genotypes. Magnolia has a higher tolerance and is also the only genotype for which the use of P has been shown to be effective.
查看更多>>摘要：Induced resistance is a promising strategy to manage plant disease, while adequate energy supply is crucial to plant defense. Our previous study has revealed that PpWRKY45 and PpWRKY70 are involved in MeJA-primed disease resistance by regulating jasmonate acid biosynthesis and phenylpropanoid metabolism. Herein, the possible role of WRKYs in MeJA-primed disease resistance and energy metabolism was investigated. PpWRKY46 and PpWRKY53 were up-and down-regulated, respectively, by MeJA treatment. The activities and gene expression of energy metabolism-related enzymes and energy status were promoted by MeJA treatment and R. stolonifer inoculation during 60 h storage at 20 degrees C. Energy metabolism-related genes, including PpSDH and PpCOX15 were transactivated by PpWRKY46, but repressed by PpWRKY53. Furthermore, PpWRKY46 interacted with PpWRKY53 to attenuate the transcriptional repression of PpWRKY53 to PpSDH and PpCOX15. Taken together, our results demonstrated that the counteraction of PpWRKY46 and PpWRKY53 contributes to MeJAprimed defense by regulating energy metabolism in peaches.
查看更多>>摘要：Physiological studies conducted mainly in metropolitan areas demonstrated that urban environments generate stressful conditions for plants. However, less attention has been paid to plant response to urban conditions in small cities. Here, we evaluated to what extent the health and physiological functions of some Mediterranean urban species [Quercus ilex L., Nerium oleander L. and Pittosporum tobira (Thunb.) W.T. Aiton] were impacted by urban and peri-urban conditions in Pisa (Italy), a small medieval city with narrow streets that impede efficient public transport causing oversized private transport. Experimental period spanned from late-summer to winter in concomitance with the sharp increase in air pollutants. Climate and air quality, soil physical and chemical properties, and plant physiological traits including leaf gas exchanges, chlorophyll fluorescence and leaf pigments were assessed. In soil, the organic carbon affected aggregates and water stability and the concentrations of some micro-elements decreased in winter. Air pollutants impaired leaf gas exchanges and photochemical processes at photosystem II, depending on species, season, and urban conditions. Shrubs were more susceptible than the tree species, highlighting that the latter adapted better to pollutants along an urban-peri-urban transect in Mediterranean environments. This study gives information on the physiological adaptability of some of the most frequent Mediterranean urban species to stressful conditions and demonstrated that, even in a small city, urban conditions influence the physiology and development of vegetation, affecting the plant health status and its ability to provide key ecosystem services.
Du, PeihuaYin, BaoyingZhou, ShashaLi, Zhongyong...
9页
查看更多>>摘要：In plants, ammonium (NH4+) is the main nitrogen source and acts as a physiological and morphological response signaling molecule. Melatonin and dopamine are associated with plant responses to abiotic stress. However, previous studies have rarely focused on nutrient stress, and the roles of melatonin and dopamine in the uptake and metabolism of nitrogen in plants remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the regulatory effects of melatonin and dopamine on nitrogen utilization efficiency in apple seedlings under two NH4+ concentrations (2 and 0.1 mM) by measuring plant growth, root system architecture, (NH4+)-N-15 content, and related enzyme activity and gene expression. Under low nitrogen supply, apple seedling growth slowed and showed marked reductions in biomass accumulation, chlorophyll content, and nutrient uptake. However, both melatonin and dopamine significantly improved plant growth, chlorophyll content, and root development and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity. Exogenous application of melatonin or dopamine also promoted the absorption and accumulation of (NH4+)-N-15 and enhanced nitrogen metabolism-related enzyme activity. At the molecular level, melatonin and dopamine significantly increased the expression levels of nitrogen metabolism genes and transporter genes. Overall, these results suggest that melatonin and dopamine can relieve nutrient stress caused by low concentrations of NH4+ through regulating the absorption and metabolism of nitrogen.
Shymanovich, TatsianaVandenbrink, Joshua P.Herranz, RaulMedina, F. Javier...
10页
查看更多>>摘要：We performed a series of experiments to study the interaction between phototropism and gravitropism in Arabidopsis thaliana as part of the Seedling Growth Project on the International Space Station. Red-light-based and blue-light-based phototropism were examined in microgravity and at 1g, a control that was produced by an onboard centrifuge. At the end of the experiments, seedlings were frozen and brought back to Earth for gene profiling studies via RNASeq methods. In this paper, we focus on five genes identified in these space studies by their differential expression in space: one involved in auxin transport and four others encoding genes for: a methyltransferase subunit, a transmembrane protein, a transcription factor for endodermis formation, and a cytoskeletal element (an intermediate filament protein). Time course studies using mutant strains of these five genes were performed for blue-light and red-light phototropism studies as well as for gravitropism assays on ground. Interestingly, all five of the genes had some effects on all the tropisms under the conditions studied. In addition, RT-PCR analyses examined expression of the five genes in wild-type seedlings during blue-light-based phototropism. Previous studies have supported a role of both microfilaments and microtubules in tropism pathways. However, the most interesting finding of the present space studies is that NFL, a gene encoding an intermediate filament protein, plays a role in phototropism and gravitropism, which opens the possibility that this cytoskeletal element modulates signal transduction in plants.
de Oliveira, Leandro FranciscoPiovezani, Amanda RusiskaIvanov, Dimitre A.Yoshida, Leonardo...
12页
查看更多>>摘要：The secondary metabolism of Piper species is known to produce a myriad of natural products from various biosynthetic pathways which, represent a rich source of previously uncharacterized chemical compounds. The determination of gene expression profiles in multiple tissue/organ samples could provide valuable clues towards understanding the potential biological functions of chemical changes in these plants. Studies on gene expression by RT-qPCR require particularly careful selection of suitable reference genes as a control for normalization. Here, we provide a study for the identification of reliable reference genes in P. arboreum, P. gaudichaudianum, P. malacophyllum, and P. tuberculatum, at two different life stages: 2-month-old seedlings and adult plants. To do this, annotated sequences were recovered from transcriptome datasets of the above listed Piper spp. These sequences were subjected to expression analysis using RT-qPCR, followed by analysis using the geNorm and NormFinder algorithms. A set of five genes were identified showing stable expression: ACT7 (Actin-7), Cyclophilin (Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase), EF1 alpha (Elongation factor 1-alpha), RNABP (RNA-binding protein), and UBCE (Ubiquitin conjugating enzyme). The universality of these genes was then validated using two target genes, ADC (arginine decarboxylase) and SAMDC (S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase), which are involved in the biosynthesis of polyamines. We showed that normalization genes varied according to Piper spp., and we provide a list of recommended pairs of the best combination for each species. This study provides the first set of suitable candidate genes for gene expression studies in the four Piper spp. assayed, and the findings will facilitate subsequent transcriptomic and functional gene research.
查看更多>>摘要：Nacional is a variety of cocoa tree known for its "Arriba" aroma characterised mainly by fruity, floral, and spicy aromatic notes. In this study, the genetic basis of the fruity aroma of modern Nacional cocoa was investigated. GWAS studies have been conducted on biochemical and sensorial fruity traits and allowed to identify a large number of association zones. These areas are linked to both the volatile compounds known to provide fruity flavours and present in the beans before and after roasting, and to the fruity notes detected by sensorial analysis. Five main metabolic pathways were identified as involved in the fruity traits of the Nacional population: the protein degradation pathway, the sugar degradation pathway, the fatty acid degradation pathway, the monoterpene pathway, and the L-phenylalanine pathway. Candidate genes involved in the biosynthetic pathways of volatile compounds identified in association areas were detected for a large number of associations.
NSTL
Elsevier