Meeting the complexity of plant nutrient metabolism with multi-omics approaches

Proteomic analysis of the regulatory network of salt stress in Chrysanthemum

BACKGROUND

Saline-alkali stress is one of the main abiotic stresses that constrains plant growth. Understanding the response mechanism of ornamental plants to saline-alkali stress is of great significance for improving saline-alkali landscape greening. Chrysanthemum is a good ornamental plant with strong resistance to stress, rich colors and easy management.

RESULTS

Using TMT quantitative proteomics technology, leave and root of Chrysanthemum that were either untreated or treated with 200 mM NaCl for 12 h, screened the differentially expressed proteins. The results showed that 66 and 452 differential proteins were present in leaves and roots after salt treatment, respectively. GO function is mainly related to carbohydrate and energy metabolism, hormone response, antioxidant response and membrane protein activity. The KEGG metabolic pathway is mainly concentrated in glycine metabolism, glutathione metabolic pathway, carbon fixation in prokaryotes, 2-oxy-carboxylic acid metabolism. Combining transcripto-proteomics, GO and KEGG analyses revealed significant enrichment in starch anabolic catabolism, redox processes, ion homeostatic transport, phenylpropane biosynthesis.

CONCLUSIONS

Under salt stress, the active pathways of carbohydrate and energy metabolism and glutathione metabolism enable plants to accumulate more energy substances and improve antioxidant capacity, which may play a safeguarding role in maintaining growth and development and mitigating reactive oxygen species damage in Chrysanthemum under stress. The purpose of this study was to screen key proteins and regulatory networks through proteomic assay, and reveal the molecular mechanism of response to salt stress. The research not only provides resources for salt-tolerant breeding of Chrysanthemum but also offers theoretical support for agricultural production and ecological environmental protection.

Nutrients and soil structure influence furovirus infection of wheat

Soil-borne wheat mosaic virus (SBWMV) and Soil-borne cereal mosaic virus (SBCMV), genus Furovirus, family Virgaviridae, cause significant crop losses in cereals. The viruses are transmitted by the soil-borne plasmodiophorid Polymyxa graminis. Inside P. graminis resting spores, the viruses persist in the soil for long time, which makes the disease difficult to combat. To open up novel possibilities for virus control, we explored the influence of physical and chemical soil properties on infection of wheat with SBWMV and SBCMV. Moreover, we investigated, whether infection rates are influenced by the nutritional state of the plants. Infection rates of susceptible wheat lines were correlated to soil structure parameters and nutrient contents in soil and plants. Our results show that SBWMV and SBCMV infection rates decrease the more water-impermeable the soil is and that virus transmission depends on pH. Moreover, we found that contents of several nutrients in the soil (e.g. phosphorous, magnesium, zinc) and in planta (e.g. nitrogen, carbon, boron, sulfur, calcium) affect SBWMV and SBCMV infection rates. The knowledge generated may help paving the way towards development of a microenvironment-adapted agriculture.

Current Knowledge about the Impact of Microgravity on Gene Regulation

Microgravity (µg) has a massive impact on the health of space explorers. Microgravity changes the proliferation, differentiation, and growth of cells. As crewed spaceflights into deep space are being planned along with the commercialization of space travelling, researchers have focused on gene regulation in cells and organisms exposed to real (r-) and simulated (s-) µg. In particular, cancer and metastasis research benefits from the findings obtained under µg conditions. Gene regulation is a key factor in a cell or an organism’s ability to sustain life and respond to environmental changes. It is a universal process to control the amount, location, and timing in which genes are expressed. In this review, we provide an overview of µg-induced changes in the numerous mechanisms involved in gene regulation, including regulatory proteins, microRNAs, and the chemical modification of DNA. In particular, we discuss the current knowledge about the impact of microgravity on gene regulation in different types of bacteria, protists, fungi, animals, humans, and cells with a focus on the brain, eye, endothelium, immune system, cartilage, muscle, bone, and various cancers as well as recent findings in plants. Importantly, the obtained data clearly imply that µg experiments can support translational medicine on Earth.