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Zhang R, Wang Y, Yang W, Wen J, Liu W, Zhi S, Li G, Chai N, Huang J, Xie Y, Xie X, Chen L, Gu M, Liu YG, Zhu Q. PlantGPT: An Arabidopsis-Based Intelligent Agent that Answers Questions about Plant Functional Genomics. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2025:e03926. [PMID: 40397417 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202503926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2025] [Revised: 04/15/2025] [Indexed: 05/22/2025]
Abstract
Research into plant gene function is crucial for developing strategies to increase crop yields. The recent introduction of large language models (LLMs) offers a means to aggregate large amounts of data into a queryable format, but the output can contain inaccurate or false claims known as hallucinations. To minimize such hallucinations and produce high-quality knowledge-based outputs, the abstracts of over 60 000 plant research articles are compiled into a Chroma database for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Then linguistic data are used from 13 993 Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) phenotypes and 23 323 gene functions to fine-tune the LLM Llama3-8B, producing PlantGPT, a virtual expert in Arabidopsis phenotype-gene research. By evaluating answers to test questions, it is demonstrated that PlantGPT outperforms general LLMs in answering specialized questions. The findings provide a blueprint for functional genomics research in food crops and demonstrate the potential for developing LLMs for plant research modalities. To provide broader access and facilitate adoption, the online tool http://www.plantgpt.icu is developed, which will allow researchers to use PlantGPT in their scientific investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruixiang Zhang
- Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Precise Breeding of Future Crops, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, College of Life Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Yu Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Institute for Immunology, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, China Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Weiyang Yang
- Department of Automation, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Jun Wen
- Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Precise Breeding of Future Crops, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, College of Life Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Weizhi Liu
- Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Precise Breeding of Future Crops, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, College of Life Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Shipeng Zhi
- Department of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Guangzhou Li
- Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Precise Breeding of Future Crops, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, College of Life Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Nan Chai
- Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Precise Breeding of Future Crops, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, College of Life Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Jiaqi Huang
- Engineering Research Center of Protection and Utilization of Plant Resources, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, China
| | - Yongyao Xie
- Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Precise Breeding of Future Crops, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, College of Life Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Xianrong Xie
- Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Precise Breeding of Future Crops, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, College of Life Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Letian Chen
- Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Precise Breeding of Future Crops, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, College of Life Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Miao Gu
- Department of Automation, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yao-Guang Liu
- Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Precise Breeding of Future Crops, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, College of Life Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China
| | - Qinlong Zhu
- Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Precise Breeding of Future Crops, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, College of Life Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China
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Freed C, Ashraf A, Eckardt NA, Roeder AHK, Friesner JD. A timeline of discovery and innovation in Arabidopsis. THE PLANT CELL 2025; 37:koaf108. [PMID: 40324413 PMCID: PMC12123313 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koaf108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2025] [Revised: 04/20/2025] [Accepted: 04/23/2025] [Indexed: 05/07/2025]
Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Freed
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
| | - Arif Ashraf
- North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | | | - Adrienne H K Roeder
- North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
- School of Integrative Plant Science, Section of Plant Biology and Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Joanna D Friesner
- North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
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Roeder AHK, Argueso CT, Williams M, Auge G, Li X, Strader L, Uauy C, Wu S. Focus on Translational Research from Arabidopsis to Crop Plants and Beyond. THE PLANT CELL 2025; 37:koaf119. [PMID: 40373203 PMCID: PMC12120552 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koaf119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2025] [Accepted: 05/07/2025] [Indexed: 05/17/2025]
Affiliation(s)
- Adrienne H K Roeder
- School of Integrative Plant Science, Section of Plant Biology and Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Cristiana T Argueso
- Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Mary Williams
- American Society of Plant Biologists, Rockville, MD 20855, USA
| | - Gabriela Auge
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO), Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA)—CONICET, Hurlingham CP 1686, Argentina
| | - Xin Li
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4
| | - Lucia Strader
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Cristobal Uauy
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Shuang Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
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Friesner JD, Argueso CT, Busch W, Hamann T, Strader L, Williams M, Wu S, Roeder AHK. In defense of funding foundational plant science. THE PLANT CELL 2025; 37:koaf106. [PMID: 40324389 PMCID: PMC12079419 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koaf106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2025] [Revised: 04/24/2025] [Accepted: 04/30/2025] [Indexed: 05/07/2025]
Abstract
Plants are essential for life as we know it on Earth. They oxygenate the atmosphere, regulate the climate, and comprise much of the primary producers underpinning complex food systems. In the 1980s, a multinational group of plant scientists chose the small angiosperm-Arabidopsis thaliana-to serve as the model flowering plant for genetic and molecular studies that would be leveraged to produce vast new datasets, resources, and tools. The rationale they used to persuade funding agencies to make significant investments and focus intense effort on this single plant species was to produce a deep fundamental knowledge of the biology of plants and to apply this knowledge to valuable, but typically less tractable, plant species. Over the past 40 yr, Arabidopsis has emerged as the most powerful and versatile plant model to uncover core biological principles and served as a prototyping system to test advanced molecular and genetic concepts. We argue that the emerging challenges of accelerating climate instability and a rapidly growing global population call for renewed and robust investments in fundamental plant biology research. Leveraging the power of Arabidopsis research, resources, datasets, and global collaborative community is more important than ever. This commentary lays out a vigorous defense of foundational, i.e. "basic," plant science research; describes that often, Arabidopsis is preferable to working directly in crops; highlights several transformative applications generated from basic plant research; and makes the argument that plant science is vital to the survival of humanity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna D Friesner
- North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
| | - Cristiana T Argueso
- North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
- Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Wolfgang Busch
- North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
- Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Thorsten Hamann
- Institute for Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim 7491, Norway
- Multinational Arabidopsis Steering Committee
| | - Lucia Strader
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Mary Williams
- American Society of Plant Biologists, Rockville, MD 20855, USA
| | - Shuang Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Adrienne H K Roeder
- North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
- Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology and School of Integrative Plant Science, Section of Plant Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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Uauy C, Nelissen H, Chan RL, Napier JA, Seung D, Liu L, McKim SM. Challenges of translating Arabidopsis insights into crops. THE PLANT CELL 2025; 37:koaf059. [PMID: 40178150 PMCID: PMC12079398 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koaf059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2025] [Accepted: 03/18/2025] [Indexed: 04/05/2025]
Abstract
The significance of research conducted on Arabidopsis thaliana cannot be overstated. This focus issue showcases how insights from Arabidopsis have opened new areas of biology and directly advanced our understanding of crops. Here, experts intimately involved in bridging between Arabidopsis and crops share their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for translation. First, we examine the translatability of genetic modules from Arabidopsis into maize, emphasizing the need to publish well-executed translational experiments, regardless of outcome. Second, we highlight the landmark success of HB4, the first GM wheat cultivar on the market, whose abiotic tolerance is borne from direct translation and based on strategies first outlined in Arabidopsis. Third, we discuss the decades-long journey to engineer oilseed crops capable of producing omega-3 fish oils, with Arabidopsis serving as a critical intermediary. Fourth, we explore how direct translation of starch synthesizing proteins characterized in Arabidopsis helped uncover novel mechanisms and functions in crops, with potential valuable applications. Finally, we illustrate how shared molecular factors between Arabidopsis and barley exhibit distinct molecular wiring as exemplified in cuticular and stomatal development. Together, these vignettes underscore the pivotal role of Arabidopsis as a foundational model plant while highlighting the challenges of translating discoveries into field-ready, commercial cultivars with enhanced knowledge-based traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristóbal Uauy
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Hilde Nelissen
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent B-9052, Belgium
- Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Ghent B-9052, Belgium
| | - Raquel Lía Chan
- Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral, Universidad Nacional del Litoral—CONICET, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, 3000 Santa Fe, Argentina
| | | | - David Seung
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Linsan Liu
- Division of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK
| | - Sarah M McKim
- Division of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK
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Bela K, Tompa B, Riyazuddin R, Horváth E, Jász K, Hajnal Á, Bangash SAK, Gallé Á, Csiszár J. The Manifestation of the Dual ROS-Processing and Redox Signaling Roles of Glutathione Peroxidase-like Enzymes in Development of Arabidopsis Seedlings. Antioxidants (Basel) 2025; 14:518. [PMID: 40427400 PMCID: PMC12108209 DOI: 10.3390/antiox14050518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2025] [Revised: 04/21/2025] [Accepted: 04/24/2025] [Indexed: 05/29/2025] Open
Abstract
Plant glutathione peroxidase-like (GPXL) enzymes are thiol-based peroxidases that reduce H2O2 or hydroperoxides to water or alcohols using electrons principally from thioredoxin. Arabidopsis thaliana possesses eight isoenzymes (AtGPXL1-8) located in different plant organelles and have various roles in redox-dependent processes. The determination of the redox potential of 6-day-old T-DNA insertional mutants (Atgpxl1-Atgpxl8) using a cytosolic redox-sensitive fluorescent probe (roGFP2) uncovered more oxidized redox status in the shoot and/or root of the untreated mutants, except for Atgpxl5. To investigate the involvement of AtGPXLs in the growth and abiotic stress responses of seedlings, the 4-day-old Atgpxls were exposed to salt and osmotic stresses for two weeks. The evaluation of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels of untreated 18-day-old plants using fluorescent microscopy revealed the elevated accumulation of total ROS in the shoots and, in some cases, the roots of the mutants. Regarding the growth of roots, both the length of primary roots and/or the number of lateral roots were affected by the mutation of AtGPXLs. A strong negative correlation was observed between the ROS level of wild type shoots and the development of lateral roots, but it was altered in mutants, while in the case of Atgpxl1, Atgpxl5, and Atgpxl7 seedlings, it disappeared; in other mutants (Atgpxl4, Atgpxl6, and Atgpxl8), the correlation became stronger. Our analysis underpins the discrete role of AtGPXL enzymes in controlling the growth and development of plants by fine tuning the ROS contents and redox status in an organ-specific way. Differences in root phenotype and metabolic activity between Atgpxl mutants and wild type plants highlight the essential role of AtGPXLs in ROS processing to support growth, which is particularly evident when one GPXL isoenzyme is absent or its activity is reduced, both under normal and abiotic stress conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krisztina Bela
- Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (K.B.); (B.T.); (R.R.); (E.H.); (K.J.); (Á.H.)
| | - Bernát Tompa
- Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (K.B.); (B.T.); (R.R.); (E.H.); (K.J.); (Á.H.)
- Doctoral School of Biology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary
| | - Riyazuddin Riyazuddin
- Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (K.B.); (B.T.); (R.R.); (E.H.); (K.J.); (Á.H.)
- Bioengineering Institute, Miguel Hernández University, 03202 Elche, Spain
| | - Edit Horváth
- Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (K.B.); (B.T.); (R.R.); (E.H.); (K.J.); (Á.H.)
| | - Krisztián Jász
- Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (K.B.); (B.T.); (R.R.); (E.H.); (K.J.); (Á.H.)
- Doctoral School of Biology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary
| | - Ádám Hajnal
- Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (K.B.); (B.T.); (R.R.); (E.H.); (K.J.); (Á.H.)
| | - Sajid Ali Khan Bangash
- Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar 25130, Pakistan;
| | - Ágnes Gallé
- Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (K.B.); (B.T.); (R.R.); (E.H.); (K.J.); (Á.H.)
| | - Jolán Csiszár
- Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; (K.B.); (B.T.); (R.R.); (E.H.); (K.J.); (Á.H.)
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Hung YH. Palmer amaranth's arsenal: Rearrangement of eccDNA provides dual herbicide resistance in Amaranthus palmeri. THE PLANT CELL 2025; 37:koaf077. [PMID: 40172051 PMCID: PMC12012768 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koaf077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2025] [Accepted: 03/25/2025] [Indexed: 04/04/2025]
Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Hung Hung
- Assistant Features Editor, The Plant Cell, American Society of Plant Biologists
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO 63132, USA
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González Ortega-Villaizán A, King E, Patel MK, Rodríguez-Dobreva E, González-Teuber M, Ramos P, Vicente-Carbajosa J, Benito B, Pollmann S. Identification of a drought stress response module in tomato plants commonly induced by fungal endophytes that confer increased drought tolerance. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024; 115:7. [PMID: 39690267 PMCID: PMC11652604 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-024-01532-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2024] [Accepted: 11/07/2024] [Indexed: 12/19/2024]
Abstract
Global climate change exacerbates abiotic stresses, as drought, heat, and salt stresses are anticipated to increase significantly in the coming years. Plants coexist with a diverse range of microorganisms. Multiple inter-organismic relationships are known to confer benefits to plants, including growth promotion and enhanced tolerance to abiotic stresses. In this study, we investigated the mutualistic interactions between three fungal endophytes originally isolated from distinct arid environments and an agronomically relevant crop, Solanum lycopersicum. We demonstrated a significant increase in shoot biomass under drought conditions in co-cultivation with Penicillium chrysogenum isolated from Antarctica, Penicillium minioluteum isolated from the Atacama Desert, Chile, and Serendipita indica isolated from the Thar Desert, India. To elucidate plant gene modules commonly induced by the different endophytes that could explain the observed drought tolerance effect in tomato, a comprehensive transcriptomics analysis was conducted. This analysis led to the identification of a shared gene module in the fungus-infected tomato plants. Within this module, gene network analysis enabled us to identify genes related to abscisic acid (ABA) signaling, ABA transport, auxin signaling, ion homeostasis, proline biosynthesis, and jasmonic acid signaling, providing insights into the molecular basis of drought tolerance commonly mediated by fungal endophytes. Our findings highlight a conserved response in the mutualistic interactions between endophytic fungi isolated from unrelated environments and tomato roots, resulting in improved shoot biomass production under drought stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrián González Ortega-Villaizán
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentación (INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Eoghan King
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentación (INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manish K Patel
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentación (INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Estefanía Rodríguez-Dobreva
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentación (INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marcia González-Teuber
- Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Patricio Ramos
- Plant Microorganism Interaction Laboratory, Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile
| | - Jesús Vicente-Carbajosa
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentación (INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Biotecnología-Biología Vegetal, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Begoña Benito
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentación (INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Biotecnología-Biología Vegetal, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Stephan Pollmann
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentación (INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain.
- Departamento de Biotecnología-Biología Vegetal, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain.
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Vashisth V, Sharma G, Giri J, Sharma AK, Tyagi AK. Rice A20/AN1 protein, OsSAP10, confers water-deficit stress tolerance via proteasome pathway and positive regulation of ABA signaling in Arabidopsis. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2024; 43:215. [PMID: 39138747 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-024-03304-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024]
Abstract
KEY MESSAGE Overexpression of rice A20/AN1 zinc-finger protein, OsSAP10, improves water-deficit stress tolerance in Arabidopsis via interaction with multiple proteins. Stress-associated proteins (SAPs) constitute a class of A20/AN1 zinc-finger domain containing proteins and their genes are induced in response to multiple abiotic stresses. The role of certain SAP genes in conferring abiotic stress tolerance is well established, but their mechanism of action is poorly understood. To improve our understanding of SAP gene functions, OsSAP10, a stress-inducible rice gene, was chosen for the functional and molecular characterization. To elucidate its role in water-deficit stress (WDS) response, we aimed to functionally characterize its roles in transgenic Arabidopsis, overexpressing OsSAP10. OsSAP10 transgenics showed improved tolerance to water-deficit stress at seed germination, seedling and mature plant stages. At physiological and biochemical levels, OsSAP10 transgenics exhibited a higher survival rate, increased relative water content, high osmolyte accumulation (proline and soluble sugar), reduced water loss, low ROS production, low MDA content and protected yield loss under WDS relative to wild type (WT). Moreover, transgenics were hypersensitive to ABA treatment with enhanced ABA signaling and stress-responsive genes expression. The protein-protein interaction studies revealed that OsSAP10 interacts with proteins involved in proteasomal pathway, such as OsRAD23, polyubiquitin and with negative and positive regulators of stress signaling, i.e., OsMBP1.2, OsDRIP2, OsSCP and OsAMTR1. The A20 domain was found to be crucial for most interactions but insufficient for all interactions tested. Overall, our investigations suggest that OsSAP10 is an important candidate for improving water-deficit stress tolerance in plants, and positively regulates ABA and WDS signaling via protein-protein interactions and modulation of endogenous genes expression in ABA-dependent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vishal Vashisth
- Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi, 110021, India
| | - Gunjan Sharma
- National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Jitender Giri
- National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Arun K Sharma
- Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi, 110021, India
| | - Akhilesh K Tyagi
- Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi, 110021, India.
- National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, 110067, India.
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