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Paull RE, Ksouri N, Kantar M, Zerpa‐Catanho D, Chen NJ, Uruu G, Yue J, Guo S, Zheng Y, Wai CMJ, Ming R. Differential gene expression during floral transition in pineapple. PLANT DIRECT 2023; 7:e541. [PMID: 38028646 PMCID: PMC10644199 DOI: 10.1002/pld3.541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Pineapple (Ananas comosus var. comosus) and ornamental bromeliads are commercially induced to flower by treatment with ethylene or its analogs. The apex is transformed from a vegetative to a floral meristem and shows morphological changes in 8 to 10 days, with flowers developing 8 to 10 weeks later. During eight sampling stages ranging from 6 h to 8 days after treatment, 7961 genes were found to exhibit differential expression (DE) after the application of ethylene. In the first 3 days after treatment, there was little change in ethylene synthesis or in the early stages of the ethylene response. Subsequently, three ethylene response transcription factors (ERTF) were up-regulated and the potential gene targets were predicted to be the positive flowering regulator CONSTANS-like 3 (CO), a WUSCHEL gene, two APETALA1/FRUITFULL (AP1/FUL) genes, an epidermal patterning gene, and a jasmonic acid synthesis gene. We confirm that pineapple has lost the flowering repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C. At the initial stages, the SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (SOC1) was not significantly involved in this transition. Another WUSCHEL gene and a PHD homeobox transcription factor, though not apparent direct targets of ERTF, were up-regulated within a day of treatment, their predicted targets being the up-regulated CO, auxin response factors, SQUAMOSA, and histone H3 genes with suppression of abscisic acid response genes. The FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), TERMINAL FLOWER (TFL), AGAMOUS-like APETELAR (AP2), and SEPETALA (SEP) increased rapidly within 2 to 3 days after ethylene treatment. Two FT genes were up-regulated at the apex and not at the leaf bases after treatment, suggesting that transport did not occur. These results indicated that the ethylene response in pineapple and possibly most bromeliads act directly to promote the vegetative to flower transition via APETALA1/FRUITFULL (AP1/FUL) and its interaction with SPL, FT, TFL, SEP, and AP2. A model based on AP2/ERTF DE and predicted DE target genes was developed to give focus to future research. The identified candidate genes are potential targets for genetic manipulation to determine their molecular role in flower transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert E. Paull
- Tropical Plant & Soil SciencesUniversity of Hawaii at ManoaHonoluluHawaiiUSA
| | - Najla Ksouri
- Laboratory of Genomics, Genetics and Breeding of Fruits and Grapevine, Experimental Aula Dei‐CSICZaragozaSpain
| | - Michael Kantar
- Tropical Plant & Soil SciencesUniversity of Hawaii at ManoaHonoluluHawaiiUSA
| | | | - Nancy Jung Chen
- Tropical Plant & Soil SciencesUniversity of Hawaii at ManoaHonoluluHawaiiUSA
| | - Gail Uruu
- Tropical Plant & Soil SciencesUniversity of Hawaii at ManoaHonoluluHawaiiUSA
| | - Jingjing Yue
- Center for Genomics and BiotechnologyFujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityFuzhouChina
| | - Shiyong Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational MedicineKunming University of Science and TechnologyKunmingYunnanChina
| | - Yun Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational MedicineKunming University of Science and TechnologyKunmingYunnanChina
| | | | - Ray Ming
- Department of Plant BiologyUniversity of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignUrbanaIllinoisUSA
- Center for Genomics and BiotechnologyFujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityFuzhouChina
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2
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Ahkami AH. Systems biology of root development in Populus: Review and perspectives. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2023; 335:111818. [PMID: 37567482 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111818] [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: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023]
Abstract
The root system of plants consists of primary, lateral, and adventitious roots (ARs) (aka shoot-born roots). ARs arise from stem- or leaf-derived cells during post-embryonic development. Adventitious root development (ARD) through stem cuttings is the first requirement for successful establishment and growth of planted trees; however, the details of the molecular mechanisms underlying ARD are poorly understood. This knowledge is important to both basic plant biology and because of its necessary role in the successful propagation of superior cultivars of commercial woody bioenergy crops, like poplar. In this review article, the molecular mechanisms that control both endogenous (auxin) and environmentally (nutrients and microbes) regulated ARD and how these systems interact to control the rooting efficiency of poplar trees are described. Then, potential future studies in employing integrated systems biology approaches at cellular resolutions are proposed to more precisely identify the molecular mechanisms that cause AR. Using genetic transformation and genome editing approaches, this information can be used for improving ARD in economically important plants for which clonal propagation is a requirement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir H Ahkami
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA, USA.
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Liu Y, Yuan G, Hassan MM, Abraham PE, Mitchell JC, Jacobson D, Tuskan GA, Khakhar A, Medford J, Zhao C, Liu CJ, Eckert CA, Doktycz MJ, Tschaplinski TJ, Yang X. Biological and Molecular Components for Genetically Engineering Biosensors in Plants. BIODESIGN RESEARCH 2022; 2022:9863496. [PMID: 37850147 PMCID: PMC10521658 DOI: 10.34133/2022/9863496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Plants adapt to their changing environments by sensing and responding to physical, biological, and chemical stimuli. Due to their sessile lifestyles, plants experience a vast array of external stimuli and selectively perceive and respond to specific signals. By repurposing the logic circuitry and biological and molecular components used by plants in nature, genetically encoded plant-based biosensors (GEPBs) have been developed by directing signal recognition mechanisms into carefully assembled outcomes that are easily detected. GEPBs allow for in vivo monitoring of biological processes in plants to facilitate basic studies of plant growth and development. GEPBs are also useful for environmental monitoring, plant abiotic and biotic stress management, and accelerating design-build-test-learn cycles of plant bioengineering. With the advent of synthetic biology, biological and molecular components derived from alternate natural organisms (e.g., microbes) and/or de novo parts have been used to build GEPBs. In this review, we summarize the framework for engineering different types of GEPBs. We then highlight representative validated biological components for building plant-based biosensors, along with various applications of plant-based biosensors in basic and applied plant science research. Finally, we discuss challenges and strategies for the identification and design of biological components for plant-based biosensors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Liu
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - Guoliang Yuan
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - Md Mahmudul Hassan
- Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Dumki, Patuakhali, 8602, Bangladesh
| | - Paul E. Abraham
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - Julie C. Mitchell
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - Daniel Jacobson
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - Gerald A. Tuskan
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - Arjun Khakhar
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
| | - June Medford
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
| | - Cheng Zhao
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518120, China
| | - Chang-Jun Liu
- Biology Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA
| | - Carrie A. Eckert
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - Mitchel J. Doktycz
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - Timothy J. Tschaplinski
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
| | - Xiaohan Yang
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
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Jameel A, Ketehouli T, Wang Y, Wang F, Li X, Li H. Detection and validation of cis-regulatory motifs in osmotic stress-inducible synthetic gene switches via computational and experimental approaches. FUNCTIONAL PLANT BIOLOGY : FPB 2022; 49:1043-1054. [PMID: 35940614 DOI: 10.1071/fp21314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic cis -regulatory modules can improve our understanding of gene regulatory networks. We applied an ensemble approach for de novo cis motif discovery among the promoters of 181 drought inducible differentially expressed soybean (Glycine max L.) genes. A total of 43 cis motifs were identified in promoter regions of all gene sets using the binding site estimation suite of tools (BEST). Comparative analysis of these motifs revealed similarities with known cis -elements found in PLACE database and led to the discovery of cis -regulatory motifs that were not yet implicated in drought response. Compiled with the proposed synthetic promoter design rationale, three synthetic assemblies were constructed by concatenating multiple copies of drought-inducible cis motifs in a specific order with inter-motif spacing using random bases and placed upstream of 35s minimal core promoter. Each synthetic module substituted 35S promoter in pBI121 and pCAMBIA3301 to drive glucuronidase expression in soybean hairy roots and Arabidopsis thaliana L. Chimeric soybean seedlings and 3-week-old transgenic Arabidopsis plants were treated with simulated with different levels of osmotic stress. Histochemical staining of transgenic soybean hairy roots and Arabidopsis displayed drought-inducible GUS activity of synthetic promoters. Fluorometric assay and expression analysis revealed that SP2 is the better manual combination of cis -elements for stress-inducible expression. qRT-PCR results further demonstrated that designed synthetic promoters are not tissue-specific and thus active in different parts upon treatment with osmotic stress in Arabidopsis plants. This study provides tools for transcriptional upgradation of valuable crops against drought stress and adds to the current knowledge of synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aysha Jameel
- College of Life Sciences, Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
| | - Toi Ketehouli
- College of Life Sciences, Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
| | - Yifan Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
| | - Fawei Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
| | - Xiaowei Li
- College of Life Sciences, Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
| | - Haiyan Li
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, 570228, Haikou, China
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Huang Z, Xu Q, Fang X, Wu Z. Expression Activity of Artificial Promoters for Disease Resistance in Transgenic Eucalyptus urophylla. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13101813. [PMID: 36292698 PMCID: PMC9602378 DOI: 10.3390/genes13101813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The transcriptional properties of artificial promoters are closely related to the type and arrangement position of cis-elements. GWSF (374-bp) was an effective SPIP with four cis-element dimers. There were four pathogen-inducible cis-elements in the GWSF promoter (GST1-boxes, W-boxes, S-boxes, and F-boxes) and a minimal cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. V-element dimers were inserted into the upstream (VGWSF), midstream (GWVSF), and downstream (GWSFV) regions of the original GWSF promoter sequence to examine their affect on the position. The expression activity of promoters was analyzed and estimated using the histochemical staining of leaf discs of eucalyptus with transient expression, an image digitization method to extract the color features, and the induction treatment by a plant pathogenic microorganism/inducer and qPCR assays. The histochemical staining results of the adventitious buds indicated that the promoters had been successfully integrated into the E. urophylla genome and that they drove the expression of the gus gene. There was a noticeable difference in the intensity of color between the adventitious buds on the same callus block, as well as the intensity of color within the same adventitious bud. According to the established two-factor model of blue value, there was a greater difference between the levels of the genotype factor than the promoter factor in eucalyptus leaf discs. Further, the basal and inducible transcriptional levels of the three improved promoters were investigated by qPCR. With the basal transcriptional level of the GWSF promoter normalized to one, the relative basal levels of VGWSF, GWVSF, and GWSFV were 1.40, 1.45, and 4.15, respectively. The qPCR results were consistent with the staining results of GUS histochemical staining. The three improved promoters all had the properties of being induced by salicylic acid, Ralstonia solanacearum, and Phytophthora capsici. The three improved promoters demonstrated a significantly higher TMV induction activity: their induction activity from high to low was GWSFV > GWVSF > VGWSF. The findings will be beneficial to the construction and optimization of artificial promoters for transgenic plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenchi Huang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Lingnan Normal University, Zhanjiang 524048, China
| | - Qingchun Xu
- School of Life Science and Technology, Lingnan Normal University, Zhanjiang 524048, China
| | - Xiaolan Fang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Lingnan Normal University, Zhanjiang 524048, China
| | - Zhihua Wu
- Research Institute of Fast-Growing Trees, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Zhanjiang 524022, China
- Correspondence: ; Tel./Fax: +86-0759-3382-262 or +86-0759-3380-674
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Arndt LC, Heine S, Wendt L, Wegele E, Schomerus JT, Schulze J, Hehl R. Genomic distribution and context dependent functionality of novel WRKY transcription factor binding sites. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:673. [PMID: 36167502 PMCID: PMC9513909 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08877-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The WT-boxes NGACTTTN are novel microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-responsive cis-regulatory sequences. Many of them are uncommon WRKY transcription factor (TF) binding sites. Results To understand their functional relevance, a genomic distribution analysis of the 16 possible WT-boxes and a functional analysis of a WT-box rich promoter was done. The genomic distribution analysis shows an enrichment of specific WT-boxes within 500 bp upstream of all Arabidopsis thaliana genes. Those that harbour a T 5′ to the core sequence GACTTT can also be part of the classic WRKY binding site the W-box TTGACT/C. The MAMP-responsive gene ATEP3, a class IV chitinase, harbours seven WT-boxes within its 1000 bp upstream region. In the context of synthetic promoters, the four proximal WT-boxes confer MAMP responsivity while the three WT-boxes further upstream have no effect. Rendering the nucleotides adjacent and in the vicinity of the WT-box core sequence reveals their functional importance for gene expression. A 158 bp long ATEP3 minimal promoter harbouring the two WT-boxes CGACTTTT, confers WT-box-dependent basal and MAMP-responsive reporter gene expression. The ATEP3 gene is a proposed target of WRKY50 and WRKY70. WRKY50 negatively regulates MAMP responsivity of the two WT-boxes CGACTTTT, while WRKY70 activates gene expression in a WT-box dependent manner. Both WRKY factors bind directly to the WT-box CGACTTTT. Conclusion In summary, WT-boxes are enriched in promoter regions and comprise novel and uncommon WRKY binding sites required for basal and MAMP-induced gene expression. WT-boxes not being part of a W-box may be a missing link for WRKY target gene prediction when these genes do not harbour a W-box. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-022-08877-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laureen Christin Arndt
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Susanne Heine
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Lino Wendt
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Emilia Wegele
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Jan Titus Schomerus
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Jutta Schulze
- Institut für Pflanzenbiologie, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Humboldtstr. 1, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany.
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McQuillan JL, Berndt AJ, Sproles AE, Mayfield SP, Pandhal J. Novel cis-regulatory elements as synthetic promoters to drive recombinant protein expression from the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii nuclear genome. N Biotechnol 2022; 68:9-18. [PMID: 34990855 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbt.2022.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Eukaryotic green microalgae represent a sustainable, photosynthetic biotechnology platform for generating high-value products. The model green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has already been used to generate high value bioproducts such as recombinant proteins and terpenoids. However, low, unstable, and variable nuclear transgene expression has limited the ease and speed of metabolic engineering and recombinant protein expression in this system. Here, novel genetic devices for transgene expression in C. reinhardtii have been developed by identifying cis-regulatory DNA elements capable of driving high transgene expression in C. reinhardtii promoters using de novo motif discovery informatics approaches. Thirteen putative motifs were synthesized as concatemers, linked to a common minimal basal promoter, and assayed for their activity to drive expression of a yellow fluorescent protein reporter gene. Following transformation of the vectors into C. reinhardtii by electroporation, in vivo measurements of yellow fluorescent protein expression by flow cytometry revealed that five of the DNA motifs analyzed displayed significantly higher reporter expression compared to the basal promoter control. Two of the concatemerized motifs, despite being much smaller minimal cis-regulatory elements, drove reporter expression at levels approaching that of the conventionally-used AR1 promoter. This analysis provides insight into C. reinhardtii promoter structure and gene regulation, and provides a new toolbox of cis-regulatory elements that can be used to drive transgene expression at a variety of expression levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josie L McQuillan
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK
| | - Anthony J Berndt
- California Center for Algae Biotechnology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, United States
| | - Ashley E Sproles
- California Center for Algae Biotechnology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, United States
| | - Stephen P Mayfield
- California Center for Algae Biotechnology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, United States
| | - Jagroop Pandhal
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK.
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Yang Y, Lee JH, Poindexter MR, Shao Y, Liu W, Lenaghan SC, Ahkami AH, Blumwald E, Stewart CN. Rational design and testing of abiotic stress-inducible synthetic promoters from poplar cis-regulatory elements. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2021; 19:1354-1369. [PMID: 33471413 PMCID: PMC8313130 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Abiotic stress resistance traits may be especially crucial for sustainable production of bioenergy tree crops. Here, we show the performance of a set of rationally designed osmotic-related and salt stress-inducible synthetic promoters for use in hybrid poplar. De novo motif-detecting algorithms yielded 30 water-deficit (SD) and 34 salt stress (SS) candidate DNA motifs from relevant poplar transcriptomes. We selected three conserved water-deficit stress motifs (SD18, SD13 and SD9) found in 16 co-expressed gene promoters, and we discovered a well-conserved motif for salt response (SS16). We characterized several native poplar stress-inducible promoters to enable comparisons with our synthetic promoters. Fifteen synthetic promoters were designed using various SD and SS subdomains, in which heptameric repeats of five-to-eight subdomain bases were fused to a common core promoter downstream, which, in turn, drove a green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene for reporter assays. These 15 synthetic promoters were screened by transient expression assays in poplar leaf mesophyll protoplasts and agroinfiltrated Nicotiana benthamiana leaves under osmotic stress conditions. Twelve synthetic promoters were induced in transient expression assays with a GFP readout. Of these, five promoters (SD18-1, SD9-2, SS16-1, SS16-2 and SS16-3) endowed higher inducibility under osmotic stress conditions than native promoters. These five synthetic promoters were stably transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana to study inducibility in whole plants. Herein, SD18-1 and SD9-2 were induced by water-deficit stress, whereas SS16-1, SS16-2 and SS16-3 were induced by salt stress. The synthetic biology design pipeline resulted in five synthetic promoters that outperformed endogenous promoters in transgenic plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongil Yang
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic BiologyUniversity of Tennessee Institute of AgricultureKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
| | - Jun Hyung Lee
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic BiologyUniversity of Tennessee Institute of AgricultureKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Biosciences DivisionOak Ridge National LaboratoryOak RidgeTNUSA
| | - Magen R. Poindexter
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic BiologyUniversity of Tennessee Institute of AgricultureKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
| | - Yuanhua Shao
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic BiologyUniversity of Tennessee Institute of AgricultureKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
| | - Wusheng Liu
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Horticultural ScienceNorth Carolina State UniversityRaleighNCUSA
| | - Scott C. Lenaghan
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic BiologyUniversity of Tennessee Institute of AgricultureKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Food ScienceUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
| | - Amir H. Ahkami
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)RichlandWAUSA
| | | | - Charles Neal Stewart
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic BiologyUniversity of Tennessee Institute of AgricultureKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
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Haider MS, De Britto S, Nagaraj G, Gurulingaiah B, Shekhar R, Ito SI, Jogaiah S. Genome-Wide Identification, Diversification, and Expression Analysis of Lectin Receptor-Like Kinase (LecRLK) Gene Family in Cucumber under Biotic Stress. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:6585. [PMID: 34205396 PMCID: PMC8234520 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22126585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Members of the lectin receptor-like kinase (LecRLKs) family play a vital role in innate plant immunity. Few members of the LecRLKs family have been characterized in rice and Arabidopsis, respectively. However, little literature is available about LecRLKs and their role against fungal infection in cucumber. In this study, 60 putative cucumber LecRLK (CsLecRLK) proteins were identified using genome-wide analysis and further characterized into L-type LecRLKs (24) and G-type LecRLKs (36) based on domain composition and phylogenetic analysis. These proteins were allocated to seven cucumber chromosomes and found to be involved in the expansion of the CsLecRLK gene family. Subcellular localization of CsaLecRLK9 and CsaLecRLK12 showed green fluorescence signals in the plasma membrane of leaves. The transcriptional profiling of CsLecRLK genes showed that L-type LecRLKs exhibited functional redundancy as compared to G-type LecRLKs. The qRT-PCR results indicated that both L- and G-type LecRLKs showed significant response against plant growth-promoting fungi (PGPF-Trichoderma harzianum Rifai), powdery mildew pathogen (PPM-Golovinomyces orontii (Castagne) V.P. Heluta), and combined (PGPF+PPM) treatments. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the role of cucumber CsLecRLK genes in response to PGPF, PPM, and PGPF+PPM treatments and lay the basis for the characterization of this important functional gene family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Salman Haider
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Fruit Development, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China;
| | - Savitha De Britto
- Laboratory of Plant Healthcare and Diagnostics, P.G. Department of Biotechnology and Microbiology, Karnatak University, Dharwad 580003, India;
- Division of Biological Sciences, School of Science and Technology, University of Goroka, Goroka 441, Papua New Guinea
| | - Geetha Nagaraj
- Nanobiotechnology Laboratory, Department of Studies in Biotechnology, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysuru 570006, India; (G.N.); (B.G.); (R.S.)
| | - Bhavya Gurulingaiah
- Nanobiotechnology Laboratory, Department of Studies in Biotechnology, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysuru 570006, India; (G.N.); (B.G.); (R.S.)
| | - Ravikant Shekhar
- Nanobiotechnology Laboratory, Department of Studies in Biotechnology, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysuru 570006, India; (G.N.); (B.G.); (R.S.)
| | - Shin-ichi Ito
- Laboratory of Molecular Plant Pathology, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi 753-8515, Japan
- Research Center for Thermotolerant Microbial Resources (RCTMR), Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi 753-8515, Japan
| | - Sudisha Jogaiah
- Laboratory of Plant Healthcare and Diagnostics, P.G. Department of Biotechnology and Microbiology, Karnatak University, Dharwad 580003, India;
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Ksouri N, Castro-Mondragón JA, Montardit-Tarda F, van Helden J, Contreras-Moreira B, Gogorcena Y. Tuning promoter boundaries improves regulatory motif discovery in nonmodel plants: the peach example. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 185:1242-1258. [PMID: 33744946 PMCID: PMC8133646 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiaa091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The identification of functional elements encoded in plant genomes is necessary to understand gene regulation. Although much attention has been paid to model species like Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), little is known about regulatory motifs in other plants. Here, we describe a bottom-up approach for de novo motif discovery using peach (Prunus persica) as an example. These predictions require pre-computed gene clusters grouped by their expression similarity. After optimizing the boundaries of proximal promoter regions, two motif discovery algorithms from RSAT::Plants (http://plants.rsat.eu) were tested (oligo and dyad analysis). Overall, 18 out of 45 co-expressed modules were enriched in motifs typical of well-known transcription factor (TF) families (bHLH, bZip, BZR, CAMTA, DOF, E2FE, AP2-ERF, Myb-like, NAC, TCP, and WRKY) and a few uncharacterized motifs. Our results indicate that small modules and promoter window of [-500 bp, +200 bp] relative to the transcription start site (TSS) maximize the number of motifs found and reduce low-complexity signals in peach. The distribution of discovered regulatory sites was unbalanced, as they accumulated around the TSS. This approach was benchmarked by testing two different expression-based clustering algorithms (network-based and hierarchical) and, as control, genes grouped for harboring ChIPseq peaks of the same Arabidopsis TF. The method was also verified on maize (Zea mays), a species with a large genome. In summary, this article presents a glimpse of the peach regulatory components at genome scale and provides a general protocol that can be applied to other species. A Docker software container is released to facilitate the reproduction of these analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Najla Ksouri
- Laboratory of Genomics, Genetics and Breeding of Fruits and Grapevine, Estación Experimental de Aula Dei-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Jaime A Castro-Mondragón
- Aix-Marseille Univ, INSERM UMR_S 1090, Theory and Approaches of Genome Complexity (TAGC), F-13288 Marseille, France
- Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway (NCMM), Nordic EMBL Partnership, University of Oslo, 0318 Oslo, Norway
| | - Francesc Montardit-Tarda
- Laboratory of Genomics, Genetics and Breeding of Fruits and Grapevine, Estación Experimental de Aula Dei-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Jacques van Helden
- Aix-Marseille Univ, INSERM UMR_S 1090, Theory and Approaches of Genome Complexity (TAGC), F-13288 Marseille, France
- CNRS, Institut Français de Bioinformatique, IFB-core, UMS 3601, Evry, France
| | - Bruno Contreras-Moreira
- Laboratory of Computational and Structural Biology, Department of Genetics and Plant Production, Estación Experimental de Aula Dei–Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Zaragoza, Spain
- Fundación ARAID, Zaragoza, Spain
- Present address: European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Yolanda Gogorcena
- Laboratory of Genomics, Genetics and Breeding of Fruits and Grapevine, Estación Experimental de Aula Dei-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Zaragoza, Spain
- Author for communication:
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Reddy VA, Li C, Nadimuthu K, Tjhang JG, Jang IC, Rajani S. Sweet Basil Has Distinct Synthases for Eugenol Biosynthesis in Glandular Trichomes and Roots with Different Regulatory Mechanisms. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:E681. [PMID: 33445552 PMCID: PMC7826958 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22020681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Revised: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Production of a volatile phenylpropene; eugenol in sweet basil is mostly associated with peltate glandular trichomes (PGTs) found aerially. Currently only one eugenol synthase (EGS), ObEGS1 which belongs to PIP family is identified from sweet basil PGTs. Reports of the presence of eugenol in roots led us to analyse other EGSs in roots. We screened for all the PIP family reductase transcripts from the RNA-Seq data. In vivo functional characterization of all the genes in E. coli showed their ability to produce eugenol and were termed as ObEGS2-8. Among all, ObEGS1 displayed highest expression in PGTs and ObEGS4 in roots. Further, eugenol was produced only in the roots of soil-grown plants, but not in roots of aseptically-grown plants. Interestingly, eugenol production could be induced in roots of aseptically-grown plants under elicitation suggesting that eugenol production might occur as a result of environmental cues in roots. The presence of ObEGS4 transcript and protein in aseptically-grown plants indicated towards post-translational modifications (PTMs) of ObEGS4. Bioinformatics analysis showed possibility of phosphorylation in ObEGS4 which was further confirmed by in vitro experiment. Our study reveals the presence of multiple eugenol synthases in sweet basil and provides new insights into their diversity and tissue specific regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaishnavi Amarr Reddy
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore; (V.A.R.); (C.L.); (K.N.); (J.G.T.); (I.-C.J.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore
| | - Chunhong Li
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore; (V.A.R.); (C.L.); (K.N.); (J.G.T.); (I.-C.J.)
| | - Kumar Nadimuthu
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore; (V.A.R.); (C.L.); (K.N.); (J.G.T.); (I.-C.J.)
| | - Jessica Gambino Tjhang
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore; (V.A.R.); (C.L.); (K.N.); (J.G.T.); (I.-C.J.)
| | - In-Cheol Jang
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore; (V.A.R.); (C.L.); (K.N.); (J.G.T.); (I.-C.J.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore
| | - Sarojam Rajani
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore; (V.A.R.); (C.L.); (K.N.); (J.G.T.); (I.-C.J.)
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Kanofsky K, Rusche J, Eilert L, Machens F, Hehl R. Unusual DNA-binding properties of the Arabidopsis thaliana WRKY50 transcription factor at target gene promoters. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2021; 40:69-83. [PMID: 33006643 PMCID: PMC7811519 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-020-02611-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
WRKY50 from A. thaliana requires WT-boxes at target gene promoters for activation and binding. Based on the genome-wide prediction of WRKY50 target genes and the similarity of a WRKY50 binding site to WT-boxes in microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-responsive cis-regulatory modules (CRM), four WT-box containing CRMs from the promoter region of three WRKY50 target genes were investigated for their interaction with WRKY50. These target genes are DJ1E, WRKY30 and ATBBE4. Two of the four CRMs, one from DJ1E and one from WRKY30, were able to activate reporter gene expression in the presence of WRKY50. Activation requires the WT-boxes GGACTTTT, GGACTTTG from DJ1E and GGACTTTC from WRKY30. WRKY50 does not activate a second CRM from WRKY30 and the CRM from ATBBE4, both containing the WT-box TGACTTTT. In vitro gel-shift assays demonstrate WT-box-specific binding of the WRKY50 DNA-binding domain to all four CRMs. This work shows a high flexibility of WRKY50 binding site recognition beyond the classic W-box TTGACC/T.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin Kanofsky
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Jendrik Rusche
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Lea Eilert
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Fabian Machens
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
- Max-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie, Potsdam Science Park, Am Mühlenberg 1, Golm, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany.
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14
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Kanofsky K, Riggers J, Staar M, Strauch CJ, Arndt LC, Hehl R. A strong NF-κB p65 responsive cis-regulatory sequence from Arabidopsis thaliana interacts with WRKY40. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2019; 38:1139-1150. [PMID: 31197450 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-019-02433-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Transcription factors from mammals and plants, which play a role in innate immunity, interact with the same microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-responsive sequences from Arabidopsis thaliana. The interaction of mouse NF-κB p65 with MAMP-responsive sequences containing the core motif GACTTT of the WT-box was investigated. This revealed one sequence, derived from the promoter of the A. thaliana gene At1g76960, a gene with unknown function, to activate NF-κB p65 dependent reporter gene expression in plant cells very strongly. A bioinformatic analysis predicts three putative NF-κB p65 binding sites in this sequence and all three sites are required for reporter gene activation and binding. The sequence is one of the weakest MAMP-responsive sequences previously isolated, but the introduction of a GCC-box increases its MAMP responsivity in combination with upstream WT-box sequences. Although a bioinformatic analysis of the unmutated cis-sequence only predicts NF-κB p65 binding, A. thaliana WRKY40 was selected in a yeast one-hybrid screen. WRKY40, which is a transcriptional repressor, requires the sequence TTTTCTA for direct binding. This sequence is similar to the WK-box TTTTCCAC, previously shown to interact with tobacco NtWRKY12. In summary, this work supports the similarity in binding site recognition between NF-κB and WRKY factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin Kanofsky
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Jasmin Riggers
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Marcel Staar
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Claudia Janina Strauch
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Laureen Christin Arndt
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany.
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15
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Ali S, Kim WC. A Fruitful Decade Using Synthetic Promoters in the Improvement of Transgenic Plants. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2019; 10:1433. [PMID: 31737027 PMCID: PMC6838210 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/16/2019] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Advances in plant biotechnology provide various means to improve crop productivity and greatly contributing to sustainable agriculture. A significant advance in plant biotechnology has been the availability of novel synthetic promoters for precise spatial and temporal control of transgene expression. In this article, we review the development of various synthetic promotors and the rise of their use over the last several decades for regulating the transcription of various transgenes. Similarly, we provided a brief description of the structure and scope of synthetic promoters and the engineering of their cis-regulatory elements for different targets. Moreover, the functional characteristics of different synthetic promoters, their modes of regulating the expression of candidate genes in response to different conditions, and the resulting plant trait improvements reported in the past decade are discussed.
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16
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Kanofsky K, Strauch CJ, Sandmann A, Möller A, Hehl R. Transcription factors involved in basal immunity in mammals and plants interact with the same MAMP-responsive cis-sequence from Arabidopsis thaliana. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2018; 98:565-578. [PMID: 30467788 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-018-0796-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 11/15/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
WRKY and NF-κB transcription factors, involved in innate immunity in plants and mammals, interact with the same cis-sequence. Novel microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-responsive cis-sequences, designated type II WT-boxes, are required for flg22-responsive gene expression in Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts. While type I WT-boxes like TGACTTTT and CGACTTTT interact with WRKY transcription factors (TFs), the question remained which TFs bind to the type II WT-boxes GGACTTTC, GGACTTTT, and GGACTTTG. Surprisingly, a bioinformatic analysis predicts mouse (Mus musculus) NF-κB p65 as a TF interacting with type II WT-boxes. NF-κB p65, like WRKY factors in plants, plays a role in innate immunity in mammals. Therefore, the interaction of NF-κB p65 with type II WT-boxes was tested experimentally. NF-κB p65 requires the WT-boxes GGACTTTC, GGACTTTT, and GGACTTTG for activating reporter gene expression in plant cells. NF-κB p65 directly binds to WT-box containing synthetic promoters in vitro and requires the WT-box for binding. Earlier studies indicate that the sequence GGACTTTC is also required for WRKY26 mediated reporter gene activation. Here it is shown that WRKY26, like NF-κB p65, binds to the sequence GGACTTTC. Consistent with other recent studies, type II WT boxes are WRKY binding sites and the distinction between type I and type II no longer applies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin Kanofsky
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Claudia Janina Strauch
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Alexander Sandmann
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Anika Möller
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany.
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Reddy VA, Wang Q, Dhar N, Kumar N, Venkatesh PN, Rajan C, Panicker D, Sridhar V, Mao HZ, Sarojam R. Spearmint R2R3-MYB transcription factor MsMYB negatively regulates monoterpene production and suppresses the expression of geranyl diphosphate synthase large subunit (MsGPPS.LSU). PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2017; 15:1105-1119. [PMID: 28160379 PMCID: PMC5552485 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2016] [Revised: 01/15/2017] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Many aromatic plants, such as spearmint, produce valuable essential oils in specialized structures called peltate glandular trichomes (PGTs). Understanding the regulatory mechanisms behind the production of these important secondary metabolites will help design new approaches to engineer them. Here, we identified a PGT-specific R2R3-MYB gene, MsMYB, from comparative RNA-Seq data of spearmint and functionally characterized it. Analysis of MsMYB-RNAi transgenic lines showed increased levels of monoterpenes, and MsMYB-overexpressing lines exhibited decreased levels of monoterpenes. These results suggest that MsMYB is a novel negative regulator of monoterpene biosynthesis. Ectopic expression of MsMYB, in sweet basil and tobacco, perturbed sesquiterpene- and diterpene-derived metabolite production. In addition, we found that MsMYB binds to cis-elements of MsGPPS.LSU and suppresses its expression. Phylogenetic analysis placed MsMYB in subgroup 7 of R2R3-MYBs whose members govern phenylpropanoid pathway and are regulated by miR858. Analysis of transgenic lines showed that MsMYB is more specific to terpene biosynthesis as it did not affect metabolites derived from phenylpropanoid pathway. Further, our results indicate that MsMYB is probably not regulated by miR858, like other members of subgroup 7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaishnavi Amarr Reddy
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Qian Wang
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Niha Dhar
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nadimuthu Kumar
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | | | - Chakravarthy Rajan
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Deepa Panicker
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Vishweshwaran Sridhar
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Hui-Zhu Mao
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Rajani Sarojam
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
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18
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Abstract
Plants are attractive platforms for synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. Plants' modular and plastic body plans, capacity for photosynthesis, extensive secondary metabolism, and agronomic systems for large-scale production make them ideal targets for genetic reprogramming. However, efforts in this area have been constrained by slow growth, long life cycles, the requirement for specialized facilities, a paucity of efficient tools for genetic manipulation, and the complexity of multicellularity. There is a need for better experimental and theoretical frameworks to understand the way genetic networks, cellular populations, and tissue-wide physical processes interact at different scales. We highlight new approaches to the DNA-based manipulation of plants and the use of advanced quantitative imaging techniques in simple plant models such as Marchantia polymorpha. These offer the prospects of improved understanding of plant dynamics and new approaches to rational engineering of plant traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian R Boehm
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, United Kingdom
| | - Bernardo Pollak
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Jim Haseloff
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, United Kingdom
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19
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Kanofsky K, Bahlmann AK, Hehl R, Dong DX. Combinatorial requirement of W- and WT-boxes in microbe-associated molecular pattern-responsive synthetic promoters. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2017; 36:971-986. [PMID: 28341984 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-017-2130-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2017] [Accepted: 03/10/2017] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The WT-box GGACTTTC belongs to a novel class of MAMP-responsive cis-regulatory sequences that are part of combinatorial elements. Microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-responsive synthetic promoters were generated with two cis-regulatory modules (CRM1 and CRM2) from the Arabidopsis thaliana WRKY30 promoter. Both modules harbour two W-boxes and one WT-box. Mutation analysis of the synthetic promoters and transient gene expression analysis in parsley protoplasts underline the importance of the W- and WT-boxes for MAMP-responsive gene expression and reveal the combinatorial requirement of at least two boxes for full MAMP responsivity. In the context of the native promoter, CRM1 is required for MAMP responsivity, while CRM2 alone is not sufficient. Yeast one-hybrid screenings using CRM1 with a transcription factor (TF) only prey library select only WRKY factors. Selection of WRKY26, 40, 41, and 70 requires the W-boxes. The WT-box is also required for selection of WRKY26 and 41 in yeast. In plant cells, WRKY26, 40, and 41 act as repressors of MAMP-responsive gene expression, whereas WRKY70 is an activator. To investigate whether the WT-box is also required for WRKY26 and 41 mediated gene expression in plant cells, both were converted into transcriptional activators by adding the GAL4 activating domain (AD). In contrast to yeast, transient gene expression in parsley protoplasts shows that only the W-boxes from CRM1 are required for WRKY41AD-activated reporter gene activity but not the WT-box. In addition, WRKY70-activated reporter gene activity in parsley cells does not require the WT-box of CRM1. The results demonstrate the importance of the WT-box as a new cis-regulatory sequence for MAMP-responsive gene expression. Based on these and earlier results, two types of WT-boxes are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin Kanofsky
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Ann-Kathrin Bahlmann
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany.
| | - Do Xuan Dong
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
- Laboratory of Plant Cell Biotechnology, Institute of Biotechnology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Caugiay, Hanoi, Vietnam
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20
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Abstract
Bioinformatics tools can be employed to identify conserved cis-sequences in sets of coregulated plant genes because more and more gene expression and genomic sequence data become available. Knowledge on the specific cis-sequences, their enrichment and arrangement within promoters, facilitates the design of functional synthetic plant promoters that are responsive to specific stresses. The present chapter illustrates an example for the bioinformatic identification of conserved Arabidopsis thaliana cis-sequences enriched in drought stress-responsive genes. This workflow can be applied for the identification of cis-sequences in any sets of coregulated genes. The workflow includes detailed protocols to determine sets of coregulated genes, to extract the corresponding promoter sequences, and how to install and run a software package to identify overrepresented motifs. Further bioinformatic analyses that can be performed with the results are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenz Bülow
- Julius Kühn-Institut, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Breeding Research on Agricultural Crops, Erwin-Baur-Str. 27, 06484, Quedlinburg, Germany.
| | - Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
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21
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Scranton MA, Ostrand JT, Georgianna DR, Lofgren SM, Li D, Ellis RC, Carruthers DN, Dräger A, Masica DL, Mayfield SP. Synthetic promoters capable of driving robust nuclear gene expression in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. ALGAL RES 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2016.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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22
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Liu W, Stewart CN. Plant synthetic promoters and transcription factors. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2016; 37:36-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2015.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2015] [Accepted: 10/06/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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23
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Lehmeyer M, Hanko EKR, Roling L, Gonzalez L, Wehrs M, Hehl R. A cis-regulatory sequence from a short intergenic region gives rise to a strong microbe-associated molecular pattern-responsive synthetic promoter. Mol Genet Genomics 2016; 291:1155-65. [PMID: 26833485 DOI: 10.1007/s00438-016-1173-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Accepted: 01/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The high gene density in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves only relatively short intergenic regions for potential cis-regulatory sequences. To learn more about the regulation of genes harbouring only very short upstream intergenic regions, this study investigates a recently identified novel microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-responsive cis-sequence located within the 101 bp long intergenic region upstream of the At1g13990 gene. It is shown that the cis-regulatory sequence is sufficient for MAMP-responsive reporter gene activity in the context of its native promoter. The 3' UTR of the upstream gene has a quantitative effect on gene expression. In context of a synthetic promoter, the cis-sequence is shown to achieve a strong increase in reporter gene activity as a monomer, dimer and tetramer. Mutation analysis of the cis-sequence determined the specific nucleotides required for gene expression activation. In transgenic A. thaliana the synthetic promoter harbouring a tetramer of the cis-sequence not only drives strong pathogen-responsive reporter gene expression but also shows a high background activity. The results of this study contribute to our understanding how genes with very short upstream intergenic regions are regulated and how these regions can serve as a source for MAMP-responsive cis-sequences for synthetic promoter design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mona Lehmeyer
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Erik K R Hanko
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Lena Roling
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Lilian Gonzalez
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Maren Wehrs
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany.
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24
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Bolívar J, Hehl R, Bülow L. In Silico Expression Analysis. Methods Mol Biol 2016; 1482:247-257. [PMID: 27557772 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-6396-6_16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Information on the specificity of cis-sequences enables the design of functional synthetic plant promoters that are responsive to specific stresses. Potential cis-sequences may be experimentally tested, however, correlation of genomic sequence with gene expression data enables an in silico expression analysis approach to bioinformatically assess the stress specificity of candidate cis-sequences prior to experimental verification. The present chapter demonstrates an example for the in silico validation of a potential cis-regulatory sequence responsive to cold stress. The described online tool can be applied for the bioinformatic assessment of cis-sequences responsive to most abiotic and biotic stresses of plants. Furthermore, a method is presented based on a reverted in silico expression analysis approach that predicts highly specific potentially functional cis-regulatory elements for a given stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julio Bolívar
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Lorenz Bülow
- Julius Kühn-Institut, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Breeding Research on Agricultural Crops, Erwin-Baur-Str. 27, 06484, Quedlinburg, Germany.
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Hehl R, Norval L, Romanov A, Bülow L. Boosting AthaMap Database Content with Data from Protein Binding Microarrays. PLANT & CELL PHYSIOLOGY 2016; 57:e4. [PMID: 26542109 DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcv156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2015] [Accepted: 10/19/2015] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The AthaMap database generates a map of predicted transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) and small RNA target sites for the whole Arabidopsis thaliana genome. With the advent of protein binding microarrays (PBM), the number of known TFBS for A. thaliana transcription factors (TFs) has increased dramatically. Using 113 positional weight matrices (PWMs) generated from a single PBM study and representing a total number of 68 different TFs, the number of predicted TFBS in AthaMap was now increased by about 3.8 × 10(7) to 4.9 × 10(7). The number of TFs with PWM-predicted TFBS annotated in AthaMap has increased to 126, representing a total of 29 TF families and newly including ARF, AT-Hook, YABBY, LOB/AS2 and SRS. Furthermore, links from all Arabidopsis TFs and genes to the newly established Arabidopsis Information Portal (AIP) have been implemented. With this qualitative and quantitative update, the improved AthaMap increases its value as a resource for the analysis of A. thaliana gene expression regulation at www.athamap.de.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reinhard Hehl
- Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institut für Genetik, Spielmannstr. 7, D-38106 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Leo Norval
- Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institut für Genetik, Spielmannstr. 7, D-38106 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Artyom Romanov
- Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institut für Genetik, Spielmannstr. 7, D-38106 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Lorenz Bülow
- Julius Kühn-Institut, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Breeding Research on Agricultural Crops, Erwin-Baur-Str. 27, D-06484 Quedlinburg, Germany
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Lehmeyer M, Kanofsky K, Hanko EKR, Ahrendt S, Wehrs M, Machens F, Hehl R. Functional dissection of a strong and specific microbe-associated molecular pattern-responsive synthetic promoter. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2016; 14:61-71. [PMID: 25819608 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2014] [Revised: 01/12/2015] [Accepted: 02/06/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic promoters are important for temporal and spatial gene expression in transgenic plants. To identify novel microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-responsive cis-regulatory sequences for synthetic promoter design, a combination of bioinformatics and experimental approaches was employed. One cis-sequence was identified which confers strong MAMP-responsive reporter gene activity with low background activity. The 35-bp-long cis-sequence was identified in the promoter of the Arabidopsis thaliana DJ1E gene, a homologue of the human oncogene DJ1. In this study, this cis-sequence is shown to be a tripartite cis-regulatory module (CRM). A synthetic promoter with four copies of the CRM linked to a minimal promoter increases MAMP-responsive reporter gene expression compared to the wild-type DJ1E promoter. The CRM consists of two WT-boxes (GGACTTTT and GGACTTTG) and a variant of the GCC-box (GCCACC), all required for MAMP and salicylic acid (SA) responsivity. Yeast one-hybrid screenings using a transcription factor (TF)-only prey library identified two AP2/ERFs, ORA59 and ERF10, interacting antagonistically with the CRM. ORA59 activates reporter gene activity and requires the consensus core sequence GCCNCC for gene expression activation. ERF10 down-regulates MAMP-responsive gene expression. No TFs interacting with the WT-boxes GGACTTTT and GGACTTTG were selected in yeast one-hybrid screenings with the TF-only prey library. In transgenic Arabidopsis, the synthetic promoter confers strong and specific reporter gene activity in response to biotrophs and necrotrophs as well as SA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mona Lehmeyer
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Konstantin Kanofsky
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Erik K R Hanko
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Sarah Ahrendt
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Maren Wehrs
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Fabian Machens
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
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Benn G, Dehesh K. Quantitative Analysis of Cis-Regulatory Element Activity Using Synthetic Promoters in Transgenic Plants. Methods Mol Biol 2016; 1482:15-30. [PMID: 27557758 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-6396-6_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic promoters, introduced stably or transiently into plants, are an invaluable tool for the identification of functional regulatory elements and the corresponding transcription factor(s) that regulate the amplitude, spatial distribution, and temporal patterns of gene expression. Here, we present a protocol describing the steps required to identify and characterize putative cis-regulatory elements. These steps include application of computational tools to identify putative elements, construction of a synthetic promoter upstream of luciferase, identification of transcription factors that regulate the element, testing the functionality of the element introduced transiently and/or stably into the species of interest followed by high-throughput luciferase screening assays, and subsequent data processing and statistical analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey Benn
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California, 1224 Life Sciences Addition, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Katayoon Dehesh
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California, 1224 Life Sciences Addition, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
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Wang R, Yan Y, Zhu M, Yang M, Zhou F, Chen H, Lin Y. Isolation and Functional Characterization of Bidirectional Promoters in Rice. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2016; 7:766. [PMID: 27303432 PMCID: PMC4885881 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.00766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2016] [Accepted: 05/17/2016] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Bidirectional promoters, which show great application potential in genetic improvement of plants, have aroused great research interest recently. However, most bidirectional promoters were cloned individually in the studies of single genes. Here, we initiatively combined RNA-seq data and cDNA microarray data to discover the potential bidirectional promoters in rice genome. Based on the expression level and correlation of each adjacent and oppositely transcribed gene pair, we selected four candidate gene pairs. Then, the intergenic region between each pair was isolated and cloned into a dual reporter vector pDX2181 for functional identification. GUS and GFP assays of the transgenic plants indicated that all the intergenic regions showed bidirectional expression activity in various tissues. Through 5' and 3' deletion analysis on one of the above bidirectional promoters, we identified the enhancing region which sharply increased its bidirectional expression efficiency and the essential regions respectively responsible for its 5' and 3' basic expression activity. The bidirectional arrangement of the four gene pairs in six gramineous plants was also analyzed, showing the conserved characteristics of the four bidirectional promoters identified in our study. In addition, two novel cis-sequences conserved in the four bidirectional promoters were discovered by bioinformatic identification. Our study proposes a feasible method for selecting, cloning, and functionally identifying bidirectional promoters as well as for discovering their bidirectional regulatory regions and conserved sequences in rice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Centre of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
| | - Yan Yan
- Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural SciencesHainan, China
| | - Menglin Zhu
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Centre of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
| | - Mei Yang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Centre of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
| | - Fei Zhou
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Centre of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
| | - Hao Chen
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Centre of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
| | - Yongjun Lin
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Centre of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
- *Correspondence: Yongjun Lin
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Kanofsky K, Lehmeyer M, Schulze J, Hehl R. Analysis of Microbe-Associated Molecular Pattern-Responsive Synthetic Promoters with the Parsley Protoplast System. Methods Mol Biol 2016; 1482:163-74. [PMID: 27557767 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-6396-6_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/01/2023]
Abstract
Plants recognize pathogens by microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) and subsequently induce an immune response. The regulation of gene expression during the immune response depends largely on cis-sequences conserved in promoters of MAMP-responsive genes. These cis-sequences can be analyzed by constructing synthetic promoters linked to a reporter gene and by testing these constructs in transient expression systems. Here, the use of the parsley (Petroselinum crispum) protoplast system for analyzing MAMP-responsive synthetic promoters is described. The synthetic promoter consists of four copies of a potential MAMP-responsive cis-sequence cloned upstream of a minimal promoter and the uidA reporter gene. The reporter plasmid contains a second reporter gene, which is constitutively expressed and hence eliminates the requirement of a second plasmid used as a transformation control. The reporter plasmid is transformed into parsley protoplasts that are elicited by the MAMP Pep25. The MAMP responsiveness is validated by comparing the reporter gene activity from MAMP-treated and untreated cells and by normalizing reporter gene activity using the constitutively expressed reporter gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin Kanofsky
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany.
| | - Mona Lehmeyer
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Jutta Schulze
- Institut für Pflanzenbiologie, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Humboldtstr. 1, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
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Abstract
The plant-dedicated mirror of the Regulatory Sequence Analysis Tools (RSAT, http://plants.rsat.eu ) offers specialized options for researchers dealing with plant transcriptional regulation. The website contains whole-sequenced genomes from species regularly updated from Ensembl Plants and other sources (currently 40), and supports an array of tasks frequently required for the analysis of regulatory sequences, such as retrieving upstream sequences, motif discovery, motif comparison, and pattern matching. RSAT::Plants also integrates the footprintDB collection of DNA motifs. This protocol explains step-by-step how to discover DNA motifs in regulatory regions of clusters of co-expressed genes in plants. It also explains how to empirically control the significance of the result, and how to associate the discovered motifs with putative binding factors.
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Wang R, Zhu M, Ye R, Liu Z, Zhou F, Chen H, Lin Y. Novel green tissue-specific synthetic promoters and cis-regulatory elements in rice. Sci Rep 2015; 5:18256. [PMID: 26655679 PMCID: PMC4676006 DOI: 10.1038/srep18256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2015] [Accepted: 11/16/2015] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
As an important part of synthetic biology, synthetic promoter has gradually become a hotspot in current biology. The purposes of the present study were to synthesize green tissue-specific promoters and to discover green tissue-specific cis-elements. We first assembled several regulatory sequences related to tissue-specific expression in different combinations, aiming to obtain novel green tissue-specific synthetic promoters. GUS assays of the transgenic plants indicated 5 synthetic promoters showed green tissue-specific expression patterns and different expression efficiencies in various tissues. Subsequently, we scanned and counted the cis-elements in different tissue-specific promoters based on the plant cis-elements database PLACE and the rice cDNA microarray database CREP for green tissue-specific cis-element discovery, resulting in 10 potential cis-elements. The flanking sequence of one potential core element (GEAT) was predicted by bioinformatics. Then, the combination of GEAT and its flanking sequence was functionally identified with synthetic promoter. GUS assays of the transgenic plants proved its green tissue-specificity. Furthermore, the function of GEAT flanking sequence was analyzed in detail with site-directed mutagenesis. Our study provides an example for the synthesis of rice tissue-specific promoters and develops a feasible method for screening and functional identification of tissue-specific cis-elements with their flanking sequences at the genome-wide level in rice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Centre of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Menglin Zhu
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Centre of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Rongjian Ye
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Centre of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zuoxiong Liu
- College of Foreign Language, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Fei Zhou
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Centre of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Hao Chen
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Centre of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yongjun Lin
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Centre of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
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Zhong X, Xi L, Lian Q, Luo X, Wu Z, Seng S, Yuan X, Yi M. The NPR1 homolog GhNPR1 plays an important role in the defense response of Gladiolus hybridus. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2015; 34:1063-74. [PMID: 25708873 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-015-1765-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2014] [Revised: 02/09/2015] [Accepted: 02/10/2015] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
GhNPR1 shares similar functions as Arabidopsis NPR1 . Silencing of GhNPR1 in Gladiolus results in an enhanced susceptibility to Curvularia gladioli. We propose that GhNPR1 plays important roles in plant immunity. Gladiolus plants and corms are susceptible to various types of pathogens including fungi, bacteria and viruses. Understanding the innate defense mechanism in Gladiolus is a prerequisite for the development of new protection strategies. The non-expressor of pathogenesis-related gene 1 (NPR1) and bzip transcription factor TGA2 play a key role in regulating salicylic acid (SA)-mediated systemic acquired resistance (SAR). In this study, the homologous genes, GhNPR1 and GhTGA2, were isolated from Gladiolus and functionally characterized. Expression of GhNPR1 exhibited a 3.8-fold increase in Gladiolus leaves following salicylic acid treatment. A 1332 bp fragment of the GhNPR1 promoter from Gladiolus hybridus was identified. Inducibility of the GhNPR1 promoter by SA was demonstrated using transient expression assays in the leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana. The GhNPR1 protein is located in the nucleus and cytomembrane. GhNPR1 interacts with GhTGA2, as observed using the bimolecular fluorescence complementation system. Overexpression of GhNPR1 in an Arabidopsis npr1 mutant can restore its basal resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000. Silencing of GhNPR1, using a tobacco rattle virus-based silencing vector, resulted in an enhanced susceptibility to Curvularia gladioli. In conclusion, these results suggest that GhNPR1 plays a pivotal role in the SA-dependent systemic acquired resistance in Gladiolus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xionghui Zhong
- Department of Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, China Agricultural University, Yuan Mingyuan Western Road 2#, Beijing, 100193, China,
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Liu W, Stewart CN. Plant synthetic biology. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2015; 20:309-317. [PMID: 25825364 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2015.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2014] [Revised: 02/11/2015] [Accepted: 02/25/2015] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Plant synthetic biology is an emerging field that combines engineering principles with plant biology toward the design and production of new devices. This emerging field should play an important role in future agriculture for traditional crop improvement, but also in enabling novel bioproduction in plants. In this review we discuss the design cycles of synthetic biology as well as key engineering principles, genetic parts, and computational tools that can be utilized in plant synthetic biology. Some pioneering examples are offered as a demonstration of how synthetic biology can be used to modify plants for specific purposes. These include synthetic sensors, synthetic metabolic pathways, and synthetic genomes. We also speculate about the future of synthetic biology of plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wusheng Liu
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-4561, USA
| | - C Neal Stewart
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-4561, USA; BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6037, USA.
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Wiesel L, Newton AC, Elliott I, Booty D, Gilroy EM, Birch PRJ, Hein I. Molecular effects of resistance elicitors from biological origin and their potential for crop protection. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2014; 5:655. [PMID: 25484886 PMCID: PMC4240061 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2014.00655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2014] [Accepted: 11/04/2014] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Plants contain a sophisticated innate immune network to prevent pathogenic microbes from gaining access to nutrients and from colonizing internal structures. The first layer of inducible response is governed by the plant following the perception of microbe- or modified plant-derived molecules. As the perception of these molecules results in a plant response that can provide efficient resistance toward non-adapted pathogens they can also be described as "defense elicitors." In compatible plant/microbe interactions, adapted microorganisms have means to avoid or disable this resistance response and promote virulence. However, this requires a detailed spatial and temporal response from the invading pathogens. In agricultural practice, treating plants with isolated defense elicitors in the absence of pathogens can promote plant resistance by uncoupling defense activation from the effects of pathogen virulence determinants. The plant responses to plant, bacterial, oomycete, or fungal-derived elicitors are not, in all cases, universal and need elucidating prior to the application in agriculture. This review provides an overview of currently known elicitors of biological rather than synthetic origin and places their activity into a molecular context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea Wiesel
- Cell and Molecular Sciences, The James Hutton InstituteDundee, UK
| | - Adrian C. Newton
- Cell and Molecular Sciences, The James Hutton InstituteDundee, UK
| | | | | | | | - Paul R. J. Birch
- Cell and Molecular Sciences, The James Hutton InstituteDundee, UK
- The Division of Plant Sciences, College of Life Science, University of Dundee at the James Hutton InstituteDundee, UK
| | - Ingo Hein
- Cell and Molecular Sciences, The James Hutton InstituteDundee, UK
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Liu W, Mazarei M, Peng Y, Fethe MH, Rudis MR, Lin J, Millwood RJ, Arelli PR, Stewart CN. Computational discovery of soybean promoter cis-regulatory elements for the construction of soybean cyst nematode-inducible synthetic promoters. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2014; 12:1015-26. [PMID: 24893752 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2014] [Revised: 04/14/2014] [Accepted: 04/23/2014] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Computational methods offer great hope but limited accuracy in the prediction of functional cis-regulatory elements; improvements are needed to enable synthetic promoter design. We applied an ensemble strategy for de novo soybean cyst nematode (SCN)-inducible motif discovery among promoters of 18 co-expressed soybean genes that were selected from six reported microarray studies involving a compatible soybean-SCN interaction. A total of 116 overlapping motif regions (OMRs) were discovered bioinformatically that were identified by at least four out of seven bioinformatic tools. Using synthetic promoters, the inducibility of each OMR or motif itself was evaluated by co-localization of gain of function of an orange fluorescent protein reporter and the presence of SCN in transgenic soybean hairy roots. Among 16 OMRs detected from two experimentally confirmed SCN-inducible promoters, 11 OMRs (i.e. 68.75%) were experimentally confirmed to be SCN-inducible, leading to the discovery of 23 core motifs of 5- to 7-bp length, of which 14 are novel in plants. We found that a combination of the three best tools (i.e. SCOPE, W-AlignACE and Weeder) could detect all 23 core motifs. Thus, this strategy is a high-throughput approach for de novo motif discovery in soybean and offers great potential for novel motif discovery and synthetic promoter engineering for any plant and trait in crop biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wusheng Liu
- Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
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Leister D, Romani I, Mittermayr L, Paieri F, Fenino E, Kleine T. Identification of target genes and transcription factors implicated in translation-dependent retrograde signaling in Arabidopsis. MOLECULAR PLANT 2014; 7:1228-47. [PMID: 24874869 DOI: 10.1093/mp/ssu066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Changes in organellar gene expression (OGE) trigger retrograde signaling. The molecular dissection of OGE-dependent retrograde signaling based on analyses of mutants with altered OGE is complicated by compensatory responses that mask the primary signaling defect and by secondary effects that influence other retrograde signaling pathways. Therefore, to identify the earliest effects of altered OGE on nuclear transcript accumulation, we have induced OGE defects in adult plants by ethanol-dependent repression of PRORS1, which encodes a prolyl-tRNA synthetase located in chloroplasts and mitochondria. After 32h of PRORS1 repression, the translational capacity of chloroplasts was reduced, and this effect subsequently intensified, while basic photosynthetic parameters were still unchanged at 51h. Analysis of changes in whole-genome transcriptomes during exposure to ethanol revealed that induced PRORS1 silencing affects the expression of 1020 genes in all. Some of these encode photosynthesis-related proteins, including several down-regulated light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding (LHC) proteins. Interestingly, genes for presumptive endoplasmic reticulum proteins are transiently up-regulated. Furthermore, several NAC-domain-containing proteins are among the transcription factors regulated. Candidate cis-acting elements which may coordinate the transcriptional co-regulation of genes sets include both G-box variants and sequence motifs with no similarity to known plant cis-elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dario Leister
- Plant Molecular Biology (Botany), Department Biology I, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Großhaderner Str. 2, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Isidora Romani
- Plant Molecular Biology (Botany), Department Biology I, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Großhaderner Str. 2, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Lukas Mittermayr
- Plant Molecular Biology (Botany), Department Biology I, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Großhaderner Str. 2, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Francesca Paieri
- Plant Molecular Biology (Botany), Department Biology I, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Großhaderner Str. 2, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Elena Fenino
- Plant Molecular Biology (Botany), Department Biology I, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Großhaderner Str. 2, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Tatjana Kleine
- Plant Molecular Biology (Botany), Department Biology I, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Großhaderner Str. 2, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany
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Dubos C, Kelemen Z, Sebastian A, Bülow L, Huep G, Xu W, Grain D, Salsac F, Brousse C, Lepiniec L, Weisshaar B, Contreras-Moreira B, Hehl R. Integrating bioinformatic resources to predict transcription factors interacting with cis-sequences conserved in co-regulated genes. BMC Genomics 2014; 15:317. [PMID: 24773781 PMCID: PMC4234446 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2013] [Accepted: 04/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Using motif detection programs it is fairly straightforward to identify conserved cis-sequences in promoters of co-regulated genes. In contrast, the identification of the transcription factors (TFs) interacting with these cis-sequences is much more elaborate. To facilitate this, we explore the possibility of using several bioinformatic and experimental approaches for TF identification. This starts with the selection of co-regulated gene sets and leads first to the prediction and then to the experimental validation of TFs interacting with cis-sequences conserved in the promoters of these co-regulated genes. Results Using the PathoPlant database, 32 up-regulated gene groups were identified with microarray data for drought-responsive gene expression from Arabidopsis thaliana. Application of the binding site estimation suite of tools (BEST) discovered 179 conserved sequence motifs within the corresponding promoters. Using the STAMP web-server, 49 sequence motifs were classified into 7 motif families for which similarities with known cis-regulatory sequences were identified. All motifs were subjected to a footprintDB analysis to predict interacting DNA binding domains from plant TF families. Predictions were confirmed by using a yeast-one-hybrid approach to select interacting TFs belonging to the predicted TF families. TF-DNA interactions were further experimentally validated in yeast and with a Physcomitrella patens transient expression system, leading to the discovery of several novel TF-DNA interactions. Conclusions The present work demonstrates the successful integration of several bioinformatic resources with experimental approaches to predict and validate TFs interacting with conserved sequence motifs in co-regulated genes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr, 7, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.
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Bolívar JC, Machens F, Brill Y, Romanov A, Bülow L, Hehl R. 'In silico expression analysis', a novel PathoPlant web tool to identify abiotic and biotic stress conditions associated with specific cis-regulatory sequences. DATABASE-THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL DATABASES AND CURATION 2014; 2014:bau030. [PMID: 24727366 PMCID: PMC3983564 DOI: 10.1093/database/bau030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Using bioinformatics, putative cis-regulatory sequences can be easily identified using pattern recognition programs on promoters of specific gene sets. The abundance of predicted cis-sequences is a major challenge to associate these sequences with a possible function in gene expression regulation. To identify a possible function of the predicted cis-sequences, a novel web tool designated ‘in silico expression analysis’ was developed that correlates submitted cis-sequences with gene expression data from Arabidopsis thaliana. The web tool identifies the A. thaliana genes harbouring the sequence in a defined promoter region and compares the expression of these genes with microarray data. The result is a hierarchy of abiotic and biotic stress conditions to which these genes are most likely responsive. When testing the performance of the web tool, known cis-regulatory sequences were submitted to the ‘in silico expression analysis’ resulting in the correct identification of the associated stress conditions. When using a recently identified novel elicitor-responsive sequence, a WT-box (CGACTTTT), the ‘in silico expression analysis’ predicts that genes harbouring this sequence in their promoter are most likely Botrytis cinerea induced. Consistent with this prediction, the strongest induction of a reporter gene harbouring this sequence in the promoter is observed with B. cinerea in transgenic A. thaliana. Database URL:http://www.pathoplant.de/expression_analysis.php.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julio C Bolívar
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr 7, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
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Machens F, Becker M, Umrath F, Hehl R. Identification of a novel type of WRKY transcription factor binding site in elicitor-responsive cis-sequences from Arabidopsis thaliana. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2014; 84:371-85. [PMID: 24104863 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-013-0136-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2013] [Accepted: 09/25/2013] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Using a combination of bioinformatics and synthetic promoters, novel elicitor-responsive cis-sequences were discovered in promoters of pathogen-upregulated genes from Arabidopsis thaliana. One group of functional sequences contains the conserved core sequence GACTTTT. This core sequence and adjacent nucleotides are essential for elicitor-responsive gene expression in a parsley protoplast system. By yeast one-hybrid screening, WRKY70 was selected with a cis-sequence harbouring the core sequence GACTTTT but no known WRKY binding site (W-box). Transactivation experiments, mutation analyses, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrate that the sequence CGACTTTT is the binding site for WRKY70 in the investigated cis-sequence and is required for WRKY70-activated gene expression. Using several cis-sequences in transactivation experiments and binding studies, the CGACTTTT sequence can be extended to propose YGACTTTT as WRKY70 binding site. This binding site, designated WT-box, is enriched in promoters of genes upregulated in a WRKY70 overexpressing line. Interestingly, functional WRKY70 binding sites are present in the promoter of WRKY30, supporting recent evidence that both factors play a role in the same regulatory network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Machens
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
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Hehl R, Bülow L. AthaMap web tools for the analysis of transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression in Arabidopsis thaliana. Methods Mol Biol 2014; 1158:139-56. [PMID: 24792049 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0700-7_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
The AthaMap database provides a map of verified and predicted transcription factor (TF) and small RNA-binding sites for the A. thaliana genome. The database can be used for bioinformatic predictions of putative regulatory sites. Several online web tools are available that address specific questions. Starting with the identification of transcription factor-binding sites (TFBS) in any gene of interest, colocalizing TFBS can be identified as well as common TFBS in a set of user-provided genes. Furthermore, genes can be identified that are potentially targeted by specific transcription factors or small inhibitory RNAs. This chapter provides detailed information on how each AthaMap web tool can be used online. Examples on how this database is used to address questions in circadian and diurnal regulation are given. Furthermore, complementary databases and databases that go beyond questions addressed with AthaMap are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany,
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Niemeyer J, Ruhe J, Machens F, Stahl DJ, Hehl R. Inducible expression of p50 from TMV for increased resistance to bacterial crown gall disease in tobacco. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2014; 84:111-23. [PMID: 23955710 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-013-0122-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2013] [Accepted: 08/09/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The dominant tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) resistance gene N induces a hypersensitive response upon TMV infection and protects tobacco against systemic spread of the virus. It has been proposed to change disease resistance specificity by reprogramming the expression of resistance genes or their corresponding avirulence genes. To reprogramme the resistance response of N towards bacterial pathogens, the helicase domain (p50) of the TMV replicase, the avirulence gene of N, was linked to synthetic promoters 4D and 2S2D harbouring elicitor-responsive cis-elements. These promoter::p50 constructs induce local necrotic lesions on NN tobacco plants in an Agrobacterium tumefaciens infiltration assay. A tobacco genotype void of N (nn) was transformed with the promoter::p50 constructs and subsequently crossed to NN plants. Nn F1 offspring selected for the T-DNA develop normally under sterile conditions. After transfer to soil, some of the F1 plants expressing the 2S2D::p50 constructs develop spontaneous necrosis. Transgenic Nn F1 plants with 4D::p50 and 2S2D::p50 expressing constructs upregulate p50 transcription and induce local necrotic lesions in an A. tumefaciens infiltration assay. When leaves and stems of Nn F1 offspring harbouring promoter::p50 constructs are infected with oncogenic A. tumefaciens C58, transgenic lines harbouring the 2S2D::p50 construct induce necrosis and completely lack tumor development. These results demonstrate a successful reprogramming of the viral N gene response against bacterial crown gall disease and highlight the importance of achieving tight regulation of avirulence gene expression and the control of necrosis in the presence of the corresponding resistance gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Niemeyer
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
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Roccaro M, Ahmadinejad N, Colby T, Somssich IE. Identification of functional cis-regulatory elements by sequential enrichment from a randomized synthetic DNA library. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2013; 13:164. [PMID: 24138055 PMCID: PMC3923269 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2229-13-164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2013] [Accepted: 10/08/2013] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The identification of endogenous cis-regulatory DNA elements (CREs) responsive to endogenous and environmental cues is important for studying gene regulation and for biotechnological applications but is labor and time intensive. Alternatively, by taking a synthetic biology approach small specific DNA binding sites tailored to the needs of the scientist can be generated and rapidly identified. RESULTS Here we report a novel approach to identify stimulus-responsive synthetic CREs (SynCREs) from an unbiased random synthetic element (SynE) library. Functional SynCREs were isolated by screening the SynE libray for elements mediating transcriptional activity in plant protoplasts. Responsive elements were chromatin immunoprecipitated by targeting the active Ser-5 phosphorylated RNA polymerase II CTD (Pol II ChIP). Using sequential enrichment, deep sequencing and a bioinformatics pipeline, candidate responsive SynCREs were identified within a pool of constitutively active DNA elements and further validated. These included bonafide biotic/abiotic stress-responsive motifs along with novel SynCREs. We tested several SynCREs in Arabidopsis and confirmed their response to biotic stimuli. CONCLUSIONS Successful isolation of synthetic stress-responsive elements from our screen illustrates the power of the described methodology. This approach can be applied to any transfectable eukaryotic system since it exploits a universal feature of the eukaryotic Pol II.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Roccaro
- Department of Plant Microbe Interaction, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linne-Weg 10, Cologne 50829, Germany
| | - Nahal Ahmadinejad
- Department of Plant Microbe Interaction, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linne-Weg 10, Cologne 50829, Germany
- Current address: INRES - Crop Bioinformatics, Universität Bonn, Katzenburgweg 2, Bonn 53115, Germany
| | - Thomas Colby
- Mass Spectrometry Group, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linne-Weg 10, Cologne 50829, Germany
| | - Imre E Somssich
- Department of Plant Microbe Interaction, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linne-Weg 10, Cologne 50829, Germany
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Abstract
Basic research has provided a much better understanding of the genetic networks and regulatory hierarchies in plants. To meet the challenges of agriculture, we must be able to rapidly translate this knowledge into generating improved plants. Therefore, in this Review, we discuss advanced tools that are currently available for use in plant biotechnology to produce new products in plants and to generate plants with new functions. These tools include synthetic promoters, 'tunable' transcription factors, genome-editing tools and site-specific recombinases. We also review some tools with the potential to enable crop improvement, such as methods for the assembly and synthesis of large DNA molecules, plant transformation with linked multigenes and plant artificial chromosomes. These genetic technologies should be integrated to realize their potential for applications to pressing agricultural and environmental problems.
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Scarpeci TE, Zanor MI, Mueller-Roeber B, Valle EM. Overexpression of AtWRKY30 enhances abiotic stress tolerance during early growth stages in Arabidopsis thaliana. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2013; 83:265-77. [PMID: 23794142 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-013-0090-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2012] [Accepted: 06/07/2013] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
AtWRKY30 belongs to a higher plant transcription factor superfamily, which responds to pathogen attack. In previous studies, the AtWRKY30 gene was found to be highly and rapidly induced in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves after oxidative stress treatment. In this study, electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that AtWRKY30 binds with high specificity and affinity to the WRKY consensus sequence (W-box), and also to its own promoter. Analysis of the AtWRKY30 expression pattern by qPCR and using transgenic Arabidopsis lines carrying AtWRKY30 promoter-β-glucuronidase fusions showed transcriptional activity in leaves subjected to biotic or abiotic stress. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants constitutively overexpressing AtWRKY30 (35S::W30 lines) were more tolerant than wild-type plants to oxidative and salinity stresses during seed germination. The results presented here show that AtWRKY30 is responsive to several stress conditions either from abiotic or biotic origin, suggesting that AtWRKY30 could have a role in the activation of defence responses at early stages of Arabidopsis growth by binding to W-boxes found in promoters of many stress/developmentally regulated genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Telma E Scarpeci
- Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Suipacha 531, S2002LRK, Rosario, Argentina
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Chai C, Lin Y, Shen D, Wu Y, Li H, Dou D. Identification and functional characterization of the soybean GmaPPO12 promoter conferring Phytophthora sojae induced expression. PLoS One 2013; 8:e67670. [PMID: 23840763 PMCID: PMC3695865 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0067670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2013] [Accepted: 05/26/2013] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Identification of pathogen-inducible promoters largely lags behind cloning of the genes for disease resistance. Here, we cloned the soybean GmaPPO12 gene and found that it was rapidly and strongly induced by Phytophthorasojae infection. Computational analysis revealed that its promoter contained many known cis-elements, including several defense related transcriptional factor-binding boxes. We showed that the promoter could mediate induction of GUS expression upon infection in both transient expression assays in Nicotianabenthamiana and stable transgenic soybean hairy roots. Importantly, we demonstrated that pathogen-induced expression of the GmaPPO12 promoter was higher than that of the soybean GmaPR1a promoter. A progressive 5' and 3' deletion analysis revealed two fragments that were essential for promoter activity. Thus, the cloned promoter could be used in transgenic plants to enhance resistance to phytophthora pathogens, and the identified fragment could serve as a candidate to produce synthetic pathogen-induced promoters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunyue Chai
- Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
- College of Life Science and Technology, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, China
| | - Yanling Lin
- Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Danyu Shen
- Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yuren Wu
- Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Hongjuan Li
- Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Daolong Dou
- Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
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Logemann E, Birkenbihl RP, Rawat V, Schneeberger K, Schmelzer E, Somssich IE. Functional dissection of the PROPEP2 and PROPEP3 promoters reveals the importance of WRKY factors in mediating microbe-associated molecular pattern-induced expression. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2013; 198:1165-1177. [PMID: 23496690 DOI: 10.1111/nph.12233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2013] [Accepted: 02/14/2013] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
· In Arabidopsis thaliana, small peptides (AtPeps) encoded by PROPEP genes act as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that are perceived by two leucine-rich repeat receptor kinases, PEPR1 and PEPR2, to amplify defense responses. In particular, expression of PROPEP2 and PROPEP3 is strongly and rapidly induced by AtPeps, in response to bacterial, oomycete, and fungal pathogens, and microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). · The cis-regulatory modules (CRMs) within the PROPEP2 and PROPEP3 promoters that mediate MAMP responsiveness were delineated, employing parsley (Petroselinum crispum) protoplasts and transgenic A. thaliana plants harboring promoter-reporter constructs. By chromatin immunoprecipitation in vivo, DNA interactions with a specific transcription factor were detected. Furthermore, the PHASTCONS program was used to identify conserved regions of the PROPEP3 locus in different Brassicaceae species. · The major MAMP-responsive CRM within the PROPEP2 promoter is composed of several W boxes and an as1/OCS (activation sequence-1/octopine synthase) enhancer element, while in the PROPEP3 promoter the CRM is comprised of six W boxes. The WRKY33 transcription factor binds in vivo to these promoter regions in a MAMP-dependent manner. Both the position and orientation of the six W boxes are conserved within the PROPEP3 promoters of four other Brassicaceae family members. · WRKY factors are the major regulators of MAMP-induced PROPEP2 and PROPEP3 expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elke Logemann
- Department of Plant Microbe Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, Cologne, 50829, Germany
| | - Rainer P Birkenbihl
- Department of Plant Microbe Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, Cologne, 50829, Germany
| | - Vimal Rawat
- Department of Plant Developmental Biology, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, Cologne, 50829, Germany
| | - Korbinian Schneeberger
- Department of Plant Developmental Biology, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, Cologne, 50829, Germany
| | - Elmon Schmelzer
- Central Microscopy (CeMic), Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, Cologne, 50829, Germany
| | - Imre E Somssich
- Department of Plant Microbe Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, Cologne, 50829, Germany
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