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Borba AR, Reyna-Llorens I, Dickinson PJ, Steed G, Gouveia P, Górska AM, Gomes C, Kromdijk J, Webb AAR, Saibo NJM, Hibberd JM. Compartmentation of photosynthesis gene expression in C4 maize depends on time of day. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 193:2306-2320. [PMID: 37555432 PMCID: PMC10663113 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiad447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Compared with the ancestral C3 state, C4 photosynthesis occurs at higher rates with improved water and nitrogen use efficiencies. In both C3 and C4 plants, rates of photosynthesis increase with light intensity and are maximal around midday. We determined that in the absence of light or temperature fluctuations, photosynthesis in maize (Zea mays) peaks in the middle of the subjective photoperiod. To investigate the molecular processes associated with these temporal changes, we performed RNA sequencing of maize mesophyll and bundle sheath strands over a 24-h time course. Preferential expression of C4 cycle genes in these cell types was strongest between 6 and 10 h after dawn when rates of photosynthesis were highest. For the bundle sheath, DNA motif enrichment and gene coexpression analyses suggested members of the DNA binding with one finger (DOF) and MADS (MINICHROMOSOME MAINTENANCE FACTOR 1/AGAMOUS/DEFICIENS/Serum Response Factor)-domain transcription factor families mediate diurnal fluctuations in C4 gene expression, while trans-activation assays in planta confirmed their ability to activate promoter fragments from bundle sheath expressed genes. The work thus identifies transcriptional regulators and peaks in cell-specific C4 gene expression coincident with maximum rates of photosynthesis in the maize leaf at midday.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Rita Borba
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras 2780-157, Portugal
- Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras 2780-157, Portugal
| | - Ivan Reyna-Llorens
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
| | - Patrick J Dickinson
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
| | - Gareth Steed
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
| | - Paulo Gouveia
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras 2780-157, Portugal
- Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras 2780-157, Portugal
| | - Alicja M Górska
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras 2780-157, Portugal
- Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras 2780-157, Portugal
| | - Celia Gomes
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras 2780-157, Portugal
- Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras 2780-157, Portugal
| | - Johannes Kromdijk
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
| | - Alex A R Webb
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
| | - Nelson J M Saibo
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras 2780-157, Portugal
- Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras 2780-157, Portugal
| | - Julian M Hibberd
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
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Tanaka M, Ishikawa Y, Suzuki S, Ogawa T, Taniguchi YY, Miyagi A, Ishikawa T, Yamaguchi M, Munekage YN, Kawai-Yamada M. Change in expression levels of NAD kinase-encoding genes in Flaveria species. JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 265:153495. [PMID: 34411985 DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2021.153495] [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: 06/13/2021] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotides (NAD(H)) and NAD phosphates (NADP(H)) are electron carriers involved in redox reactions and metabolic processes in all organisms. NAD kinase (NADK) is the only enzyme that phosphorylates NAD+ into NADP+, using ATP as a phosphate donor. In NADP-dependent malic enzyme (NADP-ME)-type C4 photosynthesis, NADP(H) are required for dehydrogenation by NADP-dependent malate dehydrogenase (NADP-MDH) in mesophyll cells, and decarboxylation by NADP-ME in bundle sheath cells. In this study, we identified five NADK genes (FbNADK1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, and 3) from the C4 model species Flaveria bidentis. RNA-Seq database analysis revealed higher transcript abundance in one of the chloroplast-type NADK2 genes of C4F. bidentis (FbNADK2a). Comparative analysis of NADK activity in leaves of C3, C3-C4, and C4Flaveria showed that C4Flaveria (F. bidentis and F. trinervia) had higher NADK activity than the other photosynthetic-types of Flaveria. Taken together, our results suggest that chloroplastic NAD kinase appeared to increase in importance as C3 plants evolved into C4 plants in the genus Flaveria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masami Tanaka
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 225 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama-city, Saitama 338-8570, Japan
| | - Yuuma Ishikawa
- Institute for Molecular Physiology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Sayaka Suzuki
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 225 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama-city, Saitama 338-8570, Japan
| | - Takako Ogawa
- School of Science and Technology, Kwansei Gakuin University, 2-1 Gakuen, Sanda, Hyogo 669-1337, Japan
| | - Yukimi Y Taniguchi
- School of Science and Technology, Kwansei Gakuin University, 2-1 Gakuen, Sanda, Hyogo 669-1337, Japan
| | - Atsuko Miyagi
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 225 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama-city, Saitama 338-8570, Japan
| | - Toshiki Ishikawa
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 225 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama-city, Saitama 338-8570, Japan
| | - Masatoshi Yamaguchi
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 225 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama-city, Saitama 338-8570, Japan
| | - Yuri N Munekage
- School of Science and Technology, Kwansei Gakuin University, 2-1 Gakuen, Sanda, Hyogo 669-1337, Japan
| | - Maki Kawai-Yamada
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 225 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama-city, Saitama 338-8570, Japan.
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Abstract
C4 photosynthesis evolved multiple times independently from ancestral C3 photosynthesis in a broad range of flowering land plant families and in both monocots and dicots. The evolution of C4 photosynthesis entails the recruitment of enzyme activities that are not involved in photosynthetic carbon fixation in C3 plants to photosynthesis. This requires a different regulation of gene expression as well as a different regulation of enzyme activities in comparison to the C3 context. Further, C4 photosynthesis relies on a distinct leaf anatomy that differs from that of C3, requiring a differential regulation of leaf development in C4. We summarize recent progress in the understanding of C4-specific features in evolution and metabolic regulation in the context of C4 photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urte Schlüter
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; ,
| | - Andreas P M Weber
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; ,
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Ludwig M. The Roles of Organic Acids in C4 Photosynthesis. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2016; 7:647. [PMID: 27242848 PMCID: PMC4868847 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.00647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2016] [Accepted: 04/27/2016] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Organic acids are involved in numerous metabolic pathways in all plants. The finding that some plants, known as C4 plants, have four-carbon dicarboxylic acids as the first product of carbon fixation showed these organic acids play essential roles as photosynthetic intermediates. Oxaloacetate (OAA), malate, and aspartate (Asp) are substrates for the C4 acid cycle that underpins the CO2 concentrating mechanism of C4 photosynthesis. In this cycle, OAA is the immediate, short-lived, product of the initial CO2 fixation step in C4 leaf mesophyll cells. The malate and Asp, resulting from the rapid conversion of OAA, are the organic acids delivered to the sites of carbon reduction in the bundle-sheath cells of the leaf, where they are decarboxylated, with the released CO2 used to make carbohydrates. The three-carbon organic acids resulting from the decarboxylation reactions are returned to the mesophyll cells where they are used to regenerate the CO2 acceptor pool. NADP-malic enzyme-type, NAD-malic enzyme-type, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase-type C4 plants were identified, based on the most abundant decarboxylating enzyme in the leaf tissue. The genes encoding these C4 pathway-associated decarboxylases were co-opted from ancestral C3 plant genes during the evolution of C4 photosynthesis. Malate was recognized as the major organic acid transferred in NADP-malic enzyme-type C4 species, while Asp fills this role in NAD-malic enzyme-type and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase-type plants. However, accumulating evidence indicates that many C4 plants use a combination of organic acids and decarboxylases during CO2 fixation, and the C4-type categories are not rigid. The ability to transfer multiple organic acid species and utilize different decarboxylases has been suggested to give C4 plants advantages in changing and stressful environments, as well as during development, by facilitating the balance of energy between the two cell types involved in the C4 pathway of CO2 assimilation. The results of recent empirical and modeling studies support this suggestion and indicate that a combination of transferred organic acids and decarboxylases is beneficial to C4 plants in different light environments.
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Covshoff S, Burgess SJ, Kneřová J, Kümpers BMC. Getting the most out of natural variation in C4 photosynthesis. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2014; 119:157-167. [PMID: 23794170 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-013-9872-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2012] [Accepted: 06/12/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
C4 photosynthesis is a complex trait that has a high degree of natural variation, involving anatomical and biochemical changes relative to the ancestral C3 state. It has evolved at least 66 times across a variety of lineages and the evolutionary route from C3 to C4 is likely conserved but not necessarily genetically identical. As such, a variety of C4 species are needed to identify what is fundamental to the C4 evolutionary process in a global context. In order to identify the genetic components of C4 form and function, a number of species are used as genetic models. These include Zea mays (maize), Sorghum bicolor (sorghum), Setaria viridis (Setaria), Flaveria bidentis, and Cleome gynandra. Each of these species has different benefits and challenges associated with its use as a model organism. Here, we propose that RNA profiling of a large sampling of C4, C3-C4, and C3 species, from as many lineages as possible, will allow identification of candidate genes necessary and sufficient to confer C4 anatomy and/or biochemistry. Furthermore, C4 model species will play a critical role in the functional characterization of these candidate genes and identification of their regulatory elements, by providing a platform for transformation and through the use of gene expression profiles in mesophyll and bundle sheath cells and along the leaf developmental gradient. Efforts should be made to sequence the genomes of F. bidentis and C. gynandra and to develop congeneric C3 species as genetic models for comparative studies. In combination, such resources would facilitate discovery of common and unique C4 regulatory mechanisms across genera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Covshoff
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, UK,
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6
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Ludwig M. Evolution of the C4 photosynthetic pathway: events at the cellular and molecular levels. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2013; 117:147-61. [PMID: 23708978 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-013-9853-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2013] [Accepted: 05/14/2013] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
The biochemistry and leaf anatomy of plants using C4 photosynthesis promote the concentration of atmospheric CO2 in leaf tissue that leads to improvements in growth and yield of C4 plants over C3 species in hot, dry, high light, and/or saline environments. C4 plants like maize and sugarcane are significant food, fodder, and bioenergy crops. The C4 photosynthetic pathway is an excellent example of convergent evolution, having evolved in multiple independent lineages of land plants from ancestors employing C3 photosynthesis. In addition to C3 and C4 species, some plant lineages contain closely related C3-C4 intermediate species that demonstrate leaf anatomical, biochemical, and physiological characteristics between those of C3 plants and species using C4 photosynthesis. These groups of plants have been extremely useful in dissecting the modifications to leaf anatomy and molecular biology, which led to the evolution of C4 photosynthesis. It is now clear that great variation exists in C4 leaf anatomy, and diverse molecular mechanisms underlie C4 biochemistry and physiology. However, all these different paths have led to the same destination-the expression of a C4 CO2 concentrating mechanism. Further identification of C4 leaf anatomical traits and molecular biological components, and understanding how they are controlled and assembled will not only allow for additional insights into evolutionary convergence, but also contribute to sustainable food and bioenergy production strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha Ludwig
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia,
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Pengelly JJL, Tan J, Furbank RT, von Caemmerer S. Antisense reduction of NADP-malic enzyme in Flaveria bidentis reduces flow of CO2 through the C4 cycle. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2012; 160:1070-80. [PMID: 22846191 PMCID: PMC3461530 DOI: 10.1104/pp.112.203240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2012] [Accepted: 07/24/2012] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
An antisense construct targeting the C(4) isoform of NADP-malic enzyme (ME), the primary enzyme decarboxylating malate in bundle sheath cells to supply CO(2) to Rubisco, was used to transform the dicot Flaveria bidentis. Transgenic plants (α-NADP-ME) exhibited a 34% to 75% reduction in NADP-ME activity relative to the wild type with no visible growth phenotype. We characterized the effect of reducing NADP-ME on photosynthesis by measuring in vitro photosynthetic enzyme activity, gas exchange, and real-time carbon isotope discrimination (Δ). In α-NADP-ME plants with less than 40% of wild-type NADP-ME activity, CO(2) assimilation rates at high intercellular CO(2) were significantly reduced, whereas the in vitro activities of both phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and Rubisco were increased. Δ measured concurrently with gas exchange in these plants showed a lower Δ and thus a lower calculated leakiness of CO(2) (the ratio of CO(2) leak rate from the bundle sheath to the rate of CO(2) supply). Comparative measurements on antisense Rubisco small subunit F. bidentis plants showed the opposite effect of increased Δ and leakiness. We use these measurements to estimate the C(4) cycle rate, bundle sheath leak rate, and bundle sheath CO(2) concentration. The comparison of α-NADP-ME and antisense Rubisco small subunit demonstrates that the coordination of the C(3) and C(4) cycles that exist during environmental perturbations by light and CO(2) can be disrupted through transgenic manipulations. Furthermore, our results suggest that the efficiency of the C(4) pathway could potentially be improved through a reduction in C(4) cycle activity or increased C(3) cycle activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasper J L Pengelly
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia.
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9
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Weissmann S, Brutnell TP. Engineering C4 photosynthetic regulatory networks. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2012; 23:298-304. [PMID: 22261559 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2011.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2011] [Revised: 12/13/2011] [Accepted: 12/15/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
C4 photosynthesis is a complex metabolic pathway responsible for carbon fixation in major feed, food and bioenergy crops. Although many enzymes driving this pathway have been identified, regulatory mechanisms underlying this system remain elusive. C4 photosynthesis contributes to photosynthetic efficiency in major bioenergy crops such as sugarcane, Miscanthus, switchgrass, maize and sorghum, and international efforts are underway to engineer C4 photosynthesis into C3 crops. A fundamental understanding of the C4 network is thus needed. New experimental and informatics methods can facilitate the accumulation and analysis of high-throughput data to define components of the C4 system. The use of new model plants, closely related to C4 crops, will also contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate this complex and important pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarit Weissmann
- Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Cornell University, Tower Road, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States
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10
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Ludwig M. Carbonic anhydrase and the molecular evolution of C4 photosynthesis. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2012; 35:22-37. [PMID: 21631531 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3040.2011.02364.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
C(4) photosynthesis, a biochemical CO(2)-concentrating mechanism (CCM), evolved more than 60 times within the angiosperms from C(3) ancestors. The genus Flaveria, which contains species demonstrating C(3), C(3)-C(4), C(4)-like or C(4) photosynthesis, is a model for examining the molecular evolution of the C(4) pathway. Work with carbonic anhydrase (CA), and C(3) and C(4) Flaveria congeners has added significantly to the understanding of this process. The C(4) form of CA3, a β-CA, which catalyses the first reaction in the C(4) pathway by hydrating atmospheric CO(2) to bicarbonate in the cytosol of mesophyll cells (mcs), evolved from a chloroplastic C(3) ancestor. The molecular modifications to the ancestral CA3 gene included the loss of the sequence encoding the chloroplast transit peptide, and mutations in regulatory regions that resulted in high levels of expression in the C(4) mesophyll. Analyses of the CA3 proteins and regulatory elements from Flaveria photosynthetic intermediates indicated C(4) biochemistry very likely evolved in a specific, stepwise manner in this genus. The details of the mechanisms involved in the molecular evolution of other C(4) plant β-CAs are unknown; however, comparative genetics indicate gene duplication and neofunctionalization played significant roles as they did in Flaveria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha Ludwig
- School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences [M310], The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
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12
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Chapter 14 C4 Decarboxylases: Different Solutions for the Same Biochemical Problem, the Provision of CO2 to Rubisco in the Bundle Sheath Cells. C4 PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND RELATED CO2 CONCENTRATING MECHANISMS 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-9407-0_14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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13
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Brown NJ, Palmer BG, Stanley S, Hajaji H, Janacek SH, Astley HM, Parsley K, Kajala K, Quick WP, Trenkamp S, Fernie AR, Maurino VG, Hibberd JM. C acid decarboxylases required for C photosynthesis are active in the mid-vein of the C species Arabidopsis thaliana, and are important in sugar and amino acid metabolism. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2010; 61:122-33. [PMID: 19807880 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-313x.2009.04040.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Cells associated with veins of petioles of C(3) tobacco possess high activities of the decarboxylase enzymes required in C(4) photosynthesis. It is not clear whether this is the case in other C(3) species, nor whether these enzymes provide precursors for specific biosynthetic pathways. Here, we investigate the activity of C(4) acid decarboxylases in the mid-vein of Arabidopsis, identify regulatory regions sufficient for this activity, and determine the impact of removing individual isoforms of each protein on mid-vein metabolite profiles. This showed that radiolabelled malate and bicarbonate fed to the xylem stream were incorporated into soluble and insoluble material in the mid-vein of Arabidopsis leaves. Compared with the leaf lamina, mid-veins possessed high activities of NADP-dependent malic enzyme (NADP-ME), NAD-dependent malic enzyme (NAD-ME) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK). Transcripts derived from both NAD-ME, one PCK and two of the four NADP-ME genes were detectable in these veinal cells. The promoters of each decarboxylase gene were sufficient for expression in mid-veins. Analysis of insertional mutants revealed that cytosolic NADP-ME2 is responsible for 80% of NADP-ME activity in mid-veins. Removing individual decarboxylases affected the abundance of amino acids derived from pyruvate and phosphoenolpyruvate. Reducing cytosolic NADP-ME activity preferentially affected the sugar content, whereas abolishing NAD-ME affected both the amino acid and the glucosamine content of mid-veins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi J Brown
- Department of Plant Sciences, Downing Street, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, UK
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14
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Engelmann S, Wiludda C, Burscheidt J, Gowik U, Schlue U, Koczor M, Streubel M, Cossu R, Bauwe H, Westhoff P. The gene for the P-subunit of glycine decarboxylase from the C4 species Flaveria trinervia: analysis of transcriptional control in transgenic Flaveria bidentis (C4) and Arabidopsis (C3). PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2008; 146:1773-85. [PMID: 18305210 PMCID: PMC2287349 DOI: 10.1104/pp.107.114462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2007] [Accepted: 02/17/2008] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Glycine decarboxylase (GDC) plays an important role in the photorespiratory metabolism of plants. GDC is composed of four subunits (P, H, L, and T) with the P-subunit (GLDP) serving as the actual decarboxylating unit. In C(3) plants, GDC can be found in all photosynthetic cells, whereas in leaves of C(3)-C(4) intermediate and C(4) species its occurrence is restricted to bundle-sheath cells. The specific expression of GLDP in bundle-sheath cells might have constituted a biochemical starting point for the evolution of C(4) photosynthesis. To understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for restricting GLDP expression to bundle-sheath cells, we performed a functional analysis of the GLDPA promoter from the C(4) species Flaveria trinervia. Expression of a promoter-reporter gene fusion in transgenic plants of the transformable C(4) species Flaveria bidentis (C(4)) showed that 1,571 bp of the GLDPA 5' flanking region contain all the necessary information for the specific expression in bundle-sheath cells and vascular bundles. Interestingly, we found that the GLDPA promoter of F. trinervia exhibits a C(4)-like spatial activity also in the C(3) plant Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), indicating that a mechanism for bundle-sheath-specific expression is also present in this C(3) species. Using transgenic Arabidopsis, promoter deletion studies identified two regions in the GLDPA promoter, one conferring repression of gene expression in mesophyll cells and one functioning as a general transcriptional enhancer. Subsequent analyses in transgenic F. bidentis confirmed that these two segments fulfill the same function also in the C(4) context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sascha Engelmann
- Institut für Entwicklungs- und Molekularbiologie der Pflanzen, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
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15
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Lai LB, Wang L, Nelson TM. Distinct but conserved functions for two chloroplastic NADP-malic enzyme isoforms in C3 and C4 Flaveria species. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2002; 128:125-139. [PMID: 11788758 DOI: 10.1104/pp.010448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
In the most common C4 pathway for carbon fixation, an NADP-malic enzyme (NADP-ME) decarboxylates malate in the chloroplasts of bundle sheath cells. Isoforms of plastidic NADP-ME are encoded by two genes in all species of Flaveria, including C3, C3-C4 intermediate, and C4 types. However, only one of these genes, ChlMe1, encodes the enzyme that functions in the C4 pathway. We compared the expression patterns of the ChlMe1 and ChlMe2 genes in developing leaves of Flaveria pringlei (C3) and Flaveria trinervia (C4) and in transgenic Flaveria bidentis (C4). ChlMe1 expression in C4 species increases in leaves with high C4 pathway activity. In the C3 species F. pringlei, ChlMe1 expression is transient and limited to early leaf development. In contrast, ChlMe2 is expressed in C3 and C4 species concurrent with stages in chloroplast biogenesis. Because previous studies suggest that NADP-ME activities generally reflect the level of its mRNA abundance, we discuss possible roles of ChlMe1 and ChlMe2 based on these expression patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lien B Lai
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8104, USA
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16
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Drincovich MF, Casati P, Andreo CS. NADP-malic enzyme from plants: a ubiquitous enzyme involved in different metabolic pathways. FEBS Lett 2001; 490:1-6. [PMID: 11172800 DOI: 10.1016/s0014-5793(00)02331-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
NADP-malic enzyme (NADP-ME) is a widely distributed enzyme that catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of L-malate. Photosynthetic NADP-MEs are found in C4 bundle sheath chloroplasts and in the cytosol of CAM plants, while non-photosynthetic NADP-MEs are either plastidic or cytosolic in various plants. We propose a classification of plant NADP-MEs based on their physiological function and localization and we describe recent advances in the characterization of each isoform. Based on the alignment of amino acid sequences of plant NADP-MEs, we identify putative binding sites for the substrates and analyze the phylogenetic origin of each isoform, revealing several features of the molecular evolution of this ubiquitous enzyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- M F Drincovich
- Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, CONICET, Suipacha 531, 2000, Rosario, Argentina
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Jeon JS, Lee S, Jung KH, Jun SH, Kim C, An G. Tissue-preferential expression of a rice alpha-tubulin gene, OsTubA1, mediated by the first intron. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2000; 123:1005-14. [PMID: 10889249 PMCID: PMC59063 DOI: 10.1104/pp.123.3.1005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/1999] [Accepted: 03/13/2000] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
The genomic clone encoding an alpha-tubulin, OsTubA1, has been isolated from rice (Oryza sativa L.). The gene consists of four exons and three introns. RNA-blot analysis showed that the gene is strongly expressed in actively dividing tissues, including root tips, young leaves, and young flowers. Analysis of chimeric fusions between OsTubA1 and beta-glucuronidase (GUS) revealed that the intron 1 was required for high-level GUS expression in actively dividing tissues, corresponding with normal expression pattern of OsTubA1. Fusion constructs lacking the intron 1 showed more GUS staining in mature tissues rather than young tissues. When the intron 1 was placed at the distal region from 5'-upstream region or at the 3'-untranslated region, no enhancement of GUS expression was observed. Sequential deletions of the OsTubA1 intron 1 brought about a gradual reduction of GUS activity in calli. These results suggest that tissue-preferential expression of the OsTubA1 gene is mediated by the intron 1 and that it may be involved in a mechanism for an efficient RNA splicing that is position dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- J S Jeon
- Department of Life Science and National Research Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics, Division of Molecular and Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea
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C4 rice: What are the lessons from developmental and molecular studies?**Sheehy JE, Mitchell PL, Hardy B, editors. 2000. Redesigning rice photosynthesis to increase yield. Proceedings of the Workshop on The Quest to Reduce Hunger: Redesigning Rice Photosynthesis, 30Nov.-3 Dec. 1999, Los Baños, Philippines. Makati City (Philippines): International Rice Research Institute and Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Elsevier Science B.V. 293 p. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2000. [DOI: 10.1016/s0928-3420(00)80008-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/27/2023]
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Shu G, Pontieri V, Dengler NG, Mets LJ. Light induction of cell type differentiation and cell-type-specific gene expression in cotyledons of a C(4) plant, Flaveria trinervia. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 1999; 121:731-741. [PMID: 10557221 PMCID: PMC59435 DOI: 10.1104/pp.121.3.731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/1999] [Accepted: 07/13/1999] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
In Flaveria trinervia (Asteraceae) seedlings, light-induced signals are required for differentiation of cotyledon bundle sheath cells and mesophyll cells and for cell-type-specific expression of Rubisco small subunit genes (bundle sheath cell specific) and the genes that encode pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (mesophyll cell specific). Both cell type differentiation and cell-type-specific gene expression were complete by d 7 in light-grown seedlings, but were arrested beyond d 4 in dark-grown seedlings. Our results contrast with those found for another C(4) dicot, Amaranthus hypochondriacus, in which light was not required for either process. The differences between the two C(4) dicot species in cotyledon cell differentiation may arise from differences in embryonic and post-embryonic cotyledon development. Our results illustrate that a common C(4) photosynthetic mechanism can be established through different developmental pathways in different species, and provide evidence for independent evolutionary origins of C(4) photosynthetic mechanisms within dicotyledonous plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Shu
- Committee on Genetics and Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
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Ruegger M, Meyer K, Cusumano JC, Chapple C. Regulation of ferulate-5-hydroxylase expression in Arabidopsis in the context of sinapate ester biosynthesis. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 1999; 119:101-10. [PMID: 9880351 PMCID: PMC32209 DOI: 10.1104/pp.119.1.101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/1998] [Accepted: 09/24/1998] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Sinapic acid is an intermediate in syringyl lignin biosynthesis in angiosperms, and in some taxa serves as a precursor for soluble secondary metabolites. The biosynthesis and accumulation of the sinapate esters sinapoylglucose, sinapoylmalate, and sinapoylcholine are developmentally regulated in Arabidopsis and other members of the Brassicaceae. The FAH1 locus of Arabidopsis encodes the enzyme ferulate-5-hydroxylase (F5H), which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in syringyl lignin biosynthesis and is required for the production of sinapate esters. Here we show that F5H expression parallels sinapate ester accumulation in developing siliques and seedlings, but is not rate limiting for their biosynthesis. RNA gel-blot analysis indicated that the tissue-specific and developmentally regulated expression of F5H mRNA is distinct from that of other phenylpropanoid genes. Efforts to identify constructs capable of complementing the sinapate ester-deficient phenotype of fah1 mutants demonstrated that F5H expression in leaves is dependent on sequences 3' of the F5H coding region. In contrast, the positive regulatory function of the downstream region is not required for F5H transcript or sinapoylcholine accumulation in embryos.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Ruegger
- Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-1153, USA
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Drincovich MF, Casati P, Andreo CS, Chessin SJ, Franceschi VR, Edwards GE, Ku MS. Evolution of C4 photosynthesis in flaveria species. Isoforms Of nadp-malic enzyme. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 1998; 117:733-44. [PMID: 9662516 PMCID: PMC34928 DOI: 10.1104/pp.117.3.733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/1997] [Accepted: 04/06/1998] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
NADP-malic enzyme (NADP-ME, EC 1.1.1.40), a key enzyme in C4 photosynthesis, provides CO2 to the bundle-sheath chloroplasts, where it is fixed by ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase. We characterized the isoform pattern of NADP-ME in different photosynthetic species of Flaveria (C3, C3-C4 intermediate, C4-like, C4) based on sucrose density gradient centrifugation and isoelectric focusing of the native protein, western-blot analysis of the denatured protein, and in situ immunolocalization with antibody against the 62-kD C4 isoform of maize. A 72-kD isoform, present to varying degrees in all species examined, is predominant in leaves of C3 Flaveria spp. and is also present in stem and root tissue. By immunolabeling, NADP-ME was found to be mostly localized in the upper palisade mesophyll chloroplasts of C3 photosynthetic tissue. Two other isoforms of the enzyme, with molecular masses of 62 and 64 kD, occur in leaves of certain intermediates having C4 cycle activity. The 62-kD isoform, which is the predominant highly active form in the C4 species, is localized in bundle-sheath chloroplasts. Among Flaveria spp. there is a 72-kD constitutive form, a 64-kD form that may have appeared during evolution of C4 metabolism, and a 62-kD form that is necessary for the complete functioning of C4 photosynthesis.
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Rosche E, Chitty J, Westhoff P, Taylor WC. Analysis of promoter activity for the gene encoding pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase in stably transformed C4 flaveria species. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 1998; 117:821-9. [PMID: 9662524 PMCID: PMC34936 DOI: 10.1104/pp.117.3.821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/1997] [Accepted: 03/27/1998] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
The C4 enzyme pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase is encoded by a single gene, Pdk, in the C4 plant Flaveria trinervia. This gene also encodes enzyme isoforms located in the chloroplast and in the cytosol that do not have a function in C4 photosynthesis. Our goal is to identify cis-acting DNA sequences that regulate the expression of the gene that is active in the C4 cycle. We fused 1.5 kb of a 5' flanking region from the Pdk gene, including the entire 5' untranslated region, to the uidA reporter gene and stably transformed the closely related C4 species Flaveria bidentis. beta-Glucuronidase (GUS) activity was detected at high levels in leaf mesophyll cells. GUS activity was detected at lower levels in bundle-sheath cells and stems and at very low levels in roots. This lower-level GUS expression was similar to the distribution of mRNA encoding the nonphotosynthetic form of the enzyme. We conclude that cis-acting DNA sequences controlling the expression of the C4 form in mesophyll cells and the chloroplast form in other cells and organs are co-located within the same 5' region of the Pdk gene.
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