Abscisic acid increases hydrogen peroxide in mitochondria to facilitate stomatal closure

Reactive oxygen species are signaling molecules that modulate plant reproduction

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can serve as signaling molecules that are essential for plant growth and development but abiotic stress can lead to ROS increases to supraoptimal levels resulting in cellular damage. To ensure efficient ROS signaling, cells have machinery to locally synthesize ROS to initiate cellular responses and to scavenge ROS to prevent it from reaching damaging levels. This review summarizes experimental evidence revealing the role of ROS during multiple stages of plant reproduction. Localized ROS synthesis controls the formation of pollen grains, pollen-stigma interactions, pollen tube growth, ovule development, and fertilization. Plants utilize ROS-producing enzymes such as respiratory burst oxidase homologs and organelle metabolic pathways to generate ROS, while the presence of scavenging mechanisms, including synthesis of antioxidant proteins and small molecules, serves to prevent its escalation to harmful levels. In this review, we summarized the function of ROS and its synthesis and scavenging mechanisms in all reproductive stages from gametophyte development until completion of fertilization. Additionally, we further address the impact of elevated temperatures induced ROS on impairing these reproductive processes and of flavonol antioxidants in maintaining ROS homeostasis to minimize temperature stress to combat the impact of global climate change on agriculture.

Ethylene inhibits photosynthesis via temporally distinct responses in tomato plants

Ethylene is a volatile plant hormone that regulates many developmental processes and responses toward (a)biotic stress. Studies have shown that high levels of ethylene repress vegetative growth in many important crops, including tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), possibly by inhibiting photosynthesis. We investigated the temporal effects of ethylene on young tomato plants using an automated ethylene gassing system to monitor the physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses through time course RNA-seq of a photosynthetically active source leaf. We found that ethylene evokes a dose-dependent inhibition of photosynthesis, which can be characterized by 3 temporally distinct phases. The earliest ethylene responses that marked the first phase and occurred a few hours after the start of the treatment were leaf epinasty and a decline in stomatal conductance, which led to lower light perception and CO2 uptake, respectively, resulting in a rapid decline of soluble sugar levels (glucose, fructose). The second phase of the ethylene effect was marked by low carbohydrate availability, which modulated plant energy metabolism to adapt by using alternative substrates (lipids and proteins) to fuel the TCA cycle. Long-term continuous exposure to ethylene led to the third phase, characterized by starch and chlorophyll breakdown, which further inhibited photosynthesis, leading to premature leaf senescence. To reveal early (3 h) ethylene-dependent regulators of photosynthesis, we performed a ChIP-seq experiment using anti-ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE 3-like 1 (EIL1) antibodies and found several candidate transcriptional regulators. Collectively, our study revealed a temporal sequence of events that led to the inhibition of photosynthesis by ethylene and identified potential transcriptional regulators responsible for this regulation.

Antioxidant production promotes defense mechanism and different gene expression level in Zea mays under abiotic stress

The growth and productivity of maize are severely affected by soil salinity. The crucial determinants for the future performance of plants are productive for seed germination and seedling establishment; however, both stages are liable to soil salinity. For grain, maize is an economically significant crop sensitive to abiotic stresses. However, little is known about defense responses by the salinity-induced antioxidant and oxidative stress in maize. In our work, the commercially available maize variety Raka-Poshi was grown in pots for 30 days under greenhouse conditions. To evaluate the salt-induced oxidative/antioxidant responses in maize for salt stress 0, 25, 50, 75, 100 and 150 mM concentrations, treatments were provided using sodium chloride (NaCl). All the biochemical indices were calculated under all NaCl concentrations, while drought was induced by up to 50% irrigation water. After 30 days of seed germination, the maize leaves were collected for the measurement of lipid peroxidase or malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione reductase (GR), guaiacol peroxidase (GPOD), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), superoxide dismutase (SOD), lipoxygenase (LOX), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APOD) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST). The results revealed a 47% reduction under 150 mM NaCl and 50% drought stress conditions. The results have shown that the successive increase of NaCl concentrations and drought caused an increase in catalase production. With successive increase in NaCl concentration and drought stress, lower levels of H2O2, SOD, and MDA were detected in maize leaves. The results regarding the morphology of maize seedlings indicated a successive reduction in the root length and shoot length under applications of salt and drought stress, while root-to-shoot weights were found to be increased under drought stress and decreased under salt stress conditions During gene expression analysis collectively indicate that, under drought stress conditions, the expression levels of all nine mentioned enzyme-related genes were consistently downregulated.

Integrative regulatory mechanisms of stomatal movements under changing climate

Global climate change-caused drought stress, high temperatures and other extreme weather profoundly impact plant growth and development, restricting sustainable crop production. To cope with various environmental stimuli, plants can optimize the opening and closing of stomata to balance CO2 uptake for photosynthesis and water loss from leaves. Guard cells perceive and integrate various signals to adjust stomatal pores through turgor pressure regulation. Molecular mechanisms and signaling networks underlying the stomatal movements in response to environmental stresses have been extensively studied and elucidated. This review focuses on the molecular mechanisms of stomatal movements mediated by abscisic acid, light, CO2 , reactive oxygen species, pathogens, temperature, and other phytohormones. We discussed the significance of elucidating the integrative mechanisms that regulate stomatal movements in helping design smart crops with enhanced water use efficiency and resilience in a climate-changing world.

Mutation in Arabidopsis mitochondrial Pentatricopeptide repeat 40 gene affects tolerance to water deficit

MAIN CONCLUSION

The Arabidopsis Pentatricopeptide repeat 40 (PPR40) insertion mutants have increased tolerance to water deficit compared to wild-type plants. Tolerance is likely the consequence of ABA hypersensitivity of the mutants. Plant growth and development depend on multiple environmental factors whose alterations can disrupt plant homeostasis and trigger complex molecular and physiological responses. Water deficit is one of the factors which can seriously restrict plant growth and viability. Mitochondria play an important role in cellular metabolism, energy production, and redox homeostasis. During drought and salinity stress, mitochondrial dysfunction can lead to ROS overproduction and oxidative stress, affecting plant growth and survival. Alternative oxidases (AOXs) and stabilization of mitochondrial electron transport chain help mitigate ROS damage. The mitochondrial Pentatricopeptide repeat 40 (PPR40) protein was implicated in stress regulation as ppr40 mutants were found to be hypersensitive to ABA and high salinity during germination. This study investigated the tolerance of the knockout ppr40-1 and knockdown ppr40-2 mutants to water deprivation. Our results show that these mutants display an enhanced tolerance to water deficit. The mutants had higher relative water content, reduced level of oxidative damage, and better photosynthetic parameters in water-limited conditions compared to wild-type plants. ppr40 mutants had considerable differences in metabolic profiles and expression of a number of stress-related genes, suggesting important metabolic reprogramming. Tolerance to water deficit was also manifested in higher survival rates and alleviated growth reduction when watering was suspended. Enhanced sensitivity to ABA and fast stomata closure was suggested to lead to improved capacity for water conservation in such environment. Overall, this study highlights the importance of mitochondrial functions and in particular PPR40 in plant responses to abiotic stress, particularly drought.

Mitochondrial complex I subunit NDUFS8.2 modulates responses to stresses associated with reduced water availability

Mitochondria are important sources of energy in plants and are implicated in coordination of a number of metabolic and physiological processes including stabilization of redox balance, synthesis and turnover of a number of metabolites, and control of programmed cell death. Mitochondrial electron transport chain (mETC) is the backbone of the energy producing process which can influence other processes as well. Accumulating evidence suggests that mETC can affect responses to environmental stimuli and modulate tolerance to extreme conditions such as drought or salinity. Screening for stress responses of 13 Arabidopsis mitochondria-related T-DNA insertion mutants, we identified ndufs8.2-1 which has an increased ability to withstand osmotic and oxidative stresses compared to wild type plants. Insertion in ndufs8.2-1 disrupted the gene that encodes the NADH dehydrogenase [ubiquinone] fragment S subunit 8 (NDUFS8) a component of Complex I of mETC. ndufs8.2-1 tolerated reduced water availability, retained photosynthetic activity and recovered from severe water stress with higher efficiency compared to wild type plants. Several mitochondrial functions were altered in the mutant including oxygen consumption, ROS production, ATP and ADP content as well as activities of genes encoding alternative oxidase 1A (AOX1A) and various alternative NAD(P)H dehydrogenases (ND). Our results suggest that in the absence of NDUFS8.2 stress-induced ROS generation is restrained leading to reduced oxidative damage and improved tolerance to water deficiency. mETC components can be implicated in redox and energy homeostasis and modulate responses to stresses associated with reduced water availability.

A new method to measure aquaporin-facilitated membrane diffusion of hydrogen peroxide and cations in plant suspension cells

Plant aquaporins (AQPs) facilitate the membrane diffusion of water and small solutes, including hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) and, possibly, cations, essential signalling molecules in many physiological processes. While the determination of the channel activity generally depends on heterologous expression of AQPs in Xenopus oocytes or yeast cells, we established a genetic tool to determine whether they facilitate the diffusion of H2 O2 through the plasma membrane in living plant cells. We designed genetic constructs to co-express the fluorescent H2 O2 sensor HyPer and AQPs, with expression controlled by a heat shock-inducible promoter in Nicotiana tabacum BY-2 suspension cells. After induction of ZmPIP2;5 AQP expression, a HyPer signal was recorded when the cells were incubated with H2 O2 , suggesting that ZmPIP2;5 facilitates H2 O2 transmembrane diffusion; in contrast, the ZmPIP2;5W85A mutated protein was inactive as a water or H2 O2 channel. ZmPIP2;1, ZmPIP2;4 and AtPIP2;1 also facilitated H2 O2 diffusion. Incubation with abscisic acid and the elicitor flg22 peptide induced the intracellular H2 O2 accumulation in BY-2 cells expressing ZmPIP2;5. We also monitored cation channel activity of ZmPIP2;5 using a novel fluorescent photo-switchable Li+ sensor in BY-2 cells. BY-2 suspension cells engineered for inducible expression of AQPs as well as HyPer expression and the use of Li+ sensors constitute a powerful toolkit for evaluating the transport activity and the molecular determinants of PIPs in living plant cells.

Mitochondrial VOLTAGE-DEPENDENT ANION CHANNEL 3 regulates stomatal closure by abscisic acid signaling

In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), stomatal closure mediated by abscisic acid (ABA) is redundantly controlled by ABA receptor family proteins (PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE 1 [PYR1]/PYR1-LIKE [PYLs]) and subclass III SUCROSE NONFERMENTING 1 (SNF1)-RELATED PROTEIN KINASES 2 (SnRK2s). Among these proteins, the roles of PYR1, PYL2, and SnRK2.6 are more dominant. A recent discovery showed that ABA-induced accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mitochondria promotes stomatal closure. By analyzing stomatal movements in an array of single and higher order mutants, we revealed that the mitochondrial protein VOLTAGE-DEPENDENT ANION CHANNEL 3 (VDAC3) jointly regulates ABA-mediated stomatal closure with a specialized set of PYLs and SnRK2s by affecting cellular and mitochondrial ROS accumulation. VDAC3 interacted with 9 PYLs and all 3 subclass III SnRK2s. Single mutation in VDAC3, PYLs (except PYR1 and PYL2), or SnRK2.2/2.3 had little effect on ABA-mediated stomatal closure. However, knocking out PYR1, PYL1/2/4/8, or SnRK2.2/2.3 in vdac3 mutants resulted in significantly delayed or attenuated ABA-mediated stomatal closure, despite the presence of other PYLs or SnRK2s conferring redundant functions. We found that cellular and mitochondrial accumulation of ROS induced by ABA was altered in vdac3pyl1 mutants. Moreover, H2O2 treatment restored ABA-induced stomatal closure in mutants with decreased stomatal sensitivity to ABA. Our work reveals that VDAC3 ensures redundant control of ABA-mediated stomatal closure by canonical ABA signaling components.

Null mutants of a tomato Rho of plants exhibit enhanced water use efficiency without a penalty to yield

Improving water use efficiency in crops is a significant challenge as it involves balancing water transpiration and CO2 uptake through stomatal pores. This study investigates the role of SlROP9, a tomato Rho of Plants protein, in guard cells and its impact on plant transpiration. The results reveal that SlROP9 null mutants exhibit reduced stomatal conductance while photosynthetic CO2 assimilation remains largely unaffected. Notably, there is a notable decrease in whole-plant transpiration in the rop9 mutants compared to the wild type, especially during noon hours when the water pressure deficit is high. The elevated stomatal closure observed in rop9 mutants is linked to an increase in reactive oxygen species formation. This is very likely dependent on the respiratory burst oxidase homolog (RBOH) NADPH oxidase and is not influenced by abscisic acid (ABA). Consistently, activated ROP9 can interact with RBOHB in both yeast and plants. In diverse tomato accessions, drought stress represses ROP9 expression, and in Arabidopsis stomatal guard cells, ABA suppresses ROP signaling. Therefore, the phenotype of the rop9 mutants may arise from a disruption in ROP9-regulated RBOH activity. Remarkably, large-scale field experiments demonstrate that the rop9 mutants display improved water use efficiency without compromising fruit yield. These findings provide insights into the role of ROPs in guard cells and their potential as targets for enhancing water use efficiency in crops.

Plant Adaptation to Flooding Stress under Changing Climate Conditions: Ongoing Breakthroughs and Future Challenges

Climate-change-induced variations in temperature and rainfall patterns are a serious threat across the globe. Flooding is the foremost challenge to agricultural productivity, and it is believed to become more intense under a changing climate. Flooding is a serious form of stress that significantly reduces crop yields, and future climatic anomalies are predicted to make the problem even worse in many areas of the world. To cope with the prevailing flooding stress, plants have developed different morphological and anatomical adaptations in their roots, aerenchyma cells, and leaves. Therefore, researchers are paying more attention to identifying developed and adopted molecular-based plant mechanisms with the objective of obtaining flooding-resistant cultivars. In this review, we discuss the various physiological, anatomical, and morphological adaptations (aerenchyma cells, ROL barriers (redial O2 loss), and adventitious roots) and the phytohormonal regulation in plants under flooding stress. This review comprises ongoing innovations and strategies to mitigate flooding stress, and it also provides new insights into how this knowledge can be used to improve productivity in the scenario of a rapidly changing climate and increasing flood intensity.

RBOHF activates stomatal immunity by modulating both reactive oxygen species and apoplastic pH dynamics in Arabidopsis

Stomatal defences are important for plants to prevent pathogen entry and further colonisation of leaves. Apoplastic reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by NADPH oxidases and apoplastic peroxidases play an important role in activating stomatal closure upon perception of bacteria. However, downstream events, particularly the factors influencing cytosolic hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) signatures in guard cells are poorly understood. We used the H2 O2 sensor roGFP2-Orp1 and a ROS-specific fluorescein probe to study intracellular oxidative events during stomatal immune response using Arabidopsis mutants involved in the apoplastic ROS burst. Surprisingly, the NADPH oxidase mutant rbohF showed over-oxidation of roGFP2-Orp1 by a pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) in guard cells. However, stomatal closure was not tightly correlated with high roGFP2-Orp1 oxidation. In contrast, RBOHF was necessary for PAMP-mediated ROS production measured by a fluorescein-based probe in guard cells. Unlike previous reports, the rbohF mutant, but not rbohD, was impaired in PAMP-triggered stomatal closure resulting in defects in stomatal defences against bacteria. Interestingly, RBOHF also participated in PAMP-induced apoplastic alkalinisation. The rbohF mutants were also partly impaired in H2 O2 -mediated stomatal closure at 100 μm while higher H2 O2 concentration up to 1 mm did not promote stomatal closure in wild-type plants. Our results provide novel insights on the interplay between apoplastic and cytosolic ROS dynamics and highlight the importance of RBOHF in plant immunity.

Transcriptome Analysis Revealed the Potential Molecular Mechanism of Anthocyanidins' Improved Salt Tolerance in Maize Seedlings

Anthocyanin, a kind of flavonoid, plays a crucial role in plant resistance to abiotic stress. Salt stress is a kind of abiotic stress that can damage the growth and development of plant seedlings. However, limited research has been conducted on the involvement of maize seedlings in salt stress resistance via anthocyanin accumulation, and its potential molecular mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, it is of great significance for the normal growth and development of maize seedlings to explore the potential molecular mechanism of anthocyanin improving salt tolerance of seedlings via transcriptome analysis. In this study, we identified two W22 inbred lines (tolerant line pur-W22 and sensitive line bro-W22) exhibiting differential tolerance to salt stress during seedling growth and development but showing no significant differences in seedling characteristics under non-treatment conditions. In order to identify the specific genes involved in seedlings' salt stress response, we generated two recombinant inbred lines (RILpur-W22 and RILbro-W22) by crossing pur-W22 and bro-W22, and then performed transcriptome analysis on seedlings grown under both non-treatment and salt treatment conditions. A total of 6100 and 5710 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in RILpur-W22 and RILbro-W22 seedlings, respectively, under salt-stressed conditions when compared to the non-treated groups. Among these DEGs, 3160 were identified as being present in both RILpur-W22 and RILbro-W22, and these served as commonly stressed EDGs that were mainly enriched in the redox process, the monomer metabolic process, catalytic activity, the plasma membrane, and metabolic process regulation. Furthermore, we detected 1728 specific DEGs in the salt-tolerant RILpur-W22 line that were not detected in the salt-sensitive RILbro-W22 line, of which 887 were upregulated and 841 were downregulated. These DEGs are primarily associated with redox processes, biological regulation, and the plasma membrane. Notably, the anthocyanin synthesis related genes in RILpur-W22 were strongly induced under salt treatment conditions, which was consistented with the salt tolerance phenotype of its seedlings. In summary, the results of the transcriptome analysis not only expanded our understanding of the complex molecular mechanism of anthocyanin in improving the salt tolerance of maize seedlings, but also, the DEGs specifically expressed in the salt-tolerant line (RILpur-W22) provided candidate genes for further genetic analysis.

Flavonols modulate plant development, signaling, and stress responses

Flavonols are plant-specialized metabolites with important functions in plant growth and development. Isolation and characterization of mutants with reduced flavonol levels, especially the transparent testa mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana, have contributed to our understanding of the flavonol biosynthetic pathway. These mutants have also uncovered the roles of flavonols in controlling development in above- and below-ground tissues, notably in the regulation of root architecture, guard cell signaling, and pollen development. In this review, we present recent progress made towards a mechanistic understanding of flavonol function in plant growth and development. Specifically, we highlight findings that flavonols act as reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers and inhibitors of auxin transport in diverse tissues and cell types to modulate plant growth and development and responses to abiotic stresses.