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Duduit JR, Kosentka PZ, Miller MA, Blanco-Ulate B, Lenucci MS, Panthee DR, Perkins-Veazie P, Liu W. Coordinated transcriptional regulation of the carotenoid biosynthesis contributes to fruit lycopene content in high-lycopene tomato genotypes. Hortic Res 2022; 9:uhac084. [PMID: 35669706 PMCID: PMC9160729 DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhac084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Lycopene content in tomato fruit is largely under genetic control and varies greatly among genotypes. Continued improvement of lycopene content in elite varieties with conventional breeding has become challenging, in part because little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms in high-lycopene tomatoes (HLYs). We collected 42 HLYs with different genetic backgrounds worldwide. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed lycopene contents differed among the positive control wild tomato Solanum pimpinellifolium, HLYs, the normal lycopene cultivar "Moneymaker", and the non-lycopene cultivar NC 1Y at the pink and red ripe stages. Real-time RT-PCR analysis of expression of the 25 carotenoid biosynthesis pathway genes of each genotype showed a significantly higher expression in nine upstream genes (GGPPS1, GGPPS2, GGPPS3, TPT1, SSU II, PSY2, ZDS, CrtISO and CrtISO-L1 but not the well-studied PSY1, PDS and Z-ISO) at the breaker and/or red ripe stages in HLYs compared to Moneymaker, indicating a higher metabolic flux flow into carotenoid biosynthesis pathway in HLYs. Further conversion of lycopene to carotenes may be prevented via the two downstream genes (β-LCY2 and ε-LCY), which had low-abundance transcripts at either or both stages. Additionally, the significantly higher expression of four downstream genes (BCH1, ZEP, VDE, and CYP97C11) at either or both ripeness stages leads to significantly lower fruit lycopene content in HLYs than in the wild tomato. This is the first systematic investigation of the role of the complete pathway genes in regulating fruit lycopene biosynthesis across many HLYs, and enables tomato breeding and gene editing for increased fruit lycopene content.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Morgan A Miller
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA
| | | | - Marcello S Lenucci
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche ed Ambientali, Università del Salento (DiSTeBA), Via Prov.le Lecce-Monteroni, Lecce, 73100 Italy
| | - Dilip R Panthee
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, Mills River, NC 28759, USA
| | - Penelope Perkins-Veazie
- Department of Horticultural Science, Plants for Human Health Institute, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Research Campus, Kannapolis, NC 28081, USA
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2
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Huang D, Kosentka PZ, Liu W. Synthetic biology approaches in regulation of targeted gene expression. Curr Opin Plant Biol 2021; 63:102036. [PMID: 33930839 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2021.102036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2021] [Revised: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic biology approaches are highly sought-after to facilitate the regulation of targeted gene expression in plants for functional genomics research and crop trait improvement. To date, synthetic regulation of gene expression predominantly focuses at the transcription level via engineering of synthetic promoters and transcription factors, while pioneering examples have started to emerge for synthetic regulation of gene expression at the levels of mRNA stability, translation, and protein degradation. This review discusses recent advances in plant synthetic biology for the regulation of gene expression at multiple levels, and highlights their future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debao Huang
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Pawel Z Kosentka
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Wusheng Liu
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA.
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3
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Zhao F, Maren NA, Kosentka PZ, Liao YY, Lu H, Duduit JR, Huang D, Ashrafi H, Zhao T, Huerta AI, Ranney TG, Liu W. An optimized protocol for stepwise optimization of real-time RT-PCR analysis. Hortic Res 2021; 8:179. [PMID: 34333545 PMCID: PMC8325682 DOI: 10.1038/s41438-021-00616-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/06/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Computational tool-assisted primer design for real-time reverse transcription (RT) PCR (qPCR) analysis largely ignores the sequence similarities between sequences of homologous genes in a plant genome. It can lead to false confidence in the quality of the designed primers, which sometimes results in skipping the optimization steps for qPCR. However, the optimization of qPCR parameters plays an essential role in the efficiency, specificity, and sensitivity of each gene's primers. Here, we proposed an optimized approach to sequentially optimizing primer sequences, annealing temperatures, primer concentrations, and cDNA concentration range for each reference (and target) gene. Our approach started with a sequence-specific primer design that should be based on the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) present in all the homologous sequences for each of the reference (and target) genes under study. By combining the efficiency calibrated and standard curve methods with the 2-ΔΔCt method, the standard cDNA concentration curve with a logarithmic scale was obtained for each primer pair for each gene. As a result, an R2 ≥ 0.9999 and the efficiency (E) = 100 ± 5% should be achieved for the best primer pair of each gene, which serve as the prerequisite for using the 2-ΔΔCt method for data analysis. We applied our newly developed approach to identify the best reference genes in different tissues and at various inflorescence developmental stages of Tripidium ravennae, an ornamental and biomass grass, and validated their utility under varying abiotic stress conditions. We also applied this approach to test the expression stability of six reference genes in soybean under biotic stress treatment with Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines (Xag). Thus, these case studies demonstrated the effectiveness of our optimized protocol for qPCR analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangzhou Zhao
- Soybean Research Institute, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, China
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA
| | - Nathan A Maren
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA
- Mountain Crop Improvement Lab, Department of Horticultural Science, Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, North Carolina State University, Mills River, NC, 28759, USA
| | - Pawel Z Kosentka
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA
| | - Ying-Yu Liao
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA
| | - Hongyan Lu
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA
- College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - James R Duduit
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA
| | - Debao Huang
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA
| | - Hamid Ashrafi
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA
| | - Tuanjie Zhao
- Soybean Research Institute, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, China
| | - Alejandra I Huerta
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA
| | - Thomas G Ranney
- Mountain Crop Improvement Lab, Department of Horticultural Science, Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, North Carolina State University, Mills River, NC, 28759, USA
| | - Wusheng Liu
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA.
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Kosentka PZ, Overholt A, Maradiaga R, Mitoubsi O, Shpak ED. EPFL Signals in the Boundary Region of the SAM Restrict Its Size and Promote Leaf Initiation. Plant Physiol 2019; 179:265-279. [PMID: 30409857 PMCID: PMC6324244 DOI: 10.1104/pp.18.00714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/31/2018] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
The shoot apical meristem (SAM) enables the formation of new organs throughout the life of a plant. ERECTA family (ERf) receptors restrict SAM size and promote initiation of leaves while simultaneously supporting establishment of correct phyllotaxy. In the epidermis and during organ elongation ERf activity is regulated by a family of Epidermal Patterning Factor-Like (EPFL) secreted Cys-rich small proteins. Here we show that ERfs play a critical role in communication between the SAM leaf boundary and the central zone in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Ectopic expression of ERECTA in the central zone using the CLAVATA3 promoter is sufficient to restrict meristem size and promote leaf initiation. Genetic analysis demonstrated that four putative ligands: EPFL1, EPFL2, EPFL4, and EPFL6 function redundantly in the SAM. These genes are expressed at the SAM-leaf boundary and in the peripheral zone. Previously EPFL4 and EPFL6 have been linked with elongation of aboveground organs. Here we demonstrate that EPFL1 and EPFL2 promote organ elongation as well. In addition, we show that expression of ERECTA in the central zone of the SAM has a strong impact on elongation of internodes and pedicels and growth of leaves. These results suggest that ERfs can stimulate organ growth cell nonautonomously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pawel Z Kosentka
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
| | - Alexander Overholt
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
| | - Richard Maradiaga
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
| | - Omar Mitoubsi
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
| | - Elena D Shpak
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
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Kosentka PZ, Zhang L, Simon YA, Satpathy B, Maradiaga R, Mitoubsi O, Shpak ED. Identification of critical functional residues of receptor-like kinase ERECTA. J Exp Bot 2017; 68:1507-1518. [PMID: 28207053 PMCID: PMC5441908 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erx022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
In plants, extracellular signals are primarily sensed by plasma membrane-localized receptor-like kinases (RLKs). ERECTA is a leucine-rich repeat RLK that together with its paralogs ERECTA-like 1 (ERL1) and ERL2 regulates multiple aspects of plant development. ERECTA forms complexes with a range of co-receptors and senses secreted cysteine-rich small proteins from the EPF/EPFL family. Currently the mechanism of the cytoplasmic domain activation and transmission of the signal by ERECTA is unclear. To gain a better understanding we performed a structure-function analysis by introducing altered ERECTA genes into erecta and erecta erl1 erl2 mutants. These experiments indicated that ERECTA's ability to phosphorylate is functionally significant, and that while the cytoplasmic juxtamembrane domain is important for ERECTA function, the C-terminal tail is not. An analysis of multiple putative phosphorylation sites identified four amino acids in the activation segment of the kinase domain as functionally important. Homology of those residues to functionally significant amino acids in multiple other plant RLKs emphasizes similarities in RLK function. Specifically, our data predicts Thr812 as a primary site of phosphor-activation and potential inhibitory phosphorylation of Tyr815 and Tyr820. In addition, our experiments suggest that there are differences in the molecular mechanism of ERECTA function during regulation of stomata development and in elongation of above-ground organs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pawel Z Kosentka
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Liang Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Yonas A Simon
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Binita Satpathy
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Richard Maradiaga
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Omar Mitoubsi
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Elena D Shpak
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
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Bundy MGR, Kosentka PZ, Willet AH, Zhang L, Miller E, Shpak ED. A Mutation in the Catalytic Subunit of the Glycosylphosphatidylinositol Transamidase Disrupts Growth, Fertility, and Stomata Formation. Plant Physiol 2016; 171:974-85. [PMID: 27208238 PMCID: PMC4902618 DOI: 10.1104/pp.16.00339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2016] [Accepted: 04/02/2016] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
GPI-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) are essential for plant growth and development; knockout mutations in enzymes responsible for anchor biosynthesis or attachment are gametophyte or embryo lethal. In a genetic screen targeted to identify genes regulating stomata formation, we discovered a missense mutation in the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) homolog of GPI8/PIG-K, a Cys protease that transfers an assembled GPI anchor to proteins. The Arabidopsis genome has a single copy of AtGPI8, and the atgpi8-1 mutation reduces the efficiency of this enzyme, leading to reduced accumulation of GPI-anchored proteins. While the atgpi8-1 mutation strongly disrupts plant growth, it is not lethal. Phenotypic analysis of atgpi8-1 mutants suggests that GPI-APs are important for root and shoot growth, stomata formation, apical dominance, transition to flowering, and male gametophyte viability. In addition, atgpi8-1 mutants accumulate higher levels of callose and have reduced plasmodesmata permeability. Genetic interactions of atgpi8-1 with mutations in ERECTA family (ERf) genes suggest the existence of a GPI-AP in a branch of the ERf signaling pathway that regulates stomata formation. Activation of the ERf signal transduction cascade by constitutively active YODA rescues stomata clustering in atgpi8-1, indicating that a GPI-AP functions upstream of the MAP kinase cascade. TOO MANY MOUTHS (TMM) is a receptor-like protein that is able to form heterodimers with ERfs. Our analysis demonstrates that tmm-1 is epistatic to atgpi8-1, indicating that either TMM is a GPI-AP or there is another GPI-AP regulating stomata development whose function is dependent upon TMM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark G R Bundy
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
| | - Pawel Z Kosentka
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
| | - Alaina H Willet
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
| | - Liang Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
| | - Emily Miller
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
| | - Elena D Shpak
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
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