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Barcenilla BB, Meyers AD, Castillo-González C, Young P, Min JH, Song J, Phadke C, Land E, Canaday E, Perera IY, Bailey SM, Aquilano R, Wyatt SE, Shippen DE. Arabidopsis telomerase takes off by uncoupling enzyme activity from telomere length maintenance in space. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7854. [PMID: 38030615 PMCID: PMC10686995 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41510-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Spaceflight-induced changes in astronaut telomeres have garnered significant attention in recent years. While plants represent an essential component of future long-duration space travel, the impacts of spaceflight on plant telomeres and telomerase have not been examined. Here we report on the telomere dynamics of Arabidopsis thaliana grown aboard the International Space Station. We observe no changes in telomere length in space-flown Arabidopsis seedlings, despite a dramatic increase in telomerase activity (up to 150-fold in roots), as well as elevated genome oxidation. Ground-based follow up studies provide further evidence that telomerase is induced by different environmental stressors, but its activity is uncoupled from telomere length. Supporting this conclusion, genetically engineered super-telomerase lines with enhanced telomerase activity maintain wildtype telomere length. Finally, genome oxidation is inversely correlated with telomerase activity levels. We propose a redox protective capacity for Arabidopsis telomerase that may promote survivability in harsh environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Borja Barbero Barcenilla
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Alexander D Meyers
- Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA
- NASA Postdoctoral Program, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Kennedy Space Center FL, Merritt Island, FL, 32899, USA
| | - Claudia Castillo-González
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Pierce Young
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Ji-Hee Min
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Jiarui Song
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Chinmay Phadke
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Eric Land
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Emma Canaday
- Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA
| | - Imara Y Perera
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Susan M Bailey
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Roberto Aquilano
- National Technological University, Rosario Regional Faculty, Zeballos 1341, S2000, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Sarah E Wyatt
- Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA.
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA.
| | - Dorothy E Shippen
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
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