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Cell Jul 2023Snakes are a remarkable squamate lineage with unique morphological adaptations, especially those related to the evolution of vertebrate skeletons, organs, and sensory...
Snakes are a remarkable squamate lineage with unique morphological adaptations, especially those related to the evolution of vertebrate skeletons, organs, and sensory systems. To clarify the genetic underpinnings of snake phenotypes, we assembled and analyzed 14 de novo genomes from 12 snake families. We also investigated the genetic basis of the morphological characteristics of snakes using functional experiments. We identified genes, regulatory elements, and structural variations that have potentially contributed to the evolution of limb loss, an elongated body plan, asymmetrical lungs, sensory systems, and digestive adaptations in snakes. We identified some of the genes and regulatory elements that might have shaped the evolution of vision, the skeletal system and diet in blind snakes, and thermoreception in infrared-sensitive snakes. Our study provides insights into the evolution and development of snakes and vertebrates.
Topics: Animals; Snakes; Genome; Adaptation, Physiological; Acclimatization; Evolution, Molecular; Phylogeny; Biological Evolution
PubMed: 37339633
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.05.030 -
Journal of Genetics and Genomics = Yi... Jan 2024Soil salinization is an essential environmental stressor, threatening agricultural yield and ecological security worldwide. Saline soils accumulate excessive soluble... (Review)
Review
Soil salinization is an essential environmental stressor, threatening agricultural yield and ecological security worldwide. Saline soils accumulate excessive soluble salts which are detrimental to most plants by limiting plant growth and productivity. It is of great necessity for plants to efficiently deal with the adverse effects caused by salt stress for survival and successful reproduction. Multiple determinants of salt tolerance have been identified in plants, and the cellular and physiological mechanisms of plant salt response and adaption have been intensely characterized. Plants respond to salt stress signals and rapidly initiate signaling pathways to re-establish cellular homeostasis with adjusted growth and cellular metabolism. This review summarizes the advances in salt stress perception, signaling, and response in plants. A better understanding of plant salt resistance will contribute to improving crop performance under saline conditions using multiple engineering approaches. The rhizosphere microbiome-mediated plant salt tolerance as well as chemical priming for enhanced plant salt resistance are also discussed in this review.
Topics: Plants; Salt Stress; Plant Development; Agriculture; Salt Tolerance; Soil
PubMed: 37647984
DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2023.08.007 -
Molecular Cell Aug 2023Ubiquitin-dependent control of mitochondrial dynamics is important for protein quality and neuronal integrity. Mitofusins, mitochondrial fusion factors, can integrate...
Ubiquitin-dependent control of mitochondrial dynamics is important for protein quality and neuronal integrity. Mitofusins, mitochondrial fusion factors, can integrate cellular stress through their ubiquitylation, which is carried out by multiple E3 enzymes in response to many different stimuli. However, the molecular mechanisms that enable coordinated responses are largely unknown. Here we show that yeast Ufd2, a conserved ubiquitin chain-elongating E4 enzyme, is required for mitochondrial shape adjustments. Under various stresses, Ufd2 translocates to mitochondria and triggers mitofusin ubiquitylation. This elongates ubiquitin chains on mitofusin and promotes its proteasomal degradation, leading to mitochondrial fragmentation. Ufd2 and its human homologue UBE4B also target mitofusin mutants associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary sensory and motor neuropathy characterized by progressive loss of the peripheral nerves. This underscores the pathophysiological importance of E4-mediated ubiquitylation in neurodegeneration. In summary, we identify E4-dependent mitochondrial stress adaptation by linking various metabolic processes to mitochondrial fusion and fission dynamics.
Topics: Humans; Acclimatization; Mitochondria; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Ubiquitin; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases; Ubiquitination; Mitochondrial Proteins
PubMed: 37595558
DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.07.021 -
Nature May 2024Plants exposed to incidences of excessive temperatures activate heat-stress responses to cope with the physiological challenge and stimulate long-term acclimation. The...
Plants exposed to incidences of excessive temperatures activate heat-stress responses to cope with the physiological challenge and stimulate long-term acclimation. The mechanism that senses cellular temperature for inducing thermotolerance is still unclear. Here we show that TWA1 is a temperature-sensing transcriptional co-regulator that is needed for basal and acquired thermotolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. At elevated temperatures, TWA1 changes its conformation and allows physical interaction with JASMONATE-ASSOCIATED MYC-LIKE (JAM) transcription factors and TOPLESS (TPL) and TOPLESS-RELATED (TPR) proteins for repressor complex assembly. TWA1 is a predicted intrinsically disordered protein that has a key thermosensory role functioning through an amino-terminal highly variable region. At elevated temperatures, TWA1 accumulates in nuclear subdomains, and physical interactions with JAM2 and TPL appear to be restricted to these nuclear subdomains. The transcriptional upregulation of the heat shock transcription factor A2 (HSFA2) and heat shock proteins depended on TWA1, and TWA1 orthologues provided different temperature thresholds, consistent with the sensor function in early signalling of heat stress. The identification of the plant thermosensors offers a molecular tool for adjusting thermal acclimation responses of crops by breeding and biotechnology, and a sensitive temperature switch for thermogenetics.
Topics: Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis Proteins; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors; Cell Nucleus; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Heat Shock Transcription Factors; Heat-Shock Proteins; Intrinsically Disordered Proteins; Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins; Repressor Proteins; Temperature; Thermosensing; Thermotolerance; Transcription Factors; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 38750356
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07424-x -
The Plant Cell Aug 2023Heat stress (HS) adversely affects plant growth and productivity. The Class A1 HS transcription factors (HSFA1s) act as master regulators in the plant response to HS....
Heat stress (HS) adversely affects plant growth and productivity. The Class A1 HS transcription factors (HSFA1s) act as master regulators in the plant response to HS. However, how HSFA1-mediated transcriptional reprogramming is modulated during HS remains to be elucidated. Here, we report that a module formed by the microRNAs miR165 and miR166 and their target transcript, PHABULOSA (PHB), regulates HSFA1 at the transcriptional and translational levels to control plant HS responses. HS-triggered induction of MIR165/166 in Arabidopsis thaliana led to decreased expression of target genes including PHB. MIR165/166 overexpression lines and mutations in miR165/166 target genes enhanced HS tolerance, whereas miR165/166 knockdown lines and plants expressing a miR165/166-resistant form of PHB were sensitive to HS. PHB directly repressed the transcription of HSFA1s and globally modulated the expression of HS-responsive genes. PHB and HSFA1s share a common target gene, HSFA2, which is essential for activation of plant responses to HS. PHB physically interacted with HSFA1s and exerted an antagonistic effect on HSFA1 transcriptional activity. PHB and HSFA1s co-regulated transcriptome reprogramming upon HS. Together, these findings indicate that heat-triggered regulation of the miR165/166-PHB module controls HSFA1-mediated transcriptional reprogramming and plays a critical role during HS in Arabidopsis.
Topics: Thermotolerance; Arabidopsis Proteins; Heat-Shock Response; Arabidopsis; Heat Shock Transcription Factors; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; MicroRNAs
PubMed: 37132478
DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad121 -
Molecular Plant Sep 2023The shoot meristem generates the entire shoot system and is precisely maintained throughout the life cycle under various environmental challenges. In this study, we...
The shoot meristem generates the entire shoot system and is precisely maintained throughout the life cycle under various environmental challenges. In this study, we identified a prion-like domain (PrD) in the key shoot meristem regulator SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM), which distinguishes STM from other related KNOX1 proteins. We demonstrated that PrD stimulates STM to form nuclear condensates, which are required for maintaining the shoot meristem. STM nuclear condensate formation is stabilized by selected PrD-containing STM-interacting BELL proteins in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, condensation of STM promotes its interaction with the Mediator complex subunit MED8 and thereby enhances its transcriptional activity. Thus, condensate formation emerges as a novel regulatory mechanism of shoot meristem functions. Furthermore, we found that the formation of STM condensates is enhanced upon salt stress, which allows enhanced salt tolerance and increased shoot branching. Our findings highlight that the transcription factor partitioning plays an important role in cell fate determination and might also act as a tunable environmental acclimation mechanism.
Topics: Salt Tolerance; Arabidopsis; Meristem; Salt Stress; Cell Differentiation; Homeodomain Proteins; Arabidopsis Proteins
PubMed: 37674313
DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2023.09.005 -
Genes Aug 2023Psoriasis is a disease involving the innate and adaptative components of the immune system, and it is triggered by environmental factors in genetically susceptible... (Review)
Review
Psoriasis is a disease involving the innate and adaptative components of the immune system, and it is triggered by environmental factors in genetically susceptible individuals. However, its physiopathology is not fully understood yet. Recent technological advances, especially in genome and epigenome-wide studies, have provided a better understanding of the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms to determine the physiopathology of psoriasis and facilitate the development of new drugs. This review intends to summarize the current evidence on genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of psoriasis.
Topics: Humans; Epigenesis, Genetic; Psoriasis; Epigenome; Acclimatization; Genetic Predisposition to Disease
PubMed: 37628670
DOI: 10.3390/genes14081619 -
The Plant Cell Sep 2023Catalase (CAT) is often phosphorylated and activated by protein kinases to maintain hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) homeostasis and protect cells against stresses, but whether...
Catalase (CAT) is often phosphorylated and activated by protein kinases to maintain hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) homeostasis and protect cells against stresses, but whether and how CAT is switched off by protein phosphatases remains inconclusive. Here, we identified a manganese (Mn2+)-dependent protein phosphatase, which we named PHOSPHATASE OF CATALASE 1 (PC1), from rice (Oryza sativa L.) that negatively regulates salt and oxidative stress tolerance. PC1 specifically dephosphorylates CatC at Ser-9 to inhibit its tetramerization and thus activity in the peroxisome. PC1 overexpressing lines exhibited hypersensitivity to salt and oxidative stresses with a lower phospho-serine level of CATs. Phosphatase activity and seminal root growth assays indicated that PC1 promotes growth and plays a vital role during the transition from salt stress to normal growth conditions. Our findings demonstrate that PC1 acts as a molecular switch to dephosphorylate and deactivate CatC and negatively regulate H2O2 homeostasis and salt tolerance in rice. Moreover, knockout of PC1 not only improved H2O2-scavenging capacity and salt tolerance but also limited rice grain yield loss under salt stress conditions. Together, these results shed light on the mechanisms that switch off CAT and provide a strategy for breeding highly salt-tolerant rice.
Topics: Catalase; Oryza; Hydrogen Peroxide; Protein Phosphatase 1; Salt Tolerance; Homeostasis; Plant Proteins
PubMed: 37325884
DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad167 -
Science Advances Jul 2023Species differences in the host factor ANP32A/B result in the restriction of avian influenza virus polymerase (vPol) in mammalian cells. Efficient replication of avian...
Species differences in the host factor ANP32A/B result in the restriction of avian influenza virus polymerase (vPol) in mammalian cells. Efficient replication of avian influenza viruses in mammalian cells often requires adaptive mutations, such as PB2-E627K, to enable the virus to use mammalian ANP32A/B. However, the molecular basis for the productive replication of avian influenza viruses without prior adaptation in mammals remains poorly understood. We show that avian influenza virus NS2 protein help to overcome mammalian ANP32A/B-mediated restriction to avian vPol activity by promoting avian vRNP assembly and enhancing mammalian ANP32A/B-vRNP interactions. A conserved SUMO-interacting motif (SIM) in NS2 is required for its avian polymerase-enhancing properties. We also demonstrate that disrupting SIM integrity in NS2 impairs avian influenza virus replication and pathogenicity in mammalian hosts, but not in avian hosts. Our results identify NS2 as a cofactor in the adaptation process of avian influenza virus to mammals.
Topics: Animals; Influenza in Birds; Acclimatization; Influenza A virus; Mammals; Mutation; Nucleotidyltransferases
PubMed: 37436988
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg5175 -
Nature Communications Jul 2023Recurrent heat stress and pathogen invasion seriously threaten crop production, and abiotic stress often antagonizes biotic stress response against pathogens. However,...
Recurrent heat stress and pathogen invasion seriously threaten crop production, and abiotic stress often antagonizes biotic stress response against pathogens. However, the molecular mechanisms of trade-offs between thermotolerance and defense remain obscure. Here, we identify a rice thermo-sensitive mutant that displays a defect in floret development under high temperature with a mutation in SUPPRESSOR OF GENE SILENCING 3a (OsSGS3a). OsSGS3a interacts with its homolog OsSGS3b and modulates the biogenesis of trans-acting small interfering RNA (tasiRNA) targeting AUXIN RESPONSE FACTORS (ARFs). We find that OsSGS3a/b positively, while OsARF3a/b and OsARF3la/lb negatively modulate thermotolerance. Moreover, OsSGS3a negatively, while OsARF3a/b and OsARF3la/lb positively regulate disease resistance to the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) and the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae (M. oryzae). Taken together, our study uncovers a previously unknown trade-off mechanism that regulates distinct immunity and thermotolerance through the OsSGS3-tasiRNA-OsARF3 module, highlighting the regulation of abiotic-biotic stress response trade-off in plants.
Topics: Disease Resistance; Oryza; RNA, Small Interfering; Thermotolerance
PubMed: 37488129
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40176-2