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Mitochondrion Jul 2020Plant mitochondria operate as the powerhouses for cellular energy production by using the combined functions of both imported and organelle-synthesised proteins.... (Review)
Review
Plant mitochondria operate as the powerhouses for cellular energy production by using the combined functions of both imported and organelle-synthesised proteins. Homeostasis of mitochondrial proteins is controlled by both synthesis and degradation processes which together define protein turnover in this organelle. Better understanding of plant mitochondrial protein turnover will provide information on protein quality control inside these organelles and its importance for proper function and regulation of mitochondrial machinery. This review discusses methods used for measurement of turnover rates of plant mitochondrial proteins and presents our current understanding of these rates for key mitochondrial proteins and protein complexes. The assembly and maintenance of mitochondrial OXPHOS complexes, in particular Complexes I and V, will be discussed in detail based on the evidence for differential protein turnover rates of the same protein subunits in different mitochondrial fractions. The impact of the loss of specific plant mitochondrial proteases on proteolysis events and rates of mitochondrial protein turnover will be highlighted. The challenges and future directions for investigation of plant mitochondrial protein turnover are also discussed.
Topics: Homeostasis; Mitochondria; Mitochondrial Proteins; Oxidative Phosphorylation; Plant Proteins; Plants; Proteolysis
PubMed: 32387507
DOI: 10.1016/j.mito.2020.04.011 -
Toxins Apr 2024The control of crop diseases caused by fungi remains a major problem and there is a need to find effective fungicides that are environmentally friendly. Plants are an... (Review)
Review
The control of crop diseases caused by fungi remains a major problem and there is a need to find effective fungicides that are environmentally friendly. Plants are an excellent source for this purpose because they have developed defense mechanisms to cope with fungal infections. Among the plant proteins that play a role in defense are ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs), enzymes obtained mainly from angiosperms that, in addition to inactivating ribosomes, have been studied as antiviral, fungicidal, and insecticidal proteins. In this review, we summarize and discuss the potential use of RIPs (and other proteins with similar activity) as antifungal agents, with special emphasis on RIP/fungus specificity, possible mechanisms of antifungal action, and the use of RIP genes to obtain fungus-resistant transgenic plants. It also highlights the fact that these proteins also have antiviral and insecticidal activity, which makes them very versatile tools for crop protection.
Topics: Ribosome Inactivating Proteins; Antifungal Agents; Plant Proteins; Fungi; Plant Diseases; Plants, Genetically Modified; Animals; Fungicides, Industrial
PubMed: 38668617
DOI: 10.3390/toxins16040192 -
International Journal of Molecular... May 2023Plants are colonized by various fungi with both pathogenic and beneficial lifestyles. One type of colonization strategy is through the secretion of effector proteins... (Review)
Review
Plants are colonized by various fungi with both pathogenic and beneficial lifestyles. One type of colonization strategy is through the secretion of effector proteins that alter the plant's physiology to accommodate the fungus. The oldest plant symbionts, the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), may exploit effectors to their benefit. Genome analysis coupled with transcriptomic studies in different AMFs has intensified research on the effector function, evolution, and diversification of AMF. However, of the current 338 predicted effector proteins from the AM fungus , only five have been characterized, of which merely two have been studied in detail to understand which plant proteins they associate with to affect the host physiology. Here, we review the most recent findings in AMF effector research and discuss the techniques used for the functional characterization of effector proteins, from their in silico prediction to their mode of action, with an emphasis on high-throughput approaches for the identification of plant targets of the effectors through which they manipulate their hosts.
Topics: Mycorrhizae; Plants; Plant Proteins; Plant Roots
PubMed: 37298075
DOI: 10.3390/ijms24119125 -
Microbiology (Reading, England) Nov 2020Expansins, cerato-platanins and swollenins (which we will henceforth refer to as expansin-related proteins) are a group of microbial proteins involved in microbe-plant... (Review)
Review
Expansins, cerato-platanins and swollenins (which we will henceforth refer to as expansin-related proteins) are a group of microbial proteins involved in microbe-plant interactions. Although they share very low sequence similarity, some of their composing domains are near-identical at the structural level. Expansin-related proteins have their target in the plant cell wall, in which they act through a non-enzymatic, but still uncharacterized, mechanism. In most cases, mutagenesis of expansin-related genes affects plant colonization or plant pathogenesis of different bacterial and fungal species, and thus, in many cases they are considered virulence factors. Additionally, plant treatment with expansin-related proteins activate several plant defenses resulting in the priming and protection towards subsequent pathogen encounters. Plant-defence responses induced by these proteins are reminiscent of pattern-triggered immunity or hypersensitive response in some cases. Plant immunity to expansin-related proteins could be caused by the following: (i) protein detection by specific host-cell receptors, (ii) alterations to the cell-wall-barrier properties sensed by the host, (iii) displacement of cell-wall polysaccharides detected by the host. Expansin-related proteins may also target polysaccharides on the wall of the microbes that produced them under certain physiological instances. Here, we review biochemical, evolutionary and biological aspects of these relatively understudied proteins and different immune responses they induce in plant hosts.
Topics: Bacterial Proteins; Cell Wall; Evolution, Molecular; Fungal Proteins; Host Microbial Interactions; Plant Cells; Plant Diseases; Plant Immunity; Plant Proteins
PubMed: 33141007
DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.000984 -
Peptides Aug 2021Hypertension is a risk factor for arteriosclerosis development and is recognized as a silent killer. Certain processed food materials, digested by protease or through... (Review)
Review
Hypertension is a risk factor for arteriosclerosis development and is recognized as a silent killer. Certain processed food materials, digested by protease or through the use of fermentation, have shown exertion of hypotensive effects in human clinical or animal studies, and hypotensive peptides were isolated from them. This review discusses the hypotensive peptides derived from plant proteins, such as grain, soy, vegetables, and seaweeds, and their hypotensive mechanisms. Although angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition is often noted as one of the mechanisms that may exert antihypertensive effects, ACE inhibitory activity measured by in vitro studies is not associated with the actual hypotensive effect. Thus, this review only highlights the peptide hypotensive effect determined by in vivo studies. This review also discusses the tendency of the amino acid sequence of ACE-inhibitory hypotensive peptides and the possible additional effects of hypotensive peptides independent of ACE inhibition.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Hypotension; Peptide Fragments; Plant Proteins
PubMed: 34023396
DOI: 10.1016/j.peptides.2021.170573 -
International Journal of Molecular... Oct 2021Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins form a large protein family in land plants, with hundreds of different members in angiosperms. In the last decade, a number of... (Review)
Review
Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins form a large protein family in land plants, with hundreds of different members in angiosperms. In the last decade, a number of studies have shown that PPR proteins are sequence-specific RNA-binding proteins involved in multiple aspects of plant organellar RNA processing, and perform numerous functions in plants throughout their life cycle. Recently, computational and structural studies have provided new insights into the working mechanisms of PPR proteins in RNA recognition and cytidine deamination. In this review, we summarized the research progress on the functions of PPR proteins in plant growth and development, with a particular focus on their effects on cytoplasmic male sterility, stress responses, and seed development. We also documented the molecular mechanisms of PPR proteins in mediating RNA processing in plant mitochondria and chloroplasts.
Topics: Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Plant Development; Plant Proteins; Plants
PubMed: 34681932
DOI: 10.3390/ijms222011274 -
Genes Nov 2019E3 ubiquitin ligases are the most expanded components of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). They mediate the recognition of substrates and later transfer the... (Review)
Review
E3 ubiquitin ligases are the most expanded components of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). They mediate the recognition of substrates and later transfer the ubiquitin (Ub) of the system. Really Interesting New Gene (RING) finger proteins characterized by the RING domain, which contains 40-60 residues, are thought to be E3 ubiquitin ligase. RING-finger proteins play significant roles in plant growth, stress resistance, and signal transduction. In this study, we mainly describe the structural characteristics, classifications, and subcellular localizations of RING-finger proteins, as well the physiological processes of RING-finger proteins in plant growth and development. We also summarize the functions of plant RING-finger proteins in plant stress resistance. Finally, further research on plant RING-finger proteins is suggested, thereby establishing a strong foundation for the future study of plant RING-finger proteins.
Topics: Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Plant Physiological Phenomena; Plant Proteins; RING Finger Domains; Stress, Physiological; Ubiquitin; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases
PubMed: 31779262
DOI: 10.3390/genes10120973 -
Pflugers Archiv : European Journal of... Sep 2020The carbohydrate D-glucose is the main source of energy in living organisms. In contrast to animals, as well as most fungi, bacteria, and archaea, plants are capable to... (Review)
Review
The carbohydrate D-glucose is the main source of energy in living organisms. In contrast to animals, as well as most fungi, bacteria, and archaea, plants are capable to synthesize a surplus of sugars characterizing them as autothrophic organisms. Thus, plants are de facto the source of all food on earth, either directly or indirectly via feed to livestock. Glucose is stored as polymeric glucan, in animals as glycogen and in plants as starch. Despite serving a general source for metabolic energy and energy storage, glucose is the main building block for cellulose synthesis and represents the metabolic starting point of carboxylate- and amino acid synthesis. Finally yet importantly, glucose functions as signalling molecule conveying the plant metabolic status for adjustment of growth, development, and survival. Therefore, cell-to-cell and long-distance transport of photoassimilates/sugars throughout the plant body require the fine-tuned activity of sugar transporters facilitating the transport across membranes. The functional plant counterparts of the animal sodium/glucose transporters (SGLTs) are represented by the proton-coupled sugar transport proteins (STPs) of the plant monosaccharide transporter(-like) family (MST). In the framework of this special issue on "Glucose Transporters in Health and Disease," this review gives an overview of the function and structure of plant STPs in comparison to the respective knowledge obtained with the animal Na-coupled glucose transporters (SGLTs).
Topics: Glucose; Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; Phylogeny; Plant Proteins; Plants
PubMed: 32845347
DOI: 10.1007/s00424-020-02449-3 -
International Journal of Molecular... Jan 2021Advancements in high-throughput "Omics" techniques have revolutionized plant molecular biology research [...].
Advancements in high-throughput "Omics" techniques have revolutionized plant molecular biology research [...].
Topics: Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Plant Proteins; Plants; Proteomics
PubMed: 33466599
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22020766 -
Journal of Integrative Plant Biology Feb 2022Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor (TRAF) proteins are conserved in higher eukaryotes and play key roles in transducing cellular signals across different... (Review)
Review
Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor (TRAF) proteins are conserved in higher eukaryotes and play key roles in transducing cellular signals across different organelles. They are characterized by their C-terminal region (TRAF-C domain) containing seven to eight anti-parallel β-sheets, also known as the meprin and TRAF-C homology (MATH) domain. Over the past few decades, significant progress has been made toward understanding the diverse roles of TRAF proteins in mammals and plants. Compared to other eukaryotic species, the Arabidopsis thaliana and rice (Oryza sativa) genomes encode many more TRAF/MATH domain-containing proteins; these plant proteins cluster into five classes: TRAF/MATH-only, MATH-BPM, MATH-UBP (ubiquitin protease), Seven in absentia (SINA), and MATH-Filament and MATH-PEARLI-4 proteins, suggesting parallel evolution of TRAF proteins in plants. Increasing evidence now indicates that plant TRAF proteins form central signaling networks essential for multiple biological processes, such as vegetative and reproductive development, autophagosome formation, plant immunity, symbiosis, phytohormone signaling, and abiotic stress responses. Here, we summarize recent advances and highlight future prospects for understanding on the molecular mechanisms by which TRAF proteins act in plant development and stress responses.
Topics: Animals; Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis Proteins; Biological Phenomena; Mammals; Plant Development; Plant Proteins; Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-Associated Peptides and Proteins
PubMed: 34676666
DOI: 10.1111/jipb.13182