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International Journal of Molecular... Mar 2022Despite recent advancements in plant molecular biology and biotechnology, providing enough, and safe, food for an increasing world population remains a challenge. The... (Review)
Review
Despite recent advancements in plant molecular biology and biotechnology, providing enough, and safe, food for an increasing world population remains a challenge. The research into plant development and environmental adaptability has attracted more and more attention from various countries. The transcription of some genes, regulated by transcript factors (TFs), and their response to biological and abiotic stresses, are activated or inhibited during plant development; examples include, rooting, flowering, fruit ripening, drought, flooding, high temperature, pathogen infection, etc. Therefore, the screening and characterization of transcription factors have increasingly become a hot topic in the field of plant research. BLH/BELL (BEL1-like homeodomain) transcription factors belong to a subfamily of the TALE (three-amino-acid-loop-extension) superfamily and its members are involved in the regulation of many vital biological processes, during plant development and environmental response. This review focuses on the advances in our understanding of the function of BLH/BELL TFs in different plants and their involvement in the development of meristems, flower, fruit, plant morphogenesis, plant cell wall structure, the response to the environment, including light and plant resistance to stress, biosynthesis and signaling of ABA (Abscisic acid), IAA (Indoleacetic acid), GA (Gibberellic Acid) and JA (Jasmonic Acid). We discuss the theoretical basis and potential regulatory models for BLH/BELL TFs' action and provide a comprehensive view of their multiple roles in modulating different aspects of plant development and response to environmental stress and phytohormones. We also present the value of BLHs in the molecular breeding of improved crop varieties and the future research direction of the BLH gene family.
Topics: Abscisic Acid; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Plant Development; Plant Growth Regulators; Plant Proteins; Plants; Stress, Physiological; Transcription Factors
PubMed: 35409091
DOI: 10.3390/ijms23073731 -
Current Biology : CB Dec 2019Global warming is one of the most detrimental aspects of climate change, affecting plant growth and development across the entire life cycle. This Review explores how... (Review)
Review
Global warming is one of the most detrimental aspects of climate change, affecting plant growth and development across the entire life cycle. This Review explores how different stages of development are influenced by elevated temperature in both wild plants and crops. Starting from seed development and germination, global warming will influence morphological adjustments, termed thermomorphogenesis, and photosynthesis primarily during the vegetative phase, as well as flowering and reproductive development. Where applicable, we distinguish between moderately elevated temperatures that affect all stages of plant development and heat waves that often occur during the reproductive phase when they can have devastating consequences for fruit development. The parallel occurrence of elevated temperature with other abiotic and biotic stressors, particularly the combination of global warming and drought or increased pathogen pressure, will potentiate the challenges for both wild and cultivated plant species. The key components of the molecular networks underlying the physiological processes involved in thermal responses in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana are highlighted. In crops, temperature-sensitive traits relevant for yield are illustrated for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.), representing cultivated species adapted to temperate vs. warm climate zones, respectively. While the fate of wild plants depends on political agendas, plant breeding approaches informed by mechanistic understanding originating in basic science can enable the generation of climate change-resilient crops.
Topics: Agriculture; Climate Change; Crops, Agricultural; Droughts; Germination; Global Warming; Plant Development; Seedlings; Seeds; Temperature; Triticum
PubMed: 31846685
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.016 -
Plant, Cell & Environment Oct 2019Fruit and seed crop production heavily relies on successful stigma pollination, pollen tube growth, and fertilization of female gametes. These processes depend on... (Review)
Review
Fruit and seed crop production heavily relies on successful stigma pollination, pollen tube growth, and fertilization of female gametes. These processes depend on production of viable pollen grains, a process sensitive to high-temperature stress. Therefore, rising global temperatures threaten worldwide crop production. Close observation of plant development shows that high-temperature stress causes morpho-anatomical changes in male reproductive tissues that contribute to reproductive failure. These changes include early tapetum degradation, anther indehiscence, and deformity of pollen grains, all of which are contributing factors to pollen fertility. At the molecular level, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulate when plants are subjected to high temperatures. ROS is a signalling molecule that can be beneficial or detrimental for plant cells depending on its balance with the endogenous cellular antioxidant system. Many metabolites have been linked with ROS over the years acting as direct scavengers or molecular stabilizers that promote antioxidant enzyme activity. This review highlights recent advances in research on anther and pollen development and how these might explain the aberrations seen during high-temperature stress; recent work on the role of nitrogen and carbon metabolites in anther and pollen development is discussed including their potential role at high temperature.
Topics: Antioxidants; Carbon; Fertility; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Germination; Heat-Shock Response; Hot Temperature; Metabolome; Nitrogen; Plant Development; Pollen; Pollination; Reactive Oxygen Species; Reproduction; Stress, Physiological; Temperature
PubMed: 31077385
DOI: 10.1111/pce.13576 -
Microbiological Research Jun 2023Abiotic stress poses a severe danger to agriculture since it negatively impacts cellular homeostasis and eventually stunts plant growth and development. Abiotic... (Review)
Review
Abiotic stress poses a severe danger to agriculture since it negatively impacts cellular homeostasis and eventually stunts plant growth and development. Abiotic stressors like drought and excessive heat are expected to occur more frequently in the future due to climate change, which would reduce the yields of important crops like maize, wheat, and rice which may jeopardize the food security of human populations. The plant microbiomes are a varied and taxonomically organized microbial community that is connected to plants. By supplying nutrients and water to plants, and regulating their physiology and metabolism, plant microbiota frequently helps plants develop and tolerate abiotic stresses, which can boost crop yield under abiotic stresses. In this present study, with emphasis on temperature, salt, and drought stress, we describe current findings on how abiotic stresses impact the plants, microbiomes, microbe-microbe interactions, and plant-microbe interactions as the way microorganisms affect the metabolism and physiology of the plant. We also explore crucial measures that must be taken in applying plant microbiomes in agriculture practices faced with abiotic stresses.
Topics: Humans; Crops, Agricultural; Agriculture; Plant Development; Microbial Interactions; Stress, Physiological
PubMed: 36965460
DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2023.127368 -
International Journal of Molecular... Mar 2023TEOSINTE BRANCHED1, CYCLOIDEA, PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR 1 and 2 (TCP) proteins constitute a plant-specific transcription factors family exerting effects on multiple... (Review)
Review
TEOSINTE BRANCHED1, CYCLOIDEA, PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR 1 and 2 (TCP) proteins constitute a plant-specific transcription factors family exerting effects on multiple aspects of plant development, such as germination, embryogenesis, leaf and flower morphogenesis, and pollen development, through the recruitment of other factors and the modulation of different hormonal pathways. They are divided into two main classes, I and II. This review focuses on the function and regulation of class I TCP proteins (TCPs). We describe the role of class I TCPs in cell growth and proliferation and summarize recent progresses in understanding the function of class I TCPs in diverse developmental processes, defense, and abiotic stress responses. In addition, their function in redox signaling and the interplay between class I TCPs and proteins involved in immunity and transcriptional and posttranslational regulation is discussed.
Topics: Transcription Factors; Arabidopsis; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Plant Development; Stress, Physiological; Arabidopsis Proteins
PubMed: 36982512
DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065437 -
American Journal of Botany Sep 2021
Topics: Hormones; Indoleacetic Acids; Plant Development; Plant Growth Regulators; Plasmodesmata
PubMed: 34580857
DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1733 -
Annals of Botany Feb 2021With up to 200 published contributions, the GreenLab mathematical model of plant growth, developed since 2000 under Sino-French co-operation for agronomic applications,... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
With up to 200 published contributions, the GreenLab mathematical model of plant growth, developed since 2000 under Sino-French co-operation for agronomic applications, is descended from the structural models developed in the AMAP unit that characterize the development of plants and encompass them in a conceptual mathematical framework. The model also incorporates widely recognized crop model concepts (thermal time, light use efficiency and light interception), adapting them to the level of the individual plant.
SCOPE
Such long-term research work calls for an overview at some point. That is the objective of this review paper, which retraces the main history of the model's development and its current status, highlighting three aspects. (1) What are the key features of the GreenLab model? (2) How can the model be a guide for defining relevant measurement strategies and experimental protocols? (3) What kind of applications can such a model address? This last question is answered using case studies as illustrations, and through the Discussion.
CONCLUSIONS
The results obtained over several decades illustrate a key feature of the GreenLab model: owing to its concise mathematical formulation based on the factorization of plant structure, it comes along with dedicated methods and experimental protocols for its parameter estimation, in the deterministic or stochastic cases, at single-plant or population levels. Besides providing a reliable statistical framework, this intense and long-term research effort has provided new insights into the internal trophic regulations of many plant species and new guidelines for genetic improvement or optimization of crop systems.
Topics: Computer Simulation; Models, Theoretical; Plant Development; Plant Structures
PubMed: 32969464
DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcaa172 -
Nature Communications Mar 2024Plants exhibit reproducible timing of developmental events at multiple scales, from switches in cell identity to maturation of the whole plant. Control of developmental... (Review)
Review
Plants exhibit reproducible timing of developmental events at multiple scales, from switches in cell identity to maturation of the whole plant. Control of developmental timing likely evolved for similar reasons that humans invented clocks: to coordinate events. However, whereas clocks are designed to run independently of conditions, plant developmental timing is strongly dependent on growth and environment. Using simplified models to convey key concepts, we review how growth-dependent and inherent timing mechanisms interact with the environment to control cyclical and progressive developmental transitions in plants.
Topics: Plants; Plant Development
PubMed: 38531864
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46941-1 -
International Journal of Molecular... May 2022Due to their role as energy and carbon sources and their regulatory functions, sugars influence all phases of the plant life cycle, interact with other signaling...
Due to their role as energy and carbon sources and their regulatory functions, sugars influence all phases of the plant life cycle, interact with other signaling molecules, including phytohormones, and control plant growth and development [...].
Topics: Plant Development; Plant Growth Regulators; Plants; Signal Transduction; Sugars
PubMed: 35563551
DOI: 10.3390/ijms23095161 -
Plant Signaling & Behavior Nov 2021This review proposes that plants make smart decision and encourages scientists to formulate and test hypotheses about plant's decisions as an option to investigate... (Review)
Review
This review proposes that plants make smart decision and encourages scientists to formulate and test hypotheses about plant's decisions as an option to investigate complex phenomena that are hardly explained through the predominant mechanistic approach. Three physiological processes (seed germination and seedling emergence, abortion of reproductive structures, and regulation of photosynthesis) are discussed to illustrate the plant's ability to make decisions from three different perspectives. It is proposed that plant scientists could access a rich pool of information by formulating and testing hypothesis on plant's decisions, even when it is not possible elucidating the full mechanism underpinning the decision. Decisions with a strategic component are discussed for seed germination and seedling emergence, in which the plant depends on limited information for making early decisions that will influence its survival and potential growth. Decisions consistent with an analysis of benefit/cost are illustrated with observations from abortion of reproductive structures. Decisions that search the optimization of complex processes are exemplified with the regulation of photosynthesis. For each type of decision, some draft experiments are suggested as exercise on how this framework could be applied. It is proposed that scientists could make experiments with plant's decisions adapting methods that were developed for other disciplines.
Topics: Germination; Photosynthesis; Plant Development; Seedlings; Seeds
PubMed: 34459354
DOI: 10.1080/15592324.2021.1970448