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The Plant Journal : For Cell and... Oct 2023Ovules are female reproductive organs of angiosperms, consisting of sporophytic integuments surrounding female gametophytes, that is, embryo sacs. Synchronization...
Ovules are female reproductive organs of angiosperms, consisting of sporophytic integuments surrounding female gametophytes, that is, embryo sacs. Synchronization between integument growth and embryo sac development requires intracellular communication. However, signaling routes through which cells of the two generations communicate are unclear. We report that symplastic signals through plasmodesmata (PDs) of integuments are critical for the development of female gametophytes. Genetic interferences of PD biogenesis either by functional loss of CHOLINE TRANSPORTER-LIKE1 (CTL1) or by integument-specific expression of a mutated CALLOSE SYNTHASE 3 (cals3m) compromised PD formation in integuments and reduced fertility. Close examination of pINO:cals3m or ctl1 ovules indicated that female gametophytic development was either arrested at various stages after the formation of functional megaspores. In both cases, defective ovules could not attract pollen tubes, leading to the failure of fertilization. Results presented here demonstrate a key role of the symplastic route in sporophytic control of female gametophytic development.
Topics: Arabidopsis; Ovule; Arabidopsis Proteins; Fertility; Pollen Tube
PubMed: 37381795
DOI: 10.1111/tpj.16368 -
Trends in Cell Biology Jan 2024Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in multicellular organisms can act as signals transported cell-to-cell and over long distances. In plants, mRNAs traffic cell-to-cell via... (Review)
Review
Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in multicellular organisms can act as signals transported cell-to-cell and over long distances. In plants, mRNAs traffic cell-to-cell via plasmodesmata (PDs) and over long distances via the phloem vascular system to control diverse biological processes - such as cell fate and tissue patterning - in destination organs. Research on long-distance transport of mRNAs in plants has made remarkable progress, including the cataloguing of many mobile mRNAs, characterization of mRNA features important for transport, identification of mRNA-binding proteins involved in their transport, and understanding of the physiological roles of mRNA transport. However, information on short-range mRNA cell-to-cell transport is still limited. This review discusses the regulatory mechanisms and physiological functions of mRNA transport at the cellular and whole plant levels.
Topics: Humans; RNA, Messenger; Plants; RNA Transport; Cell Communication; Phloem
PubMed: 37380581
DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2023.05.010 -
The Plant Cell Sep 2023Emerging evidence indicates that in addition to its well-recognized functions in antiviral RNA silencing, dsRNA elicits pattern-triggered immunity (PTI), likely...
Emerging evidence indicates that in addition to its well-recognized functions in antiviral RNA silencing, dsRNA elicits pattern-triggered immunity (PTI), likely contributing to plant resistance against virus infections. However, compared to bacterial and fungal elicitor-mediated PTI, the mode-of-action and signaling pathway of dsRNA-induced defense remain poorly characterized. Here, using multicolor in vivo imaging, analysis of GFP mobility, callose staining, and plasmodesmal marker lines in Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana, we show that dsRNA-induced PTI restricts the progression of virus infection by triggering callose deposition at plasmodesmata, thereby likely limiting the macromolecular transport through these cell-to-cell communication channels. The plasma membrane-resident SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS RECEPTOR-LIKE KINASE 1, the BOTRYTIS INDUCED KINASE1/AVRPPHB SUSCEPTIBLE1-LIKE KINASE1 kinase module, PLASMODESMATA-LOCATED PROTEINs 1/2/3, as well as CALMODULIN-LIKE 41 and Ca2+ signals are involved in the dsRNA-induced signaling leading to callose deposition at plasmodesmata and antiviral defense. Unlike the classical bacterial elicitor flagellin, dsRNA does not trigger a detectable reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst, substantiating the idea that different microbial patterns trigger partially shared immune signaling frameworks with distinct features. Likely as a counter strategy, viral movement proteins from different viruses suppress the dsRNA-induced host response leading to callose deposition to achieve infection. Thus, our data support a model in which plant immune signaling constrains virus movement by inducing callose deposition at plasmodesmata and reveals how viruses counteract this layer of immunity.
PubMed: 37378592
DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad176 -
Nature Chemical Biology Nov 2023Brassinosteroids (BRs) are steroidal phytohormones that are essential for plant growth, development and adaptation to environmental stresses. BRs act in a dose-dependent...
Brassinosteroids (BRs) are steroidal phytohormones that are essential for plant growth, development and adaptation to environmental stresses. BRs act in a dose-dependent manner and do not travel over long distances; hence, BR homeostasis maintenance is critical for their function. Biosynthesis of bioactive BRs relies on the cell-to-cell movement of hormone precursors. However, the mechanism of the short-distance BR transport is unknown, and its contribution to the control of endogenous BR levels remains unexplored. Here we demonstrate that plasmodesmata (PD) mediate the passage of BRs between neighboring cells. Intracellular BR content, in turn, is capable of modulating PD permeability to optimize its own mobility, thereby manipulating BR biosynthesis and signaling. Our work uncovers a thus far unknown mode of steroid transport in eukaryotes and exposes an additional layer of BR homeostasis regulation in plants.
Topics: Brassinosteroids; Plasmodesmata; Plant Growth Regulators; Plants; Hormones; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Arabidopsis Proteins
PubMed: 37365405
DOI: 10.1038/s41589-023-01346-x -
Frontiers in Plant Science 2023Callose is an important linear form of polysaccharide synthesized in plant cell walls. It is mainly composed of β-1,3-linked glucose residues with rare amount of... (Review)
Review
Callose is an important linear form of polysaccharide synthesized in plant cell walls. It is mainly composed of β-1,3-linked glucose residues with rare amount of β-1,6-linked branches. Callose can be detected in almost all plant tissues and are widely involved in various stages of plant growth and development. Callose is accumulated on plant cell plates, microspores, sieve plates, and plasmodesmata in cell walls and is inducible upon heavy metal treatment, pathogen invasion, and mechanical wounding. Callose in plant cells is synthesized by callose synthases located on the cell membrane. The chemical composition of callose and the components of callose synthases were once controversial until the application of molecular biology and genetics in the model plant that led to the cloning of genes encoding synthases responsible for callose biosynthesis. This minireview summarizes the research progress of plant callose and its synthetizing enzymes in recent years to illustrate the important and versatile role of callose in plant life activities.
PubMed: 37324665
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1183402 -
PLoS Biology Jun 2023Numerous, diverse plant viruses encode movement proteins (MPs) that aid the virus movement through plasmodesmata, the plant intercellular channels. MPs are essential for...
Numerous, diverse plant viruses encode movement proteins (MPs) that aid the virus movement through plasmodesmata, the plant intercellular channels. MPs are essential for virus spread and propagation in distal tissues, and several unrelated MPs have been identified. The 30K superfamily of MPs (named after the molecular mass of tobacco mosaic virus MP, the classical model of plant virology) is the largest and most diverse MP variety, represented in 16 virus families, but its evolutionary origin remained obscure. Here, we show that the core structural domain of the 30K MPs is homologous to the jelly-roll domain of the capsid proteins (CPs) of small RNA and DNA viruses, in particular, those infecting plants. The closest similarity was observed between the 30K MPs and the CPs of the viruses in the families Bromoviridae and Geminiviridae. We hypothesize that the MPs evolved via duplication or horizontal acquisition of the CP gene in a virus that infected an ancestor of vascular plants, followed by neofunctionalization of one of the paralogous CPs, potentially through the acquisition of unique N- and C-terminal regions. During the subsequent coevolution of viruses with diversifying vascular plants, the 30K MP genes underwent explosive horizontal spread among emergent RNA and DNA viruses, likely permitting viruses of insects and fungi that coinfected plants to expand their host ranges, molding the contemporary plant virome.
Topics: Capsid Proteins; Plant Viral Movement Proteins; Tobacco Mosaic Virus; Plant Viruses; Plants; RNA; Nicotiana
PubMed: 37319262
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002157 -
Journal of Agricultural and Food... Jun 2023Rice sheath blight (ShB) caused by is one of the most serious diseases that threatens rice () production. However, the mechanisms of defense against ShB in rice remain...
Rice sheath blight (ShB) caused by is one of the most serious diseases that threatens rice () production. However, the mechanisms of defense against ShB in rice remain largely unknown. In this study, we identified that the expression levels of β- () family genes sensitively respond to infection by , and s positively regulate rice resistance to ShB. In addition, colocalized with AtPDCB1 at the plasmodesmata (PD) and limited the PD permeability. The level of callose accumulation in mutants and overexpressors was examined, and s were found contribute to callose accumulation. Taken together, these data suggest that s can regulate the deposition of callose at the PD to reduce its permeability to defend itself against ShB. Through the identification of these genes and the elucidation of their functions, this research fills the gap in the mechanism of PD permeability in rice ShB resistance.
Topics: Oryza; Plasmodesmata; Plant Diseases; Rhizoctonia
PubMed: 37314350
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c01127 -
Development (Cambridge, England) Oct 2023Myosins are evolutionarily conserved motor proteins that interact with actin filaments to regulate organelle transport, cytoplasmic streaming and cell growth....
Myosins are evolutionarily conserved motor proteins that interact with actin filaments to regulate organelle transport, cytoplasmic streaming and cell growth. Plant-specific class XI myosin proteins direct cell division and root organogenesis. However, the roles of plant-specific class VIII myosin proteins in plant growth and development are less understood. Here, we investigated the function of an auxin-regulated class VIII myosin, Arabidopsis thaliana MYOSIN 1 (ATM1), using genetics, transcriptomics and live cell microscopy. ATM1 is associated with the plasma membrane and plasmodesmata within the root apical meristem (RAM). Loss of ATM1 function results in decreased RAM size and reduced cell proliferation in a sugar-dependent manner. Auxin signaling and transcriptional responses were dampened in atm1-1 roots. Complementation of atm1-1 with a tagged ATM1 driven under the native ATM1 promoter restored root growth and cell cycle progression. Genetic analyses of atm1-1 seedlings with HEXOKINASE 1 (HXK1) and TARGET OF RAPAMYCIN COMPLEX 1 (TORC1) overexpression lines indicate that ATM1 is downstream of TOR. Collectively, these results provide previously unreported evidence that ATM1 functions to influence cell proliferation in primary roots in response to auxin and sugar cues.
Topics: Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis Proteins; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Indoleacetic Acids; Meristem; Myosins; Plant Roots; Sugars
PubMed: 37306290
DOI: 10.1242/dev.201762 -
Plant Physiology Aug 2023Movement proteins (MPs) encoded by plant viruses deliver viral genomes to plasmodesmata (PD) to ensure intracellular and intercellular transport. However, how the MPs...
Movement proteins (MPs) encoded by plant viruses deliver viral genomes to plasmodesmata (PD) to ensure intracellular and intercellular transport. However, how the MPs encoded by monopartite geminiviruses are targeted to PD is obscure. Here, we demonstrate that the C5 protein of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) anchors to PD during the viral infection following trafficking from the nucleus along microfilaments in Nicotiana benthamiana. C5 could move between cells and partially complement the traffic of a movement-deficient turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) mutant (TuMV-GFP-P3N-PIPO-m1) into adjacent cells. The TYLCV-C5 null mutant (TYLCV-mC5) attenuates viral pathogenicity and decreases viral DNA and protein accumulation, and ectopic overexpression of C5 enhances viral DNA accumulation. Interaction assays between TYLCV-C5 and the other eight viral proteins described in TYLCV reveal that C5 associates with C2 in the nucleus and with V2 in the cytoplasm and at PD. The V2 protein is mainly localized in the nucleus and cytoplasmic granules when expressed alone; in contrast, V2 forms small punctate granules at PD when co-expressed with C5 or in TYLCV-infected cells. The interaction of V2 and C5 also facilitates their nuclear export. Furthermore, C5-mediated PD localization of V2 is conserved in two other geminiviruses. Therefore, this study solves a long-sought-after functional connection between PD and the geminivirus movement and improves our understanding of geminivirus-encoded MPs and their potential cellular and molecular mechanisms.
Topics: Geminiviridae; DNA, Viral; Plasmodesmata; Begomovirus; Nicotiana; Plant Diseases
PubMed: 37306279
DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiad338 -
The New Phytologist Sep 2023Sugar loading of developing seeds comprises a cohort of transport events that contribute to reproductive success and seed yield. Understanding these events is most... (Review)
Review
Sugar loading of developing seeds comprises a cohort of transport events that contribute to reproductive success and seed yield. Understanding these events is most advanced for grain crops (Brassicaceae, Fabaceae and Gramineae) and Arabidopsis. For these species, 75-80% of their final seed biomass is derived from phloem-imported sucrose. Sugar loading consecutively traverses three genomically distinct, and symplasmically isolated, seed domains: maternal pericarp/seed coat, filial endosperm and filial embryo. Sink status of each domain co-ordinately transitions from growth to storage. The latter is dominated by embryos (Brassicaceae and Fabaceae) or endosperms (Gramineae). Intradomain sugar transport occurs symplasmically through plasmodesmata. Interdomain sugar transport relies on plasma-membrane transporters operating in efflux (maternal and endosperm) or influx (endosperm and embryo) modes. Discussed is substantial progress made in identifying, and functionally evaluating, sugar symporters (STPs, SUTs or SUCs) and uniporters (SWEETs). These findings have underpinned a mechanistic understanding of seed loading. Less well researched are possible physical limitations imposed by hydraulic conductivities of differentiating protophloem and of subsequent plasmodesmal transport. The latter is coupled with sugar homeostasis within each domain mediated by sugar transporters. A similar conclusion is ascribed to fragmentary understanding of regulatory mechanisms integrating transport events with seed growth and storage.
Topics: Sugars; Phloem; Plasmodesmata; Biological Transport; Seeds; Membrane Transport Proteins; Arabidopsis; Poaceae; Fabaceae
PubMed: 37306002
DOI: 10.1111/nph.19058