| 1. |
- Bhalerao, Rishikesh P.
(författare)
-
Root hydrotropism is controlled via a cortex-specific growth mechanism
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Nature Plants. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2055-026X .- 2055-0278. ; 3
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plants can acclimate by using tropisms to link the direction of growth to environmental conditions. Hydrotropism allows roots to forage for water, a process known to depend on abscisic acid (ABA) but whose molecular and cellular basis remains unclear. Here we show that hydrotropism still occurs in roots after laser ablation removed the meristem and root cap. Additionally, targeted expression studies reveal that hydrotropism depends on the ABA signalling kinase SnRK2.2 and the hydrotropism-specific MIZ1, both acting specifically in elongation zone cortical cells. Conversely, hydrotropism, but not gravitropism, is inhibited by preventing differential cell-length increases in the cortex, but not in other cell types. We conclude that root tropic responses to gravity and water are driven by distinct tissue-based mechanisms. In addition, unlike its role in root gravitropism, the elongation zone performs a dual function during a hydrotropic response, both sensing a water potential gradient and subsequently undergoing differential growth.
|
|
| 2. |
- Camara-Leret, R., et al.
(författare)
-
Fundamental species traits explain provisioning services of tropical American palms
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Nature Plants. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2055-026X .- 2055-0278. ; 3:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The well-being of the global human population rests on provisioning services delivered by 12% of the Earth's similar to 400,000 plant species(1). Plant utilization by humans is influenced by species traits(2-4), but it is not well understood which traits underpin different human needs(5). Here, we focus on palms (Arecaceae), one of the most economically important plant groups globally(6), and demonstrate that provisioning services related to basic needs, such as food and medicine, show a strong link to fundamental functional and geographic traits. We integrate data from 2,201 interviews on plant utilization from three biomes in South America-spanning 68 communities, 43 ethnic groups and 2,221 plant uses-with a dataset of 4 traits (leaf length, stem volume, fruit volume, geographic range size) and a species-level phylogeny(7). For all 208 palm species occurring in our study area, we test for relations between their traits and perceived value. We find that people preferentially use large, widespread species rather than small, narrow-ranged species, and that different traits are linked to different uses. Further, plant size and geographic range size are stronger predictors of ecosystem service realization for palm services related to basic human needs than less-basic needs (for example, ritual). These findings suggest that reliance on plant size and availability may have prevented our optimal realization of wild-plant services, since ecologically rare yet functionally important (for example, chemically) clades may have been overlooked. Beyond expanding our understanding of how local people use biodiversity in mega-diverse regions, our traitand phylogeny-based approach helps to understand the processes that underpin ecosystem service realization, a necessary step to meet societal needs in a changing world with a growing human population(5,8).
|
|
| 3. |
- Conn, Vanessa M., et al.
(författare)
-
A circRNA from SEPALLATA3 regulates splicing of its cognate mRNA through R-loop formation
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Nature Plants. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2055-026X .- 2055-0278. ; 3:5
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a diverse and abundant class of hyper-stable, non-canonical RNAs that arise through a form of alternative splicing (AS) called back-splicing. These single-stranded, covalently-closed circRNA molecules have been identified in all eukaryotic kingdoms of life(1), yet their functions have remained elusive. Here, we report that circRNAs can be used as bona fide biomarkers of functional, exon-skipped AS variants in Arabidopsis, including in the homeotic MADS-box transcription factor family. Furthermore, we demonstrate that circRNAs derived from exon 6 of the SEPALLATA3 (SEP3) gene increase abundance of the cognate exon-skipped AS variant (SEP3.3 which lacks exon 6), in turn driving floral homeotic phenotypes. Toward demonstrating the underlying mechanism, we show that the SEP3 exon 6 circRNA can bind strongly to its cognate DNA locus, forming an RNA: DNA hybrid, or R-loop, whereas the linear RNA equivalent bound significantly more weakly to DNA. R-loop formation results in transcriptional pausing, which has been shown to coincide with splicing factor recruitment and AS(2-4). This report presents a novel mechanistic insight for how at least a subset of circRNAs probably contribute to increased splicing efficiency of their cognate exon-skipped messenger RNA and provides the first evidence of an organismal-level phenotype mediated by circRNA manipulation.
|
|
| 4. |
- Giacomello, Stefania, et al.
(författare)
-
Spatially resolved transcriptome profiling in model plant species
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Nature Plants. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2055-026X .- 2055-0278. ; 3:6
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding complex biological systems requires functional characterization of specialized tissue domains. However, existing strategies for generating and analysing high-throughput spatial expression profiles were developed for a limited range of organisms, primarily mammals. Here we present the first available approach to generate and study highresolution, spatially resolved functional profiles in a broad range of model plant systems. Our process includes highthroughput spatial transcriptome profiling followed by spatial gene and pathway analyses. We first demonstrate the feasibility of the technique by generating spatial transcriptome profiles from model angiosperms and gymnosperms microsections. In Arabidopsis thaliana we use the spatial data to identify differences in expression levels of 141 genes and 189 pathways in eight inflorescence tissue domains. Our combined approach of spatial transcriptomics and functional profiling offers a powerful new strategy that can be applied to a broad range of plant species, and is an approach that will be pivotal to answering fundamental questions in developmental and evolutionary biology.
|
|
| 5. |
- Mao, Hailiang, et al.
(författare)
-
Arabidopsis BTB/POZ protein-dependent PENETRATION3 trafficking and disease susceptibility
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Nature Plants. - : NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. - 2055-026X .- 2055-0278. ; 3:11, s. 854-858
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The outermost cell layer of plant roots (epidermis) constantly encounters environmental challenges. The epidermal outer plasma membrane domain harbours the PENETRATION3 (PEN3)/ABCG36/PDR8 ATP-binding cassette transporter that confers non-host resistance to several pathogens. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM-ARRESTED PEN3 (EAP3) BTB/POZ-domain protein specifically mediates PEN3 exit from the endoplasmic reticulum and confers resistance to a root-penetrating fungus, providing prime evidence for BTB/POZ-domain protein-dependent membrane trafficking underlying disease resistance.
|
|
| 6. |
- Soh, W. K., et al.
(författare)
-
Palaeo leaf economics reveal a shift in ecosystem function associated with the end-Triassic mass extinction event
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Nature Plants. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2055-026X .- 2055-0278. ; 3:8
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change is likely to have altered the ecological functioning of past ecosystems, and is likely to alter functioning in the future; however, the magnitude and direction of such changes are difficult to predict. Here we use a deep-time case study to evaluate the impact of a well-constrained CO 2 -induced global warming event on the ecological functioning of dominant plant communities. We use leaf mass per area (LMA), a widely used trait in modern plant ecology, to infer the palaeoecological strategy of fossil plant taxa. We show that palaeo-LMA can be inferred from fossil leaf cuticles based on a tight relationship between LMA and cuticle thickness observed among extant gymnosperms. Application of this new palaeo-LMA proxy to fossil gymnosperms from East Greenland reveals significant shifts in the dominant ecological strategies of vegetation found across the Triassic-Jurassic transition. Late Triassic forests, dominated by low-LMA taxa with inferred high transpiration rates and short leaf lifespans, were replaced in the Early Jurassic by forests dominated by high-LMA taxa that were likely to have slower metabolic rates. We suggest that extreme CO2-induced global warming selected for taxa with high LMA associated with a stress-tolerant strategy and that adaptive plasticity in leaf functional traits such as LMA contributed to post-warming ecological success.
|
|
