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- Brouwer, Bastiaan, et al.
(author)
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In response to partial plant shading, the lack of phytochrome A does not directly induce leaf senescence but alters the fine-tuning of chlorophyll biosynthesis
- 2014
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In: Journal of Experimental Botany. - : Oxford University Press. - 0022-0957 .- 1460-2431. ; 65:14, s. 4037-4049
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Phytochrome is thought to control the induction of leaf senescence directly, however, the signalling and molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, an ecophysiological approach was used to establish a functional connection between phytochrome signalling and the physiological processes underlying the induction of leaf senescence in response to shade. With shade it is important to distinguish between complete and partial shading, during which either the whole or only a part of the plant is shaded, respectively. It is first shown here that, while PHYB is required to maintain chlorophyll content in a completely shaded plant, only PHYA is involved in maintaining the leaf chlorophyll content in response to partial plant shading. Second, it is shown that leaf yellowing associated with strong partial shading in phyA-mutant plants actually correlates to a decreased biosynthesis of chlorophyll rather than to an increase of its degradation. Third, it is shown that the physiological impact of this decreased biosynthesis of chlorophyll in strongly shaded phyA-mutant leaves is accompanied by a decreased capacity to adjust the Light Compensation Point. However, the increased leaf yellowing in phyA-mutant plants is not accompanied by an increase of senescence-specific molecular markers, which argues against a direct role of PHYA in inducing leaf senescence in response to partial shade. In conclusion, it is proposed that PHYA, but not PHYB, is essential for fine-tuning the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway in response to partial shading. In turn, this mechanism allows the shaded leaf to adjust its photosynthetic machinery to very low irradiances, thus maintaining a positive carbon balance and repressing the induction of leaf senescence, which can occur under prolonged periods of shade.
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| 4. |
- Brouwer, Bastiaan, 1980-
(author)
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Shedding Light on Shade- and Dark-Induced Leaf Senescence
- 2012
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Leaf senescence is the final stage of leaf development, during which the leaf relocates most of itsvaluable nutrients to developing or storing parts of the plant. As this process progresses, leaves losetheir green color and their capacity to perform photosynthesis. Shade and darkness are well-knownas factors inducing leaf senescence and it has been proposed that senescence can be initiated byreductions in photosynthesis, photomorphogenesis and transpiration. However, despite the fact thatthe signaling mechanisms regulating each of these processes have been extensively described,particularly in seedlings, their contribution to the initiation of senescence in mature leaves stillremains unclear. Furthermore, the use of different experimental systems to study shade-inducedleaf senescence has yielded several divergent results, which altogether complicate the overallunderstanding of leaf senescence. To address this, darkened plants and individually darkened leaves, which show different rates of leafsenescence, were studied. Comparing the transcriptome and metabolome of these two darktreatmentsrevealed that they differed distinctly with regard to their metabolic strategies. Wholedarkened plants were severely carbohydrate-starved, accumulated amino acids and slowed downtheir metabolism. In contrast, individually darkened leaves showed continued active metabolismcoupled to senescence-associated degradation and relocation of amino acids. This knowledge was used to set up a new system to study how shade affects leaf senescence in themodel plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Use of this system revealed that different senescence-associatedhallmarks appeared in response to different intensities of shade. Some of these hallmarks werefurther shown to be part of both leaf senescence and photosynthetic acclimation to low light. Finally, using this system on phytochrome mutants revealed that loss of phytochrome A increasedthe loss of chlorophyll under shade, without increasing the expression of senescence-associatedgenes. Together, these findings suggest that shade-induced leaf senescence, which is generally perceived asa single process, is actually an intricate network of different processes that work together tomaintain an optimal distribution of nutrients within the plant.
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| 5. |
- Brouwer, Bastiaan, et al.
(author)
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The impact of light intensity on shade-induced leaf senescence
- 2012
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In: Plant, Cell and Environment. - Malden, MA : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0140-7791 .- 1365-3040. ; 35:6, s. 1084-1098
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Plants often have to cope with altered light conditions, which in leaves induce various physiological responses ranging from photosynthetic acclimation to leaf senescence. However, our knowledge of the regulatory pathways by which shade and darkness induce leaf senescence remains incomplete. To determine to what extent reduced light intensities regulate the induction of leaf senescence, we performed a functional comparison between Arabidopsis leaves subjected to a range of shading treatments. Individually covered leaves, which remained attached to the plant, were compared with respect to chlorophyll, protein, histology, expression of senescence-associated genes, capacity for photosynthesis and respiration, and light compensation point (LCP). Mild shading induced photosynthetic acclimation and resource partitioning, which, together with a decreased respiration, lowered the LCP. Leaf senescence was induced only under strong shade, coinciding with a negative carbon balance and independent of the red/far-red ratio. Interestingly, while senescence was significantly delayed at very low light compared with darkness, phytochrome A mutant plants showed enhanced chlorophyll degradation under all shading treatments except complete darkness. Taken together, our results suggest that the induction of leaf senescence during shading depends on the efficiency of carbon fixation, which in turn appears to be modulated via light receptors such as phytochrome A.
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- Chrobok, Daria, et al.
(author)
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Dissecting the Metabolic Role of Mitochondria during Developmental Leaf Senescence
- 2016
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In: Plant Physiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0032-0889 .- 1532-2548. ; 172:4, s. 2132-2153
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The functions of mitochondria during leaf senescence, a type of programmed cell death aimed at the massive retrieval of nutrients from the senescing organ to the rest of the plant, remain elusive. Here, combining experimental and analytical approaches, we showed that mitochondrial integrity in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) is conserved until the latest stages of leaf senescence, while their number drops by 30%. Adenylate phosphorylation state assays and mitochondrial respiratory measurements indicated that the leaf energy status also is maintained during this time period. Furthermore, after establishing a curated list of genes coding for products targeted to mitochondria, we analyzed in isolation their transcript profiles, focusing on several key mitochondrial functions, such as the tricarboxylic acid cycle, mitochondrial electron transfer chain, iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis, transporters, as well as catabolic pathways. In tandem with a metabolomic approach, our data indicated that mitochondrial metabolism was reorganized to support the selective catabolism of both amino acids and fatty acids. Such adjustments would ensure the replenishment of alpha-ketoglutarate and glutamate, which provide the carbon backbones for nitrogen remobilization. Glutamate, being the substrate of the strongly up-regulated cytosolic glutamine synthase, is likely to become a metabolically limiting factor in the latest stages of developmental leaf senescence. Finally, an evolutionary age analysis revealed that, while branched-chain amino acid and proline catabolism are very old mitochondrial functions particularly enriched at the latest stages of leaf senescence, auxin metabolism appears to be rather newly acquired. In summation, our work shows that, during developmental leaf senescence, mitochondria orchestrate catabolic processes by becoming increasingly central energy and metabolic hubs.
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- Lallement, Pierre-Alexandre, et al.
(author)
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The still mysterious roles of cysteine-containing glutathione transferases in plants
- 2014
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In: Frontiers in Pharmacology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1663-9812. ; 5, s. 192-
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Glutathione transferases (GSTs) represent a widespread multigenic enzyme family able to modify a broad range of molecules. These notably include secondary metabolites and exogenous substrates often referred to as xenobiotics, usually for their detoxification, subsequent transport or export. To achieve this, these enzymes can bind non-substrate ligands (ligandin function) and/or catalyze the conjugation of glutathione onto the targeted molecules, the latter activity being exhibited by GSTs having a serine or a tyrosine as catalytic residues. Besides, other GST members possess a catalytic cysteine residue, a substitution that radically changes enzyme properties. Instead of promoting GSH-conjugation reactions, cysteine-containing GSTs (Cys-GSTs) are able to perform deglutathionylation reactions similarly to glutaredoxins but the targets are usually different since glutaredoxin substrates are mostly oxidized proteins and Cys-GST substrates are metabolites. The Cys-GSTs are found in most organisms and form several classes. While Beta and Omega GSTs and chloride intracellular channel proteins (CLICs) are not found in plants, these organisms possess microsomal ProstaGlandin E-Synthase type 2, glutathionyl hydroquinone reductases, Lambda, Iota and Hemerythrin GSTs and dehydroascorbate reductases (DHARs); the four last classes being restricted to the green lineage. In plants, whereas the role of DHARs is clearly associated to the reduction of dehydroascorbate to ascorbate, the physiological roles of other Cys-GSTs remain largely unknown. In this context, a genomic and phylogenetic analysis of Cys-GSTs in photosynthetic organisms provides an updated classification that is discussed in the light of the recent literature about the functional and structural properties of Cys-GSTs. Considering the antioxidant potencies of phenolic compounds and more generally of secondary metabolites, the connection of GSTs with secondary metabolism may be interesting from a pharmacological perspective.
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| 8. |
- Law, Simon R., et al.
(author)
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Darkened leaves use different metabolic strategies for senescence and survival
- 2018
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In: Plant Physiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0032-0889 .- 1532-2548. ; 177:1, s. 132-150
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In plants, an individually darkened leaf initiates senescence much more rapidly than a leaf from a whole darkened plant. Combining transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), we present an overview of the metabolic strategies that are employed in response to different darkening treatments. Under darkened plant conditions, the perception of carbon starvation drove a profound metabolic readjustment in which branched-chain amino acids and potentially monosaccharides released from cell wall loosening became important substrates for maintaining minimal ATP production. Concomitantly, the increased accumulation of amino acids with a high nitrogen-carbon ratio may provide a safety mechanism for the storage of metabolically derived cytotoxic ammonium and a pool of nitrogen for use upon returning to typical growth conditions. Conversely, in individually darkened leaf, the metabolic profiling that followed our 13C-enrichment assays revealed a temporal and differential exchange of metabolites, including sugars and amino acids, between the darkened leaf and the rest of the plant. This active transport could be the basis for a progressive metabolic shift in the substrates fueling mitochondrial activities, which are central to the catabolic reactions facilitating the retrieval of nutrients from the senescing leaf. We propose a model illustrating the specific metabolic strategies employed by leaves in response to these two darkening treatments, which support either rapid senescence or a strong capacity for survival.
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| 9. |
- Liebsch, Daniela, et al.
(author)
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Metabolic adjustments required for extended leaf longevity under prolonged darkness revealed by a new loss of function allele of PIF5
- 2018
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Senescence is regulated by a complex interplay of factors and regulatory circuits, which may be accelerated or delayed depending on the integrated signals. Using a forward genetic screen in Arabidopsis thaliana, we identified a mutant strongly delayed in its induction of senescence in response to prolonged darkness. This mutant, which corresponds to a novel loss-of-function allele of PIF5 (PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 5), exhibits even slightly more extended survival of leaves in darkness than the previously reported pif5-3 TDNA knock-out line. In the present study, we additionally aimed at deciphering the metabolic and regulatory processes conferring this enhanced capacity for survival in pif5 mutants. We combined physiological, metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses, and discovered that the extended survival of mutant leaves in darkness was associated with reduced protein degradation, slight differences in amino acid catabolism related gene expression as well as strong reduction of amino acid transporter expression, which coincided with enhanced amino acid accumulation. Our findings suggest that enhanced survival in darkness could be mediated by moderate levels of protein degradation allowing build up and slow usage of amino acids as alternative respiratory substrates, while during irreversible senescence, strong degradative processes, together with enhanced amino acid transport either to the site of their metabolization inside the leaf, or to other organs in the plant, could promote the fast progression of senescence and antagonize survival. Comparative metabolomics and gene expression analyses suggested that the senescence regulatory network downstream of PIF5 organizes these irreversible stages of leaf senescence, promoting autophagy and amino acid export, possibly by direct binding of important senescence promoting factors like ORE1 to the promoters of some of the involved genes. The failure to induce these later stages may prolong the reversible phase of darkening, thus potentially leading to drastically increased viability of individually darkened leaves under darkness for over 2 weeks.
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| 10. |
- Liebsch, Daniela, et al.
(author)
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Metabolic control of arginine and ornithine levels paces the progression of leaf senescence
- 2022
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In: Plant Physiology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0032-0889 .- 1532-2548. ; 189:4, s. 1943-1960
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Leaf senescence can be induced by stress or aging, sometimes in a synergistic manner. It is generally acknowledged that the ability to withstand senescence-inducing conditions can provide plants with stress resilience. Although the signaling and transcriptional networks responsible for a delayed senescence phenotype, often referred to as a functional stay-green trait, have been actively investigated, very little is known about the subsequent metabolic adjustments conferring this aptitude to survival. First, using the individually darkened leaf (IDL) experimental setup, we compared IDLs of wild-type (WT) Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) to several stay-green contexts, that is IDLs of two functional stay-green mutant lines, oresara1-2 (ore1-2) and an allele of phytochrome-interacting factor 5 (pif5), as well as to leaves from a WT plant entirely darkened (DP). We provide compelling evidence that arginine and ornithine, which accumulate in all stay-green contexts—likely due to the lack of induction of amino acids (AAs) transport—can delay the progression of senescence by fueling the Krebs cycle or the production of polyamines (PAs). Secondly, we show that the conversion of putrescine to spermidine (SPD) is controlled in an age-dependent manner. Thirdly, we demonstrate that SPD represses senescence via interference with ethylene signaling by stabilizing the ETHYLENE BINDING FACTOR1 and 2 (EBF1/2) complex. Taken together, our results identify arginine and ornithine as central metabolites influencing the stress- and age-dependent progression of leaf senescence. We propose that the regulatory loop between the pace of the AA export and the progression of leaf senescence provides the plant with a mechanism to fine-tune the induction of cell death in leaves, which, if triggered unnecessarily, can impede nutrient remobilization and thus plant growth and survival.
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