PhEXPA1, a Petunia hybrida expansin,is involved in cell wall metabolism and in plant architecture specification

Expansins are wall-loosening proteins that induce wall stress relaxation and irreversible wall extension in a pH-dependent manner. Despite a substantial body of work has been performed on the characterization of many expansins genes in different plant species, the knowledge about their precise biological roles during plant development remains scarce. To yield insights into the expansion process in Petunia hybrida, PhEXPA1, an expansin gene preferentially expressed in petal limb, has been characterized. The constitutive overexpression of PhEXPA1 significantly increased expansin activity, cells size and organ dimensions. Moreover, 35S::PhEXPA1 transgenic plants exhibited an altered cell wall polymer composition and a precocious timing of axillary meristem development compared with wild-type plants. These findings supported a previous hypothesis that expansins are not merely structural proteins involved in plant cell wall metabolism but they also take part in many plant development processes. Here, to support this expansins dual role, we discuss about differential cell wall-related genes expressed in PhEXPA1 expression mutants and gradients of altered petunia branching pattern.     

植物表皮毛研究进展

表皮毛是大多数植物地上部分表皮组织所延伸出来的一种特化的毛状结构附属物。表皮毛在植物表皮层和环境间构筑了一道天然的物理屏障, 不但对植物的生长发育具有重要意义, 而且还具有非常高的应用价值和经济价值。近几年, 研究者从不同植物中不断克隆出新的表皮毛发育相关基因, 在揭示植物调控表皮毛生长发育的分子机制方面取得很大进展。该文综述了植物表皮毛的最新研究进展, 并展望了植物表皮毛的研究方向及应用开发价值。     

TRICHOME MORPHOLOGY AS AN INDICATOR OF HIGH RUBBER BEARING GUAYULE (PARTHENIUM ARGENTATUM GRAY) PLANTS IN NATIVE POPULATIONS

Parthenium argentatum Gray (guayule) and P. incanum (mariola) grow in close associations in their native habitat of Mexico. Variation in rubber concentration and morphology of guayule has been known for a long time. Studies of over 75 native guayule plants indicated the presence of at least three prominent forms of guayule plants. Group I guayule plants have oblanceolate leaves and leaf margins are entire to two-toothed. T-shaped leaf trichomes are with centrally attached stalk and cap cell with two blunt ends. Plants in this group are high in rubber, containing on the average 17% rubber. Group II guayule plants have narrow elliptic leaves and leaf margins are entire to four-toothed. T-shaped trichomes have an acentrally attached stalk and a cap cell with short end blunt, long end pointed and straight. Rubber content in these plants averages 10%. Group III guayule plants have ovate leaves and leaf margins are four- to eight-toothed. T-trichomes have an acentrally attached stalk and a cap cell with short end blunt, long end pointed and wavy or curved. These plants on the average contain 6% rubber. Morphological as well as biochemical data indicate the presence of mariola genes in the last two groups of plants and this has resulted in an increase in trichome length and a decrease in the rubber content. Group II guayule plants are of more common occurrence than the others. Based on the data presented here, high rubber bearing guayule plants in native stands can be easily selected by analyzing trichome morphology.     

Epidermal cell-patterning genes of the stem parasitic plant Cuscuta campestris are involved in the development of holdfasts

Cuscuta campestris, a stem parasitic plant, commences its parasitic behavior by forming a specialized disk-like adhesive structure called a holdfast, which facilitates tight adhesion to the stem surface of the host plant. The morphology of epidermal cells in the holdfast is similar to that of the leaf trichome and root hairs of dicotyledonous plants. However, the regulatory network underlying the development of the holdfast has not been elucidated to date. In this study, we assessed the roles of epidermal cell-patterning genes in the development of a holdfast. Epidermal cell-patterning genes of C. campestris, including CcWER, CcGL3, CcTTG1, CcGL2, and CcJKD, were expressed slightly before the initiation of the outgrowth of stem epidermal cells. CcJKD-silencing repressed CcJKD, CcWER, CcGL3, CcTTG1, CcGL2; therefore, CcJKD is an upstream regulator of other epidermal cell-patterning genes. Unlike other genes, CcCPC was not upregulated after attachment to the host, and was not repressed by CcJKD-silencing. Protein interaction assays demonstrated that CcJKD interacted with CcTTG1 and CcCPC. Furthermore, CcJKD-silencing repressed the outgrowth of holdfast epidermal cells. Therefore, C. campestris invokes epidermal cell-patterning genes for the outgrowth of holdfast epidermal cells, and their regulatory mechanism is different from those for leaf trichome or root hairs.     

ZFP5 encodes a functionally equivalent GIS protein to control trichome initiation

The Arabidopsis thaliana trichome development is a model system for understanding various aspects of plant cell development and differentiation. The C2H2 zinc finger proteins GIS, GIS2, and ZFP8 play important roles in controlling trichome initiation. In our recent study, we reported that a new C2H2 zinc finger protein, ZINC FINGER PROTEIN 5 (ZFP5), controls trichome cell development through GA signaling. ZFP5 acts upstream of GIS gene family and key trichome initiation regulators, and ZFP8 is the direct target gene of ZFP5. Here we show that ZFP5 encodes a protein functionally equivalent to GIS and GIS2 in controlling trichome initiation. Furthermore, similar to GIS2, ZFP5 is not involved in trichome branching.     

Radiation-sensitive Arabidopsis mutants are proficient for T-DNA transformation

Stable transformation of plants by Agrobacterium T-DNAs requires that the transgene insert into the host chromosome. Although most of the Agrobacterium Ti plasmid genes required for this process have been studied in depth, few plant-encoded factors have been identified, although such factors, presumably DNA repair proteins, are widely presumed to exist. It has previously been suggested that the UVH1 gene product is required for stable T-DNA integration in Arabidopsis. Here we present evidence suggesting that uvh1 mutants are essentially wild type for T-DNA integration following inoculation via the vacuum-infiltration procedure.