Overexpression of the RADICAL-INDUCED CELL DEATH1 (RCD1) gene of Arabidopsis causes weak rcd1 phenotype with compromised oxidative-stress responses

rcd1 is a mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana that is more resistant to methyl viologen, but more sensitive to ozone than the wild type. rcd1-2 is caused by a single nucleotide substitution that results in a premature stop codon at Trp-332. The rcd1-2 mRNA level does not change significantly with the mutation. Since overexpression of rcd1-1 cDNA has been shown to bring about an rcd1-like phenotype, we created and examined the overexpression lines of RCD1 by the use of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. The transgenic lines exhibited a weak rcd1-like phenotype, although no resistance to methyl viologen was observed. Further, they fully complemented the aberrant rcd1-2 phenotype. Subcellular localization of RCD1 was examined by transiently expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused with RCD1 in onion epidermal cells. GFP signals are observed as aggregated foci in the inner nuclear matrix-like region.     

A methyl viologen-resistant mutant of Arabidopsis, which is allelic to ozone-sensitive rcd1, is tolerant to supplemental ultraviolet-B irradiation

To better understand the role of active oxygen species (AOS) in acquired resistance to increased levels of ultraviolet (UV)-B irradiation in plants, we isolated an Arabidopsis mutant that is resistant to methyl viologen, and its sensitivity to UV-B was investigated. A complementation test revealed that the obtained mutant was allelic to the ozone-sensitive radical-induced cell death1-1 (rcd1-1). Therefore, this mutant was named rcd1-2. rcd1-2 was recessive and nearly 4-fold more resistant to methyl viologen than wild type. It exhibited a higher tolerance to short-term UV-B supplementation treatments than the wild type: UV-B-induced formation of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers was reduced by one-half after 24 h of exposure; the decrease in quantum yield of photosystem II was also diminished by 40% after 12 h of treatment. Furthermore, rcd1-2 was tolerant to freezing. Steady-state mRNA levels of plastidic Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase and stromal ascorbate peroxidase were higher in rcd1-2 than in wild type, and the mRNA level of the latter enzyme was enhanced by UV-B exposure more effectively in rcd1-2. UV-B-absorbing compounds were more accumulated in rcd1-2 than in wild type after UV-B exposure for 24 h. These findings suggest that rcd1-2 methyl viologen resistance is due to the enhanced activities of the AOS-scavenging enzymes in chloroplasts and that the acquired tolerance to the short-term UV-B exposure results from a higher accumulation of sunscreen pigments. rcd1 appears to be a mutant that constitutively shows stress responses, leading to accumulation of more pigments and AOS-scavenging enzymes without any stresses.     

RADICAL-INDUCED CELL DEATH1 and SIMILAR TO RCD ONE1 and the stress-induced morphogenetic response

Plants exposed to abiotic stress show a range of morphogenetic responses, sometimes termed the stress-induced morphogenetic response (SIMR). SIMR is principally composed of three components: inhibition of cell elongation, alterations in cell differentiation, and stimulus of cell division in localized areas. An explanation proposed for SIMR has been increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and alterations in hormone signaling. Mutations in the Arabidopsis thaliana RADICAL-INDUCED CELL DEATH1 (RCD1) gene have altered abiotic stress responses and ROS accumulation. Even in the absence of exogenous stress, these plants show many morphological changes also seen in SIMR. In the September issue of Plant Physiology we reported an in depth analysis of the phenotype of rcd1-3 plants as well as the phenotype of a mutations in the previously uncharacterized paralog of RCD1, SIMILAR TO RCD ONE1 (SRO1). sro1-1 plants have mild morphological changes and abiotic stress response defects while rcd1-3; sro1-1 double mutant plants have severe developmental defects, including less cell elongation. In this Addendum, we hypothesize that rcd1, sro1 and rcd1; sro1 mutant plants are under constitutive stress, and that this stress is responsible for at least some of the developmental defects seen in these plants.Key words: RCD1, SRO1, Arabidopsis thaliana, reactive oxygen species, stress-induced morphogenetic response, PARPPlants as sessile organisms cannot move upon environmental change. Therefore, plants have evolved a diverse repertoire of responses in order to lower stress exposure, limit the damage caused or repair such damage. Chronic mild stress, from a variety of abiotic stresses, can cause a morphogenetic response that has been termed the stress-induced morphogenetic response (SIMR).¹ This response involves growth inhibition through suppression of cell elongation, changes in cell differentiation status, and localized stimulation of cell division. Typical SIMR responses include decreased elongation of the primary root accompanied by increased formation of lateral roots, decreased stem height, decreased leaf area and increased branching. Importantly, plants do not cease growth, rather they redistribute the areas undergoing active growth.Although the molecular and cellular network underlying SIMR has not been completely worked out, several key elements have been identified.² The importance of the phytohormone auxin in morphogenetic changes seen in SIMR has been noted by several groups. Changes in auxin distribution and metabolism are induced by many stresses and correlates well with phenotypes induced by stress, such as increased lateral root growth, suggesting that changes in auxin signaling may be a causative agent in SIMR. Furthermore, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are known to accumulate in plants upon stress of many types, especially those that have been linked with SIMR. Once ROS accumulates, plants upregulate ROS scavenging systems, which can subsequently provide protection against a range of further environmental assaults. Extensive interactions between the auxin signaling pathway and ROS have been documented, suggesting that these two pathways may act in concert during SIMR.Mutations in the Arabidopsis thaliana gene RADICAL-INDUCED CELL DEATH1 (RCD1) were originally isolated in a screen for plants hypersensitive to ozone.³ This gene encodes a putative poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP).⁴ PARPs attach ADP-ribose subunits from NAD⁺ to proteins post-translationally and are found across the eukaryotes. Although members of this enzyme family share the PARP catalytic domain, other regions of the proteins can vary dramatically, reflecting the diversity of functions these proteins have acquired. RCD1 belongs to a group of PARPs found only in land plants (Citarelli, Teotia S and Lamb RS, submitted) and contains a WWE domain N-terminal to the PARP catalytic domain. RCD1 has been shown to have complex roles in abiotic stress and development. rcd1 mutants are known to accumulate, even under non-inducing conditions, ROS³ and nitric oxide,⁵ suggesting that it normally works, directly or indirectly, to negatively regulate the accumulation of these compounds. Further evidence that rcd1 plants may be under stress include upregulation in the mutant of AOX1a and UPOX, two markers of oxidative stress.⁶ Complicating any interpretation of defects seen in rcd1 single mutants is the fact that, in addition to RCD1, Arabidopsis also encodes a paralog, SIMILAR TO RCD ONE1 (SRO1).In our recent publication,⁷ we describe in detail phenotypes of mutations in RCD1 and SRO1 and double mutants between the two. The developmental defects seen in the single mutants are similar to those associated with SIMR, although defects in RCD1 generally cause more severe defects. Both rcd1-3 and sro1-1 plants have an increased number of lateral roots (increase in local cell division and redirected growth), while rcd1-3 plants also have shorter primary roots. rcd1-3 plants are shorter with smaller leaves (growth inhibition). Examination of double mutant plants further support the hypothesis that many phenotypes seen when these genes are malfunctioning are due to deregulated SIMR. Most rcd1-3; sro1-1 plants die during embryogenesis; however, those that survive have severe defects. These plants are extremely short, due, at least in part, to reduced cell elongation in the stem. The leaves are small for similar reasons. In addition, these plants are bushy due to arrest of the shoot apical meristem and activation of axillary meristems. All of these phenotypes are extreme examples of phenotypes seen in plants under stress from a variety of sources, including UV-B, heavy metals and salt.¹In order to determine if rcd1-3; sro1-1 seedlings grown under normal conditions are under stress, we examined molecular markers of stress in this background. The small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) is a ubiquitin-like polypeptide attached covalently to proteins. In Arabidopsis it has been demonstrated that sumoylated proteins accumulate under a variety of abiotic stresses such as heat shock and H₂O₂.⁸ We examined the accumulation of SUMO-modified proteins in rcd1-3; sro1-1 seedlings in comparison to wild type and two mutant backgrounds (nuclear pore anchor (nua)-1 and -2) in which such proteins have previously been shown to accumulate (Fig. 1A; western done according to⁹). The double mutant seedlings accumulate more sumoylated proteins, not only in comparison to wild type but also in comparison to the nua mutants. The accumulation of modified proteins supports the hypothesis that rcd1-3; sro1-1 seedlings are exhibiting constitutive stress. The expression of PARP2, which encodes a so-called classical PARP enzyme involved in DNA repair,¹⁰ has been shown to go up under a number of stress conditions.^11–15 We used RT-PCR to examine expression of this gene in our mutant backgrounds. PARP2 expression is increased in rcd1-3; sro1-1 seedlings and may also be higher than wild type in rcd1-3 and sro1-1 single mutants (Fig. 1B). This further supports our contention that loss of function in RCD1 and SRO1 results in constitutive stress and morphogenetic defects similar to those seen in SIMR.Open in a separate windowFigure 1rcd1-3; sro1-1 plants are under constitutive stress. (A) rcd1-3; sro1-1 seedlings accumulate sumoylated proteins. The upper panel shows a western blot with anti-SUM O antibody according to Xu et al.⁹ Asterisk indicates sumoylated proteins, while the lower bands are free SUM O. The lower panel shows a coomassie-stained gel showing total protein as a loading control. Lane 1, wild type; lane 2, rcd1-3; sro1-1; lane 3, nua-1; lane 4, nua-2. (B) Expression of the stress-inducible gene PARP2 is increased in rcd1-3; sro1-1 seedlings. RT -PCR done from two biological replicates with RNA extracted from seedlings is shown. Primers used to amplify PARP2 were as follows: PAR P2RT F (GCA AGC CCA CAT AA G CC G TGG AGG) and PAR P2RTR (TGC CT G CTC TT G AAT TT G TTT AC G TGC). Actin expression was used as a control; primers as in Teotia and Lamb.⁷ Lane 1, wild type; lane 2, rcd1-3; lane 3, sro1-1; lane 4, rcd1-3; sro1-1.In conclusion, we hypothesize that RCD1 and SRO1 are negative regulators of ROS and/or nitric oxide. When their function is compromised, these compounds accumulate, even in the absence of stress conditions. This causes the plant to develop as if under constitutive abiotic stress, leading to a SIMR phenotype even under ideal growth conditions. Further experimentation will be required to test this hypothesis.     

Arabidopsis RADICAL-INDUCED CELL DEATH1 belongs to the WWE protein-protein interaction domain protein family and modulates abscisic acid, ethylene, and methyl jasmonate responses

Experiments with several Arabidopsis thaliana mutants have revealed a web of interactions between hormonal signaling. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis mutant radical-induced cell death1 (rcd1), although hypersensitive to apoplastic superoxide and ozone, is more resistant to chloroplastic superoxide formation, exhibits reduced sensitivity to abscisic acid, ethylene, and methyl jasmonate, and has altered expression of several hormonally regulated genes. Furthermore, rcd1 has higher stomatal conductance than the wild type. The rcd1-1 mutation was mapped to the gene At1g32230 where it disrupts an intron splice site resulting in a truncated protein. RCD1 belongs to the (ADP-ribosyl)transferase domain-containing subfamily of the WWE protein-protein interaction domain protein family. The results suggest that RCD1 could act as an integrative node in hormonal signaling and in the regulation of several stress-responsive genes.     

Construction of Transducing Phage ρ 11 Containing α-Amylase Structural Gene of Bacillus subtilis

We constructed a reporter system to detect a superoxide-generating methyl viologen using SoxRS of Escherichia coli and GFP of Aequorea victoria. E. coli carrying this plasmid exhibited strong fluorescence when grown in the presence of a superoxide-generating reagent methyl viologen. The fluorescence intensity observed in the stationary phase culture of the transformant increased in response to the methyl viologen concentration in a range of 0.01 μM to 10 μM.     

RCD1 and SRO1 are necessary to maintain meristematic fate in Arabidopsis thaliana

The radical-induced cell death1 and similar to RCD ONE1 genes of Arabidopsis thaliana encode members of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) superfamily and have pleiotropic functions in development and abiotic stress response. In order to begin to understand the developmental and molecular bases of the defects seen in rcd1-3; sro1-1 plants, this study used the root as a model. Double mutant roots are short and display abnormally organized root apical meristems. However, acquisition of most cell fates within the root is not significantly disrupted. The identity of the quiescent centre is compromised, the zone of cell division is smaller than in wild-type roots and abnormal divisions are common, suggesting that RCD1 and SRO1 are necessary to maintain cells in a division-competent state and to regulate division plane placement. In addition, differentiation of several cell types is disrupted in rcd1-3; sro1-1 roots and shoots, demonstrating that RCD1 and SRO1 are also necessary for proper cell differentiation. Based on the data shown in this article and previous work, we hypothesize that RCD1 and SRO1 are involved in redox control and, in their absence, an altered redox balance leads to abnormal development.     

IQM1基因过量表达对拟南芥气孔运动及根系生长的影响

拟南芥钙调素结合蛋白IQM家族共有6个成员,已证实IQM1是一个不依赖Ca2+的钙调素结合蛋白,其功能缺失突变体iqm1表现气孔开度小和根短的表型,而且突变体气孔开度并不因光、暗、脱落酸等诱导而变大或变小。该实验构建了IQM1基因双元表达载体并转化拟南芥,通过分子筛选及IQM1表达量分析,获得了IQM1基因过量表达植株。表型分析发现,IQM1过量表达植株在光诱导气孔开放处理后气孔开放度明显比野生型和iqm1-1增大,在暗诱导气孔关闭处理后气孔开度则显著变小;IQM1过量表达植株的主根比野生型和iqm1-1长,侧根数量比野生型和iqm1-1多,但IQM1过量表达对植株的生长形态、抽薹期、开花期及座果等方面却没有明显影响。研究表明,IQM1基因在植物气孔运动及根系生长中起着重要作用。     

Overexpression of chloroplastic monodehydroascorbate reductase enhanced tolerance to temperature and methyl viologen‐mediated oxidative stresses

A tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) monodehydroascorbate reductase gene (LeMDAR) was isolated. The LeMDAR–green fluorescence protein (GFP) fusion protein was targeted to chloroplast in Arabidopsis mesophyll protoplast. RNA and protein gel blot analyses confirmed that the sense‐ and antisense‐ LeMDAR were integrated into the tomato genome. The MDAR activities and the levels of reduced ascorbate (AsA) were markedly increased in sense transgenic lines and decreased in antisense transgenic lines compared with wild‐type (WT) plants. Under low and high temperature stresses, the sense transgenic plants showed lower level of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), lower thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) content, higher net photosynthetic rate (P_n), higher maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII (F_v/F_m) and fresh weight compared with WT plants. The oxidizable P700 decreased more obviously in WT and antisense plants than that in sense plants at chilling temperature under low irradiance. Furthermore, the sense transgenic plants exhibited significantly lower H₂O₂ level, higher ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity, greater P_n and F_v/F_m under methyl viologen (MV)‐mediated oxidative stresses. These results indicated that overexpression of chloroplastic MDAR played an important role in alleviating photoinhibition of PSI and PSII and enhancing the tolerance to various abiotic stresses by elevating AsA level.     

Pyruvate metabolism of the hyperthermophilic archaebacterium Pyrococcus furiosus

The hyperthermophilic anaerobe Pyrococcus furiosus was found to grow on pyruvate as energy and carbon source. Growth was dependent on yeast extract (0.1%). The organism grew with doublings times of about 1 h up to cell densities of 1–2×10⁸ cells/ml. During growth 0.6–0.8 mol acetate and 1.2–1.5 mol CO₂ and 0.8 mol H₂ were formed per mol of pyruvate consumed. The molar growth yield was 10–11 g cells(dry weight)/mol pyruvate. Cell suspensions catalyzed the conversion of 1 mol of pyruvate to 0.6–0.8 mol acetate, 1.2–1.5 mol CO₂, 1.2 mol H₂ and 0.03 mol acetoin. After fermentation of [3-¹⁴C]pyruvate the specific radioactivities of pyruvate, CO₂ and acetate were equal to 1:0.01:1. Cellfree extracts contained the following enzymatic activities: pyruvate: ferredoxin (methyl viologen) oxidoreductase (0.2 U mg^-1, T=60°C, with Clostridium pasteurianum ferredoxin as electron acceptor; 1.4 U mg^-1 at 90°C, with methyl viologen as electron acceptor); acetyl-CoA synthetase (ADP forming) [acetyl-CoA+ADP+Piacetate+ATP+CoA] (0.34 U mg^-1, T=90°C), and hydrogen: methyl viologen oxidoreductase (1.75 U mg^-1). Phosphate acetyl-transferase activity, acetate kinase activity, and carbon monoxide:methyl viologen oxidoreductase activity could not be detected. These findings indicate that the archaebacterium P. furiosus ferments pyruvate to acetate, CO₂ and H₂ involving only three enzymes, a pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase, a hydrogenase and an acetyl-CoA synthetase (ADP forming).Non-standard abbreviations DTE dithioerythritol - MV methyl viologen - MOPS morpholinopropane sulfonic acid - Tricine N-tris(hydroxymethyl)-methylglycine Part of the work was performed at the Laboratorium für Mikrobiologie, Fachbereich Biologie, Philipps-Universität, Karlvon-Frisch-Strasse, W-3550 Marburg/Lahn, Federal Republic of Germany     

Kinetic parameters for hydrogen evolution by the NAD-linked hydrogenase of Alcaligenes eutrophus

The hydrogen-evolving reaction of the purified soluble NAD-linked hydrogenase of Alcaligenes eutrophus was used to determine kinetic parameters of the enzyme. The H₂-evolving activity with methyl viologen as electron mediator was 20-fold as compared to that with NADH. In the assay with dithionite-reduced methyl viologen (K _m 0.7 mM) the hydrogenase was most active at a redox potential of –560 mV and exhibited a pH optimum of 7.0. The K _m for protons, the second substrate for H₂ evolution, was 6.2 nM. With electrochemically reduced methyl viologen the pH optimum was shifted to pH 6.0. Double-reciprocal plots of reaction rates versus proton concentrations intercepted at the ordinate for different methyl viologen concentrations. At different pH values such an intercept was also observed with the dye as the varied substrate. The kinetic data are diagnostic for an ordered bisubstrate mechanism where both substrates are bound before the product H₂ is released. Hydrogenase coupled to thylakoid membranes resulted in a constant H₂ evolution rate over 6 h. The system appeared to be limited by the capacity of the thylakoid membranes.     

Light-driven reduction of oxygen as a method for studying electron transport in the green photosynthetic bacterium Chlorobium limicola

The use of O₂ uptake as a valid assay for non-cyclic photosynthetic electron flow in membranes from Chlorobium limicola is discussed. It is recommended that methyl viologen, catalase and superoxide dismutase should be added to the experimental medium. The addition of methyl viologen more than doubled the rate of O₂ uptake observed on illumination with 1 mM sulphide as donor. Superoxide dismutation was shown to be efficient under the experimental conditions by means of standard additions of potassium superoxide dissolved in dimethylsulphoxide. The highest rates of light stimulated O₂ uptake were obtained with sulphide as electron donor, and approached 50 mol O₂ · h^-1 · mg bacteriochlorophyll c ^-1 with 0.2 mM sulphide. The presence of 5 mM 2-mercaptoethanol or 3 mM sulphite as electron donor led to lower light stimulated rates of O₂ uptake, while 5 mM thiosulphate had little effect. The rates were insensitive to uncoupler. The light stimulated O₂ uptake with 0.2 mM sulphide as donor was 20–30% inhibited by 10 M antimycin A and 50 M cyanide.Abbreviations APS Adenosine 5-phosphosulphate - FCCP carbonylcyanide-p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone - HEPES 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulphonic acid - MeV methyl viologen - P-840 the photoreactive bacteriochlorophyll     

Plant Bax Inhibitor-1 interacts with ATG6 to regulate autophagy and programmed cell death

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved catabolic process and is involved in the regulation of programmed cell death during the plant immune response. However, mechanisms regulating autophagy and cell death are incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate that plant Bax inhibitor-1 (BI-1), a highly conserved cell death regulator, interacts with ATG6, a core autophagy-related protein. Silencing of BI-1 reduced the autophagic activity induced by both N gene-mediated resistance to Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and methyl viologen (MV), and enhanced N gene-mediated cell death. In contrast, overexpression of plant BI-1 increased autophagic activity and surprisingly caused autophagy-dependent cell death. These results suggest that plant BI-1 has both prosurvival and prodeath effects in different physiological contexts and both depend on autophagic activity.     

Expression of Brassica oleracea FtsZ1-1 and MinD alters chloroplast division in Nicotiana tabacum generating macro- and mini-chloroplasts

FtsZ1-1 and MinD plastid division-related genes were identified and cloned from Brassica oleracea var. botrytis. Transgenic tobacco plants expressing BoFtsZ1-1 or BoMinD exhibited cells with either fewer but abnormally large chloroplasts or more but smaller chloroplasts relative to wild-type tobacco plants. An abnormal chloroplast phenotype in guard cells was found in BoMinD transgenic tobacco plants but not in BoFtsZ1-1 transgenic tobacco plants. Transgenic tobacco plants bearing the macro-chloroplast phenotype had 10 to 20-fold increased levels of total FtsZ1-1 or MinD, whilst the transgenic tobacco plants bearing the mini-chloroplast phenotype had lower increased FtsZ1-1 or absence of detectable MinD. We also described for the first time, plastid transformation of macro-chloroplast bearing tobacco shoots with a gene cassette allowing for expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP). Homoplasmic plastid transformants from normal chloroplast and macro-chloroplast tobacco plants expressing GFP were obtained. Both types of transformants accumulated GFP at ~6% of total soluble protein, thus indicating that cells containing macro-chloroplasts can regenerate shoots in tissue culture and can stably integrate and express a foreign gene to similar levels as plant cells containing a normal chloroplast size and number.     

Enhanced alcohol yields in batch cultures of Clostridium acetobutylicum using a three-electrode potentiometric system with methyl viologen as electron carrier

Summary Batch cultures of Clostridium acetobutylicum at controlled pH values of 5 and 5.5 were carried out in a three-electrode potentiometric system with methyl viologen (1 mM) as electron carrier. Although an irreversible loss of methyl viologen at the electrode surface was observed, a significant increase in alcohol yield was obtained. In comparison to control fermentation with or without methyl viologen addition, the butanol yield improvements were respectively of 7 or 51% at pH 5, and 56 or 467% at pH 5.5.     

Overexpression of the pepper antimicrobial protein <Emphasis Type="Italic">CaAMP1</Emphasis> gene regulates the oxidative stress- and disease-related proteome in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis>

Proteomics facilitates our understanding of cellular processes and network functions in the plant defense response during abiotic and biotic stresses. Here, we demonstrate that the ectopic expression of the Capsicum annuum antimicrobial protein CaAMP1 gene in Arabidopsis thaliana confers enhanced tolerance to methyl viologen (MV)-induced oxidative stress, which is accompanied by lower levels of lipid peroxidation. Quantitative comparative proteome analyses using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry identified some of the oxidative stress- and disease-related proteins that are differentially regulated by CaAMP1 overexpression in Arabidopsis leaves. Antioxidant- and defense-related proteins, such as 2-cys peroxiredoxin, l-ascorbate peroxidase, peroxiredoxin, glutathione S-transferase and copper homeostasis factor, were up-regulated in the CaAMP1 transgenic leaf tissues. In contrast, GSH-dependent dehydroascorbate reductase and WD-40 repeat family protein were down-regulated by CaAMP1 overexpression. In addition, CaAMP1 overexpression enhanced resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) DC3000 infection and also H₂O₂ accumulation in Arabidopsis. The identified antioxidant- and defense-related genes were differentially expressed during MV-induced oxidative stress and Pst DC3000 infection. Taken together, we conclude that CaAMP1 overexpression can regulate the differential expression of defense-related proteins in response to environmental stresses to maintain reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis.     

Down-Regulation of OsSPX1 Causes High Sensitivity to Cold and Oxidative Stresses in Rice Seedlings

Rice SPX domain gene, OsSPX1, plays an important role in the phosphate (Pi) signaling network. Our previous work showed that constitutive overexpression of OsSPX1 in tobacco and Arabidopsis plants improved cold tolerance while also decreasing total leaf Pi. In the present study, we generated rice antisense and sense transgenic lines of OsSPX1 and found that down-regulation of OsSPX1 caused high sensitivity to cold and oxidative stresses in rice seedlings. Compared to wild-type and OsSPX1-sense transgenic lines, more hydrogen peroxide accumulated in seedling leaves of OsSPX1-antisense transgenic lines for controls, cold and methyl viologen (MV) treatments. Glutathione as a ROS scavenger could protect the antisense transgenic lines from cold and MV stress. Rice whole genome GeneChip analysis showed that some oxidative-stress marker genes (e.g. glutathione S-transferase and P450s) and Pi-signaling pathway related genes (e.g. OsPHO2) were significantly down-regulated by the antisense of OsSPX1. The microarray results were validated by real-time RT-PCR. Our study indicated that OsSPX1 may be involved in cross-talks between oxidative stress, cold stress and phosphate homeostasis in rice seedling leaves.