Both vegetative and reproductive actin isovariants complement the stunted root hair phenotype of the Arabidopsis act2-1 mutation

The ACT2 gene, encoding one of eight actin isovariants in Arabidopsis, is the most strongly expressed actin gene in vegetative tissues. A search was conducted for physical defects in act2-1 mutant plants to account for their reduced fitness compared with wild type in population studies. The act2-1 insertion fully disrupted expression of ACT2 RNA and significantly lowered the level of total actin protein in vegetative organs. The root hairs of the act2-1 mutants were 10% to 70% the length of wild-type root hairs, and they bulged severely at the base. The length of the mutant root hairs and degree of bulging at the base were affected by adjusting the osmolarity and gelling agent of the growth medium. The act2-1 mutant phenotypes were fully rescued by an ACT2 genomic transgene. When the act2-1 mutation was combined with another vegetative actin mutation, act7-1, the resulting double mutant exhibited extensive synergistic phenotypes ranging from developmental lethality to severe dwarfism. Transgenic overexpression of the ACT7 vegetative isovariant and ectopic expression of the ACT1 reproductive actin isovariant also rescued the root hair elongation defects of the act2-1 mutant. These results suggest normal ACT2 gene regulation is essential to proper root hair elongation and that even minor differences may cause root defects. However, differences in the actin protein isovariant are not significant to root hair elongation, in sharp contrast to recent reports on the functional nonequivalency of plant actin isovariants. Impairment of root hair functions such as nutrient mining, water uptake, and physical anchoring are the likely cause of the reduced fitness seen for act2-1 mutants in multigenerational studies.     

A Single Vegetative Actin Isovariant Overexpressed under the Control of Multiple Regulatory Sequences Is Sufficient for Normal Arabidopsis Development

The relative significance of gene regulation and protein isovariant differences remains unexplored for most gene families, particularly those participating in multicellular development. Arabidopsis thaliana encodes three vegetative actins, ACT2, ACT7, and ACT8, in two ancient and highly divergent subclasses. Mutations in any of these differentially expressed actins revealed only mild phenotypes. However, double mutants were extremely dwarfed, with altered cell and organ morphology and an aberrant F-actin cytoskeleton (e.g., act2-1 act7-4 and act8-2 act7-4) or totally root-hairless (e.g., act2-1 act8-2). Our studies suggest that the three vegetative actin genes and protein isovariants play distinct subclass-specific roles during plant morphogenesis. For example, during root development, ACT7 was involved in root growth, epidermal cell specification, cell division, and root architecture, and ACT2 and ACT8 were essential for root hair tip growth. Also, genetic complementation revealed that the ACT2 and ACT8 isovariants, but not ACT7, fully rescued the root hair growth defects of single and double mutants. Moreover, we synthesized fully normal plants overexpressing the ACT8 isovariant from multiple actin regulatory sequences as the only vegetative actin in the act2-1 act7-4 background. In summary, it is evident that differences in vegetative actin gene regulation and the diversity in actin isovariant sequences are essential for normal plant development.     

An Arabidopsis ACT2 dominant-negative mutation, which disturbs F-actin polymerization, reveals its distinctive function in root development

Eight functional actin genes are present in ARABIDOPSIS: The functional characterization of these genes in loss-of-function mutants is difficult, because highly conserved isovariants are generally expressed in the same tissue. We isolated a novel semi-dominant mutant allele (act2-2D) of an actin gene, ACT2, with a missense mutation which causes an amino acid substitution at the surface of the ACT2 protein. ACT2 promoter::ACT2-2D transgenic plants showed the same phenotype as act2-2D, indicating that act2-2D is a dominant-negative mutant. act2-2D exhibited defects in the initiation and elongation of root hairs, the elongation of root epidermal cells, and growth in aerial portions. Specifically, radial cell expansion was reduced and occasional cell death occurred in trichoblasts but not in atrichoblasts of the root epidermis. In contrast, cell division patterns in the root meristem were not affected. act2-3, a loss-of-function ACT2 mutant, did not develop most of these morphological abnormalities. Actin filament (F-actin) bundles in root epidermal cells of act2-2D were shorter than in the wild type and in the loss-of-function mutant. We conclude that defective F-actin polymerization caused the aberrant cell morphology in a dominant-negative manner, and that ACT2 functions in cell elongation and root hair formation.     

One plant actin isovariant, ACT7, is induced by auxin and required for normal callus formation.

During plant growth and development, the phytohormone auxin induces a wide array of changes that include cell division, cell expansion, cell differentiation, and organ initiation. It has been suggested that the actin cytoskeleton plays an active role in the elaboration of these responses by directing specific changes in cell morphology and cytoarchitecture. Here we demonstrate that the promoter and the protein product of one of the Arabidopsis vegetative actin genes, ACT7, are rapidly and strongly induced in response to exogenous auxin in the cultured tissues of Arabidopsis. Homozygous act7-1 mutant plants were slow to produce callus tissue in response to hormones, and the mutant callus contained at least two to three times lower levels of ACT7 protein than did the wild-type callus. On the other hand, a null mutation in ACT2, another vegetative actin gene, did not significantly affect callus formation from leaf or root tissue. Complementation of the act7-1 mutants with the ACT7 genomic sequence restored their ability to produce callus at rates similar to those of wild-type plants, confirming that the ACT7 gene is required for callus formation. Immunolabeling of callus tissue with actin subclass-specific antibodies revealed that the predominant ACT7 is coexpressed with the other actin proteins. We suggest that the coexpression, and probably the copolymerization, of the abundant ACT7 with the other actin isovariants in cultured cells may facilitate isovariant dynamics well suited for cellular responses to external stimuli such as hormones.     

ACTIN2 is essential for bulge site selection and tip growth during root hair development of Arabidopsis

Root hairs develop as long extensions from root epidermal cells. After the formation of an initial bulge at the distal end of the epidermal cell, the root hair structure elongates by tip growth. Because root hairs are not surrounded by other cells, root hair formation provides an excellent system for studying the highly complex process of plant cell growth. Pharmacological experiments with actin filament-interfering drugs have provided evidence that the actin cytoskeleton is an important factor in the establishment of cell polarity and in the maintenance of the tip growth machinery at the apex of the growing root hair. However, there has been no genetic evidence to directly support this assumption. We have isolated an Arabidopsis mutant, deformed root hairs 1 (der1), that is impaired in root hair development. The DER1 locus was cloned by map-based cloning and encodes ACTIN2 (ACT2), a major actin of the vegetative tissue. The three der1 alleles develop the mutant phenotype to different degrees and are all missense mutations, thus providing the means to study the effect of partially functional ACT2. The detailed characterization of the der1 phenotypes revealed that ACT2 is not only involved in root hair tip growth, but is also required for correct selection of the bulge site on the epidermal cell. Thus, the der1 mutants are useful tools to better understand the function of the actin cytoskeleton in the process of root hair formation.     

Functional and physiological characterization of Arabidopsis INOSITOL TRANSPORTER1, a novel tonoplast-localized transporter for myo-inositol

Arabidopsis thaliana INOSITOL TRANSPORTER1 (INT1) is a member of a small gene family with only three more genes (INT2 to INT4). INT2 and INT4 were shown to encode plasma membrane-localized transporters for different inositol epimers, and INT3 was characterized as a pseudogene. Here, we present the functional and physiological characterization of the INT1 protein, analyses of the tissue-specific expression of the INT1 gene, and analyses of phenotypic differences observed between wild-type plants and mutant lines carrying the int1.1 and int1.2 alleles. INT1 is a ubiquitously expressed gene, and Arabidopsis lines with T-DNA insertions in INT1 showed increased intracellular myo-inositol concentrations and reduced root growth. In Arabidopsis, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, fusions of the green fluorescent protein to the C terminus of INT1 were targeted to the tonoplast membranes. Finally, patch-clamp analyses were performed on vacuoles from wild-type plants and from both int1 mutant lines to study the transport properties of INT1 at the tonoplast. In summary, the presented molecular, physiological, and functional studies demonstrate that INT1 is a tonoplast-localized H(+)/inositol symporter that mediates the efflux of inositol that is generated during the degradation of inositol-containing compounds in the vacuolar lumen.     

Creation of a collection of morphological insertional mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana

A collection of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants has been obtained by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The genomes of the transgenic plants contain insertions of T-DNA of the vector plasmids pLD3 or pPCVRN4. Genes bearing T-DNA insertions were shown to constitute 12-18% of the total number of A. thaliana genes. Seventy-five lines have been chosen from the collection and subjected to genetic and molecular-genetic analysis. Of these, 5 were dominant mutants, and 70, recessive insertion mutants with various morphological defects. Identification of mutant phenotypes and genetic characterization of the transgenic lines have been performed with the use of nutrient media supplemented with exogenous hormones, which revealed five recessive lethal mutants and one dominant sterile mutant.     

Arabidopsis thaliana VTC4 encodes L-galactose-1-P phosphatase, a plant ascorbic acid biosynthetic enzyme

In plants, a proposed ascorbate (vitamin C) biosynthesis pathway occurs via GDP-D-mannose (GDP-D-Man), GDP-L-galactose (GDP-L-Gal), and L-galactose. However, the steps involved in the synthesis of L-Gal from GDP-L-Gal in planta are not fully characterized. Here we present evidence for an in vivo role for L-Gal-1-P phosphatase in plant ascorbate biosynthesis. We have characterized a low ascorbate mutant (vtc4-1) of Arabidopsis thaliana, which exhibits decreased ascorbate biosynthesis. Genetic mapping and sequencing of the VTC4 locus identified a mutation (P92L) in a gene with predicted L-Gal-1-P phosphatase activity (At3g02870). Pro-92 is within a beta-bulge that is conserved in related myo-inositol monophosphatases. The mutation is predicted to disrupt the positioning of catalytic amino acid residues within the active site. Accordingly, L-Gal-1-P phosphatase activity in vtc4-1 was approximately 50% of wild-type plants. In addition, vtc4-1 plants incorporate significantly more radiolabel from [2-(3)H]Man into L-galactosyl residues suggesting that the mutation increases the availability of GDP-L-Gal for polysaccharide synthesis. Finally, a homozygous T-DNA insertion line, which lacks a functional At3g02870 gene product, is also ascorbate-deficient (50% of wild type) and deficient in L-Gal-1-P phosphatase activity. Genetic complementation tests revealed that the insertion mutant and VTC4-1 are alleles of the same genetic locus. The significantly lower ascorbate and perturbed L-Gal metabolism in vtc4-1 and the T-DNA insertion mutant indicate that L-Gal-1-P phosphatase plays a role in plant ascorbate biosynthesis. The presence of ascorbate in the T-DNA insertion mutant suggests there is a bypass to this enzyme or that other pathways also contribute to ascorbate biosynthesis.     

Dominant Suppressors of Yeast Actin Mutations That Are Reciprocally Suppressed

A gene whose product is likely to interact with yeast actin was identified by the isolation of pseudorevertants carrying dominant suppressors of the temperature-sensitive (Ts) act1-1 mutation. Of 30 independent revertants analyzed, 29 were found to carry extragenic suppressor mutations and of these, 24/24 tested were found to be linked to each other. This linkage group identifies a new gene SAC6, whose product, by several genetic criteria, is likely to interact intimately with actin. First, although act1-1 sac6 strains are temperature-independent (Ts+), 4/17 sac6 mutant alleles tested are Ts in an ACT1+ background. Moreover, four Ts+ pseudorevertants of these ACT1+ sac6 mutants carry suppressor mutations in ACT1; significantly, three of these are again Ts in a SAC6+ background, and are most likely new act1 mutant alleles. Thus, mutations in ACT1 and SAC6 can suppress each other's defects. Second, sac6 mutations can suppress the Ts defects of the act1-1 and act1-2, but not act1-4, mutations. This allele specificity indicates the sac6 mutations do not suppress by simply bypassing the function of actin at high temperature. Third, act1-4 sac6 strains have a growth defect greater than that due to either of the single mutations alone, again suggesting an interaction between the two proteins. The mutant sac6 gene was cloned on the basis of dominant suppression from an act1-1 sac6 mutant library, and was then mapped to chromosome IV, less than 2 cM from ARO1.     

Arabidopsis lonely guy (LOG) multiple mutants reveal a central role of the LOG-dependent pathway in cytokinin activation

Cytokinins are phytohormones that play key roles in the maintenance of stem cell activity in plants. Although alternative single-step and two-step activation pathways for cytokinin have been proposed, the significance of the single-step pathway which is catalyzed by LONELY GUY (LOG), is not fully understood. We analyzed the metabolic flow of cytokinin activation in Arabidopsis log multiple mutants using stable isotope-labeled tracers and characterized the mutants' morphological and developmental phenotypes. In tracer experiments, cytokinin activation was inhibited most pronouncedly by log7, while the other log mutations had cumulative effects. Although sextuple or lower-order mutants did not show drastic phenotypes in vegetative growth, the log1log2log3log4log5log7log8 septuple T-DNA insertion mutant in which the LOG-dependent pathway is impaired, displayed severe retardation of shoot and root growth with defects in the maintenance of the apical meristems. Detailed observation of the mutants showed that LOG7 was required for the maintenance of shoot apical meristem size. LOG7 was also suggested to play a role for normal primary root growth together with LOG3 and LOG4. These results suggest a dominant role of the single-step activation pathway mediated by LOGs for cytokinin production, and overlapping but differentiated functions of the members of the LOG gene family in growth and development.     

The Arabidopsis histidine phosphotransfer proteins are redundant positive regulators of cytokinin signaling

Arabidopsis thaliana histidine phosphotransfer proteins (AHPs) are similar to bacterial and yeast histidine phosphotransfer proteins (HPts), which act in multistep phosphorelay signaling pathways. A phosphorelay pathway is the current model for cytokinin signaling. To assess the role of AHPs in cytokinin signaling, we isolated T-DNA insertions in the five AHP genes that are predicted to encode functional HPts and constructed multiple insertion mutants, including an ahp1,2,3,4,5 quintuple mutant. Single ahp mutants were indistinguishable from wild-type seedlings in cytokinin response assays. However, various higher-order mutants displayed reduced sensitivity to cytokinin in diverse cytokinin assays, indicating both a positive role for AHPs in cytokinin signaling and functional overlap among the AHPs. In contrast with the other four AHPs, AHP4 may play a negative role in some cytokinin responses. The quintuple ahp mutant showed various abnormalities in growth and development, including reduced fertility, increased seed size, reduced vascular development, and a shortened primary root. These data indicate that most of the AHPs are redundant, positive regulators of cytokinin signaling and affect multiple aspects of plant development.     

Characterization of an Arabidopsis mutant deficient in γ-tocopherol methyltransferase

Alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) is synthesized from gamma-tocopherol in chloroplasts by gamma-tocopherol methyltransferase (gamma-TMT; VTE4). Leaves of many plant species including Arabidopsis contain high levels of alpha-tocopherol, but are low in gamma-tocopherol. To unravel the function of different forms of tocopherol in plants, an Arabidopsis plant (vte4-1) carrying a functional null mutation in the gene gamma-TMT was isolated by screening a mutant population via thin-layer chromatography. A second mutant allele (vte4-2) carrying a T-DNA insertion in the coding sequence of gamma-TMT was identified in a T-DNA tagged mutant population. In vte4-1 and vte4-2 leaves, high levels of gamma-tocopherol accumulated, whereas alpha-tocopherol was absent indicating that, presumably, these two mutants represents null alleles. Over-expression of the gamma-TMT cDNA in vte4-1 restored wild-type tocopherol composition. Mutant plants were very similar to wild type. During oxidative stress (high light, high temperature, cold treatment) the amounts of alpha-tocopherol and gamma-tocopherol increased in wild type, and gamma-tocopherol in vte4-1. However, chlorophyll content and photosynthetic quantum yield were very similar in wild type and vte4-1, suggesting that alpha-tocopherol can be replaced by gamma-tocopherol in vte4-1 to protect the photosynthetic apparatus against oxidative stress. Fatty acid and lipid composition were very similar in WT, vte4-1 and vte1, an Arabidopsis mutant previously isolated which is completely devoid of tocopherol. Therefore, a shift in tocopherol composition or the absence of tocopherol has no major impact on the amounts of specific fatty acids or on lipid hydrolysis.     

An Arabidopsis thaliana T-DNA mutagenized population (GABI-Kat) for flanking sequence tag-based reverse genetics

The GABI-Kat population of T-DNA mutagenized Arabidopsis thaliana lines with sequence-characterized insertion sites is used extensively for efficient progress in plant functional genomics. Here we provide details about the establishment of the material, demonstrate the population's functionality and discuss results from quality control studies. T-DNA insertion mutants of the accession Columbia (Col-0) were created by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. To allow selection of transformed plants under greenhouse conditions, a sulfadiazine resistance marker was employed. DNA from leaves of T1 plants was extracted and used as a template for PCR-based amplification of DNA fragments spanning insertion site borders. After sequencing, the data were placed in a flanking sequence tag (FST) database describing which mutant allele was present in which line. Analysis of the distribution of T-DNA insertions revealed a clear bias towards intergenic regions. Insertion sites appeared more frequent in regions in front of the ATG and after STOP codons of predicted genes. Segregation analysis for sulfadiazine resistance showed that 62% of the transformants contain an insertion at only one genetic locus. In quality control studies with gene-specific primers in combination with T-DNA primers, 76% of insertions could be confirmed. Finally, the functionality of the GABI-Kat population was demonstrated by exemplary confirmation of several new transparent testa alleles, as well as a number of other mutants, which were identified on the basis of the FST data.     

Screens for Extragenic Mutations That Fail to Complement Act1 Alleles Identify Genes That Are Important for Actin Function in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

Null mutations in SAC6 and ABP1, genes that encode actin-binding proteins, failed to complement the temperature-sensitive phenotype caused by a mutation in the ACT1 gene. To identify novel genes whose protein products interact with actin, mutations that fail to complement act1-1 or act1-4, two temperature-sensitive alleles of ACT1, were isolated. A total of 14 extragenic noncomplementing mutations and 12 new alleles of ACT1 were identified in two independent screens. The 14 extragenic noncomplementing mutations represent alleles of at least four different genes, ANC1, ANC2, ANC3 and ANC4 (Actin NonComplementing). Mutations in the ANC1 gene were shown to cause osmosensitivity and defects in actin organization; phenotypes that are similar to those caused by act1 mutations. We conclude that the ANC1 gene product plays an important role in actin cytoskeletal function. The 12 new alleles of ACT1 will be useful for further elucidation of the functions of actin in yeast.     

Functional analysis of an Arabidopsis T-DNA "knockout" of the high-affinity NH4(+) transporter AtAMT1;1

NH(4)(+) acquisition by plant roots is thought to involve members of the NH(4)(+) transporter family (AMT) found in plants, yeast, bacteria, and mammals. In Arabidopsis, there are six AMT genes of which AtAMT1;1 demonstrates the highest affinity for NH(4)(+). Ammonium influx into roots and AtAMT1;1 mRNA expression levels are highly correlated diurnally and when plant nitrogen (N) status is varied. To further investigate the involvement of AtAMT1;1 in high-affinity NH(4)(+) influx, we identified a homozygous T-DNA mutant with disrupted AtAMT1;1 activity. Contrary to expectation, high-affinity (13)NH(4)(+) influx in the amt1;1:T-DNA mutant was similar to the wild type when grown with adequate N. Removal of N to increase AtAMT1;1 expression decreased high-affinity (13)NH(4)(+) influx in the mutant by 30% compared with wild-type plants, whereas low-affinity (13)NH(4)(+) influx (250 microM-10 mM NH(4)(+)) exceeded that of wild-type plants. In these N-deprived plants, mRNA copy numbers of root AtAMT1;3 and AtAMT2;1 mRNA were significantly more increased in the mutant than in wild-type plants. Under most growth conditions, amt1;1:T-DNA plants were indistinguishable from the wild type, however, leaf morphology was altered. However, when grown with NH(4)(+) and sucrose, the mutant grew poorly and died. Our results are the first in planta evidence that AtAMT1;1 is a root NH(4)(+) transporter and that redundancies within the AMT family may allow compensation for the loss of AtAMT1;1.     

Molecular and genetic analysis of the transferred DNA regions of the root-inducing plasmid of Agrobacterium rhizogenes.

The T-DNA regions of the root-inducing (Ri) plasmid pRiA4b of Agrobacterium rhizogenes were characterized. Two regions, designated TL-DNA and TR-DNA, were found to be integrated and stably maintained in the plant genome. The TL-DNA spanned a 15- to 20-kilobase region of pRiA4b and was separated from the TR-DNA region by at least 15 kilobases of nonintegrated plasmid DNA. The TR-DNA region also spanned a 15- to 20-kilobase region of pRiA4b and included a region of homology to the tms morphogenic loci of the tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Eighteen deletions and 95 transposon insertions were generated in the T-DNA regions and tested for alterations in virulence. Insertions into four loci in the TL-DNA affected the morphology of root formation of Kalancho? diagremontiana leaves and stems, but had no visible effects on other host plants. Insertions into two loci (tms-1 and tms-2) in the TR-DNA eliminated virulence symptoms on all plants tested, with the exception of K. diagremontiana stems, where sparse root formation occurred. Complementation experiments with Ri and Ti plasmid T-DNA mutations indicate that the tms genes of the two plasmids serve similar functions and suggest a functional relationship between one or more genes of the TL-DNA and the cytokinin synthesis locus tmr of the Ti plasmid.     

A transgenic perspective on plant functional genomics

Transgenic crops are very much in the news due to the increasing public debate on their acceptance. In the scientific community though, transgenic plants are proving to be powerful tools to study various aspects of plant sciences. The emerging scientific revolution sparked by genomics based technologies is producing enormous amounts of DNA sequence information that, together with plant transformation methodology, is opening up new experimental opportunities for functional genomics analysis. An overview is provided here on the use of transgenic technology for the functional analysis of plant genes in model plants and a link made to their utilization in transgenic crops. In transgenic plants, insertional mutagenesis using heterologous maize transposons or Agrobacterium mediated T-DNA insertions, have been valuable tools for the identification and isolation of genes that display a mutant phenotype. To discover functions of genes that do not display phenotypes when mutated, insertion sequences have been engineered to monitor or change the expression pattern of adjacent genes. These gene detector insertions can detect adjacent promoters, enhancers or gene exons and precisely reflect the expression pattern of the tagged gene. Activation tag insertions can mis-express the adjacent gene and confer dominant phenotypes that help bridge the phenotype gap. Employment of various forms of gene silencing technology broadens the scope of recovering knockout phenotypes for genes with redundant function. All these transgenic strategies describing gene-phenotype relationships can be addressed by high throughput reverse genetics methods that will help provide functions to the genes discovered by genome sequencing. The gene functions discovered by insertional mutagenesis and silencing strategies along with expression pattern analysis will provide an integrated functional genomics perspective and offer unique applications in transgenic crops. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.