A DEAD box RNA helicase is essential for mRNA export and important for development and stress responses in Arabidopsis

An Arabidopsis thaliana mutant, cryophyte, was isolated and found to have an enhanced cold stress-induction of the master regulator of cold tolerance, C-repeat binding factor 2 (CBF2), and its downstream target genes. The mutant is more tolerant to chilling and freezing stresses but is more sensitive to heat stress. Under warm but not cold growth temperatures, the mutant has a reduced stature and flowers earlier. Under long day conditions, flowering of the mutant is insensitive to vernalization. The mutant is also hypersensitive to the phytohormone abscisic acid. The mutation was found in a DEAD box RNA helicase gene that is identical to the previously identified low expression of osmotically responsive genes 4 (LOS4) locus, which was defined by the los4-1 mutation that reduces cold regulation of CBFs and their target genes and renders Arabidopsis plants chilling sensitive. We show evidence suggesting that the CRYOPHYTE/LOS4 protein may be enriched in the nuclear rim. In situ poly(A) hybridization indicates that the export of poly(A)+ RNAs is blocked in the cryophyte/los4-2 mutant at warm or high temperatures but not at low temperatures, whereas the los4-1 mutation weakens mRNA export at both low and warm temperatures. These results demonstrate an important role of the CRYOPHYTE/LOS4 RNA helicase in mRNA export, plant development, and stress responses.     

Lipidomic reprogramming associated with drought stress priming‐enhanced heat tolerance in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea)

Stress priming by exposing plants to a mild or moderate drought could enhance plant tolerance to subsequent heat stress. Lipids play vital roles in stress adaptation, but how lipidomic profiles change, affecting the cross‐stress tolerance, is largely unknown. The objectives of this study were to perform lipidomics, to analyse the content, composition, and saturation levels of lipids in leaves of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) following drought priming and subsequent heat stress, and to identify major lipids and molecular species associated with priming‐enhanced heat tolerance. Plants were initially exposed to drought for 8 days by withholding irrigation and subsequently subjected to 25 days of heat stress (38/33°C day/night) in growth chambers. Drought‐primed plants maintained significantly higher leaf relative water content, chlorophyll content, photochemical efficiency, and lower electrolyte leakage than nonprimed plants under heat stress. Drought priming enhanced the accumulation of phospholipids and glycolipids involved in membrane stabilization and stress signalling (phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylglycerol, and digalactosyl diacylglycerol) during subsequent exposure to heat stress. The reprogramming of lipid metabolism for membrane stabilization and signalling in response to drought priming and subsequent exposure to heat stress could contribute to drought priming‐enhanced heat tolerance in cool‐season grass species.     

解析植物冷信号转导途径: 植物如何感知低温

低温胁迫(冷害和冻害)严重影响植物的生长发育和地理分布, 是制约作物产量和品质的主要因素之一。在自然界, 植物通过感知低温信号并启动一系列响应机制来抵御冷冻伤害。MAP蛋白激酶家族在植物响应逆境胁迫信号过程中发挥重要作用, 但其是否参与冷冻胁迫信号传递仍不清楚。最近, 朱健康、杨淑华和种康研究团队先后报道了拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)和水稻(Oryza sativa)通过MAPK级联反应途径参与冷冻胁迫应答反应, 通过磷酸化ICE1来调控其稳定性, 并阐明了ICE1提高植物抗冷冻能力的分子机制。他们的研究完善了ICE1介导的低温应答网络, 是植物低温应答研究领域的重要突破, 并为未来的作物分子设计育种提供了强有力的理论依据。     

Co‐expression of NCED and ALO improves vitamin C level and tolerance to drought and chilling in transgenic tobacco and stylo plants

Abscisic acid (ABA) regulates plant adaptive responses to various environmental stresses, while l ‐ascorbic acid (AsA) that is also named vitamin C is an important antioxidant and involves in plant stress tolerance and the immune system in domestic animals. Transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) and stylo [Stylosanthes guianensis (Aublet) Swartz], a forage legume, plants co‐expressing stylo 9‐cis‐epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (SgNCED1) and yeast d ‐arabinono‐1,4‐lactone oxidase (ALO) genes were generated in this study, and tolerance to drought and chilling was analysed in comparison with transgenic tobacco overexpressing SgNCED1 or ALO and the wild‐type plants. Compared to the SgNCED1 or ALO transgenic plants, in which only ABA or AsA levels were increased, both ABA and AsA levels were increased in transgenic tobacco and stylo plants co‐expressing SgNCED1 and ALO genes. Compared to the wild type, an enhanced drought tolerance was observed in SgNCED1 transgenic tobacco plants with induced expression of drought‐responsive genes, but not in ALO plants, while an enhanced chilling tolerance was observed in ALO transgenic tobaccos with induced expression of cold‐responsive genes, but not in SgNCED1 plants. Co‐expression of SgNCED1 and ALO genes resulted in elevated tolerance to both drought and chilling in transgenic tobacco and stylo plants with induced expression of both drought and cold‐responsive genes. Our result suggests that co‐expression of SgNCED1 and ALO genes is an effective way for use in forage plant improvement for increased tolerance to drought and chilling and nutrition quality.     

Burkholderia phytofirmans PsJN acclimates grapevine to cold by modulating carbohydrate metabolism

Low temperatures damage many temperate crops, including grapevine, which, when exposed to chilling, can be affected by symptoms ranging from reduced yield up to complete infertility. We have previously demonstrated that Burkholderia phytofirmans PsJN, a plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) that colonizes grapevine, is able to reduce chilling-induced damage. We hypothesized that the induced tolerance may be explained at least partly by the impact of bacteria on grapevine photosynthesis or carbohydrate metabolism during cold acclimation. To investigate this hypothesis, we monitored herein the fluctuations of photosynthesis parameters (net photosynthesis [P(n)], intercellular CO(2) concentration, stomatal conductances, ΦPSII, and total chlorophyll concentration), starch, soluble sugars (glucose, fructose, saccharose, mannose, raffinose, and maltose), and their precursors during 5 days of chilling exposure (4°C) on grapevine plantlets. Bacterization affects photosynthesis in a non-stomatal dependent pattern and reduced long-term impact of chilling on P(n). Furthermore, all studied carbohydrates known to be involved in cold stress tolerance accumulate in non-chilled bacterized plantlets, although some of them remained more concentrated in the latter after chilling exposure. Overall, our results suggest that modification of carbohydrate metabolism in bacterized grapevine plantlets may be one of the major effects by which this PGPR reduces chilling-induced damage.     

氧化胁迫对水稻幼苗抗冷力的影响

利用Ｈ２Ｏ２和甲基紫精（ＭＶ）对水稻幼苗作三种不同程度的氧化胁迫预处理。结果表明：轻度氧化胁迫预处理（１０ｕｍｏｌ／ＬＨ２Ｏ２或１０ｕｍｏｌ／ＬＭＶ处理４ｈ）提高了水稻幼苗的抗冷力,严重氧化胁迫预处理（１０ｕｍｏｌ／ＬＨ２Ｏ２或１０ｕｍｏｌ／ＬＭＶ分别处理１６ｈ和４０ｈ）则削弱水稻幼苗的抗冷力。氧化胁迫预处理刺激了水稻幼苗叶片抗氧化酶（ＳＯＤ,ＣＡＴ,ＰＯＸ和ＡＰＸ）的活性。经冷胁迫后,不同预处理苗的叶片抗氧化酶活性、膜脂过氧化和膜结构的变化趋势不同：轻度氧化胁迫预处理使幼苗仍保持较高的抗氧化酶活性,减轻了由冷胁迫引起的膜脂过氧化和细胞膜的渗漏程度,而严重氧化胁迫预处理则相反。因此,水稻幼苗对氧化胁迫感知并作出反应的机制（氧化应激机制）在水稻幼苗对低温反应和适应过程中起着很重要的调节作用。     

New insights into the genetic basis of natural chilling and cold shock tolerance in rice by genome‐wide association analysis

In order to understand cold adaptability and explore additional genetic resources for the cold tolerance improvement of rice, we investigated the genetic variation of 529 rice accessions under natural chilling and cold shock stress conditions at the seedling stage using genome‐wide association studies; a total of 132 loci were identified. Among them, 12 loci were common for both chilling and cold shock tolerance, suggesting that rice has a distinct and overlapping genetic response and adaptation to the two stresses. Haplotype analysis of a known gene OsMYB2, which is involved in cold tolerance, revealed indica–japonica differentiation and latitude tendency for the haplotypes of this gene. By checking the subpopulation and geographical distribution of accessions with tolerance or sensitivity under these two stress conditions, we found that the chilling tolerance group, which mainly consisted of japonica accessions, has a wider latitudinal distribution than the chilling sensitivity group. We conclude that the genetic basis of natural chilling stress tolerance in rice is distinct from that of cold shock stress frequently used for low‐temperature treatment in the laboratory and the cold adaptability of rice is associated with the subpopulation and latitudinal distribution.     

Combining gene expression and genetic analyses to identify candidate genes involved in cold responses in pea

Cold stress affects plant growth and development. In order to better understand the responses to cold (chilling or freezing tolerance), we used two contrasted pea lines. Following a chilling period, the Champagne line becomes tolerant to frost whereas the Terese line remains sensitive.