Plant ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and its role in gibberellin signaling

The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) in plants, like in other eukaryotes, targets numerous intracellular regulators and thus modulates almost every aspect of growth and development. The well-known and best-characterized outcome of ubiquitination is mediating target protein degradation via the 26S proteasome, which represents the major selective protein degradation pathway conserved among eukaryotes. In this review, we will discuss the molecular composition, regulation and function of plant UPS, with a major focus on how DELLA protein degradation acts as a key in gibberellin signal transduction and its implication in the regulation of plant growth.     

Function of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in auxin response

The plant hormone auxin regulates many aspects of growth and development. Despite the importance of this hormone, the molecular basis for auxin action has remained elusive. Recent advances using molecular genetics in Arabidopsis have begun to elucidate the mechanisms involved in auxin signaling. These results suggest that protein degradation by the ubiquitin pathway has a central role in auxin response.     

Interaction of BTB-TAZ protein MdBT2 and DELLA protein MdRGL3a regulates nitrate-mediated plant growth

Nitrate acts as a vital signal molecule in the modulation of plant growth and development. The phytohormones gibberellin (GA) is also involved in this process. However, the exact molecular mechanism of how nitrate and GA signaling pathway work together in regulating plant growth remains poorly understood. In this study, we found that a nitrate-responsive BTB/TAZ protein MdBT2 participates in regulating nitrate-induced plant growth in apple (Malus × domestica). Yeast two-hybridization, protein pull-down, and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays showed that MdBT2 interacts with a DELLA protein MdRGL3a, which is required for the ubiquitination and degradation of MdRGL3a proteins via a 26S proteasome-dependent pathway. Furthermore, heterologous expression of MdBT2 partially rescued growth inhibition caused by overexpression of MdRGL3a in Arabidopsis. Taken together, our findings indicate that MdBT2 promotes nitrate-induced plant growth partially through reducing the abundance of the DELLA protein MdRGL3a.

The BTB-TAZ protein interacts with and promotes ubiquitination and degradation of DELLA protein, thus regulating plant growth in response to nitrate.     

植物泛素/26S蛋白酶体途径的研究进展

泛素/26S蛋白酶体途径（ubiquitin/26S proteasome pathway,UPP）是目前已知最有效的、最具特异性的蛋白质降解途径。该途径介导了真核生物80%-85%的蛋白质降解,参与了细胞多项生命活动过程,对于维持细胞正常生理功能具有重要意义。研究结果表明,植物生长发育的诸多方面以及干旱胁迫响应等过程都受到该途径的调控。概述了泛素/26S蛋白酶体途径及其在植物生长发育过程中的作用,并着重阐述了由泛素-蛋白连接酶E3介导的植物干旱胁迫响应及其作用机制的研究进展。     

多环芳烃在土壤中的行为

多环芳烃（PAHs)在土壤中达到吸附平衡时存在“快”和“慢”两个吸附过程,植物能够从土壤中吸收低分子量的PAHs并向植物的地上部分迁移转化,但PAHs在植物体内主要的累积方式是植物地上部分的空气污染,微生物对PAHs的降解依然是去除PAHs的主要方式,主要通过微生物产生的酶的作用,本文详细分析了影响PAHs生物去除的各种因素。     

Arabidopsis A BOUT DE SOUFFLE,which is homologous with mammalian carnitine acyl carrier,is required for postembryonic growth in the light

The degradation of storage compounds just after germination is essential to plant development, providing energy and molecules necessary for the building of a photosynthetic apparatus and allowing autotrophic growth. We identified à bout de souffle (bou), a new Arabidopsis mutation. Mutant plants stopped developing after germination and degraded storage lipids, but they did not proceed to autotrophic growth. Neither leaves nor roots developed in the mutant. However, externally added sugar or germination in the dark could bypass this developmental block and allowed mutant plants to develop. The mutated gene was cloned using the transposon Dissociation as a molecular tag. The gene coding sequence showed similarity to those of the mitochondrial carnitine acyl carriers (CACs) or CAC-like proteins. In animals and yeast, these transmembrane proteins are involved in the transport of lipid-derived molecules across mitochondrial membranes for energy and carbon supply. The data presented here suggest that BOU identifies a novel mitochondrial pathway that is necessary to seedling development in the light. The BOU pathway would be an alternative to the well-known glyoxylate pathway.     

Understanding gibberellic acid signaling--are we there yet?

The phytohormone gibberellic acid (GA) controls important aspects of plant growth such as seed germination, elongation growth, and flowering. The key components of the GA signaling pathway have been identified over the past 10 years. The current view is that GA binds to a soluble GID1 receptor, which interacts with the DELLA repressor proteins in a GA-dependent manner and thereby induces DELLA protein degradation via the E3 ubiquitin ligase SCF(GID2/SLY1). GA-dependent growth responses can generally be correlated with and be explained by changes in DELLA repressor abundance, where the DELLA repressor exerts a growth restraint that is relieved upon its degradation. However, it is obvious that other mechanisms must exist that control the activity of this pathway. This review discusses recent advances in the understanding of GA signaling, of its homeostasis, and of its cross-talk with other signaling pathways.     

植物MEP途径的代谢调控机制

萜类代谢途径是植物中最重要的次生代谢途径之一,对其有效的调控决定着植物的生长发育、抗性及品质等各个方面。植物中类萜合成的前体物在质体中是由2-C-甲基-D-赤藓糖醇-4-磷酸(2-C-Methyl-D-Erythritol-4-Phosphate,MEP)途径合成的,MEP途径中的许多基因除了受到多基因编码和转录水平的调节外,还受到转录后调节机制的调节,而转录后调节是一种新发现的调节方式,其机制还不是很清楚。该文重点对近年来国内外有关植物MEP途径的多种调节方式,尤其是转录后调节的调节机制及其可能参与的信号分子方面的研究进展进行综述,为植物的MEP途径的代谢调控提供参考。     

植物开花调控途径

开花是植物从营养生长转换为生殖生长的生理发育过程,受光周期、温度、激素、年龄等多个因素诱导,在植物生长和物种进化中处于核心地位。综合不断更新的开花分子遗传结果,将植物响应各种内源和外源信号启动开花的途径归纳为:经典的光周期途径、春化途径、自主途径、赤霉素途径和较新的年龄途径共5条。旨在描绘出这些不同途径间既独立又相互影响的复杂网络关系,为进一步探索和阐述更多植物的开花分子机理提供借鉴与参考。     

植物中XRN家族的研究进展

XRN家族是一类5′-3′核酸外切酶家族,主要参与rRNA的成熟加工以及特异mRNA的降解过程,在动物、植物以及微生物的生长发育过程中起着重要的作用.对XRN家族在植物生长发育过程中的功能进行了综述,XRN家族在植物中主要参与rRNA加工过程、miRNA途径、外源mRNA降解过程以及乙烯信号通路.     

Stability of plant mRNAs depends on the length of the 3′-untranslated region

Eukaryotic mRNAs that prematurely terminate translation are recognized and degraded by nonsense mediated decay (NMD). This degradation pathway is well studied in animal and yeast cells. The data available imply that NMD also takes place in plants. However, the molecular mechanism of recognition and degradation of plant RNAs containing premature terminator codon (PTC) is not known. Here we report that in plant cells this mechanism involves the recognition of the sizes of the 3'-untranslated regions (3'UTR). Plant 3'UTRs longer than 300 nucleotides induce mRNA instability. Contrary to mammalian and yeast cells, this destabilization does not depend on the presence of any specific sequences downstream of the terminator codon. Unlike nuclear-produced mRNAs, plant virus vector long 3'UTR-containing RNAs, which are synthesized directly in the cytoplasm, are stable and translated efficiently. This shows that RNAs produced in the cytoplasm by viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase are able to avoid the proposed mechanism.     

Auxin signalling: the beginning, the middle and the end

The plant hormone auxin is central to the regulation of growth and development. Recent work has demonstrated that auxin signalling depends on targeted protein degradation, and in the past year this model has been strengthened. The focus is now on identifying the targets of this degradative pathway, determining how auxin influences the degradative process and linking the turnover of specific proteins to the numerous downstream responses to auxin.     

植物细胞自噬基因的功能与转录调控机制

自噬(autophagy)是真核生物长期进化形成的一种高度保守的细胞内物质降解和周转途径,通过形成双层膜结构的自噬体将包裹其中的待降解大分子物质,如受损伤的蛋白质、蛋白质复合物和细胞器,运送至液泡或溶酶体进行降解并产生可循环利用的降解产物。细胞自噬在植物生长发育和环境应答等过程中发挥重要作用。在拟南芥(Arabidop...     

Involvement of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in the degradation of nontyrosine kinase-type cytokine receptors of IL-9, IL-2, and erythropoietin

The ubiquitin-dependent proteasome-mediated (Ub-Pr) degradation pathway has been shown to regulate a large variety of substrates, including nuclear, cytosolic, and membrane proteins. In mammalian systems, polyubiquitin modification has been identified in a number of cell surface receptors for more than a decade; however, its biological significance has remained unclear until recently. For growth factor receptors with intrinsic tyrosine kinase domains, polyubiquitination is believed to trigger the internalization and subsequent degradation via the lysosomal pathway. In this study we provide the first evidence that non-tyrosine kinase-type cytokine surface receptors, IL-9R alpha-chain, IL-2 receptor ss-chain, and erythropoietin receptor, can be polyubiquitinated and degraded by proteasomes. The Ub-Pr pathway regulates both the basal level turnover and the ligand-induced degradation of the receptors. A previously identified putative molecular chaperon, valosin-containing protein, undergoes tyrosine phosphorylation in a cytokine-dependent manner and associates with the receptor complexes following receptor engagement, suggesting that valosin-containing protein may target the ubiquitinated receptors to the proteasome for degradation.