Kinetic and Thermodynamic Analysis of the Light-induced Processes in Plant and Cyanobacterial Phytochromes

The light-induced processes of the biological photoreceptor phytochrome (recombinant phyA of oat and recombinant CphA from the cyanobacterium Tolypothrix PCC7601) have been investigated in a time-resolved manner in the temperature range from 0 to 30°C. Both proteins were heterologously expressed and assembled in vitro with phycocyanobilin. The Pr state of plant phytochrome phyA is converted to the Pfr state after formation of four intermediates with an overall quantum yield of ∼18%. The reversal reaction (Pfr-to-Pr) shows several intermediates, all of which, even the first detectable one, exhibit already all spectral features of the Pr state. The canonical phytochrome CphA from Tolypothrix showed a similar intermediate sequence as its plant ortholog. Whereas the kinetics for the forward reaction (Pr-to-Pfr) was nearly identical for both proteins, the reverse process (Pr formation) in the cyanobacterial phytochrome was slower by a factor of three. As found for the Pfr-to-Pr intermediates in the plant protein, also in CphA all detectable intermediates showed the spectral features of the Pr form. For both phytochromes, activation parameters for both the forward and the backward reaction pathways were determined.     

A SINE Family Widely Distributed in the Plant Kingdom and its Evolutionary History

The distribution and evolution of Au SINE in plants were examined. Au SINE is a short interspersed element first identified in Aegilops umbellulata, a close relative of wheat. The Au SINE was previously found in species such as wheat, maize, tobacco, and tomato, but not in rice. In this study, we first searched public databases, and next examined the presence of Au in a broad range of plant species by PCR using internal primers of Au. Although Au is likely to be absent from many species including rice, it was identified in many Gramineae, Solanaceae, and Fabaceae species, and also in a basal angiosperm species, Asimina triloba. Phylogenetic studies suggest that Au SINE originated before the divergence of monocots and eudicots. Au SINE sequences of Asimina, Triticum, Zea, Nicotiana, Lotus, Medicago, and Glycine were aligned and compared. Although sequences of Au were highly conserved among distantly related species, every Au element in Glycine had a 16 bp deletion and its 3′ end differed from sequences of other species. This type of Au could only be found in G. max, and not in other species including other Fabaceae species such as M.␣truncatula and L. japonicus. This is the first report of a plant SINE family present in multiple lineages, and the evolution of Au SINE in the plant kingdom, especially in Gramineae and Fabaceae is discussed. Electronic supplementary material Electronic supplementary material is available for this article at and accessible for authorised users.     

Bioinformatic Identification and Analysis of Extensins in the Plant Kingdom

Extensins (EXTs) are a family of plant cell wall hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins (HRGPs) that are implicated to play important roles in plant growth, development, and defense. Structurally, EXTs are characterized by the repeated occurrence of serine (Ser) followed by three to five prolines (Pro) residues, which are hydroxylated as hydroxyproline (Hyp) and glycosylated. Some EXTs have Tyrosine (Tyr)-X-Tyr (where X can be any amino acid) motifs that are responsible for intramolecular or intermolecular cross-linkings. EXTs can be divided into several classes: classical EXTs, short EXTs, leucine-rich repeat extensins (LRXs), proline-rich extensin-like receptor kinases (PERKs), formin-homolog EXTs (FH EXTs), chimeric EXTs, and long chimeric EXTs. To guide future research on the EXTs and understand evolutionary history of EXTs in the plant kingdom, a bioinformatics study was conducted to identify and classify EXTs from 16 fully sequenced plant genomes, including Ostreococcus lucimarinus, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Volvox carteri, Klebsormidium flaccidum, Physcomitrella patens, Selaginella moellendorffii, Pinus taeda, Picea abies, Brachypodium distachyon, Zea mays, Oryza sativa, Glycine max, Medicago truncatula, Brassica rapa, Solanum lycopersicum, and Solanum tuberosum, to supplement data previously obtained from Arabidopsis thaliana and Populus trichocarpa. A total of 758 EXTs were newly identified, including 87 classical EXTs, 97 short EXTs, 61 LRXs, 75 PERKs, 54 FH EXTs, 38 long chimeric EXTs, and 346 other chimeric EXTs. Several notable findings were made: (1) classical EXTs were likely derived after the terrestrialization of plants; (2) LRXs, PERKs, and FHs were derived earlier than classical EXTs; (3) monocots have few classical EXTs; (4) Eudicots have the greatest number of classical EXTs and Tyr-X-Tyr cross-linking motifs are predominantly in classical EXTs; (5) green algae have no classical EXTs but have a number of long chimeric EXTs that are absent in embryophytes. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis was conducted of LRXs, PERKs and FH EXTs, which shed light on the evolution of three EXT classes.     

Nuclear Effectors in Plant Pathogenic Fungi

The nuclear import of proteins is a fundamental process in the eukaryotes including plant. It has become evident that such basic process is exploited by nuclear effectors that contain nuclear localization signal (NLS) and are secreted into host cells by fungal pathogens of plants. However, only a handful of nuclear effectors have been known and characterized to date. Here, we first summarize the types of NLSs and prediction tools available, and then delineate examples of fungal nuclear effectors and their roles in pathogenesis. Based on the knowledge on NLSs and what has been gleaned from the known nuclear effectors, we point out the gaps in our understanding of fungal nuclear effectors that need to be filled in the future researches.     

植物细胞DNA量研究

对植物界各大类群的细胞ＤＮＡ量、细胞ＤＮＡ量与细胞特征的关系、种内ＤＮＡ量的变化及其影响因素、ＤＮＡ量变化的进化和生态意义等方面的研究成果作了初步的综述     

NUA Activities at the Plant Nuclear Pore

NUA (Nuclear Pore Anchor), the Arabidopsis homolog of Tpr (Translocated Promoter Region), is one of the few nuclear pore proteins conserved between animals, yeast and plants. In the May issue of Plant Cell, we report that null mutants of NUA show a pleiotropic, early flowering phenotype accompanied by changes in SUMo and RNA homeostasis. We have shown that the early flowering phenotype is caused by changed abundances of flowering time regulators involved in several pathways. Arabidopsis nua mutants phenocopy mutants lacking the ESD4 (EARlY IN ShoRT DAYS 4) SUMo protease, similar to mutants of their respective yeast homologs. however, in contrast to the comparable yeast mutants, ESD4 does not appear to be delocalized from the nuclear pore in nua mutants. Taken together, our experimental data suggests a role for NUA in controlling mRNA export from the nucleus as well as SUMo protease activity at the nuclear pore, comparable but not identical to its homologs in other eukaryotes. Furthermore, characterization of NUA illustrates a potential link at the nuclear pore between SUMo modification, RNA homeostasis and plant developmental control.Key Words: nuclear pore complex, nucleoporin, nuclear envelope, nucleocytoplasmic transport, SUMO, mRNA export, flowering time     

植物核小RNA研究进展

核小RNA (small nuclear RNA,snRA)是一类长度为60～300 nt的非编码RNA,是真核生物RNA剪接体的主要成分.snRNA在各种生物中具有较高的保守性和同源性,主要参与了mRNA和rRNA前体的加工过程.本文对当前植物中snRNA领域的研究成果进行简要概述,介绍了植物snRNA的分类、基因结...     

植物光敏色素入核机理的研究进展

光敏色素是植物感受外界环境变化的重要光受体,它对植物的生长发育具有重要的调控作用。在介绍植物光敏色素分子结构的基础上,对不同光敏色素的入核机理以及核内定位进行了综述,并根据最新研究进展对光敏色素入核机理进行了展望。     

异黄酮类化合物在植物界的分布及药理作用

异黄酮类化合物存在于部分被子植物中,具有抗氧化、抗肿瘤、抗炎、抗菌等作用,还具有保护心血管、降血脂、抗血栓等作用。     

Utility of Low-Copy Nuclear Gene Sequences in Plant Phylogenetics

Low-copy nuclear genes in plants are a rich source of phylogenetic information. They hold a great potential to improve the robustness of phylogenetic reconstruction at all taxonomic levels, especially where universal markers such as cpDNA and nrDNA are unable to generate strong phylogenetic hypotheses. Low-copy nuclear genes, however, remain underused in plant phylogenetic studies due to practical and theoretical complications in unraveling the evolutionary dynamics of nuclear gene families. The lack of the universal markers or universal PCR primers of low-copy nuclear genes has also hampered their phylogenetic utility. It has recently become clear that low-copy nuclear genes are particularly helpful in resolving close interspecific relationships and in reconstructing allopolyploidization in plants. Gene markers that are widely, if not universally, useful have begun to emerge. Although utilizing low-copy nuclear genes usually requires extra lab work such as designing PCR primers, PCR-cloning, and/or Southern blotting, rapid accumulation of gene sequences in the databases and advances in cloning techniques have continued to make such studies more feasible. With the growing number of theoretical studies devoted to the gene tree and species tree problem, a solid foundation for reconstructing complex plant phylogenies based on multiple gene trees began to build. It is also realized increasingly that fast evolving introns of the low-copy nuclear genes will provide much needed phylogenetic information around the species boundary and allow us to address fundamental questions concerning processes of plant speciation. Phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary analyses of developmentally important genes will add a new dimension to systematic and evolutionary studies of plant diversity.     

植物细胞核雄性不育的分子基础

植物细胞核雄性育性相关基因克隆,使我们对细胞核雄性育性的了解不仅局限于遗传分析和细胞学水平,而且对细胞核不育的分子基础,以及细胞核不育的分子机理也有了一定的了解。本文旨在对细胞核雄性不育相关研究的进展情况进行简要综述。 Abstract:With the cloning of nuclear male fertility genes,learning of nuclear male fertility not only limited in genetic analysis and cell biology,but also advanced in molecular basis of male nuclear sterility and postulated in possible mechanisms of nuclear male sterility.The objectives of this paper are to review the related progress of plant nuclear male sterility.     

Streamlined Construction of the Cyanobacterial CO2-Fixing Organelle via Protein Domain Fusions for Use in Plant Synthetic Biology

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are self-assembling organelles that sequester segments of biochemical pathways within a protein shell. Given their functional diversity, BMCs constitute a rich source of metabolic modules for applications in synthetic biology. The carboxysome, the cyanobacterial BMC for CO₂ fixation, has attracted significant attention as a target for installation into chloroplasts and serves as the foundation for introducing other types of BMCs into plants. Carboxysome assembly involves a series of protein-protein interactions among at least six gene products to form a metabolic core, around which the shell assembles. This complexity creates significant challenges for the transfer, regulation, and assembly of carboxysomes, or any of the myriad of functionally distinct BMCs, into heterologous systems. To overcome this bottleneck, we constructed a chimeric protein in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus that structurally and functionally replaces four gene products required for carboxysome formation. The protein was designed based on protein domain interactions in the carboxysome core. The resulting streamlined carboxysomes support photosynthesis. This strategy obviates the need to regulate multiple genes and decreases the genetic load required for carboxysome assembly in heterologous systems. More broadly, the reengineered carboxysomes represent a proof of concept for a domain fusion approach to building multifunctional enzymatic cores that should be generally applicable to the engineering of BMCs for new functions and cellular contexts.