The CaTin1 (Capsicum annuum TMV-induced clone 1) and CaTin1-2 genes are linked head-to-head and share a bidirectional promoter

CaTin1 was expressed relatively early in the TMV-inoculated leaves of hot pepper which is resistant to TMV-P(0) infection. Interestingly, there was another homologous gene (CaTin1-2) located in front of CaTin1 in a head-to-head fashion and they shared a single promoter. The expression profile of the CaTin1-2 was very similar to CaTin1 in all the treatments except the slower induction time compared to CaTin1 upon TMV-P(0) inoculation. The promoter analysis of CaTin1 and CaTin1-2 revealed bidirectionality both in cis-elements and activity. The CaTin1-2 promoter had two TATA-boxes, four GCC-boxes, the root responsive element, and a W1-box. The ethylene-inducible promoter activity depended on GCC-boxes and TMV-inducible activity of the CaTin1-2 promoter reached its highest activity when this promoter had a W1-box.     

Mutation of a family 8 glycosyltransferase gene alters cell wall carbohydrate composition and causes a humidity-sensitive semi-sterile dwarf phenotype in Arabidopsis

Incompatible plant-pathogen interactions result in the rapid cell death response known as hypersensitive response (HR) and activation of host defense related genes. To understand the cellular mechanism controlling defense response better, a novel pathogenesis-related (PR) gene and putative cell wall protein gene, CaTin2, was isolated through differential screening of a hot pepper cDNA library and characterized. CaTin2 gene was locally and systemically induced in hot pepper plants upon TMV-P₀ inoculation which induces HR. However, CaTin2 gene wasn't regulated by bacterial HR-specific signal pathway. The full-length cDNA for CaTin2, which is 864 nucleotides long, contained the open reading frame of 200 amino acids including cell wall targeting sequences of 26 amino acids. CaTin2 gene has no sequence similarity with other cell wall protein genes except the signal sequence and exists as only one copy in hot pepper genome. CaTin2 gene contains repeated helix-turn-helix motif consisting of 39 amino acids. CaTin2 mRNA accumulation was induced in response to various treatments such as ethylene, SA, MeJA, ABA, methyl viologen, NaCl and wounding at early time points. Subcelluar localization of CaTin2 was confirmed in the cell wall in hot pepper leaves by making CaTin2::smGFP fusion protein. The transgenic plants overexpressing CaTin2 cDNA were resistant to TMV and CMV inoculation. From these results, CaTin2 gene may encode a virus-related new cell wall protein member.     

The pepper extracellular peroxidase CaPO2 is required for salt, drought and oxidative stress tolerance as well as resistance to fungal pathogens

In plants, biotic and abiotic stresses regulate the expression and activity of various peroxidase isoforms. Capsicum annuum EXTRACELLULAR PEROXIDASE 2 (CaPO2) was previously shown to play a role in local and systemic reactive oxygen species bursts and disease resistance during bacterial pathogen infection. Here, we report CaPO2 expression patterns and functions during conditions of biotic and abiotic stress. In pepper plants, CaPO2 expression was strongly induced by abscisic acid, but not by defense-related plant hormones such as salicylic acid, ethylene and jasmonic acid. CaPO2 was also strongly induced by abiotic and biotic stress treatments, including drought, cold, high salinity and infection by the hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen Colletotrichum coccodes. Loss-of-function of CaPO2 in virus-induced gene silenced pepper plants led to increased susceptibility to salt- and osmotic-induced stress. In contrast, CaPO2 overexpression in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants conferred enhanced tolerance to high salt, drought, and oxidative stress, while also enhancing resistance to infection by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Alternaria brassicicola. Taken together, these results provide evidence for the involvement of pepper extracellular peroxidase CaPO2 in plant defense responses to various abiotic stresses and plant fungal pathogens.     

A hot pepper cDNA encoding a pathogenesis-related protein 4 is induced during the resistance response to tobacco mosaic virus

Hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants exhibit a hypersensitive response (HR) against infection by many tobamoviruses. A clone (CaPR-4) encoding a putative pathogenesis-related protein 4 was isolated by differential screening of a cDNA library prepared from resistant pepper plant leaves inoculated with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) pathotype P0. The predicted amino acid sequence of CaPR-4 is very similar to those of other plant PR-4s. Southern blot analysis showed that small gene families of PR-4-related sequences were present in the pepper genome. Hot pepper cultivar Bugang, resistant to TMV-P0 and susceptible to TMV-P1.2, induced CaPR-4 expression by pathotype P0 inoculation in inoculated and systemic leaves, but not by pathotype P1.2. Effects of exogenously applied abiotic elicitors upon the CaPR-4 expression were also examined. The expression of the CaPR-4 gene was stimulated by methyl jasmonate (MeJA), ethephon and wounding treatment. However, application of salicylic acid (SA) did not trigger the expression. Evidence is emerging that jasmonic acid and ethylene play key roles in the SA-independent pathways of plant-pathogen interaction. Taken together, these results suggest that the CaPR-4 gene is one of the defense-related genes conferring resistance on pepper plants by the SA-independent pathway and the cross-talk between signaling compounds, jasmonic acid and ethylene could have a great regulatory potential in a plant's defense against TMV.     

Characterization of a stress-responsive ankyrin repeat-containing zinc finger protein of Capsicum annuum (CaKR1)

We isolated many genes induced from pepper cDNA microarray data following their infection with the soybean pustule pathogen Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines 8ra. A full-length cDNA clone of the Capsicum annuum ankyrin-repeat domain C(3)H(1) zinc finger protein (CaKR1) was identified in a chili pepper using the expressed sequence tag (EST) database. The deduced amino acid sequence of CaKR1 showed a significant sequence similarity (46%) to the ankyrin-repeat protein in very diverse family of proteins of Arabidopsis. The gene was induced in response to various biotic and abiotic stresses in the pepper leaves, as well as by an incompatible pathogen, such as salicylic acid (SA) and ethephon. CaKR1 expression was highest in the root and flower, and its expression was induced by treatment with agents such as NaCl and methyl viologen, as well as by cold stresses. These results showed that CaKR1 fusion with soluble, modified green fluorescent protein (smGFP) was localized to the cytosol in Arabidopsis protoplasts, suggesting that CaKR1 might be involved in responses to both biotic and abiotic stresses in pepper plants.     

Transgenic Analysis Reveals 5′ Abbreviated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Os</Emphasis>RGLP2 Promoter(s) as Responsive to Abiotic Stresses

Germins and germin-like proteins are ubiquitous, expressed at various developmental stages and in response to various abiotic and biotic stresses. In this study, to functionally validate the OsRGLP2 promoter, 5′ deletion analysis of the promoter sequences was performed and the deletion fragments fused with the β-glucuronidase (GUS) and green fluorescent protein reporter genes were used for transient expression in tobacco as well as for generating stable transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Very high level of GUS activity was observed in agroinfiltrated tobacco leaves by the construct carrying the P-1063 and P-565 when subjected to abiotic stresses. Histochemical analysis of transgenic Arabidopsis plants revealed expression of reporter gene in root, leaf and stem sections of plants harboring P-1063 and P-565. Real-time qPCR analysis of transiently expressed tobacco leaves and transgenic Arabidopsis plants subjected to several abiotic stresses supported histochemical data and showed that P-565 responded to all the stresses to which the full-length promoter was responsive. The data suggest that P-565 may be a good alternative to full-length promoter region that harbors the necessary cis-elements in providing stable and high level of expression in response to wound, salt and temperature stresses.     

杆状病毒p35基因诱导烟草产生广谱抗病机理分析

来源于昆虫病毒和动物的抗细胞凋亡基因能够诱导植物对生物或者非生物胁迫产生抗性.但其抗性机理有不同甚至相反的报道.本研究将来源于苜蓿银纹夜蛾核多角体病毒的p35基因转化烟草,T1代转化烟草Western blotting检测P35蛋白的表达,转化烟草接种烟草花叶病毒(Tobacco mosaic virus,TMV)抗病效果增强.进一步的抗病机理研究表明,转化和野生型烟草感染TMV后诱导过氧化氢积累无明显区别,野生型烟草感染24 h后出现DNA Laddering而转化烟草则没有;Western blotting结果显示PR-1蛋白表达没有显著差异.但接种另外一种病原真菌核盘茵(Sclerotiniasclerotiorum)后的RT-PCR分析结果表明,表达P35蛋白的烟草可增强感染核盘菌后PR-1基因的转录.而且表达时间提前.以上结果说明p35基因介导的广谱抗病反应的机理与接种的不同病原有关,对不同病原物的抗病机理存在差异,除抑制细胞凋亡外,还可能通过激活PR基因的表达提高对病原物的抗病能力.     

Functional analysis reveals pleiotropic effects of rice RING-H2 finger protein gene OsBIRF1 on regulation of growth and defense responses against abiotic and biotic stresses

RING finger proteins comprise a large family and play key roles in regulating growth/developmental processes, hormone signaling and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. A rice gene, OsBIRF1, encoding a putative RING-H2 finger protein, was cloned and identified. OsBIRF1 encodes a 396 amino acid protein belonging to the ATL family characterized by a conserved RING-H2 finger domain (C-X2-C-X15-C-X1-H-X2-H-X2-C-X10-C-X2-C), a transmembrane domain at the N-terminal, a basic amino acid rich region and a characteristic GLD region. Expression of OsBIRF1 was up-regulated in rice seedlings after treatment with benzothaidiazole, salicylic acid, l-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid and jasmonic acid, and was induced differentially in incompatible but not compatible interactions between rice and Magnaporthe grisea, the causal agent of blast disease. Transgenic tobacco plants that constitutively express OsBIRF1 exhibit enhanced disease resistance against tobacco mosaic virus and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci and elevated expression levels of defense-related genes, e.g. PR-1, PR-2, PR-3 and PR-5. The OsBIRF1-overexpressing transgenic tobacco plants show increased oxidative stress tolerance to exogenous treatment with methyl viologen and H2O2, and up-regulate expression of oxidative stress-related genes. Reduced ABA sensitivity in root elongation and increased drought tolerance in seed germination were also observed in OsBIRF1 transgenic tobacco plants. Furthermore, the transgenic tobacco plants show longer roots and higher plant heights as compared with the wild-type plants, suggesting that overexpression of OsBIRF1 promote plant growth. These results demonstrate that OsBIRF1 has pleiotropic effects on growth and defense response against multiple abiotic and biotic stresses.