Influence of cytokinins on the expression of phosphate starvation responsive genes in Arabidopsis

The increase in the ratio of root growth to shoot growth that occurs in response to phosphate (Pi) deprivation is paralleled by a decrease in cytokinin levels under the same conditions. However, the role of cytokinin in the rescue system for Pi starvation remains largely unknown. We have isolated a gene from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtIPS1) that is induced by Pi starvation, and studied the effect of cytokinin on its expression in response to Pi deprivation. AtIPS1 belongs to the TPSI1/Mt4 family, the members of which are specifically induced by Pi starvation, and the RNAs of which contain only short, non-conserved open reading frames. Pi deprivation induces AtIPS1 expression in all cells of wild-type plants, whereas in the pho1 mutant grown on Pi-rich soils, AtIPS1 expression in the root was delimited by the endodermis. This supports the view that pho1 is impaired in xylem loading of Pi, and that long-distance signals controlling the Pi starvation responses act via negative control. Exogenous cytokinins repress the expression of AtIPS1 and other Pi starvation-responsive genes in response to Pi deprivation. However, cytokinins did not repress the increase in root-hair number and length induced by Pi starvation, a response dependent on local Pi concentration rather than on whole-plant Pi status. Our results raise the possibility that cytokinins may be involved in the negative modulation of long-distance, systemically controlled Pi starvation responses, which are dependent on whole-plant Pi status.     

Mutations at CRE1 impair cytokinin-induced repression of phosphate starvation responses in Arabidopsis

Plants display a number of responses to low phosphate availability, involving biochemical and developmental changes. Recently we have shown that many of these responses can be repressed in roots by exogenous addition of cytokinins. In order to understand the genetic basis to this effect of cytokinins, and its relation with the better known roles of cytokinins in the control of cell-cycle and differentiation, we have undertaken mutant screening and characterization using a transgenic line of Arabidopsis thaliana harbouring a reporter gene specifically responsive to Pi starvation (AtIPS1::GUS). One type of mutant identified displayed reduced sensitivity of AtIPS1::GUS to cytokinin repression. Several other Pi starvation response genes showed reduced cytokinin sensitivity in these lines. These mutants also showed reduced cytokinin repression of the anthocyanin accumulation induced by Pi starvation in the aerial part of the plants. Mapping and molecular characterization of these mutants showed that they were allelic of CRE1/WOL, a locus known to encode a cytokinin receptor. CRE1 is downregulated by Pi starvation and induced by cytokinins, both in the wild-type and in the cre1 mutants, in which cre1 mRNA levels are higher. These results reveal the existence of a positive feed-back loop, in addition to the already established negative feedback loop, in cytokinin signalling and indicate that the negative regulation of Pi starvation responses by cytokinins involves a two-component signalling circuitry, as it is the case of other types of cytokinin response.     

烟草磷转运蛋白基因NtPHT2;1的克隆和表达分析

植物对磷酸盐的吸收与利用主要依靠磷转运蛋白,其中PHT2家族编码的低亲和磷转运蛋白主要负责植物在正常供磷条件下磷酸盐的吸收、转运与再利用。为了探究低亲和磷转运蛋白基因NtPHT2;1在烟草转运磷酸盐中的作用和表达模式,本研究以普通烟草K326的cDNA为模板,克隆得到NtPHT2;1,对该基因进行生物信息学分析和蛋白质的亚细胞定位,并通过荧光定量PCR技术对该基因在低磷等非生物胁迫下的基因表达模式进行分析。结果表明：（1）NtPHT2;1基因的全长为1 764 bp,编码587个氨基酸。（2）亚细胞定位结果表明,NtPHT2;1蛋白定位于叶绿体上。（3）同源性比对发现,NtPHT2;1蛋白与辣椒CaPHT2;1蛋白的同源性最高达到91.00%。（4）启动子分析表明,NtPHT2;1启动子含有参与调控植物衰老、逆境胁迫相关的顺式作用元件。（5）组织表达模式分析表明,NtPHT2;1在叶片中的表达量最高,新叶中的表达量比老叶中的高;在低磷诱导条件下,该基因的表达量与正常条件相比差异不显著。（6）不同非生物胁迫下的表达模式表明,在盐胁迫和干旱胁迫下,该基因的表达量显著降低。研究认为,NtPHT2;1基因主要是负责烟株正常生长发育条件下磷酸盐的转运与利用。     

The plastid outer membrane localized LPTD1 is important for glycerolipid remodelling under phosphate starvation

Glycerolipid synthesis in plants is coordinated between plastids and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). A central step within the glycerolipid synthesis is the transport of phosphatidic acid from ER to chloroplasts. The chloroplast outer envelope protein TGD4 belongs to the LptD family conserved in bacteria and plants and selectively binds and may transport phosphatidic acid. We describe a second LptD‐family protein in A. thaliana (atLPTD1; At2g44640) characterized by a barrel domain with an amino‐acid signature typical for cyanobacterial LptDs. It forms a cation selective channel in vitro with a diameter of about 9 Å. atLPTD1 levels are induced under phosphate starvation. Plants expressing an RNAi construct against atLPTD1 show a growth phenotype under normal conditions. Expressing the RNAi against atLPTD1 in the tgd4–1 background renders the plants more sensitive to light stress or phosphate limitation than the individual mutants. Moreover, lipid analysis revealed that digalactosyldiacylglycerol and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol levels remain constant in the RNAi mutants under phosphate starvation, while these two lipids are enhanced in wild‐type. Based on our results, we propose a function of atLPTD1 in the transport of lipids from ER to chloroplast under phosphate starvation, which is combinatory with the function of TGD4.     

Cloning and characterization of cDNA of the GPI-anchored purple acid phosphatase and its root tissue distribution in Spirodela oligorrhiza

A cDNA clone of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored purple acid phosphatase (PAP) has been obtained by a combination of cDNA library screening and 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends from Spirodela oligorrhiza plants grown under phosphate-deficient (−P) conditions. The open reading frame of the S. oligorrhiza PAP cDNA consists of 1 365 bp encoding a 455 amino acid protein. Its deduced amino acid sequence shows 82 and 80% similarity to Arabidopsis thaliana and Phaseolus vulgaris PAP, respectively. The amino acid residue, Ala439, followed by two more small amino acid residues, Asp and Ser, is predicted to be the GPI-anchoring ( ω ) site. The absence of a dibasic motif upstream of the putative ω site suggests that the PAP is a cell wall protein. This presumption is supported by the finding that PAP was released by digestion of the cell wall fraction with cellulase. The GPI anchor is speculated to be a signal for transporting PAP to the cell wall. Immunohistochemical results using −P plant roots demonstrate that PAP is preferentially distributed in the outermost cortical cells of roots but not in the epidermis, suggesting its role in acquiring inorganic phosphate under phosphate-deficient conditions. Northern blot analysis using the S. oligorrhiza PAP cDNA as a probe demonstrates that expression of the PAP gene increased during growth of −P plants and this time-dependent occurrence in mRNA levels of the PAP in −P plants was also observed in their protein and activity levels.     

菜豆重金属胁迫响应基因:cDNA克隆及其表达分析

通过差别筛选HgCl2胁迫下的菜豆叶片cDNA库,分离出7组不同的cDNA克隆（Phaseolusvulgarisstress-relatedprotein,PvSR1～7）。cDNA序列和同源性分析结果表明：PvSR1编码富含脯氨酸细胞壁蛋白（PRP）,PvSR2和PvSR7编码新的HgCl2胁迫相关蛋白,PvSR3编码脱水蛋白（dehydrin）,PvSR4编码病原相关（PR）蛋白,PvSB5编码polyubiqui－tin,PvSR6编码DuaJ－like蛋白。HgCl2胁迫可强烈地请导PvSR2和PR蛋白基因的表达,并能提高PRP,、dehydrinlike和polyubiq－uitin基因的转录水平。这些蛋白质共同作用可能对维持细胞的正常代谢和抵抗重金属胁迫方面有重要作用。     

Molecular analysis of the phosphorus starvation response in Trichodesmium spp.

The marine diazotroph Trichodesmium is a major contributor to primary production and nitrogen fixation in the tropical and subtropical oceans. These regions are often characterized by low phosphorus (P) concentrations, and P starvation of Trichodesmium could limit growth, and potentially constrain nitrogen fixation. To better understand how this genus responds to P starvation we examined four genes involved in P acquisition: two copies of a high-affinity phosphate binding protein ( pstS and sphX ) and two putative alkaline phosphatases ( phoA and phoX ). Sequence analysis of these genes among cultured species of Trichodesmium ( T. tenue, T. erythraeum, T. thiebautii and T. spiralis ) showed that they all are present and conserved within the genus. In T. erythraeum IMS101, the expression of sphX , phoA and phoX were sensitive to P supply whereas pstS was not. The induction of alkaline phosphatase activity corresponded with phoA and phoX expression, but enzyme activity persisted after the expression of these genes returned to basal levels. Additionally, nifH (nitrogenase reductase; involved in nitrogen fixation) expression was downregulated under P starvation conditions. These data highlight molecular level responses to low P and lay a foundation for better understanding the dynamics of Trichodesmium P physiology in low-P environments.     

Cytokinin represses phosphate-starvation response through increasing of intracellular phosphate level

The involvement of cytokinins (CTKs) in the repression of phosphate (Pi)-starvation signalling has been widely documented. However, the full physiological and molecular relevance of this role remains unclear. To gain further insights into the regulation system of CTK repression of Pi-starvation signalling, a global analysis of gene expression events in rice seedlings under Pi starvation, and the exogenous CTK treatment under Pi-sufficient (+P) and Pi-deficient (-P) conditions, was conducted using oligonucleotide array analysis. Physiological and biochemical adaptation was observed after 10 d Pi starvation in rice seedlings. A global reduction of the Pi-starvation signalling was detected after 3 d treatment of exogenous CTK. Expression profiling data indicate that, together with a significant increase of intracellular Pi content, many expression changes responsive to Pi starvation were reversed by exogenous CTK treatment while CTK-responsive genes behaved normally under -P condition. These results suggest that the interplay of CTK signal and Pi-starvation response can be partially explained by the rise of Pi concentration after exogenous CTK treatment. Microarray data also revealed that a small number of genes have different CTK response patterns under different Pi levels, suggesting a subtle interaction between CTK and Pi-starvation signalling pathway.     

Role of Escherichia coli heat shock proteins DnaK and HtpG (C62.5) in response to nutritional deprivation.

Because of the highly conserved pattern of expression of the eucaryotic heat shock genes hsp70 and hsp84 or their cognates during sporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and development in higher organisms, the role of the Escherichia coli homologs dnaK and htpG was examined during the response to starvation. The htpG deletion mutant was found to be similar to its wild-type parent in its ability to survive starvation for essential nutrients and to induce proteins specific to starvation conditions. The dnaK103 mutant, however, was highly susceptible to killing by starvation for carbon and, to a lesser extent, for nitrogen and phosphate. Analysis of proteins induced under starvation conditions on two-dimensional gels showed that the dnaK103 mutant was defective for the synthesis of some proteins induced in wild-type cells by carbon starvation and of some proteins induced under all starvation conditions, including the stationary phase in wild-type cells. In addition, unique proteins were synthesized in the dnaK103 mutant in response to starvation. Although the synthesis of some proteins under glucose starvation control was drastically affected by the dnaK103 mutation, the synthesis of proteins specifically induced by nitrogen starvation was essentially unaffected. Similarly, the dnaK103 mutant was able to grow, utilizing glutamine or arginine as a source of nitrogen, at a rate approximate to that of the wild-type parent, but it inefficiently utilized glycerol or maltose as carbon sources. Several differences between the protein synthetic pattern of the dnaK103 mutant and the wild type were observed after phosphate starvation, but these did not result in a decreased ability to survive phosphate starvation, compared with nitrogen starvation.