Combinatorial Interactions of Biotic and Abiotic Stresses in Plants and Their Molecular Mechanisms: Systems Biology Approach

Plants are continually facing biotic and abiotic stresses, and hence, they need to respond and adapt to survive. Plant response during multiple and combined biotic and abiotic stresses is highly complex and varied than the individual stress. These stresses resulted alteration of plant behavior through regulating the levels of microRNA, heat shock proteins, epigenetic variations. These variations can cause many adverse effects on the growth and development of the plant. Further, in natural conditions, several abiotic stresses causing factors make the plant more susceptible to pathogens infections and vice-versa. A very intricate and multifaceted interactions of various biomolecules are involved in metabolic pathways that can direct towards a cross-tolerance and improvement of plant’s defence system. Systems biology approach plays a significant role in the investigation of these molecular interactions. The valuable information obtained by systems biology will help to develop stress-resistant plant varieties against multiple stresses. Thus, this review aims to decipher various multilevel interactions at the molecular level under combinatorial biotic and abiotic stresses and the role of systems biology to understand these molecular interactions.     

Recent advances on proteins of plant terminal membranes.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, our knowledge of the protein equipment of plant membranes progresses at an accelerating pace, owing to the irruption of molecular biology tools and genetics strategies in plant biology. Map-based cloning strategies and exploration of EST databases rapidly enrich the catalog of cDNA or gene sequences expected to code for membrane proteins. The accumulation of 'putative' membrane proteins reinforces the need for structural, functional and physiological information. Indeed, ambiguities often exist concerning the association to a membrane, the membrane identity and the topology of the protein inserted in the membrane. The combination of directed mutagenesis and heterologous expression of plant genes in various systems and plant reverse genetics has opened the possibility to study molecular and physiological functions. This review will emphasize how these tools have been essential for the exciting recent discoveries on plant terminal membrane proteins. These discoveries concern a variety of transport systems for ions, organic solutes including auxin, water channels, a large collection of systems suspected to act as receptors of chemical signals, proteins thought to control vesicle trafficking and enzymatic systems.     

植物性别分化的遗传基础与标记物研究

性别分化是植物个体发育的重要阶段,其分化机理的阐明不仅在发育生物学中具有重要的理论意义,而且具有极为重要的实践价值。遗传标记,尤其是近年来快速发展起来的蛋白质、分子标记等技术,在揭示植物性别分化机理的研究中起着越来越重要的作用。本文在比较不同开花系统植物性别分化的遗传基础上,综述了各类遗传标记在植物性别分化中的研究和应用,包括形态标记、蛋白质标记、同工酶标记和分子标记等,并对各种遗传标记在性别分化研究应用中的优缺点进行了分析。     

植物性别分化的遗传基础与标记物研究

性别分化是植物个体发育的重要阶段 ,其分化机理的阐明不仅在发育生物学中具有重要的理论意义 ,而且具有极为重要的实践价值。遗传标记 ,尤其是近年来快速发展起来的蛋白质、分子标记等技术 ,在揭示植物性别分化机理的研究中起着越来越重要的作用。本文在比较不同开花系统植物性别分化的遗传基础上 ,综述了各类遗传标记在植物性别分化中的研究和应用 ,包括形态标记、蛋白质标记、同工酶标记和分子标记等 ,并对各种遗传标记在性别分化研究应用中的优缺点进行了分析。     

Functional markers and a 'systemic strategy': convergency between plant breeding, plant nutrition and molecular biology.

Research perspectives towards sustainable plant production through plant breeding on abiotic stress tolerance require interdisciplinary competence. The present paper wants to strengthen awareness of important activities or current insights in plant breeding, plant nutrition and molecular biology to facilitate approximation of the disciplines and to direct efforts in molecular biology early in development towards application. As a consequence of recent discussion on appropriate approaches in systems biology towards crop improvement, a global 'systemic strategy' is presented to identify functional marker candidates for abiotic stress tolerance more efficiently.     

植物根系形态对低磷胁迫应答的研究进展

本文综述了近年来植物对磷营养高效吸收有关的根系形态方面的研究进展,总结了植物适应低磷胁迫的根系形态特征,以及植物适应低磷胁迫根系形态变化的激素调控的内在机制,着重阐述了植物适应低磷根系形态变化的分子生物学基础,并对开展此类工作的有效途径进行了探讨.     

植物根系形态对低磷胁迫应答的研究进展

本文综述了近年来植物对磷营养高效吸收有关的根系形态方面的研究进展, 总结了植物适应低磷胁迫的根系形态特征, 以及植物适应低磷胁迫根系形态变化的激素调控的内在机制, 着重阐述了植物适应低磷根系形态变化的分子生物学基础, 并对开展此类工作的有效途径进行了探讨。     

Plant hormones: metabolism, signaling and crosstalk

Plants synthesize various hormones in response to environmental cues and developmental signals to ensure their proper growth and development.Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms by which plant hormones control growth and development contributes to our understanding of fundamental plant biology and provides tools to improve crops.Because of their critical roles in plant growth and development, plant hormones have been studied extensively since the early days of plant biology.     

植物激素研究中的化学生物学思路与应用

植物激素是植物生长发育过程中必不可少的重要调节物质, 它们直接或间接参与调控从种子萌发到成熟的各个发育阶段以及对生物/非生物胁迫的响应。随着利用小分子化合物探究生物体生理代谢分子机制的不断发展, 植物生物学与化学之间一个新的前沿交叉学科——化学生物学随之诞生, 并在短时间内取得了重要进展。化学生物学的思路与方法在植物激素研究领域中起到了不可替代的作用, 尤其是在激素合成及信号转导研究领域。该文概述了主要植物激素的小分子类似物及其在植物生长发育和生物/非生物胁迫响应等方面的作用机制, 并讨论了激素类似物在实际生产中的应用潜力及未来的研究方向。     

On evaluating models in Computational Morphodynamics

Recent advances in experimental plant biology have led to an increased potential to investigate plant development at a systems level. The emerging research field of Computational Morphodynamics has the aim to lead this development by combining dynamic spatial experimental data with computational models of molecular networks, growth, and mechanics in a multicellular context. The increased number of published models may lead to a diversification of our understanding of the systems, and methods for evaluating, comparing, and sharing models are main challenges for the future. We will discuss this problem using ideas originating from physics and use recent computational models of plant development as examples.     

Plant systems biology: network matters

Systems biology is all about networks. A recent trend has been to associate systems biology exclusively with the study of gene regulatory or protein-interaction networks. However, systems biology approaches can be applied at many other scales, from the subatomic to the ecosystem scales. In this review, we describe studies at the sub-cellular, tissue, whole plant and crop scales and highlight how these studies can be related to systems biology. We discuss the properties of system approaches at each scale as well as their current limits, and pinpoint in each case advances unique to the considered scale but representing potential for the other scales. We conclude by examining plant models bridging different scales and considering the future prospects of plant systems biology.     

Celebrating Plant Cells： A Special Issue on Plant Cell Biology

A special issue on plant cell biology is long overdue for JIPB! In the last two decades or so, the plant biology community has been thrilled by explosive discoveries regarding the molecular and genetic basis of plant growth, development, and responses to the environment, largely owing to recent maturation of model systems like Arabidopsis thaliana and the rice Oryza sativa, as well as the rapid development of high throughput technologies associated with qenomics and proteomics.     

Modeling Regulatory Networks to Understand Plant Development: Small Is Beautiful

We now have unprecedented capability to generate large data sets on the myriad genes and molecular players that regulate plant development. Networks of interactions between systems components can be derived from that data in various ways and can be used to develop mathematical models of various degrees of sophistication. Here, we discuss why, in many cases, it is productive to focus on small networks. We provide a brief and accessible introduction to relevant mathematical and computational approaches to model regulatory networks and discuss examples of small network models that have helped generate new insights into plant biology (where small is beautiful), such as in circadian rhythms, hormone signaling, and tissue patterning. We conclude by outlining some of the key technical and modeling challenges for the future.     

组学技术在核盘菌研究中的应用

核盘菌Sclerotinia sclerotiorum是一种典型的死体营养型植物病原真菌,全球分布且寄主范围广泛,严重危害多种植物,对农业生产造成严重损失。核盘菌研究主要集中在真菌生物学及病理学等方面。近年来,随着高通量分析技术的不断改进,多种组学技术为系统生物学研究提供了平台。文中主要综述利用多种组学研究方法在植物病原真菌核盘菌研究中的应用及研究进展,探讨开展植物病原物及病害发展的系统性研究思路,以期为核盘菌的分子生物学及致病机理等研究提供参考,同时也为其他植物病原物及病害系统研究提供理论依据。