A Cotton Annexin Protein AnxGb6 Regulates Fiber Elongation through Its Interaction with Actin 1

Annexins are assumed to be involved in regulating cotton fiber elongation, but direct evidence remains to be presented. Here we cloned six Annexin genes (AnxGb) abundantly expressed in fiber from sea-island cotton (G. barbadense). qRT-PCR results indicated that all six G. barbadense annexin genes were expressed in elongating cotton fibers, while only the expression of AnxGb6 was cotton fiber-specific. Yeast two hybridization and BiFC analysis revealed that AnxGb6 homodimer interacted with a cotton fiber specific actin GbAct1. Ectopic-expressed AnxGb6 in Arabidopsis enhanced its root elongation without increasing the root cell number. Ectopic AnxGb6 expression resulted in more F-actin accumulation in the basal part of the root cell elongation zone. Analysis of AnxGb6 expression in three cotton genotypes with different fiber length confirmed that AnxGb6 expression was correlated to cotton fiber length, especially fiber elongation rate. Our results demonstrated that AnxGb6 was important for fiber elongation by potentially providing a domain for F-actin organization.     

Exogenous Jasmonic Acid Inhibits Cotton Fiber Elongation

Jasmonic acid (JA) is a well-characterized phytohormone that acts in various ways to influence plant development. Its role in cotton fiber development, however, has not yet been thoroughly explored. In this study, JA was proven to be an inhibitor of ovule and fiber development in vitro. Continuous exogenous JA application inhibited fiber elongation. This effect was dependent on development stage and dosage. Fibers and ovules at three different stages of development and different JA dosages were compared. The most serious suppression was detected when ovules 1?day before anthesis (–1?DPA) were cultured in medium with 2.5?μM JA. Genes related to trichome and fiber development responded differently to JA treatment between –1?DPA and 1?day post anthesis (1 DPA). JAs (JA and JA-Ile) quantification showed that JAs content was sharply decreased from –1?DPA to 5?DPA ovules, which indicated that JA was negatively associated with fiber elongation in vivo. In addition, gene expression analysis showed the same trend. Our results demonstrate that there was a negative relationship of JA with fiber elongation in vitro and in vivo. These results are meaningful for uncovering the mechanism of fiber elongation in cotton.     

丹参体内Sm-miR858对R2R3-MYB转录因子SmPAP1进行靶向负调控作用研究

MicroRNAs(miRNAs)是一类对基因表达进行负调控的非编码小分子RNA。通过前期对丹参miRNAs的高通量测序得到了一个miR858成熟序列,命名为Sm-miR858。序列比对显示,Sm-miR858与其它植物中已鉴定的miR858序列高度保守;Small RNA Northern blotting结果显示Sm-miR858在丹参根、茎和叶组织中均有表达,叶中表达水平相对较高。为了探究Sm-miR858在丹参体内的功能,首先利用在线生物软件对Sm-miR858的靶标基因进行预测,psRNATarget分析结果显示,Sm-miR858的潜在靶标基因共有13个,其中一个靶标基因SmPAP1作为一个重要的转录因子参与丹参酚酸类活性物质的代谢调控。为了验证Sm-miR858对SmPAP1的靶向作用,采用Real-time quantitative PCR依次对烟草瞬时表达体系和丹参组织器官中的Sm-miR858与SmPAP1之间共表达相关性进行分析与实验验证。Real-time qPCR结果显示,在丹参组织中SmPAP1与Sm-miR858共表达水平存在显著的负相关性。进而分别构建Sm-miR858和SmPAP1过表达植物载体,并在烟草叶片中进行瞬时共表达研究。结果显示,与对照相比,Sm-miR858过表达会导致SmPAP1的mRNA水平显著下降,说明在丹参体内Sm-miR858的确对SmPAP1基因表达进行靶向负调控。研究结果为阐明Sm-miR858在丹参体内酚酸类活性物质代谢途径调控作用奠定坚实的基础。     

The R2R3-MYB gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana

MYB factors represent a family of proteins that include the conserved MYB DNA-binding domain. In contrast to animals, plants contain a MYB-protein subfamily that is characterised by the R2R3-type MYB domain. 'Classical' MYB factors, which are related to c-Myb, seem to be involved in the control of the cell cycle in animals, plants and other higher eukaryotes. Systematic screens for knockout mutations in MYB genes, followed by phenotypic analyses and the dissection of mutants with interesting phenotypes, have started to unravel the functions of the 125 R2R3-MYB genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. R2R3-type MYB genes control many aspects of plant secondary metabolism, as well as the identity and fate of plant cells.     

Parp3 Negatively Regulates Immunoglobulin Class Switch Recombination

To generate highly specific and adapted immune responses, B cells diversify their antibody repertoire through mechanisms involving the generation of programmed DNA damage. Somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination (CSR) are initiated by the recruitment of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) to immunoglobulin loci and by the subsequent generation of DNA lesions, which are differentially processed to mutations during SHM or to double-stranded DNA break intermediates during CSR. The latter activate the DNA damage response and mobilize multiple DNA repair factors, including Parp1 and Parp2, to promote DNA repair and long-range recombination. We examined the contribution of Parp3 in CSR and SHM. We find that deficiency in Parp3 results in enhanced CSR, while SHM remains unaffected. Mechanistically, this is due to increased occupancy of AID at the donor (Sμ) switch region. We also find evidence of increased levels of DNA damage at switch region junctions and a bias towards alternative end joining in the absence of Parp3. We propose that Parp3 plays a CSR-specific role by controlling AID levels at switch regions during CSR.     

A Rice Gene of De Novo Origin Negatively Regulates Pathogen-Induced Defense Response

How defense genes originated with the evolution of their specific pathogen-responsive traits remains an important problem. It is generally known that a form of duplication can generate new genes, suggesting that a new gene usually evolves from an ancestral gene. However, we show that a new defense gene in plants may evolve by de novo origination, resulting in sophisticated disease-resistant functions in rice. Analyses of gene evolution showed that this new gene, OsDR10, had homologs only in the closest relative, Leersia genus, but not other subfamilies of the grass family; therefore, it is a rice tribe-specific gene that may have originated de novo in the tribe. We further show that this gene may evolve a highly conservative rice-specific function that contributes to the regulation difference between rice and other plant species in response to pathogen infections. Biologic analyses including gene silencing, pathologic analysis, and mutant characterization by transformation showed that the OsDR10-suppressed plants enhanced resistance to a broad spectrum of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae strains, which cause bacterial blight disease. This enhanced disease resistance was accompanied by increased accumulation of endogenous salicylic acid (SA) and suppressed accumulation of endogenous jasmonic acid (JA) as well as modified expression of a subset of defense-responsive genes functioning both upstream and downstream of SA and JA. These data and analyses provide fresh insights into the new biologic and evolutionary processes of a de novo gene recruited rapidly.     

Synchronous Transcription of Cytoskeleton-Associated Genes is Critical to Cotton Fiber Elongation

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Cytoskeleton-associated genes’ expression in the modern cotton fibers has selectively been evolved under domestication. Since...     

Lymphocyte Activation Gene-3 (LAG-3) Negatively Regulates Environmentally-Induced Autoimmunity

Environmental factors including drugs, mineral oils and heavy metals such as lead, gold and mercury are triggers of autoimmune diseases in animal models or even in occupationally exposed humans. After exposure to subtoxic levels of mercury (Hg), genetically susceptible strains of mice develop an autoimmune disease characterized by the production of highly specific anti-nucleolar autoantibodies, hyperglobulinemia and nephritis. However, mice can be tolerized to the disease by a single low dose administration of Hg. Lymphocyte Activation Gene-3 (LAG-3) is a CD4-related, MHC-class II binding molecule expressed on activated T cells and NK cells which maintains lymphocyte homeostatic balance via various inhibitory mechanisms. In our model, administration of anti-LAG-3 monoclonal antibody broke tolerance to Hg resulting in autoantibody production and an increase in serum IgE level. In addition, LAG-3-deficient B6.SJL mice not only had increased susceptibility to Hg-induced autoimmunity but were also unresponsive to tolerance induction. Conversely, adoptive transfer of wild-type CD4⁺ T cells was able to partially rescue LAG-3-deficient mice from the autoimmune disease. Further, in LAG-3-deficient mice, mercury elicited higher amounts of IL-6, IL-4 and IFN-γ, cytokines known to play a critical role in mercury-induced autoimmunity. Therefore, we conclude that LAG-3 exerts an important regulatory effect on autoimmunity elicited by a common environmental pollutant.     

拟南芥R2R3-MYB类转录因子在环境胁迫中的作用

MYB转录因子是植物转录因子中最大的家族之一,以含有保守的MYB结构域为共同特征,分为三个亚族（R1／2-MYB、R2R3-MYB和R1R2R3-MYB）,其中含有两个MYB结构域的R2R3-MYB成员最多,广泛参与植物次生代谢调控、细胞形态发生、胁迫应答、分生组织形成及细胞周期控制等。近年来,R2R3-MYB在植物逆境胁迫中的作用引起了广泛关注,本文综述了拟南芥R2R3-MYB蛋白在环境胁迫响应中作用的研究进展。     

An Acer palmatum R2R3-MYB Gene,ApMYB77, Confers Freezing and Drought Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Low temperature is one of the most prominent environmental factors affecting plant growth. As a deciduous arboreal tree, Acer palmatum has considerable...