Peptide signaling for drought-induced tomato flower drop

Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 367 (6485) ◽  
pp. 1482-1485 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Reichardt ◽  
H.-P. Piepho ◽  
A. Stintzi ◽  
A. Schaller
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Drought Stress ◽  
Peptide Hormone ◽  
Proteolytic Processing ◽  
Mature Peptide ◽  
Molecular Control ◽  
Small Plant ◽  
Tomato Plants ◽  
Growth Promoting ◽  
Insight Into

The premature abscission of flowers and fruits limits crop yield under environmental stress. Drought-induced flower drop in tomato plants was found to be regulated by phytosulfokine (PSK), a peptide hormone previously known for its growth-promoting and immune-modulating activities. PSK formation in response to drought stress depends on phytaspase 2, a subtilisin-like protease of the phytaspase subtype that generates the peptide hormone by aspartate-specific processing of the PSK precursor in the tomato flower pedicel. The mature peptide acts in the abscission zone where it induces expression of cell wall hydrolases that execute the abscission process. Our results provide insight into the molecular control of abscission as regulated by proteolytic processing to generate a small plant peptide hormone.

scholarly journals Development and Yield Traits Indicate That the Constitutive Wound Response Phenotype of Prosystemin Overexpressing Tomato Plants Entails No Fitness Penalty

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1148
Author(s):  
Mariela Luna Martínez ◽  
Norma Martínez-Gallardo ◽  
Kena Casarrubias-Castillo ◽  
Simona M. Monti ◽  
Mariangela Coppola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsically Disordered Protein ◽  
Titratable Acidity ◽  
Peptide Hormone ◽  
Defense Responses ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Photosynthetic Performance ◽  
Wound Response ◽  
Tomato Plants ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered ◽  
Environmentally Sound

Systemin is a peptide hormone that regulates the wound response in tomato plants. Consequently, the overexpression of its prosystemin (ProSys) precursor protein leads to a resource-demanding constitutive activation of tomato’s wound-response. According to the growth vs. defense resource allocation premise, ProSys overexpression should negatively affect the physiological fitness of tomato plants. The present study was performed to explore why the opposite effect was steadily observed, instead. It was based on the premise that a better understanding of this unexpected outcome could help establish improved wound and related defense responses without negatively affecting crop productivity. To this effect, an experimental strategy was deployed to measure various physiological, biochemical and molecular parameters associated with either development, productivity, defense or in combination in untransformed (WT) and ProSys overexpressing (ProSys-OE) tomato plants. Thus, the chlorophyll fluorescence data obtained from plants grown under greenhouse experiments indicated that photosynthetic performance was not affected in ProSys-OE plants which also grew 7–14% taller than WT plants. Moreover, they showed accelerated flowering and yielded fruits of increased size (7–16% taller and wider) and weight (16–58% heavier), with modified fruit quality in terms of firmness (28% higher), titratable acidity (27–32% higher) and chemical composition. These findings suggest two complementary possibilities: (i) systemin is able to modulate both the wound response and plant development through the activation of jasmonic acid biosynthesis and signaling, and (ii) ProSys, an intrinsically disordered protein, acts as a signaling hub to regulate development and defense programs. These results shed light on the understanding of this plant regulatory mechanism and further suggest that systemin/ProSys-based regulation is central to control the defense-development balance in tomato. This knowledge could eventually lead to improved and more environmentally sound agricultural production practices.

scholarly journals The Arabidopsis Root Tip (Phospho)Proteomes at Growth-Promoting versus Growth-Repressing Conditions Reveal Novel Root Growth Regulators

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1665
Author(s):  
Natalia Nikonorova ◽  
Evan Murphy ◽  
Cassio Flavio Fonseca de Lima ◽  
Shanshuo Zhu ◽  
Brigitte van de Cotte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Root Growth ◽  
Growth Regulators ◽  
Growth Regulation ◽  
Phosphorylation Site ◽  
Primary Root ◽  
Root Tip ◽  
Arabidopsis Root ◽  
Growth Promoting ◽  
The Impact

Auxin plays a dual role in growth regulation and, depending on the tissue and concentration of the hormone, it can either promote or inhibit division and expansion processes in plants. Recent studies have revealed that, beyond transcriptional reprogramming, alternative auxin-controlled mechanisms regulate root growth. Here, we explored the impact of different concentrations of the synthetic auxin NAA that establish growth-promoting and -repressing conditions on the root tip proteome and phosphoproteome, generating a unique resource. From the phosphoproteome data, we pinpointed (novel) growth regulators, such as the RALF34-THE1 module. Our results, together with previously published studies, suggest that auxin, H+-ATPases, cell wall modifications and cell wall sensing receptor-like kinases are tightly embedded in a pathway regulating cell elongation. Furthermore, our study assigned a novel role to MKK2 as a regulator of primary root growth and a (potential) regulator of auxin biosynthesis and signalling, and suggests the importance of the MKK2 Thr31 phosphorylation site for growth regulation in the Arabidopsis root tip.

scholarly journals Silencing of The Slzf-31 Gene Decreases The Salt Stress Tolerance And Drought Tolerance Of Tomato

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tong Pei ◽  
Yufang Bao ◽  
Tairu Wu ◽  
Ziyu Wang ◽  
Yue Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salt Stress ◽  
Drought Stress ◽  
Virus Induced Gene Silencing ◽  
Chlorophyll Fluorescence Parameters ◽  
Tomato Plants ◽  
Drought And Salt Stress ◽  
Stem Bending ◽  
Physiological Indexes ◽  
Mda Content ◽  
Aba Content

Abstract The SlZF-31 gene is a member of the tomato C2H2 transcription factor family. Previous studies have shown that SlZF-31 gene expression is upregulated under drought stress and salt stress, but the specific function of this gene in tomato plants in response to these two kinds of stress is still unclear. To further explore the function of the SlZF-31 gene in tomato under drought stress and salt stress, we employed the virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) method to reduce the expression of the SlZF-31 gene in tomato. The results showed that TRV2-SlZF-31 plants had higher levels of wilt and stem bending than CK and CK-TRV2 plants under drought and salt stress. The ABA content of TRV2-SlZF-31 plants were lower than those of CK and CK-TRV2 plants. The analysis of physiological indexes showed that the SOD and POD activity and the PRO content of TRV2-SlZF-31 plants were lower than those of CK and CK-TRV2 plants, while the MDA content of TRV2-SLlZF-31 plants was higher than those of CK and CK-TRV2 plants. The accumulation of H2O2 and O2- in TRV2-SlZF-31 plants was greater than those in CK and CK-TRV2 plants. The values of the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (ΦII and qL) of TRV2-SlZF-31 plants were significantly lower than those of CK and CK-TRV2 plants. These results showed that the silencing of the SlZF-31 gene reduces the drought resistance and salt tolerance of tomato.

scholarly journals Growth and Physiological Traits Associated with Drought Survival and Post-drought Recovery in Perennial Turfgrass Species

2010 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Chai ◽  
Fang Jin ◽  
Emily Merewitz ◽  
Bingru Huang
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Drought Stress ◽  
Osmotic Adjustment ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Kentucky Bluegrass ◽  
Physiological Traits ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Cell Wall Elasticity ◽  
Drought Recovery ◽  
Drought Survival

The objective of this study was to determine physiological traits for drought survival and post-drought recovery upon re-watering in two C3 perennial grass species, kentucky bluegrass [KBG (Poa pratensis)] and perennial ryegrass [PRG (Lolium perenne)]. Plants were maintained well watered or exposed to drought stress by withholding irrigation and were then re-watered in a growth chamber. KBG had significantly higher grass quality and leaf photochemical efficiency, and lower electrolyte leakage than PRG during 20 days of drought. After 7 days of re-watering, drought-damaged leaves were rehydrated to the control level in KBG, but could not fully recover in PRG. KBG produced a greater number of new roots, while PRG had more rapid elongation of new roots after 16 days of re-watering. Superior drought tolerance in KBG was associated with osmotic adjustment, higher cell wall elasticity, and lower relative water content at zero turgor. Osmotic adjustment, cell wall elasticity, and cell membrane stability could play important roles in leaf desiccation tolerance and drought survival in perennial grass species. In addition, post-drought recovery of leaf hydration level and physiological activity could be associated with the accumulation of carbohydrates in leaves and rhizomes during drought stress and new root production after re-watering.

scholarly journals Enhancement of drought tolerance in diverse Vicia faba cultivars by inoculation with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria under newly reclaimed soil conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsayed Mansour ◽  
Hany A. M. Mahgoub ◽  
Samir A. Mahgoub ◽  
El-Sayed E. A. El-Sobky ◽  
Mohamed I. Abdul-Hamid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Plant Growth ◽  
Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Drought Conditions ◽  
Moderate Drought ◽  
Plant Growth Promoting ◽  
Growth Promoting ◽  
Effects Of Drought

AbstractWater deficit has devastating impacts on legume production, particularly with the current abrupt climate changes in arid environments. The application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is an effective approach for producing natural nitrogen and attenuating the detrimental effects of drought stress. This study investigated the influence of inoculation with the PGPR Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae (USDA 2435) and Pseudomonas putida (RA MTCC5279) solely or in combination on the physio-biochemical and agronomic traits of five diverse Vicia faba cultivars under well-watered (100% crop evapotranspiration [ETc]), moderate drought (75% ETc), and severe drought (50% ETc) conditions in newly reclaimed poor-fertility sandy soil. Drought stress substantially reduced the expression of photosynthetic pigments and water relation parameters. In contrast, antioxidant enzyme activities and osmoprotectants were considerably increased in plants under drought stress compared with those in well-watered plants. These adverse effects of drought stress reduced crop water productivity (CWP) and seed yield‐related traits. However, the application of PGPR, particularly a consortium of both strains, improved these parameters and increased seed yield and CWP. The evaluated cultivars displayed varied tolerance to drought stress: Giza-843 and Giza-716 had the highest tolerance under well-watered and moderate drought conditions, whereas Giza-843 and Sakha-4 were more tolerant under severe drought conditions. Thus, co-inoculation of drought-tolerant cultivars with R. leguminosarum and P. putida enhanced their tolerance and increased their yield and CWP under water-deficit stress conditions. This study showed for the first time that the combined use of R. leguminosarum and P. putida is a promising and ecofriendly strategy for increasing drought tolerance in legume crops.

scholarly journals Mincle is a long sought receptor for mycobacterial cord factor

2009 ◽  
Vol 206 (13) ◽  
pp. 2865-2868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isamu Matsunaga ◽  
D. Branch Moody
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Therapeutic Tool ◽  
Cord Factor ◽  
Insight Into

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a leading killer worldwide, yet the adjuvancy of its cell wall has proven to be a valuable therapeutic tool for vaccination and immunotherapy. Much research effort has focused on the mycobacterial glycolipid trehalose-6,6’-dimycolate (TDM), a potent immunostimulant that is also known as cord factor. Now, the identification of the monocyte-inducible C-type lectin (Mincle) as an essential receptor for TDM provides new insight into the formation of the characteristic granulomas in tuberculosis and an avenue for rational adjuvant design.

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