The electrical network of maize root apex is gravity dependent.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Masi E
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4295110 | biostudies-literature | 2015
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
The electrical network of maize root apex is gravity dependent.
Masi Elisa E Ciszak Marzena M Comparini Diego D Monetti Emanuela E Pandolfi Camilla C Azzarello Elisa E Mugnai Sergio S Baluška Frantisek F Mancuso Stefano S
Scientific reports 20150115
Investigations carried out on maize roots under microgravity and hypergravity revealed that gravity conditions have strong effects on the network of plant electrical activity. Both the duration of action potentials (APs) and their propagation velocities were significantly affected by gravity. Similarly to what was reported for animals, increased gravity forces speed-up APs and enhance synchronized electrical events also in plants. The root apex transition zone emerges as the most active, as well ...[more]
Similar Datasets
Project description:The study of electrical network systems, integrated with chemical signaling networks, is becoming a common trend in contemporary biology. Classical techniques are limited to the assessment of signals from doublets or triplets of cells at a fixed temporal bin width. At present, full characteristics of the electrical network distribution and dynamics in plant cells and tissues has not been established. Here, a 60-channels multielectrode array (MEA) is applied to study spatiotemporal characteristics of the electrical network activity of the root apex. Both intense spontaneous electrical activities and stimulation-elicited bursts of locally propagating electrical signals have been observed. Propagation of the spikes indicates the existence of excitable traveling waves in plants, similar to those observed in non-nerve electrogenic tissues of animals. Obtained data reveal synchronous electric activities of root cells emerging in a specific root apex region. The dynamic electrochemical activity of root apex cells is proposed to continuously integrate internal and external signaling for developmental adaptations in a changing environment.
| S-EPMC2656202 | biostudies-other
Project description:Gravitropism refers to the growth or movement of plants that is influenced by gravity. Roots exhibit positive gravitropism, and the root cap is thought to be the gravity-sensing site. In some plants, the root cap requires light irradiation for positive gravitropic responses. However, the mechanisms regulating this phenomenon are unknown. We herein report that maize roots exposed to white light continuously for ?1-2h show increased indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) levels in the root tips, especially in the transition zone (1-3mm from the tip). Treatment with IAA biosynthesis inhibitors yucasin and l-kynurenine prevented any increases in IAA content and root curvature under light conditions. Analyses of the incorporation of a stable isotope label from tryptophan into IAA revealed that some of the IAA in roots was synthesized in the root apex. Furthermore, Zmvt2 and Zmyuc gene transcripts were detected in the root apex. One of the Zmyuc genes (ZM2G141383) was up-regulated by light irradiation in the 0-1mm tip region. Our findings suggest that IAA accumulation in the transition zone is due to light-induced activation of Zmyuc gene expression in the 0-1mm root apex region. Light-induced changes in IAA levels and distributions mediate the maize root gravitropic U-turn.
| S-EPMC4973731 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Nitrate is an essential nutrient for plants, and crops depend on its availability for growth and development, but its presence in agricultural soils is far from stable. In order to overcome nitrate fluctuations in soil, plants have developed adaptive mechanisms allowing them to grow despite changes in external nitrate availability. Nitrate can act as both nutrient and signal, regulating global gene expression in plants, and the root tip has been proposed as the sensory organ. A set of genome-wide studies has demonstrated several nitrate-regulated genes in the roots of many plants, although only a few studies have been carried out on distinct root zones. To unravel new details of the transcriptomic and proteomic responses to nitrate availability in a major food crop, a double untargeted approach was conducted on a transition zone-enriched root portion of maize seedlings subjected to differing nitrate supplies. The results highlighted a complex transcriptomic and proteomic reprogramming that occurs in response to nitrate, emphasizing the role of this root zone in sensing and transducing nitrate signal. Our findings indicated a relationship of nitrate with biosynthesis and signalling of several phytohormones, such as auxin, strigolactones, and brassinosteroids. Moreover, the already hypothesized involvement of nitric oxide in the early response to nitrate was confirmed with the use of nitric oxide inhibitors. Our results also suggested that cytoskeleton activation and cell wall modification occurred in response to nitrate provision in the transition zone.
| S-EPMC4473975 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Nitrate (NO3 (-)) is a key element for crop production but its levels in agricultural soils are limited. Plants have developed mechanisms to cope with these NO3 (-) fluctuations based on sensing nitrate at the root apex. Particularly, the transition zone (TZ) of root apex has been suggested as a signaling-response zone. This study dissects cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying NO3 (-) resupply effects on primary root (PR) growth in maize, confirming nitric oxide (NO) as a putative modulator. Nitrate restoration induced PR elongation within the first 2 h, corresponding to a stimulation of cell elongation at the basal border of the TZ. Xyloglucans (XGs) immunolocalization together with Brefeldin A applications demonstrated that nitrate resupply induces XG accumulation. This effect was blocked by cPTIO (NO scavenger). Transcriptional analysis of ZmXET1 confirmed the stimulatory effect of nitrate on XGs accumulation in cells of the TZ. Immunolocalization analyses revealed a positive effect of nitrate resupply on auxin and PIN1 accumulation, but a transcriptional regulation of auxin biosynthesis/transport/signaling genes was excluded. Short-term nitrate treatment repressed the transcription of genes involved in strigolactones (SLs) biosynthesis and transport, mainly in the TZ. Enhancement of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs) transcription in presence of cPTIO indicated endogenous NO as a negative modulator of CCDs activity. Finally, treatment with the SLs-biosynthesis inhibitor (TIS108) restored the root growth in the nitrate-starved seedlings. Present report suggests that the NO-mediated root apex responses to nitrate are accomplished in cells of the TZ via integrative actions of auxin, NO and SLs.
| S-EPMC4722128 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Water, nutrient, light, and interspecific facilitation regulation of soil physicochemical properties and root morphology modulate nitrogen (N) uptake in cereal and legume intercropping systems. However, maize root morphological plasticity and N uptake capability response to gravity in the intercropping system remains to be determined. In this study, maize was grown under 20 cm (I20), 40 cm (I40), and 60 cm (I60) of narrow row spacing in an intercropping system (maize-soybean strip relay intercropping) and equal row spacing of monoculture (M) in a 2-year field experiment. As a supplementary for the field experiment, maize root barrier and plant inclination experiments were conducted. Plant inclination, brace root morphology, N uptake, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) level, IAA synthesis genes, and grain yield were assessed. The result showed that the plant inclination increased with decreasing narrow row spacing in intercropping system. Also, the brace unilateral root growth ratio (BURR) increased with increasing plant inclination in intercropping treatments. The plant inclination experiment showed the BURR achieved 94% after inclination at 45°. BURR tended to be positively correlated (p = 0.00) with plant inclination. Thus, gravity (plant inclination) causes brace unilateral root growth. The IAA concentration of stem nodes in the wide row increased with increasing plant inclination, while the IAA accumulation decreased in the narrow row. The Zmvt2 and ZM2G141383 genes (associated with IAA biosynthesis) were highly expressed in a wide row. There was a strong correlation (p = 0.03) between the IAA concentration of wide row and the BURR. Therefore, gravity regulates the IAA level, which affects BURR. In addition, the brace root number, volume, and surface area were decreased when BURR was increased. Subsequently, the leaf N, cob N, and kernel N accumulation were reduced. These organs N and grain yield in I60 were not significantly different as compared to the control treatment. The excessive brace unilateral root growth was not conducive to N uptake and increased yield. Our results suggest that gravity is essential in regulating root morphology plasticity by regulating IAA levels and decreasing N uptake capacity. Furthermore, these results indicate that plant inclination can regulate root phenotype and N uptake of maize and by adjusting the spacing of narrow maize row, we can improve the N uptake and yield of the maize-soybean strip relay-intercropping system.
| S-EPMC8450519 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The transition from the vegetative to reproductive development is a critical event in the plant life cycle. The accurate prediction of flowering time in elite germplasm is important for decisions in maize breeding programs and best agronomic practices. The understanding of the genetic control of flowering time in maize has significantly advanced in the past decade. Through comparative genomics, mutant analysis, genetic analysis and QTL cloning, and transgenic approaches, more than 30 flowering time candidate genes in maize have been revealed and the relationships among these genes have been partially uncovered. Based on the knowledge of the flowering time candidate genes, a conceptual gene regulatory network model for the genetic control of flowering time in maize is proposed. To demonstrate the potential of the proposed gene regulatory network model, a first attempt was made to develop a dynamic gene network model to predict flowering time of maize genotypes varying for specific genes. The dynamic gene network model is composed of four genes and was built on the basis of gene expression dynamics of the two late flowering id1 and dlf1 mutants, the early flowering landrace Gaspe Flint and the temperate inbred B73. The model was evaluated against the phenotypic data of the id1 dlf1 double mutant and the ZMM4 overexpressed transgenic lines. The model provides a working example that leverages knowledge from model organisms for the utilization of maize genomic information to predict a whole plant trait phenotype, flowering time, of maize genotypes.
| S-EPMC3422250 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Auxin is an essential plant-specific regulator of patterning processes that also controls directional growth of roots and shoots. In response to gravity stimulation, the PIN3 auxin transporter polarizes to the bottom side of gravity-sensing root cells, presumably redirecting the auxin flux toward the lower side of the root and triggering gravitropic bending. By combining live-cell imaging techniques with pharmacological and genetic approaches, we demonstrate that PIN3 polarization does not require secretion of de novo synthesized proteins or protein degradation, but instead involves rapid, transient stimulation of PIN endocytosis, presumably via a clathrin-dependent pathway. Moreover, gravity-induced PIN3 polarization requires the activity of the guanine nucleotide exchange factors for ARF GTPases (ARF-GEF) GNOM-dependent polar-targeting pathways and might involve endosome-based PIN3 translocation from one cell side to another. Our data suggest that gravity perception acts at several instances of PIN3 trafficking, ultimately leading to the polarization of PIN3, which presumably aligns auxin fluxes with gravity vector and mediates downstream root gravitropic response.
| S-EPMC3009804 | biostudies-other
Project description:Maize root responds to nitrate by modulating its development through the coordinated action of many interacting players. Nitric oxide is produced in primary root early after the nitrate provision, thus inducing root elongation. In this study, RNA sequencing was applied to discover the main molecular signatures distinguishing the response of maize root to nitrate according to their dependency on, or independency of, nitric oxide, thus discriminating the signaling pathways regulated by nitrate through nitric oxide from those regulated by nitrate itself of by further downstream factors. A set of subsequent detailed functional annotation tools (Gene Ontology enrichment, MapMan, KEGG reconstruction pathway, transcription factors detection) were used to gain further information and the lateral root density was measured both in the presence of nitrate and in the presence of nitrate plus cPTIO, a specific NO scavenger, and compared to that observed for N-depleted roots. Our results led us to identify six clusters of transcripts according to their responsiveness to nitric oxide and to their regulation by nitrate provision. In general, shared and specific features for the six clusters were identified, allowing us to determine the overall root response to nitrate according to its dependency on nitric oxide.
| S-EPMC8431222 | biostudies-literature
Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and trans-acting siRNAs (ta-siRNAs) are essential to the establishment of adaxial-abaxial (dorsoventral) leaf polarity. Tas3-derived ta-siRNAs define the adaxial side of the leaf by restricting the expression domain of miRNA miR166, which in turn demarcates the abaxial side of leaves by restricting the expression of adaxial determinants. To investigate the regulatory mechanisms that allow for the precise spatiotemporal accumulation of these polarizing small RNAs, we used laser-microdissection coupled to RT-PCR to determine the expression profiles of their precursor transcripts within the maize shoot apex. Our data reveal that the pattern of mature miR166 accumulation results, in part, from intricate transcriptional regulation of its precursor loci and that only a subset of mir166 family members contribute to the establishment of leaf polarity. We show that miR390, an upstream determinant in leaf polarity whose activity triggers tas3 ta-siRNA biogenesis, accumulates adaxially in leaves. The polar expression of miR390 is established and maintained independent of the ta-siRNA pathway. The comparison of small RNA localization data with the expression profiles of precursor transcripts suggests that miR166 and miR390 accumulation is also regulated at the level of biogenesis and/or stability. Furthermore, mir390 precursors accumulate exclusively within the epidermal layer of the incipient leaf, whereas mature miR390 accumulates in sub-epidermal layers as well. Regulation of miR390 biogenesis, stability, or even discrete trafficking of miR390 from the epidermis to underlying cell layers provide possible mechanisms that define the extent of miR390 accumulation within the incipient leaf, which patterns this small field of cells into adaxial and abaxial domains via the production of tas3-derived ta-siRNAs.
| S-EPMC2602737 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The egg apparatus-secreted polymorphic EA 1 peptide is required for micropylar pollen tube (PT) guidance in maize, the last step of the PT journey during the double fertilization process in flowering plants. In a recent study we have shown that maize PTs are attracted in vitro by EA 1 and that their growth is arrested at high peptide concentrations. Moreover, we have also shown that maize PTs are guided in vitro in a species-preferential manner to the micropylar opening of transgenic Arabidopsis ovules secreting the EA 1-GFP fusion protein. In support of these findings, we have improved the ligand-receptor labeling assay and report here that the EA 1 peptide interacts in vitro with the maize PT apex in a species-specific manner. Bound peptide gets internalized in large vesicles and is degraded. This finding indicates that the pollen tube remains sensitive to the attractant by its rapid internalization.
| S-EPMC4091058 | biostudies-literature