Project description:Physiological studies have confirmed that export of Na+ to improve salt tolerance in plants is regulated by the combined activities of a complex transport system. In the Na+ transport system, the Na+/H+ antiporter salt overly sensitive 1 (SOS1) is the main protein that functions to excrete Na+ out of plant cells. In this paper, we review the structure and function of the Na+/H+ antiporter and the physiological process of Na+ transport in SOS signaling pathway, and discuss the regulation of SOS1 during phosphorylation activation by protein kinase and the balance mechanism of inhibiting SOS1 antiporter at molecular and protein levels. In addition, we carried out phylogenetic tree analysis of SOS1 proteins reported so far in plants, which implied the specificity of salt tolerance mechanism from model plants to higher crops under salt stress. Finally, the high complexity of the regulatory network of adaptation to salt tolerance, and the feasibility of coping strategies in the process of genetic improvement of salt tolerance quality of higher crops were reviewed.
Project description:The circadian clock is a timekeeping, homeostatic system that temporally coordinates all major cellular processes. The function of the circadian clock is compensated in the face of variable environmental conditions ranging from normal to stress-inducing conditions. Salinity is a critical environmental factor affecting plant growth, and plants have evolved the SALT OVERLY SENSITIVE (SOS) pathway to acquire halotolerance. However, the regulatory systems for clock compensation under salinity are unclear. Here, we show that the plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter SOS1 specifically functions as a salt-specific circadian clock regulator via GIGANTEA (GI) in Arabidopsis thaliana. SOS1 directly interacts with GI in a salt-dependent manner and stabilizes this protein to sustain a proper clock period under salinity conditions. SOS1 function in circadian clock regulation requires the salt-mediated secondary messengers cytosolic free calcium and reactive oxygen species, pointing to a distinct regulatory role for SOS1 in addition to its function as a transporter to maintain Na+ homeostasis. Our results demonstrate that SOS1 maintains homeostasis of the salt response under high or daily fluctuating salt levels. These findings highlight the genetic capacity of the circadian clock to maintain timekeeping activity over a broad range of salinity levels.
Project description:The plasma membrane sodium/proton exchanger Salt-Overly-Sensitive 1 (SOS1) is a critical salt tolerance determinant in plants. The SOS2-SOS3 calcium-dependent protein kinase complex up-regulates SOS1 activity, but the mechanistic details of this crucial event remain unresolved. Here we show that SOS1 is maintained in a resting state by a C-terminal auto-inhibitory domain that is the target of SOS2-SOS3. The auto-inhibitory domain interacts intramolecularly with an adjacent domain of SOS1 that is essential for activity. SOS1 is relieved from auto-inhibition upon phosphorylation of the auto-inhibitory domain by SOS2-SOS3. Mutation of the SOS2 phosphorylation and recognition site impeded the activation of SOS1 in vivo and in vitro. Additional amino acid residues critically important for SOS1 activity and regulation were identified in a genetic screen for hypermorphic alleles.
Project description:Salt stress is one of the major environmental constraints for the production and yield of grape (Vitis vinifera) worldwide. The SOS3 gene family is part of the Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) signaling pathway, a well-defined signaling pathway known to play a role in plant response to salt stress. In this study, the grapevine SOS3 gene family was annotated and the role of the annotated genes in salinity stress response was characterized. Nine grapevine SOS3 genes was identified in the grapevine genome and was subsequently analyzed. The expression patterns of the nine VviSOS3 genes, as determined by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), varied greatly in leaves, roots, and stems of in-vitro grown Pinot noir grapevine cultivar(PN40024) in response to salt (250mM NaCl) and polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG, osmolality equal to the salt treatment) treatments over a 36h time period. All of the VviSOS3 genes, except VviSOS3.7, were up-regulated in leaves in response to the salt and PEG treatments. The majority of VviSOS3 genes, except VviSOS3.8 were up-regulated in roots in response to the PEG stress, with an opposite expression pattern in the root and stem in response to salt stress. The salinity treatment decreased the soluble protein content. Based on the expression pattern and physiological data, VviSOS3.7 and VviSOS3.8 were identified as candidate genes for further functional characterizations regarding their role in the response of grapevine to salt stress.
Project description:Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) pathway is a well-known pathway in arabidopsis, essential for maintenance of ion homeostasis and thus conferring salt stress tolerance. In arabidopsis, the Ca2+ activated SOS3 interacts with SOS2 which further activates SOS1, a Na+/H+ antiporter, responsible for removing toxic sodium ions from the cells. In the present study, we have shown that these three components of SOS pathway, BjSOS1, BjSOS2 and BjSOS3 genes exhibit differential expression pattern in response to salinity and ABA stress in contrasting cultivars of Brassica. It is also noticed that constitutive expression of all the three SOS genes is higher in the tolerant cultivar B. juncea as compared to the sensitive B. nigra. In silico interaction of BjSOS2 and BjSOS3 has been reported recently and here we demonstrate in vivo interaction of these two proteins in onion epidermal peel cells. Further, overexpression of BjSOS3 in corresponding arabidopsis mutant ?Atsos3 was able to rescue the mutant phenotype and exhibit higher tolerance towards salinity stress at the seedling stage.Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the B. juncea SOS3 (BjSOS3) protein is a functional ortholog of its arabidopsis counterpart and thus show a strong functional conservation of SOS pathway responsible for salt stress signalling between arabidopsis and Brassica species.
Project description:Pseudomonas putida DOT-T1E-18 is a strain deficient in the major antibiotic efflux pump (TtgABC) that exhibits an overall increased susceptibility to a wide range of drugs when compared with the wild-type strain. We used this strain as a platform to search for microbes able to produce antibiotics that inhibit growth. A collection of 2400 isolates from soil, sediments and water was generated and a drop assay developed to identify, via growth inhibition halos, strains that prevent the growth of DOT-T1E-18 on solid Luria-Bertani plates. In this study, 35 different isolates that produced known and unknown antibiotics were identified. The most potent inhibitor of DOT-T1E-18 growth was an isolate named 250J that, through multi-locus sequence analysis, was identified as a Pseudomonas sp. strain. Culture supernatants of 250J contain four different xantholysins that prevent growth of Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative and fungi. Two of the xantholysins were produced in higher concentrations and purified. Xantholysin A was effective against Bacillus, Lysinibacillus and Rhodococcus strains, and the effect against these microbes was enhanced when used in combination with other antibiotics such as ampicillin, gentamicin and kanamycin. Xantholysin C was also efficient against Gram-positive bacteria and showed an interesting antimicrobial effect against Pseudomonas strains, and a synergistic inhibitory effect with ampicillin, chloramphenicol and gentamicin.
Project description:The present study demonstrates a new Millettia pinnata chalcone isomerase (MpCHI) whose transcription level in leaf was confirmed to be enhanced after being treated by seawater or NaCl (500 mM) via transcriptome sequencing and Real-Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR (QRT-PCR) analyses. Its full length cDNA (666 bp) was obtained by 3'-end and 5'-end Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends (RACE). The analysis via NCBI BLAST indicates that both aminoacid sequence and nucleotide sequence of the MpCHI clone share high homology with other leguminous CHIs (73%-86%). Evolutionarily, the phylogenic analysis further revealed that the MpCHI is a close relative of leguminous CHIs. The MpCHI protein consists of 221 aminoacid (23.64 KDa), whose peptide length, amino acid residues of substrate-binding site and reactive site are very similar to other leguminous CHIs reported previously. Two pYES2-MpCHI transformed salt-sensitive Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants (Δnha1 and Δnhx1) showed improved salt-tolerance significantly compared to pYES2-vector transformed yeast mutants, suggesting the MpCHI or the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway could regulate the resistance to salt stress in M. pinnata.
Project description:AimsHigh salinity stress impairs plant growth and development. Trehalose metabolism has been implicated in sugar signaling, and enhanced trehalose metabolism can positively regulate abiotic stress tolerance. However, the molecular mechanism(s) of the stress-related trehalose pathway and the role of individual trehalose biosynthetic enzymes for stress tolerance remain unclear.ResultsTrehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase (TPP) catalyzes the final step of trehalose metabolism. Investigating the subcellular localization of the Arabidopsis thaliana TPP family members, we identified AtTPPD as a chloroplast-localized enzyme. Plants deficient in AtTPPD were hypersensitive, whereas plants overexpressing AtTPPD were more tolerant to high salinity stress. Elevated stress tolerance of AtTPPD overexpressors correlated with high starch levels and increased accumulation of soluble sugars, suggesting a role for AtTPPD in regulating sugar metabolism under salinity conditions. Biochemical analyses indicate that AtTPPD is a target of post-translational redox regulation and can be reversibly inactivated by oxidizing conditions. Two cysteine residues were identified as the redox-sensitive sites. Structural and mutation analyses suggest that the formation of an intramolecular disulfide bridge regulates AtTPPD activity.InnovationThe activity of different AtTPP isoforms, located in the cytosol, nucleus, and chloroplasts, can be redox regulated, suggesting that the trehalose metabolism might relay the redox status of different cellular compartments to regulate diverse biological processes such as stress responses.ConclusionThe evolutionary conservation of the two redox regulatory cysteine residues of TPPs in spermatophytes indicates that redox regulation of TPPs might be a common mechanism enabling plants to rapidly adjust trehalose metabolism to the prevailing environmental and developmental conditions.
Project description:Understanding the regulation of photosynthetic light harvesting and electron transfer is of great importance to efforts to improve the ability of the electron transport chain to supply downstream metabolism. A central regulator of the electron transport chain is ATP synthase, the molecular motor that harnesses the chemiosmotic potential generated from proton-coupled electron transport to synthesize ATP. ATP synthase is regulated both thermodynamically and post-translationally, with proposed phosphorylation sites on multiple subunits. In this study we focused on two N-terminal serines on the catalytic subunit β in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), previously proposed to be important for dark inactivation of the complex to avoid ATP hydrolysis at night. Here we show that there is no clear role for phosphorylation in the dark inactivation of ATP synthase. Instead, mutation of one of the two phosphorylated serine residues to aspartate to mimic constitutive phosphorylation strongly decreased ATP synthase abundance. We propose that the loss of N-terminal phosphorylation of ATPβ may be involved in proper ATP synthase accumulation during complex assembly.
Project description:Recent studies suggest that tocopherols could play physiological roles in salt tolerance but the mechanisms are still unknown. In this study, we analyzed changes in growth, mineral and oxidative status in vte1 and vte4 Arabidopsis thaliana mutants exposed to salt stress. vte1 and vte4 mutants lack α-tocopherol, but only the vte1 mutant is additionally deficient in γ-tocopherol. Results showed that a deficiency in vitamin E leads to reduced growth and increased oxidative stress in hydroponically-grown plants. This effect was observed at early stages, not only in rosettes but also in roots. The vte1 mutant was more sensitive to salt-induced oxidative stress than the wild type and the vte4 mutant. Salt sensitivity was associated with (i) high contents of Na(+), (ii) reduced efficiency of PSII photochemistry (Fv/Fm ratio) and (iii) more pronounced oxidative stress as indicated by increased hydrogen peroxide and malondialdeyde levels. The vte 4 mutant, which accumulates γ- instead of α-tocopherol showed an intermediate sensitivity to salt stress between the wild type and the vte1 mutant. Contents of abscisic acid, jasmonic acid and the ethylene precursor, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid were higher in the vte1 mutant than the vte4 mutant and wild type. It is concluded that vitamin E-deficient plants show an increased sensitivity to salt stress both in rosettes and roots, therefore indicating the positive role of tocopherols in stress tolerance, not only by minimizing oxidative stress, but also controlling Na(+)/K(+) homeostasis and hormonal balance.