Project description:Allantoin is a metabolic intermediate of purine catabolism that often accumulates in stressed plants. Recently, using Arabidopsis knockout mutants (aln) of ALLANTOINASE, we showed that this purine metabolite activates ABA production, thereby stimulating stress-related gene expression and enhancing seedling tolerance to abiotic stress. A detailed re-examination of the microarray data of an aln mutant (aln-1) not only confirmed increased expression of ABA-inducible genes, but also revealed altered expression of genes involved in jasmonic acid (JA) responses, likely under the control of MYC2, a master switch in the JA signaling pathway. Consistent with the transcriptome profiles, the aln-1 mutant displayed increased JA levels and enhanced responses to mechanical wounding and exogenous JA. Moreover, aln mutants demonstrated modestly increased susceptibility to hemibiotrophic and necrotrophic pathogens, probably reflecting the antagonistic action of MYC2 on the defense against these bacteria. Exogenously administered allantoin elicited the expression of JA-responsive genes including MYC2 in wild-type plants, supporting that allantoin might be responsible for the observed JA-related aln phenotypes. However, the effect of exogenous allantoin was suppressed by mutations deficient in bioactive JA (jar1-1), insensitive to JA (myc2-3) and deficient in ABA (aba2-1 and bglu18). The suppressive effect of jar1-1 and bglu18 mutations was further confirmed in the aln-1 background (jar1-1/aln-1 and bglu18/aln-1). These results indicate that allantoin can activate the MYC2-regulated JA signaling pathway through ABA production. Overall, this study provides evidence for the possible connection of purine catabolism with stress hormone homeostasis and signaling, and highlights the importance of allantoin in these interactions. Evidence has been presented only recently for the involvement of purine catabolism in stress protection of plants and the mechanism behind this remains obscure. Here we show that in Arabidopsis, the intermediary metabolite allantoin can activate the MYC2-regulated jasmonate signaling pathway via the mechanism involving ABA, providing the link between the metabolism and two interactive signaling pathways of stress hormones that play critical roles in plant adaptation to environmental adversity. Two replicates of the mutant were compared with controls. This series is a re-analysis of GSE44922.

Project description:Allantoin is a metabolic intermediate of purine catabolism that often accumulates in stressed plants. Recently, using Arabidopsis knockout mutants (aln) of ALLANTOINASE, we showed that this purine metabolite activates ABA production, thereby stimulating stress-related gene expression and enhancing seedling tolerance to abiotic stress. A detailed re-examination of the microarray data of an aln mutant (aln-1) not only confirmed increased expression of ABA-inducible genes, but also revealed altered expression of genes involved in jasmonic acid (JA) responses, likely under the control of MYC2, a master switch in the JA signaling pathway. Consistent with the transcriptome profiles, the aln-1 mutant displayed increased JA levels and enhanced responses to mechanical wounding and exogenous JA. Moreover, aln mutants demonstrated modestly increased susceptibility to hemibiotrophic and necrotrophic pathogens, probably reflecting the antagonistic action of MYC2 on the defense against these bacteria. Exogenously administered allantoin elicited the expression of JA-responsive genes including MYC2 in wild-type plants, supporting that allantoin might be responsible for the observed JA-related aln phenotypes. However, the effect of exogenous allantoin was suppressed by mutations deficient in bioactive JA (jar1-1), insensitive to JA (myc2-3) and deficient in ABA (aba2-1 and bglu18). The suppressive effect of jar1-1 and bglu18 mutations was further confirmed in the aln-1 background (jar1-1/aln-1 and bglu18/aln-1). These results indicate that allantoin can activate the MYC2-regulated JA signaling pathway through ABA production. Overall, this study provides evidence for the possible connection of purine catabolism with stress hormone homeostasis and signaling, and highlights the importance of allantoin in these interactions. Evidence has been presented only recently for the involvement of purine catabolism in stress protection of plants and the mechanism behind this remains obscure. Here we show that in Arabidopsis, the intermediary metabolite allantoin can activate the MYC2-regulated jasmonate signaling pathway via the mechanism involving ABA, providing the link between the metabolism and two interactive signaling pathways of stress hormones that play critical roles in plant adaptation to environmental adversity.

Project description:Metabolic pathways are largely conserved in eukaryotes, but the transcriptional regulation of these pathways can sometimes vary between species; this has been termed rewiring. Recently it has been established that in the Saccharomyces lineage starting from Saccharomyces castelli, genes involved in allantoin breakdown have been genomically relocated to form the DAL cluster. The formation of the DAL cluster occurred along with the loss of urate permease (UAP) and urate oxidase (UOX), reducing the requirement for oxygen and bypassing the candidate Ppr1 inducer, uric acid. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae this allantoin catabolism cluster is regulated by the transcription factor Dal82, which is not present in many of the pre-rearrangement fungal species. We have used ChIP-Chip analysis, transcriptional profiling of an activated Ppr1 protein, bioinformatics, and nitrogen utilization studies, to establish that in Candida albicans the zinc cluster transcription factor Ppr1 controls this allantoin catabolism regulon. Intriguingly, in S. cerevisiae the Ppr1 ortholog binds the same DNA motif (CGG(N6)CCG) as in C. albicans, but serves as a regulator of pyrimidine biosynthesis. This transcription factor rewiring appears to have taken place at the same phylogenetic step as the formation of the rearranged DAL cluster. This transfer of the control of allantoin degradation from Ppr1 to Dal82, together with the repositioning of Ppr1 to the regulation of pyrimidine biosynthesis, may have resulted from a switch to a metabolism that could exploit hypoxic conditions in the lineage leading to S. castellii and S. cerevisiae. Metabolic pathways are largely conserved in eukaryotes, but the transcriptional regulation of these pathways can sometimes vary between species; this has been termed rewiring. Recently it has been established that in the Saccharomyces lineage starting from Saccharomyces castelli, genes involved in allantoin breakdown have been genomically relocated to form the DAL cluster. The formation of the DAL cluster occurred along with the loss of urate permease (UAP) and urate oxidase (UOX), reducing the requirement for oxygen and bypassing the candidate Ppr1 inducer, uric acid. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae this allantoin catabolism cluster is regulated by the transcription factor Dal82, which is not present in many of the pre-rearrangement fungal species. We have used ChIP-Chip analysis, transcriptional profiling of an activated Ppr1 protein, bioinformatics, and nitrogen utilization studies, to establish that in Candida albicans the zinc cluster transcription factor Ppr1 controls this allantoin catabolism regulon. Intriguingly, in S. cerevisiae the Ppr1 ortholog binds the same DNA motif (CGG(N6)CCG) as in C. albicans, but serves as a regulator of pyrimidine biosynthesis. This transcription factor rewiring appears to have taken place at the same phylogenetic step as the formation of the rearranged DAL cluster. This transfer of the control of allantoin degradation from Ppr1 to Dal82, together with the repositioning of Ppr1 to the regulation of pyrimidine biosynthesis, may have resulted from a switch to a metabolism that could exploit hypoxic conditions in the lineage leading to S. castellii and S. cerevisiae.

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The purine metabolite allantoin enhances abiotic stress tolerance through synergistic activation of abscisic acid metabolism

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