Project description:We were interested in investigating the transcriptome responses to exogenous applications of brassinosteroid hormone when Arabidopsis seedlings are pre-stressed with a reactive oxygen species, hydrogen peroxide. We were interested in seeing which subsets of BR-responsive gene transcripts were most affected and how BR-responsive gene transcripts responded to increasing concentrations of hydrogen peroxide both as a whole and individually. Liquid culture Arabidopsis seedlings are grown under standard conditions. Hydrogen peroxide is added at various concentrations to pre-stress the seedlings. Following this pretreatment, the seedlings are then treated with brassinosteroid (BR) hormone (epi-brassinolide, BL). Following this treatment, seedlings are harvested and total RNA is extracted for genome-wide transcriptome analysis.
Project description:We were interested in investigating the transcriptome responses to exogenous applications of brassinosteroid hormone when Arabidopsis seedlings are pre-stressed with a reactive oxygen species, hydrogen peroxide. We were interested in seeing which subsets of BR-responsive gene transcripts were most affected and how BR-responsive gene transcripts responded to increasing concentrations of hydrogen peroxide both as a whole and individually.
Project description:We found that auxin stimulates gene expression of DWF4, which encodes a rate-dertermining step in brassinosteroid biosynthesis pathways. This increased gene expressioin subsequently led to elevation of the biosynthetic flux in Arabidopsis roots. To determine the list of genes that are regulated by auxin-synthesizing brassinosteroids, we challenged Arabidopsis seedlings with either auxin only or auxin plus brassinosteroid biosynthetic inhibitor brassinazole. Keywords: Hormone treatment
Project description:We used the flu mutant of Arabidopsis to detail gene expression in response to singlet oxygen. The conditional flu mutant of Arabidopsis accumulates excess protochlorophyllide in the dark within chloroplast membranes that upon illumination acts as a photosensitizer and generates singlet oxygen. Immediately after the release of singlet oxygen mature flu plants stop growing, whereas seedlings bleach and die. Within the first 30 min after the release of singlet oxygen rapid changes in nuclear gene expression occur. Distinct sets of genes were activated that were different from those induced by other reactive oxygen species, superoxide or hydrogen peroxide. Keywords: Time course
Project description:Moderate increases in the ambient temperature promote hypocotyl growth in Arabidopsis, and this response is totally dependent on the proper activity of the auxin, gibberellin, and brassinosteroid pathways. We have analyzed global the changes in gene expression that occur in Arabidopsis seedlings after a moderate increase in the growth temperature (20ºC to 29ºC for 2 hours). In order to understand how the different hormone pathways affect this growth response, the same transcription profiling analysis was conducted in seedlings deficient in each hormone. Keywords: Growth condition
Project description:We used the flu mutant of Arabidopsis and a transgenic line that overexpresses the thylakoid-bound ascorbate peroxidase (tAPX) to address the interactions between different reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling pathways. The conditional flu mutant of Arabidopsis accumulates excess protochlorophyllide in the dark within chloroplast membranes that upon illumination acts as a photosensitizer and generates singlet oxygen (1O2). Immediately after the release of singlet oxygen rapid changes in nuclear gene expression occur. Distinct sets of genes were activated that were different from those induced by other reactive oxygen species, superoxide or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), suggesting that different types of active oxygen species activate distinct signaling pathways. It was not known whether the pathways operate separately or interact with each other. We have addressed this problem by modulating noninvasively the level of H2O2 in plastids by means of a transgenic line that overexpresses the thylakoid-bound ascorbate peroxidase (tAPX, line 14/2 PMID: 15165186). In the flu mutant overexpressing tAPX, the expression of most of the nuclear genes that were rapidly activated after the release of 1O2 was significantly higher in flu plants overexpressing tAPX, whereas in wild-type plants, overexpression of tAPX had only a very minor impact on nuclear gene expression. The results suggest that H2O2 antagonizes the 1O2-mediated signaling of stress responses as seen in the flu mutant. This cross-talk between H2O2- and 1O2-dependent signaling pathways might contribute to the overall stability and robustness of wild-type plants exposed to adverse environmental stress conditions. Keywords: Single time point comparison
Project description:Brassinosteroid (BR) and auxin co-regulate plant growth in a process termed cross-talking. Based on the assumption that their signal transductions are partially shared, inhibitory chemicals for both signal transductions were screened from a commercially-available library. A chemical designated as NJ15 (ethyl 2-[5-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrazole-2-yl]acetate) diminished the growth promotion of both adzuki bean epicotyls and Arabidopsis seedlings, by either the application of BR or auxin. To understand its target site(s), bioassays with a high dependence on either the signal transduction of BR (BR-signaling) or of auxin (AX-signaling), were performed. NJ15 inhibited photomorphogenesis of Arabidopsis seedlings grown in the dark, which mainly depends on BR-signaling, while NJ15 also inhibited their gravitropic responses mainly depending on AX-signaling. On the study for the structure-activity relationships of NJ15 analogues, they showed strong correlations on the inhibitory profiles between BR- and AX-signalings. These correlations imply that NJ15 targets the downstream pathway after the integration of BR- and AX-signals.
Project description:Auxin is a major plant hormone for both development and environmental adaptation. Auxin responses are context dependent and highly modulated by light, temperature, the circadian clock, brassinosteroid, and gibberellin, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we show that auxin signaling integrates with other signals through direct interactions of AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR6 (ARF6) with PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR4 (PIF4), the brassinosteroid-signaling transcription factor BZR1, and the gibberellin-signaling repressor RGA. ChIP-Seq and RNA-Seq experiments show that ARF6, PIF4, and BZR1 bind to largely overlapping targets in the genome and synergistically activate gene expression. In vitro and in vivo assays show that ARF6-promoter binding is enhanced by PIF4 and BZR1 but blocked by RGA. Furthermore, a tripartite HLH/bHLH module feedback regulates PIF activity and thus modulates auxin sensitivity according to additional developmental and environmental cues. Our results demonstrate a central growth-regulation transcriptional network that coordinates hormonal, environmental, and developmental control of cell elongation and plant growth. Genome-wide identification of ARF6 DNA-binding sites in etiolated Arabidopsis seedlings.
Project description:Plants acquire essential elements from inherently heterogeneous soils, in which phosphate and iron availabilities vary. Consequently, plants developed adaptive strategies to cope with low iron and low phosphate levels, including alternation between root growth enhancement and attenuation. How this adaptive response is achieved remains unclear. Here, we found that low iron accelerates the root growth of Arabidopsis thaliana by activating brassinosteroid signaling, whereas low-phosphate-induced high iron accumulation inhibited it. Altered hormone signaling intensity also modulated iron accumulation in the root elongation and differentiation zones, constituting a feedback response between brassinosteroid and iron. Surprisingly, the early effect of low iron levels on root growth required the brassinosteroid receptor but the hormone ligand was negligible. The brassinosteroid receptor inhibitor BKI1, the transcription factors BES1/BZR1 and the ferroxidase LPR1, stood at the base of this feedback loop. Hence, shared brassinosteroid and iron regulatory components link nutrient status to root morphology, thereby driving the adaptive response.
Project description:We found that auxin stimulates gene expression of DWF4, which encodes a rate-dertermining step in brassinosteroid biosynthesis pathways. This increased gene expressioin subsequently led to elevation of the biosynthetic flux in Arabidopsis roots. To determine the list of genes that are regulated by auxin-synthesizing brassinosteroids, we challenged Arabidopsis seedlings with either auxin only or auxin plus brassinosteroid biosynthetic inhibitor brassinazole. Keywords: Hormone treatment Arabidopsis seedlings (Columbia ecotype) were grown for 10 d on 1× MS agar-solidified media under long-day conditions (16:8, white light and dark cycle). The seedlings were then transferred to 2 different liquid media containing either 10–7 M 2,4-D or 10–7 M 2,4-D plus 10–6 M brassinazole. After 8 h of treatment, the seedlings were blotted with paper towels to remove excess media and subject to total RNA isolation. Total RNAs isolated from each batch were prepared from 3 replicate seedlings using an RNeasy plant mini kit (Qiagen, Germany).