Project description:In this study we used genetic approaches and transcriptome profiling to unravel the complex interaction of different developmental pathways required for chloroplast development in plants. The recently described snowy cotyledon 3 (sco3) mutant as well as the Phytochrome B (phyb) mutant revealed, in the double mutant, a complex suppressive or additive genetically linked regulation of chloroplast development, flowering time and transcription regulation. Transcriptional profilling of mutants with aberrant chloroplast development: sco3, phyb and the double mutant sco3phyb.
Project description:Chloroplast biogenesis is indispensable for proper plant development. In a screen for photosynthesis affected mutants, we have identified the pp7l (serine/threonine-protein phosphatase7-like) mutant in which chloroplast development is delayed in cotyledons and young leaves. PP7L constitutes together with PP7 and PP7-long the type 7 subfamily of serine/threonine-specific phosphoprotein phosphatases (PPPs). Here we performed shotgun proteomic experiment in order to profile the changes in protein levels in the pp7l mutants in comparison to the wild-type (Col-0).
Project description:The increasing ambient temperature significantly impacts plant growth, development, and reproduction. Uncovering the temperature-regulating mechanisms in plants is of high importance, not only for boosting our plant biology knowledge but also for assisting plant breeders in improving plant resilience to these stress conditions. Numerous studies on the molecular mechanisms by which plants regulate temperature responses revealed that plants employ distinct transcription factors to regulate thermomorphogenesis specific to each tissue type. A significant discovery in this field was the identification of PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORs (PIFs) as key regulators of thermomorphogenesis during vegetative growth. PIF4, a regulator of auxin-mediated signaling pathways, is crucial in controlling high-temperature responses. In this study, we screened the temperature responses of the wild type and several PhyB-PIF4 pathway Arabidopsis mutant lines in combined and integrative phenotyping platforms for root in soil, shoot, inflorescence, and seed. We demonstrated that high ambient temperature differentially impacts vegetative and reproductive organs through this pathway. Suppression of the PhyB-PIF4 components mimics the response to a high ambient temperature in wild-type plants. We also identified correlative responses to high ambient temperature between shoot and root tissues. This integrative and automated phenotyping was complemented by monitoring the changes in transcript levels in reproductive organs. Transcriptomic profiling of the pistils from plants grown under high ambient temperature identified key elements that may provide clues to the molecular mechanisms behind temperature-induced reduced fertilization rate, such as a downregulation of auxin metabolism, upregulation of genes involved auxin signalling, miRNA156 and miRN160 pathways, pollen tube attractants.
Project description:For establishing the photosynthetic apparatus plant cells must orchestrate the expression of genes encoded in both nucleus and chloroplast. Therefore a crosstalk between the two compartments is necessary. We employed a trivalent gene expression profiling approach in order to elucidate the changes in gene expression that occur during the early steps of light-induced chloroplast biogenesis.
Project description:Chloroplasts are indispensable for higher plants. The growth and development of plants are very sensitive to environmental temperature changes, and chloroplast development is also regulated by adverse environmental temperatures. However, the molecular mechanism of how plants coordinate chloroplast development and environmental temperature changes remains largely unknown. Here, a temperature-conditioned chloroplast development defect mutant tsl2 (thermo-sensitive mutant in leaf color 2) of Arabidopsis was obtained through forward genetic screening. The tsl2 mutant showed a weak yellowing phenotype at 22 °C which was more pronounced when the growth temperature was reduced to 16 °C, and was similar to that of the wild type when the temperature was increased to 29 °C. Genomic resequencing analysis revealed that TSL2 gene encodes the FtsHi5 which was shown to function in chloroplast protein import. Genetic complementation analysis showed that TSL2 rescued the chlorophyll content and thylakoid development defects in tls2 mutants at 16 °C. Quantitative mass spectrometry analysis with Tandem Mass Tag (TMT) isobaric labeling revealed broad changes in the proteome composition of tsl2 chloroplasts at low temperature, reflecting impaired chloroplast biogenesis and function. Together, our data suggest that TSL2 has a significant role in chloroplast development and proteostasis especially at low environmental temperatures.
Project description:Because the minimal chloroplast genome carries very limited genetic information, plants rely on signals sent from the chloroplasts to the nucleus for proper chloroplast development as well as for recovery from photoinhibition and response to photo-oxidative stress. In this study, we report the discovery of several factors involved in the reduced PQ pool-driven chloroplast-to-nucleus signaling process. High-throughput RNA-Seq expression profiling of tanorexia-1 (tnr-1) mutants in comparison to wild-type. From these experiments, we found out that the HSF and HAC1 transcription factors have broad effects on HL-driven nuclear gene expression. The DEAD-box RNA helicase 38, CRY1 and a previously uncharacterized G-patch domain-containing protein are also involved in the signaling.
Project description:Plastids emit signals that broadly affect cellular processes. Based on previous genetic analyses, we propose that plastid signaling regulates the downstream components of a light signaling network and that these interactions coordinate chloroplast biogenesis with both the light environment and development by regulating gene expression. We tested these ideas by analyzing light-regulated and plastid-regulated transcriptomes. We found that the plastid is a major regulator of light signaling, attenuating the expression of more than half of all light-regulated genes in our dataset and changing the nature of light regulation for a smaller fraction of these light-regulated genes. Our analyses provide evidence that light and plastid signaling are interactive processes and are consistent with these interactions serving as major drivers of chloroplast biogenesis and function.
Project description:Retrograde signaling from the chloroplast to the nucleus is necessary to regulate the chloroplast proteome during development and fluctuating environmental conditions. Although the specific chloroplast process(es) that must occur and the nature of the signal(s) that exits the chloroplast are not well understood, previous studies using drug inhibitors of chloroplast biogenesis have revealed that normal chloroplast development is required to express Photosynthesis Associated Nuclear Genes (PhANGs). In an attempt to determine which specific steps in chloroplast development are involved in retrograde signaling, we analyzed Arabidopsis mutants defective in the six genes encoding sigma factor (Sig) proteins that are utilized by the plastid-encoded RNA polymerase to transcribe specific sets of plastid genes. Here, we demonstrate that both Sig2 and Sig6 have partially redundant roles in not only plastid transcription, but also tetrapyrrole synthesis and retrograde signaling to control PhANG expression. Normal PhANG expression can be partly restored in the sig2 mutant by increasing heme synthesis. Furthermore, there is a genetic interaction between Sig and GUN (genomes uncoupled) genes to generate chloroplast-retrograde signals. These results demonstrate that defective plastid transcription is the source of at least two retrograde signals to the nucleus; one involving tetrapyrrole synthesis and the other involving the accumulation of an unknown plastid transcript. We also propose that the study of sig mutants (with defects in the expression of specific plastid genes) provides a new genetic system, which avoids the use of harsh inhibitors and their potential side effects, to monitor developmental retrograde signaling and to elucidate its mechanisms.