skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Disruption of the Arabidopsis Acyl-Activating Enzyme 3 Impairs Seed Coat Mucilage Accumulation and Seed Germination
The Acyl-activating enzyme (AAE) 3 gene encodes an oxalyl-CoA synthetase that catalyzes the conversion of oxalate to oxalyl-CoA as the first step in the CoA-dependent pathway of oxalate catabolism. Although the role of this enzyme in oxalate catabolism has been established, its biological roles in plant growth and development are less understood. As a step toward gaining a better understanding of these biological roles, we report here a characterization of the Arabidopsis thaliana aae3 (Ataae3) seed mucilage phenotype. Ruthidium red (RR) staining of Ataae3 and wild type (WT) seeds suggested that the observed reduction in Ataae3 germination may be attributable, at least in part, to a decrease in seed mucilage accumulation. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that the expression of selected mucilage regulatory transcription factors, as well as of biosynthetic and extrusion genes, was significantly down-regulated in the Ataae3 seeds. Mucilage accumulation in seeds from an engineered oxalate-accumulating Arabidopsis and Atoxc mutant, blocked in the second step of the CoA-dependent pathway of oxalate catabolism, were found to be similar to WT. These findings suggest that elevated tissue oxalate concentrations and loss of the oxalate catabolism pathway downstream of AAE3 were not responsible for the reduced Ataae3 seed germination and mucilage phenotypes. Overall, our findings unveil the presence of regulatory interplay between AAE3 and transcriptional control of mucilage gene expression.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2241573
PAR ID:
10496383
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Publisher / Repository:
MDPI
Date Published:
Journal Name:
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume:
25
Issue:
2
ISSN:
1422-0067
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1149
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; (, Plants)
    Modeling biological processes and genetic-regulatory networks using in silico approaches provides a valuable framework for understanding how genes and associated allelic and genotypic differences result in specific traits. Submergence tolerance is a significant agronomic trait in rice; however, the gene–gene interactions linked with this polygenic trait remain largely unknown. In this study, we constructed a network of 57 transcription factors involved in seed germination and coleoptile elongation under submergence. The gene–gene interactions were based on the co-expression profiles of genes and the presence of transcription factor binding sites in the promoter region of target genes. We also incorporated published experimental evidence, wherever available, to support gene–gene, gene–protein, and protein–protein interactions. The co-expression data were obtained by re-analyzing publicly available transcriptome data from rice. Notably, this network includes OSH1, OSH15, OSH71, Sub1B, ERFs, WRKYs, NACs, ZFP36, TCPs, etc., which play key regulatory roles in seed germination, coleoptile elongation and submergence response, and mediate gravitropic signaling by regulating OsLAZY1 and/or IL2. The network of transcription factors was manually biocurated and submitted to the Plant Reactome Knowledgebase to make it publicly accessible. We expect this work will facilitate the re-analysis/re-use of OMICs data and aid genomics research to accelerate crop improvement. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Plant Nutrition)
    null (Ed.)
    Nanofertilizer application is becoming a sustainable alternative for plants micronutrients supply. Seed nutrient priming before seeding reduces non- target dispersion; although, applying nanofertilizer in correct concentration must be narrowly chosen to prevent germination and development issues. Here, we evaluated corn seedlings development and germination after seed priming with Mn3O4 nanoparticle (NP), Mn3O4 bulk and MnCl2. Sterile seeds were soaked for 8hours in priming solutions of 0, 20, 40, 80 and 160mg L1 for each Mn sources. The seeds vigor and germination were evaluated after 7 days on germination paper. Root, shoot and total lengths were measured as well as root, shoot and total dry biomass. Compared to the control, the Mn3O4 NP and Mn3O4 bulk promoted beneficial effects. Mn3O4 NP seed-priming exhibited a concentration dependent profile in improving seedling growth, with greatest benefit around 20mg L1, pro- viding higher germination, vigor, dry biomass and length than control and the other source tested. Particle size plays an important role in the reactiv- ity of Mn3O4 NP. On the other hand, seeds primed with soluble source did not differ from the control. These findings support NP-seed priming as an alternative to delivery micronutrients. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; (, Frontiers in Plant Science)
    Paysonia auriculata (Brassicaceae) produces multiple hydroxy fatty acids as major components of the seed oil. We tracked the changes in seed oil composition and gene expression during development, starting 14 days after flowers had been pollinated. Seed oil changes showed initially higher levels of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (FAs) but little accumulation of hydroxy fatty acids (HFAs). Starting 21 days after pollination (DAP) HFA content sharply increased, and reached almost 30% at 28 DAP. Total seed oil also increased from a low of approximately 2% at 14 DAP to a high of approximately 20% by 42 DAP. We identified almost all of the fatty acid synthesis and modification genes that are known from Arabidopsis, and, in addition, a strong candidate for the hydroxylase gene that mediates the hydroxylation of fatty acids to produce valuable hydroxy fatty acids (HFAs) in this species. The gene expression network revealed is very similar to that of the emerging oil crop, Physaria fendleri , in the sister genus to Paysonia . Phylogenetic analyses indicate the hydroxylase enzyme, FAH12, evolved only once in Paysonia and Physaria , and that the enzyme is closely related to FAD2 enzymes. Phylogenetic analyses of FAD2 and FAH12 in the Brassicaceae and outgroup genera suggest that the branch leading to the hydroxylase clade of Paysonia and Physaria is under relaxed selection, compared with the strong purifying selection found across the FAD2 lineages. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, The Plant Cell)
    Abstract In plants, embryo size is determined via interactions between metabolic and developmental signals. Maize (Zea mays) big embryo 6 (bige6) enhances embryo size while sharply reducing plant growth. Here, we show that BigE6 encodes a plastidial prephenate aminotransferase (PPA-AT), a key enzyme in the arogenate pathway for L-phenylalanine (Phe) and L-tyrosine (Tyr) biosynthesis. The maize BigE6 paralog, BigE6Like, encodes a cytosol-localized PPA-AT, revealing Phe and Tyr biosynthesis via cytosolic arogenate as a potential alternative to the known cytosolic phenylpyruvate pathway. Moreover, the single PPA-AT gene of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) encodes plastidial and cytosolic enzymes by alternative splicing. Transgenic rescue of a ppa-at mutant in Arabidopsis demonstrates that the plastidial PPA-AT is indispensable for seed formation due, in part, to its essential role in the female gametophyte. Leaves of bige6 maize maintained overall homeostasis for aromatic amino acids and downstream metabolites, revealing a resilience of mechanisms that scale growth to a limiting supply of Phe and Tyr. In bige6 seeds, broad perturbation of amino acid homeostasis is associated with transcriptomic upregulation of growth processes in the embryo and endosperm, implicating amino acid signaling in the regulation of embryo size. Our findings reveal the complexity and developmental dependence of growth responses to limiting amino acid biosynthesis. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; ; (, American Journal of Potato Research)
    The use of true potato seed (TPS) is fundamental to potato breeding and research, but can be hindered by poor germination and seed dormancy. TPS germination studies had focused mainly on seed treatment methods after seed extraction and not in combination with the seed extraction methods used. In potato, TPS extraction using water, using yeast fermentation or using sodium bicarbonate are common, but TPS extraction using dilute aqueous hydrochloric acid (HCl) followed by bleach treatment (3% sodium hypochlorite) had never been tested in potato even though this is standard practice for tomato seeds. Therefore, three seed extraction methods (water, 0.1 M HCl, and 0.8% yeast fermentation) in combination with three seed treatment methods (water, 1500 ppm GA3, and 3% sodium hypochlorite) were tested on diploid TPS at 1 week and 1 month after seed extraction. TPS treated with GA3 improved germination for both 1 week- and 1 month-old seeds, while TPS treated with 3% sodium hypochlorite only improved germination for 1 month-old seeds. This study shows that TPS extraction using water, yeast or HCl had no effect on germination, but supports the use of GA3 or bleach to promote TPS germination. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email