Plant-KBBE: Cornfed: lntegration of advanced mapping and phenotyping methods to identify key alleles for building European maize ideotypes

1 página, 3 figuras.-- Trabajo presentado al "Gabi Status Seminar" celebrado en Paris (Francia) en Marzo de 2010.-- et al.The project is funded in the framework of the Transnational (France, Germany, Spain) Cooperation within the PLANT-KBBE initiative, with funding from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). and the Ministry os Science and Innovation (MICINN).Peer reviewe

Expression Characterization of Flavonoid Biosynthetic Pathway Genes and Transcription Factors in Peanut Under Water Deficit Conditions

Drought is one of the hostile environmental stresses that limit the yield production of crop plants by modulating their growth and development. Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) has a wide range of adaptations to arid and semi-arid climates, but its yield is prone to loss due to drought. Other than beneficial fatty acids and micronutrients, peanut harbors various bioactive compounds including flavonoids that hold a prominent position as antioxidants in plants and protect them from oxidative stress. In this study, understanding of the biosynthesis of flavonoids in peanut under water deficit conditions was developed through expression analysis and correlational analysis and determining the accumulation pattern of phenols, flavonols, and anthocyanins. Six peanut varieties (BARD479, BARI2011, BARI2000, GOLDEN, PG1102, and PG1265) having variable responses against drought stress have been selected. Higher water retention and flavonoid accumulation have been observed in BARI2011 but downregulation has been observed in the expression of genes and transcription factors (TFs) which indicated the maintenance of normal homeostasis. ANOVA revealed that the expression of flavonoid genes and TFs is highly dependent upon the genotype of peanut in a spatiotemporal manner. Correlation analysis between expression of flavonoid biosynthetic genes and TFs indicated the role of AhMYB111 and AhMYB7 as an inhibitor for AhF3H and AhFLS, respectively, and AhMYB7, AhTTG1, and AhCSU2 as a positive regulator for the expression of Ah4CL, AhCHS, and AhF3H, respectively. However, AhbHLH and AhGL3 revealed nil-to-little relation with the expression of flavonoid biosynthetic pathway genes. Correlational analysis between the expression of TFs related to the biosynthesis of flavonoids and the accumulation of phenolics, flavonols, and anthocyanins indicated coregulation of flavonoid synthesis by TFs under water deficit conditions in peanut. This study would provide insight into the role of flavonoid biosynthetic pathway in drought response in peanut and would aid to develop drought-tolerant varieties of peanut

A MYB/ZML complex regulates wound-induced lignin genes in maize

Lignin is an essential polymer in vascular plants that plays key structural roles in vessels and fibers. Lignification is induced by external inputs such as wounding, but the molecular mechanisms that link this stress to lignification remain largely unknown. In this work, we provide evidence that three maize (Zea mays) lignin repressors, MYB11, MYB31, and MYB42, participate in wound-induced lignification by interacting with ZML2, a protein belonging to the TIFY family. We determined that the three R2R3-MYB factors and ZML2 bind in vivo to AC-rich and GAT(A/C) cis-elements, respectively, present in a set of lignin genes. In particular, we show that MYB11 and ZML2 bind simultaneously to the AC-rich and GAT(A/C) cis-elements present in the promoter of the caffeic acid O-methyl transferase (comt) gene. We show that, like the R2R3-MYB factors, ZML2 also acts as a transcriptional repressor. We found that upon wounding and methyl jasmonate treatments, MYB11 and ZML2 proteins are degraded and comt transcription is induced. Based on these results, we propose a molecular regulatory mechanism involving a MYB/ZML complex in which wound-induced lignification can be achieved by the derepression of a set of lignin genes.Research in D.C.-R.'s laboratory was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education (AGL2011-30545-C02-01), the “Xarxa de Referència de Biotecnologia” (XarBa) from the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, the CONSOLIDER-INGENIO program (CSD2007-00036) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and the SGR programs (SGR2009-GRC703). Research in M.P.'s laboratory was supported by two grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education (BIO2009-13044-C02-01 and BIO2012-31860), the framework of the XarBa, and the SGR programs (SGR2009-GRC626) from the Autonomous Government of Catalonia. Research in R.S.'s laboratory was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Innovation to R.S. (BIO2013-44407). M.P. and R.S. received financial support from the CONSOLIDER-INGENIO program (CSD2007-00057-B) from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Research in the W.S. laboratory is supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology and Academia Sinica. Research in phenylpropanoid gene regulation in the laboratories of E.G. and J.G. was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (IOS-1125620). I.-C.V.-B. was supported by a Spanish FPI Fellowship (BES-2007-17316). J.E.S.-H. was supported by the Department of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise of the Generalitatde Catalunya, the European Social Fund FI Fellowship (AGAUR: FI-2006, Resolució EDU/3600/2006; FI-2008, Resolució IUE/2658/2007 and BE-DGR2010), and CRAG.Peer reviewe

Elucidating compositional factors of maize cell walls contributing to stalk strength and lodging resistance

Lodging is one of the causes of maize (Zea mays L.) production losses worldwide and, at least, the resistance to stalk lodging has been positively correlated with stalk strength. In order to elucidate the putative relationship between cell wall, stalk strength and lodging resistance, twelve maize inbreds varying in rind penetration strength and lodging resistance were characterized for cell wall composition and structure. Stepwise multiple regression indicates that H lignin subunits confer a greater rind penetration strength. Besides, the predictive model for lodging showed that a high ferulic acid content increases the resistance to lodging, whereas those of diferulates decrease it. These outcomes highlight that the strength and lodging susceptibility of maize stems may be conditioned by structural features of cell wall rather than by the net amount of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. The results presented here provide biotechnological targets in breeding programs aimed at improving lodging in maize.This work was funded by Projects AGL2014−58126-R and RTC-2016−5816-2 from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. This work was also supported by the CERCA Program and the SGR program (SGR-710) from the Generalitat de Catalunya. We acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the “Severo Ochoa Program for Centres of Excellence in R&D” 2016–2019 (SEV‐2015‐0533)”. Alba Manga-Robles’s contract was granted by the Junta de Castilla y León and the Fondo Social Europeo through “Sistema Nacional de Garantía Juvenil” Program, Universidad de León and Junta de Castilla y León predoctoral Programs. Rogelio Santiago acknowledges a postdoctoral contract “Ramón y Cajal” financed by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (RYC-2012-10603).Peer reviewe

Post-Hospital Syndrome and Hyponatremia

Introduction: Post-hospital syndrome (PHS) is defined as a period of vulnerability during the first 30 days after a patient is discharged from hospital, in which multiple factors come into play. Hyponatremia is the most frequent hydroelectrolytic disorder in hospitalized patients and may be related to the appearance of PHS. Objective: The objective is to estimate the prevalence of PHS that is assessed as the rate of readmissions in the first 30 days after discharge, in patients with hyponatremia. Material and Methods: It is a descriptive observational study of patients with hyponatremia who were discharged from 1 September 2010 to 2 February 2020 at the Internal Medicine Service of the Hospital University of San Juan (Alicante, Spain). Results: Of the 25 included patients, 5 (20%) were readmitted within a month of discharge, after a mean of 11.4 days (standard deviation [SD] 5.1). The overall mortality of the study was 20% (n = 5), with one case of death in the first 30 days post-hospitalization (4%). In 12 patients (48%) the origin of the hyponatremia was undetermined. The most frequently recorded etiology for the condition was pharmacological (n = 7, 28%), and there was pronounced variability in its clinical and laboratory study. The most widely used corrective measure was drug withdrawal, in 16 patients (64%). Water intake restriction was the most common treatment after discharge (5 patients, 20%), followed by urea (2 patients, 8%), while tolvaptan was not used. Conclusion: Hyponatremia may be the cause of PHS, which could increase the rate of early readmission. Hyponatremia is an underdiagnosed and undertreated entity, so it is necessary to apply an appropriate system to optimize its management and, in future studies, to assess its impact on PHS

Differential cell wall response between two contrasting stalk-lodging resistance maize lines upon drought

Trabajo presentado en 1st International Workshop: “Food Innovation Through Adding Value to Crops” celebrado en Barcelona el 17 de noviembre de 2022, organizado por la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

Que no, caram, que jo no faig biomedicina!

Trabajo presentado en el Seminar for Research Support and Management Staff del Centre de Recerca Agrigenómica (CRAG), celebrado el 22 de abril de 2021.Peer reviewe

Grass phenylpropanoids: Regulate before using!

The phenylpropanoid pathway is responsible for the synthesis of lignin as well as a large number of compounds of fundamental importance for the biology of plants. Over the years, important knowledge has accumulated on how dicotyledoneous plants control various branches of phenylpropanoid accumulation, but comparable information on the grasses is lagging significantly behind. In addition to playing fundamental roles in biotic and abiotic interactions, phenylpropanoids in the grasses play a very important function in the reinforcement of cell wall components. Understanding how phenylpropanoid metabolism is controlled in the grasses has been complicated by recent genome duplications, the difficulties in making transgenic plants and the absence of mutants in many genes. Recent studies in a particular subgroup of R2R3-MYB transcription factors suggest that they might play a central role in regulating a small set of phenylpropanoid genes, opening the door for the identification of other related regulators, and perhaps also finding out which combinations of biosynthesis genes function in particular cell types for the formation of specific compounds. This information will be essential for the rational metabolic engineering of this pathway, either to increase biomass or decrease phenolic accumulation for better accessibility of polysaccharides for forage quality and biofuel production.Funding of the Grotewold and Gray labs on transcription factors from the grasses is provided by grants from the National Science Foundation IOS-0701405 and IOS-1125620. Funding of the Caparros-Ruiz lab on transcription factors is provided by the Spanish “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” (AGL2008-05157).Peer reviewe

Isolation and characterisation of a family of laccases in maize

Plant laccases are enzymes that have been proposed to participate in the last step of lignin biosynthesis. The polymerisation event remains still much unknown, implicating other enzymes such as peroxidases. To gain more insight in how this polymerisation process takes place in maize, we isolated by differential screening of an elongation maize root cDNA library four cDNA clones encoding a family of laccases. Three of them (ZmLac2, ZmLac4, ZmLac5) were basic enzymes, while one of them (ZmLac3) was an acidic enzyme. Southern analysis indicates that laccases belong to a multigene family in maize. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that ZmLac2, ZmLac4, and ZmLac5 are closely related enzymes, whereas ZmLac3 is a slightly different enzyme. The pattern of mRNA accumulation of ZmLac2, ZmLac3, ZmLac4, and ZmLac5 genes correlates with the maize regions undergoing lignification. Moreover, ZmLac3 is induced by wounding, whereas ZmLac2 and ZmLac5 are repressed and ZmLac4 gene expression is not affected. Taken together, our results suggest that the acidic ZmLac3 enzyme could be involved in the polymerisation of phenolic compounds in maize. Instead, and in agreement with the idea that laccases are enzymes involved in a wide range of physiological processes, results obtained with ZmLac2, ZmLac4, and ZmLac5 lead us to exclude a direct role of these laccases in lignin polymerisation.This work has been funded by the Spanish “Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología” (BIO2001-1140). We are indebted to the sequencing team of IBMB-CSIC as well as Dr. Castresana (IBMB-CSIC) for his advices and comments on phylogenetic analyses performed in this work. D-C.R was initially financed by the European COPOL Project QLRT-1999-31493 and later on by the Spanish “Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia” (“Ramon y Cajal” Program). S-F was financed by a post-doctoral grant of the “Generalitat de Catalunya” (2004-CRED-10005). We are indebted to Dr. Burgess for the English correction of this manuscript. This work was carried out within the framework of the Centre de Referència de Biotecnologia (CeRBA) from the Generalitat de Catalunya.Peer reviewe