Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathways in plants: Versatile signaling tools

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are important signaling tools in all eukaryotes, and function in mediating an enormous variety of external signals to appropriate cellular responses. MAPK pathways have been studied extensively in yeast and mammalian cells, and a large body of knowledge on their functioning has accumulated, which is summarized briefly. Plant MAPK pathways have attracted increasing interest, resulting in the isolation of a large number of different components of MAPK cascades. Studies on the functions of these components have revealed that MAPKs play important roles in the response to a broad variety of stresses, as well as in the signaling of most plant hormones and in developmental processes. Finally, the involvement of various plant phosphatases in the inactivation of MAPKs is discussed

Salmonella enterica induces and subverts the plant immune system

Infections with Salmonella enterica belong to the most prominent causes of food poisoning and infected fruits and vegetables represent important vectors for salmonellosis. Whereas it was shown that plants raise defense responses against Salmonella, these bacteria persist and proliferate in various plant tissues. Recent reports shed light into the molecular interaction between plants and Salmonella, highlighting the defense pathways induced and the means used by the bacteria to escape the plant immune system and accomplish colonization. It was recently shown that plants detect Salmonella pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), such as the flagellin peptide flg22, and activate hallmarks of the defense program known as PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI). Interestingly, certain Salmonella strains carry mutations in the flg22 domain triggering PTI, suggesting that a strategy of Salmonella is to escape plant detection by mutating PAMP motifs. Another strategy may rely on the type III secretion system (T3SS) as T3SS mutants were found to induce stronger plant defense responses than wild type bacteria. Although Salmonella effector delivery into plant cells has not been shown, expression of Salmonella effectors in plant tissues shows that these bacteria also possess powerful means to manipulate the plant immune system. Altogether, the data gathered suggest that Salmonella triggers PTI in plants and evolved strategies to avoid or subvert plant immunity

G3BPs in Plant Stress

The sessile nature of plants enforces highly adaptable strategies to adapt to different environmental stresses. Plants respond to these stresses by a massive reprogramming of mRNA metabolism. Balancing of mRNA fates, including translation, sequestration, and decay is essential for plants to not only coordinate growth and development but also to combat biotic and abiotic environmental stresses. RNA stress granules (SGs) and processing bodies (P bodies) synchronize mRNA metabolism for optimum functioning of an organism. SGs are evolutionarily conserved cytoplasmic localized RNA-protein storage sites that are formed in response to adverse conditions, harboring mostly but not always translationally inactive mRNAs. SGs disassemble and release mRNAs into a translationally active form upon stress relief. RasGAP SH3 domain binding proteins (G3BPs or Rasputins) are “scaffolds” for the assembly and stability of SGs, which coordinate receptor mediated signal transduction with RNA metabolism. The role of G3BPs in the formation of SGs is well established in mammals, but G3BPs in plants are poorly characterized. In this review, we discuss recent findings of the dynamics and functions of plant G3BPs in response to environmental stresses and speculate on possible mechanisms such as transcription and post-translational modifications that might regulate the function of this important family of proteins

Identification de mutants constitutivement actifs de MAP Kinases d Arabidopsis (démonstration de leur intérêt à travers l étude de la fonction de MPK4 dans les réponses aux pathogènes)

La phosphorylation/déphosphorylation des protéines est un mécanisme de signalisation intracellulaire commun. Parmi les kinases végétales, les Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs) sont impliquées dans de nombreux processus biologiques importants, comme la réponse aux stress biotiques et abiotiques, le développement et la dynamique du cytosquelette. Chez Arabidopsis thaliana et ce malgré de nombreux efforts, les fonctions des kinases impliquées dans les cascades MAPK restent peu inconnues. L'activation des kinases en utilisant des mutations mimant la phosphorylation des sites normalement phosphorylés est une approchequi a fait ses preuves dans le cas de MAP2Ks et a largement contribué à élucider leurs fonctions. Cette stratégie s est révélée impossible dans le cas des MAPKs, puisque les résidus à muter restent encore à identifier. Pour contourner ce problème, nous avons adapté un crible basé sur la complémentation fonctionnelle d un mutant MAPK de levure avec des formes aléatoirement mutées de MPK6d Arabidopsis dans le but d'identifier des mutants présentant une activité constitutive. Nous en avons identifiés plusieurs et avons montré que ces formes constitutivement actives (CA) de MPK6 sont actives sans phosphorylation par les MAP2Ks. Par ailleurs, les mutations des résidus équivalents dans d'autres MAPKs les rendent également hyperactives, ce qui indique que cette stratégie peut être utilisée comme approche générale pour activer les MAPKs afin d en comprendre les fonctions. L étude des interactions protéine-protéine et l analyse des profils dephosphorylation indiquent que les MAPKs CA conservent leur spécificité envers leurs substrats et interacteurs. Comme preuve de concept, nous avons généré des formes actives du MPK4. La MPK4 CA exprimée sous son propre promoteur a parfaitement complémenté le mutant mpk4. La caractérisation des lignées exprimant MPK4 CA confirme le rôle négatif de cette kinase dans les réponses de défense aux pathogènes des plantes que ce soit dans la PTI (PAMP Triggered Immunity) ou dans la ETI (Effector Triggered Immunity). Globalement, ce travail permettra de fournir des informations directes sur les cibles des MAPKs et devrait contribuer à la compréhension globale de la transduction du signal chez les plantes.Protein phosphorylations and dephosphorylations are common events occurring duringintracellular signaling processes. Among plant kinases, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs) are involved in signaling of many important biological processes, including biotic and abiotic stresses, development and cytoskeleton organization. Despite an abundant literature on MAPKs, the exact roles and direct targets of many Arabidopsis thaliana MAPKs are not clear yet. The activation of kinases using phospho-mimicking mutations of the phosphorylated residues was a successful approach in the case of MAP2Ks, helping to elucidate their functions. This strategy failed in the case of MAPKs since the necessary residues to mutate remain unclear. To bypass this problem, we adapted a screen based on the functional complementation of a MAPK yeast mutant with randomly mutated Arabidopsis MPK6 in order to identify the ones mutants showing constitutive activity. We identified several clones and showed that these constitutively active (CA) of MPK6 candidates are indeed active without phosphorylation by MAP2Ks. Interestingly, mutations of the equivalent residues in other MAPKs triggered constitutive activity as well, indicating that this strategy may be used as a general approach to activate MAPKs and identify their functions. Interaction and phosphorylation assays indicatedthat CA MAPKs retain their substrate and interactor specificity. As proof-of-concept, we generated active versions of MPK4. CA MPK4 expressed under itsown promoter successfully complements mpk4 mutant plants. Characterization of CA MPK4 lines further confirmed the negative role of MPK4 in plant pathogen defense responses and its implication in both PTI (PAMP Triggered Immunity) and ETI (Effector Triggered Immunity). Overall, the work will help to provide direct information on all MAPK targets and should be an important contribution to the overall understanding of signal transduction in plants.EVRY-Bib. électronique (912289901) / SudocSudocFranceF

Regulation of the heat stress response in Arabidopsis by MPK6-targeted phosphorylation of the heat stress factor HsfA2

So far little is known on the functional role of phosphorylation in the heat stress response of plants. Here we present evidence that heat stress activates the Arabidopsis mitogen-activated protein kinase MPK6. In vitro and in vivo evidence is provided that MPK6 specifically targets the major heat stress transcription factor HsfA2. Activation of MPK6 results in complex formation with HsfA2. MPK6 phosphorylates HsfA2 on T249 and changes its intracellular localisation. Protein kinase and phosphatase inhibitor studies indicate that HsfA2 protein stability is regulated in a phosphorylation-dependent manner, but this mechanism is independent of MPK6. Overall, our data show that heat stress-induced targeting of HsfA2 by MPK6 participates in the complex regulatory mechanism how plants respond to heat stress

Desert plant bacteria reveal host influence and beneficial plant growth properties

© 2018 Eida et al.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Deserts, such as those found in Saudi Arabia, are one of the most hostile places for plant growth. However, desert plants are able to impact their surrounding microbial community and select beneficial microbes that promote their growth under these extreme conditions. In this study, we examined the soil, rhizosphere and endosphere bacterial communities of four native desert plants Tribulus terrestris, Zygophyllum simplex, Panicum turgidum and Euphorbia granulata from the Southwest (Jizan region), two of which were also found in the Midwest (Al Wahbah area) of Saudi Arabia. While the rhizosphere bacterial community mostly resembled that of the highly different surrounding soils, the endosphere composition was strongly correlated with its host plant phylogeny. In order to assess whether any of the native bacterial endophytes might have a role in plant growth under extreme conditions, we analyzed the properties of 116 cultured bacterial isolates that represent members of the phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. Our analysis shows that different strains have highly different biochemical properties with respect to nutrient acquisition, hormone production and growth under stress conditions. More importantly, eleven of the isolated strains could confer salinity stress tolerance to the experimental model plant Arabidopsis thaliana suggesting some of these plant-associated bacteria might be useful for improving crop desert agriculture

Mining biosynthetic gene clusters in Virgibacillus genomes

BACKGROUND: Biosynthetic gene clusters produce a wide range of metabolites with activities that are of interest to the pharmaceutical industry. Specific interest is shown towards those metabolites that exhibit antimicrobial activities against multidrug-resistant bacteria that have become a global health threat. Genera of the phylum Firmicutes are frequently identified as sources of such metabolites, but the biosynthetic potential of its Virgibacillus genus is not known. Here, we used comparative genomic analysis to determine whether Virgibacillus strains isolated from the Red Sea mangrove mud in Rabigh Harbor Lagoon, Saudi Arabia, may be an attractive source of such novel antimicrobial agents. RESULTS: A comparative genomics analysis based on Virgibacillus dokdonensis Bac330, Virgibacillus sp. Bac332 and Virgibacillus halodenitrificans Bac324 (isolated from the Red Sea) and six other previously reported Virgibacillus strains was performed. Orthology analysis was used to determine the core genomes as well as the accessory genome of the nine Virgibacillus strains. The analysis shows that the Red Sea strain Virgibacillus sp. Bac332 has the highest number of unique genes and genomic islands compared to other genomes included in this study. Focusing on biosynthetic gene clusters, we show how marine isolates, including those from the Red Sea, are more enriched with nonribosomal peptides compared to the other Virgibacillus species. We also found that most nonribosomal peptide synthases identified in the Virgibacillus strains are part of genomic regions that are potentially horizontally transferred. CONCLUSIONS: The Red Sea Virgibacillus strains have a large number of biosynthetic genes in clusters that are not assigned to known products, indicating significant potential for the discovery of novel bioactive compounds. Also, having more modular synthetase units suggests that these strains are good candidates for experimental characterization of previously identified bioactive compounds as well. Future efforts will be directed towards establishing the properties of the potentially novel compounds encoded by the Red Sea specific trans-AT PKS/NRPS cluster and the type III PKS/NRPS cluster

The MKK2 Pathway Mediates Cold and Salt Stress Signaling in Arabidopsis

AbstractThe Arabidopsis mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase 2 (MKK2) and the downstream MAPKs MPK4 and MPK6 were isolated by functional complementation of osmosensitive yeast mutants. In Arabidopsis protoplasts, MKK2 was specifically activated by cold and salt stress and by the stress-induced MAPK kinase kinase MEKK1. Yeast two-hybrid, in vitro, and in vivo protein kinase assays revealed that MKK2 directly targets MPK4 and MPK6. Accordingly, plants overexpressing MKK2 exhibited constitutive MPK4 and MPK6 activity, constitutively upregulated expression of stress-induced marker genes, and increased freezing and salt tolerance. In contrast, mkk2 null plants were impaired in MPK4 and MPK6 activation and were hypersensitive to salt and cold stress. Full genome transcriptome analysis of MKK2-overexpressing plants demonstrated altered expression of 152 genes involved in transcriptional regulation, signal transduction, cellular defense, and stress metabolism. These data identify a MAP kinase signaling cascade mediating cold and salt stress tolerance in plants