Salicylic acid and salicylic acid glucoside in xylem sap of Brassica napus infected with Verticillium longisporum

Salicylic acid (SA) and its glucoside (SAG) were detected in xylem sap of Brassica napus by HPLC–MS. Concentrations of SA and SAG in xylem sap from the root and hypocotyl of the plant, and in extracts of shoots above the hypocotyl, increased after infection with the vascular pathogen Verticillium longisporum. Both concentrations were correlated with disease severity assessed as the reduction in shoot length. Furthermore, SAG levels in shoot extracts were correlated with the amount of V. longisporum DNA in the hypocotyls. Although the concentration of SAG (but not SA) in xylem sap of infected plants gradually declined from 14 to 35 days post infection, SAG levels remained significantly higher than in uninfected plants during the whole experiment. Jasmonic acid (JA) and abscisic acid (ABA) levels in xylem sap were not affected by infection with V. longisporum. SA and SAG extend the list of phytohormones potentially transported from root to shoot with the transpiration stream. The physiological relevance of this transport and its contribution to the distribution of SA in plants remain to be elucidated

Barley <i>SIX-ROWED SPIKE3</i> encodes a putative Jumonji C-type H3K9me2/me3 demethylase that represses lateral spikelet fertility

The VRS genes of barley control the fertility of the lateral spikelets on the barley inflorescence. Here, Bull et al. show that VRS3 encodes a putative Jumonji C-type histone demethylase that regulates expression of other VRS genes, and genes involved in stress, hormone and sugar metabolism

Structural basis for cytokinin production by LOG from Corynebacterium glutamicum

&quot;Lonely guy&quot; (LOG) has been identified as a cytokinin-producing enzyme in plants and plant-interacting fungi. The gene product of Cg2612 from the soil-dwelling bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum was annotated as an LDC. However, the facts that C. glutamicum lacks an LDC and Cg2612 has high amino acid similarity with LOG proteins suggest that Cg2612 is possibly an LOG protein. To investigate the function of Cg2612, we determined its crystal structure at a resolution of 2.3 angstrom. Cg2612 functions as a dimer and shows an overall structure similar to other known LOGs, such as LOGs from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtLOG), Claviceps purpurea (CpLOG), and Mycobacterium marinum (MmLOG). Cg2612 also contains a &quot;PGG(X)GT(XX)E&quot; motif that contributes to the formation of an active site similar to other LOGs. Moreover, biochemical studies on Cg2612 revealed that the protein has phosphoribohydrolase activity but not LDC activity. Based on these structural and biochemical studies, we propose that Cg2612 is not an LDC family enzyme, but instead belongs to the LOG family. In addition, the prenyl-binding site of Cg2612 (CgLOG) comprised residues identical to those seen in AtLOG and CpLOG, albeit dissimilar to those in MmLOG. The work provides structural and functional implications for LOG-like proteins from other microorganisms.clos

Molecular interactions between Hel2 and RNA supporting ribosome-associated quality control

Ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) pathways monitor and respond to stalling of the translating ribosome. Here the authors show that the ribosome associated RQC factor Hel2/ZNF598, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, generally interacts with mRNAs in the vicinity of stop codons

Plant vascular development: from early specification to differentiation.

Vascular tissues in plants are crucial to provide physical support and to transport water, sugars and hormones and other small signalling molecules throughout the plant. Recent genetic and molecular studies have identified interconnections among some of the major signalling networks that regulate plant vascular development. Using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system, these studies enable the description of vascular development from the earliest tissue specification events during embryogenesis to the differentiation of phloem and xylem tissues. Moreover, we propose a model for how oriented cell divisions give rise to a three-dimensional vascular bundle within the root meristem

γ-ray Compton Profiles of Liquid Alkali Metals(Physics)

Compton profiles of lithium and sodium metals in both the liquid and solid states were measured by using a Ge(Li) detector and 59.54 keV γ-rays emitted from ^Am. The theoretical Compton profiles were calculated for conduction electrons in the liquid metals by means of a free-electron model. Careful comparisons were then made between the experimental profile deconvoluted with an instrument resolution function and the theoretical profile convoluted with a residual instrument function. It was found that the experimental Compton profile for liquid sodium is in good agreement with the theoretical free-electron model but for liquid lithium, the experimental deviates a little from the theoretical. A small difference of Compton profiles between the liquid and solid states may be interpreted in terms of the free-electron model based on a change in the electron density upon melting

Cell wall modification by the xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase XTH19 influences freezing tolerance after cold and sub-zero acclimation

Freezing triggers extracellular ice formation leading to cell dehydration and deformation during a freeze-thaw cycle. Many plant species increase their freezing tolerance during exposure to low, non-freezing temperatures, a process termed cold acclimation. In addition, exposure to mild freezing temperatures after cold acclimation evokes a further increase in freezing tolerance (sub-zero acclimation). Previous transcriptome and proteome analyses indicate that cell wall remodelling may be particularly important for sub-zero acclimation. In the present study, we used a combination of immunohistochemical, chemical and spectroscopic analyses to characterize the cell walls of Arabidopsis thaliana and characterized a mutant in the XTH19 gene, encoding a xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH). The mutant showed reduced freezing tolerance after both cold and sub-zero acclimation, compared to the Col-0 wild type, which was associated with differences in cell wall composition and structure. Most strikingly, immunohistochemistry in combination with 3D reconstruction of centres of rosette indicated that epitopes of the xyloglucan-specific antibody LM25 were highly abundant in the vasculature of Col-0 plants after sub-zero acclimation but absent in the XTH19 mutant. Taken together, our data shed new light on the potential roles of cell wall remodelling for the increased freezing tolerance observed after low temperature acclimation