Evidence for the localization of the Arabidopsis cytokinin receptors AHK3 and AHK4 in the endoplasmic reticulum

Cytokinins are hormones that are involved in various processes of plant growth and development. The model of cytokinin signalling starts with hormone perception through membrane-localized histidine kinase receptors. Although the biochemical properties and functions of these receptors have been extensively studied, there is no solid proof of their subcellular localization. Here, cell biological and biochemical evidence for the localization of functional fluorophor-tagged fusions of Arabidopsis histidine kinase 3 (AHK3) and 4 (AHK4), members of the cytokinin receptor family, in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is provided. Furthermore, membrane-bound AHK3 interacts with AHK4 in vivo. The ER localization and putative function of cytokinin receptors from the ER have major impacts on the concept of cytokinin perception and signalling, and hormonal cross-talk in plants

Alanine Zipper-Like Coiled-Coil Domains Are Necessary for Homotypic Dimerization of Plant GAGA-Factors in the Nucleus and Nucleolus

GAGA-motif binding proteins control transcriptional activation or repression of homeotic genes. Interestingly, there are no sequence similarities between animal and plant proteins. Plant BBR/BPC-proteins can be classified into two distinct groups: Previous studies have elaborated on group I members only and so little is known about group II proteins. Here, we focused on the initial characterization of AtBPC6, a group II protein from Arabidopsis thaliana. Comparison of orthologous BBR/BPC sequences disclosed two conserved signatures besides the DNA binding domain. A first peptide signature is essential and sufficient to target AtBPC6-GFP to the nucleus and nucleolus. A second domain is predicted to form a zipper-like coiled-coil structure. This novel type of domain is similar to Leucine zippers, but contains invariant alanine residues with a heptad spacing of 7 amino acids. By yeast-2-hybrid and BiFC-assays we could show that this Alanine zipper domain is essential for homotypic dimerization of group II proteins in vivo. Interhelical salt bridges and charge-stabilized hydrogen bonds between acidic and basic residues of the two monomers are predicted to form an interaction domain, which does not follow the classical knobs-into-holes zipper model. FRET-FLIM analysis of GFP/RFP-hybrid fusion proteins validates the formation of parallel dimers in planta. Sequence comparison uncovered that this type of domain is not restricted to BBR/BPC proteins, but is found in all kingdoms

Novel application of fluorescence lifetime and fluorescence microscopy enables quantitative access to subcellular dynamics in plant cells.

BACKGROUND: Optical and spectroscopic technologies working at subcellular resolution with quantitative output are required for a deeper understanding of molecular processes and mechanisms in living cells. Such technologies are prerequisite for the realisation of predictive biology at cellular and subcellular level. However, although established in the physical sciences, these techniques are rarely applied to cell biology in the plant sciences. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we present a combined application of one-chromophore fluorescence lifetime microscopy and wavelength-selective fluorescence microscopy to analyse the function of a GFP fusion of the Brassinosteroid Insensitive 1 Receptor (BRI1-GFP) with high spatial and temporal resolution in living Arabidopsis cells in their tissue environment. We show a rapid, brassinolide-induced cell wall expansion and a fast BR-regulated change in the BRI1-GFP fluorescence lifetime in the plasmamembrane in vivo. Both cell wall expansion and changes in fluorescence lifetime reflect early BR-induced and BRI1-dependent physiological or signalling processes. Our experiments also show the potential of one-chromophore fluorescence lifetime microscopy for the in vivo monitoring of the biochemical and biophysical subcellular environment using GFP fusion proteins as probes. SIGNIFICANCE: One-chromophore fluorescence lifetime microscopy, combined with wavelength-specific fluorescence microscopy, opens up new frontiers for in vivo dynamic and quantitative analysis of cellular processes at high resolution which are not addressable by pure imaging technologies or transmission electron microscopy

DNA methylation networks underlying mammalian traits

Using DNA methylation profiles ( n = 15,456) from 348 mammalian species, we constructed phyloepigenetic trees that bear marked similarities to traditional phylogenetic ones. Using unsupervised clustering across all samples, we identified 55 distinct cytosine modules, of which 30 are related to traits such as maximum life span, adult weight, age, sex, and human mortality risk. Maximum life span is associated with methylation levels in HOXL subclass homeobox genes and developmental processes and is potentially regulated by pluripotency transcription factors. The methylation state of some modules responds to perturbations such as caloric restriction, ablation of growth hormone receptors, consumption of high-fat diets, and expression of Yamanaka factors. This study reveals an intertwined evolution of the genome and epigenome that mediates the biological characteristics and traits of different mammalian species