Who with whom: functional coordination of E2 enzymes by RING E3 ligases during poly-ubiquitylation

Protein modification with poly-ubiquitin chains is a crucial process involved in a myriad of cellular pathways. Chain synthesis requires two steps: substrate modification with ubiquitin (priming) followed by repetitive ubiquitin-to-ubiquitin attachment (elongation). RING-type E3 ligases catalyze both reactions in collaboration with specific priming and elongating E2 enzymes. We provide kinetic insight into poly-ubiquitylation during protein quality control by showing that priming is the rate-determining step in protein degradation as directed by the yeast ERAD RING E3 ligases, Hrd1 and Doa10. Doa10 cooperates with the dedicated priming E2, Ubc6, while both E3s use Ubc7 for elongation. Here, we provide direct evidence that Hrd1 uses Ubc7 also for priming. We found that Ubc6 has an unusually high basal activity that does not require strong stimulation from an E3. Doa10 exploits this property to pair with Ubc6 over Ubc7 during priming. Our work not only illuminates the mechanisms of specific E2/E3 interplay in ERAD, but also offers a basis to understand how RING E3s may have properties that are tailored to pair with their preferred E2s

Developmental control of hypoxia during bud burst in grapevine

Dormant or quiescent buds of woody perennials are often dense, and in the case of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) have a low tissue oxygen status. The precise timing of the decision to resume growth is difficult to predict, but once committed the increase in tissue oxygen status is rapid and developmentally regulated. Here we show that more than a third of the grapevine homologues of widely conserved hypoxia-responsive genes, and nearly a fifth of all grapevine genes possessing a plant hypoxia-responsive promoter element were differentially regulated during bud burst, in apparent harmony with resumption of meristem identity and cell-cycle gene regulation. We then investigated the molecular and biochemical properties of the grapevine ERF-VII homologues, which in other species are oxygen labile and function in transcriptional regulation of hypoxia-responsive genes. Each of the three VvERF-VIIs were substrates for oxygen-dependent proteolysis in vitro, as a function of the N-terminal cysteine. Collectively these data support an important developmental function of oxygen-dependent signalling in determining the timing and effective coordination bud burst in grapevine. In addition, novel regulators, including GASA-, TCP-, MYB3R-, PLT- and WUS-like transcription factors, were identified as hallmarks of the orderly and functional resumption of growth following quiescence in buds

Nitric oxide sensing in plants is mediated by proteolytic control of group VII ERF transcription factors

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signaling compound in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In plants, NO regulates critical developmental transitions and stress responses. Here, we identify a mechanism for NO sensing that coordinates responses throughout development based on targeted degradation of plant-specific transcriptional regulators, the group VII ethylene response factors (ERFs). We show that the N-end rule pathway of targeted proteolysis targets these proteins for destruction in the presence of NO, and we establish them as critical regulators of diverse NO-regulated processes, including seed germination, stomatal closure, and hypocotyl elongation. Furthermore, we define the molecular mechanism for NO control of germination and crosstalk with abscisic acid (ABA) signaling through ERF-regulated expression of ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE5 (ABI5). Our work demonstrates how NO sensing is integrated across multiple physiological processes by direct modulation of transcription factor stability and identifies group VII ERFs as central hubs for the perception of gaseous signals in plants

Translatome and metabolome effects triggered by gibberellins during rosette growth in Arabidopsis

Although gibberellins (GAs) are well known for their growth control function, little is known about their effects on primary metabolism. Here the modulation of gene expression and metabolic adjustment in response to changes in plant (Arabidopsis thaliana) growth imposed on varying the gibberellin regime were evaluated. Polysomal mRNA populations were profiled following treatment of plants with paclobutrazol (PAC), an inhibitor of GA biosynthesis, and gibberellic acid (GA3) to monitor translational regulation of mRNAs globally. Gibberellin levels did not affect levels of carbohydrates in plants treated with PAC and/or GA3. However, the tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates malate and fumarate, two alternative carbon storage molecules, accumulated upon PAC treatment. Moreover, an increase in nitrate and in the levels of the amino acids was observed in plants grown under a low GA regime. Only minor changes in amino acid levels were detected in plants treated with GA3 alone, or PAC plus GA3. Comparison of the molecular changes at the transcript and metabolite levels demonstrated that a low GA level mainly affects growth by uncoupling growth from carbon availability. These observations, together with the translatome changes, reveal an interaction between energy metabolism and GA-mediated control of growth to coordinate cell wall extension, secondary metabolism, and lipid metabolism

Physical activity to improve cognition in older adults: can physical activity programs enriched with cognitive challenges enhance the effects? A systematic review and meta-analysis

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Enhanced Heart Failure in Redox‐Dead Cys17Ser PKARIα Knock‐In Mice

Background PKARIα (protein kinase A type I‐α regulatory subunit) is redox‐active independent of its physiologic agonist cAMP. However, it is unknown whether this alternative mechanism of PKARIα activation may be of relevance to cardiac excitation–contraction coupling. Methods and Results We used a redox‐dead transgenic mouse model with homozygous knock‐in replacement of redox‐sensitive cysteine 17 with serine within the regulatory subunits of PKARIα (KI). Reactive oxygen species were acutely evoked by exposure of isolated cardiac myocytes to AngII (angiotensin II, 1 µmol/L). The long‐term relevance of oxidized PKARIα was investigated in KI mice and their wild‐type (WT) littermates following transverse aortic constriction (TAC). AngII increased reactive oxygen species in both groups but with RIα dimer formation in WT only. AngII induced translocation of PKARI to the cell membrane and resulted in protein kinase A–dependent stimulation of ICa (L‐type Ca current) in WT with no effect in KI myocytes. Consequently, Ca transients were reduced in KI myocytes as compared with WT cells following acute AngII exposure. Transverse aortic constriction–related reactive oxygen species formation resulted in RIα oxidation in WT but not in KI mice. Within 6 weeks after TAC, KI mice showed an enhanced deterioration of contractile function and impaired survival compared with WT. In accordance, compared with WT, ventricular myocytes from failing KI mice displayed significantly reduced Ca transient amplitudes and lack of ICa stimulation. Conversely, direct pharmacological stimulation of ICa using Bay K8644 rescued Ca transients in AngII‐treated KI myocytes and contractile function in failing KI mice in vivo. Conclusions Oxidative activation of PKARIα with subsequent stimulation of ICa preserves cardiac function in the setting of acute and chronic oxidative stress

Downregulation of pyrophosphate: d-fructose-6-phosphate 1-phosphotransferase activity in sugarcane culms enhances sucrose accumulation due to elevated hexose-phosphate levels

Analyses of transgenic sugarcane clones with 45–95% reduced cytosolic pyrophosphate: d-fructose-6-phosphate 1-phosphotransferase (PFP, EC 2.7.1.90) activity displayed no visual phenotypical change, but significant changes were evident in in vivo metabolite levels and fluxes during internode development. In three independent transgenic lines, sucrose concentrations increased between three- and sixfold in immature internodes, compared to the levels in the wildtype control. There was an eightfold increase in the hexose-phosphate:triose-phosphate ratio in immature internodes, a significant restriction in the triose phosphate to hexose phosphate cycle and significant increase in sucrose cycling as monitored by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance. This suggests that an increase in the hexose-phosphate concentrations resulting from a restriction in the conversion of hexose phosphates to triose phosphates drive sucrose synthesis in the young internodes. These effects became less pronounced as the tissue matured. Decreased expression of PFP also resulted in an increase of the ATP/ADP and UTP/UDP ratios, and an increase of the total uridine nucleotide and, at a later stage, the total adenine nucleotide pool, revealing strong interactions between PPi metabolism and general energy metabolism. Finally, decreased PFP leads to a reduction of PPi levels in older internodes indicating that in these developmental stages PFP acts in the gluconeogenic direction. The lowered PPi levels might also contribute to the absence of increases in sucrose contents in the more mature tissues of transgenic sugarcane with reduced PFP activity