Salt Stress Causes Peroxisome Proliferation, but Inducing Peroxisome Proliferation Does Not Improve NaCl Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

The PEX11 family of peroxisome membrane proteins have been shown to be involved in regulation of peroxisome size and number in plant, animals, and yeast cells. We and others have previously suggested that peroxisome proliferation as a result of abiotic stress may be important in plant stress responses, and recently it was reported that several rice PEX11 genes were up regulated in response to abiotic stress. We sought to test the hypothesis that promoting peroxisome proliferation in Arabidopsis thaliana by over expression of one PEX11 family member, PEX11e, would give increased resistance to salt stress. We could demonstrate up regulation of PEX11e by salt stress and increased peroxisome number by both PEX11e over expression and salt stress, however our experiments failed to find a correlation between PEX11e over expression and increased peroxisome metabolic activity or resistance to salt stress. This suggests that although peroxisome proliferation may be a consequence of salt stress, it does not affect the ability of Arabidopsis plants to tolerate saline conditions

Giant peroxisomes in a moss (Physcomitrella patens) peroxisomal biogenesis factor 11 mutant

Peroxisomal biogenesis factor 11 (PEX11) proteins are found in yeasts, mammals and plants, and play a role in peroxisome morphology and regulation of peroxisome division. The moss Physcomitrella patens has six PEX11 isoforms which fall into two subfamilies, similar to those found in monocots and dicots. We carried out targeted gene disruption of the Phypa_PEX11-1 gene and compared the morphological and cellular phenotypes of the wild-type and mutant strains. The mutant grew more slowly and the development of gametophores was retarded. Mutant chloronemal filaments contained large cellular structures which excluded all other cellular organelles. Expression of fluorescent reporter proteins revealed that the mutant strain had greatly enlarged peroxisomes up to 10 μm in diameter. Expression of a vacuolar membrane marker confirmed that the enlarged structures were not vacuoles, or peroxisomes sequestered within vacuoles as a result of pexophagy. Phypa_PEX11 targeted to peroxisome membranes could rescue the knock out phenotype and interacted with Fission1 on the peroxisome membrane. Moss PEX11 functions in peroxisome division similar to PEX11 in other organisms but the mutant phenotype is more extreme and environmentally determined, making P. patens a powerful system in which to address mechanisms of peroxisome proliferation and division

A multi-ethnic meta-analysis identifies novel genes, including ACSL5, associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating progressive motor neuron disease that affects people of all ethnicities. Approximately 90% of ALS cases are sporadic and thought to have multifactorial pathogenesis. To understand the genetics of sporadic ALS, we conducted a genome-wide association study using 1,173 sporadic ALS cases and 8,925 controls in a Japanese population. A combined meta-analysis of our Japanese cohort with individuals of European ancestry revealed a significant association at the ACSL5 locus (top SNP p = 2.97 × 10−8). We validated the association with ACSL5 in a replication study with a Chinese population and an independent Japanese population (1941 ALS cases, 3821 controls; top SNP p = 1.82 × 10−4). In the combined meta-analysis, the intronic ACSL5 SNP rs3736947 showed the strongest association (p = 7.81 × 10−11). Using a gene-based analysis of the full multi-ethnic dataset, we uncovered additional genes significantly associated with ALS: ERGIC1, RAPGEF5, FNBP1, and ATXN3. These results advance our understanding of the genetic basis of sporadic ALS

Tissue Localization of the Glycine Betaine Biosynthetic Enzymes in Barley Leaves

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) plants accumulate glycine betaine (GB), a major compatible solute, in response to salt stress. In barley, GB is produced by a two-step oxidation of choline in a cooperative way in the cytosol and peroxisomes. In this study, we investigated the localization of two GB biosynthetic enzymes, choline monooxygenase (CMO) and betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH), in the tissues of barley plants (cv. Haruna-nijyo) grown under normal and saline conditions. Three-week-old barley plants grown hydroponically were treated with a hydroponic culture solution containing 200 mM NaCl for 72 h. Salt treatment resulted in increased expression of CMO and BADH proteins mainly in the leaves of barley but not in the roots. The expression of CMO protein was increased by the presence of NaCl in younger leaves but decreased in older leaves. The tissue localization of CMO and BADH proteins was analyzed by immunofluorescent labeling method using their primary antibodies and a fluorescein-conjugated secondary antibody. CMO and BADH proteins were constitutively co-localized in mesophyll and bundle sheath cells under both normal and saline conditions. A possible physiological function of GB in the salt tolerance of barley plants is discussed

Relationship between Salinity-Induced Damages and Aging in Rice Leaf Tissues

Segments of rice leaves at different nodal positions were incubated in NaCl solutions for various periods, and the chlorophyll content, Na content, CI content, Na/K ratio and the ultrastructure of excised leaf tissues were examined. The chlorophyll content of the leaf tissues decreased with increasing NaCl concentration and incubation period. Na and CI contents of the leaf tissues also increased with increasing NaCl concentration, but the decrease in chlorophyll content by salt stress was greater in old than in young tissues even when both tissues contained comparable amounts of Na and CI. The presence of benzylaminopurine (BAP) alleviated the salt stress-induced decrease in chlorophyll content, but did not significantly affect the element contents. Ultrastructural damages were apparent in the chloroplasts of the leaf tissues subjected to salt stress. In 0.1% NaCl-treated old leaf tissues, the thylakoids were swollen, the envelope was partly destroyed causing leakage of the chloroplast contents. However, these damages were alleviated by the addition of BAP to the NaCl solution. In young leaf tissues, the thylakoids were swollen by incubation in 1.0% NaCl solution, but no structural distortion was observed in a 0.1% NaCl solution even without BAP added. The present study suggests that the leaf tissues were damaged by an increasing salt content and became more sensitive to salt stress with advancing leaf age. BAP seemed to alleviate the damages by salt stress through retardation of leaf aging

Transcription Profiles of Genes Encoding Catalase and Ascorbate Peroxidase in the Rice Leaf Tissues under Salinity

We analyzed the response of transcripts corresponding to ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT) under salinity in the basal region of the rice leaf, which is tolerant to salinity compared with the apical region. In the NaCl treated plants, the transcript levels of CATB, CATC, APX1, APX4, APX6 and APX7 increased. The transcript level of APX2 was comparable to that of the control, but the transcript level of APX8 was slightly decreased by salinity. The activity of dehydroascorbate reductase decreased by salinity. These results suggest that the increase in CAT activity observed in our previous study is due to the enhancement of transcript levels of CATB andCATC, and the increase in the transcript levelof APX1, APX4, APX6 and APX7 may contribute to maintain APX activity under salinity. Theenhancement of the enzyme activities involved in regeneration of ascorbate under salinity is needed to increase APX activity and salinity tolerance in rice plants

Developmental Plasticity of Rice Root System Grown under Mild Drought Stress Condition with Shallow Soil Depth; Comparison between Nodal and Lateral roots

The plasticity in root system development (RSD) is a key trait for the adaptation of rice to mild drought. However, the enhanced RSD due to the plasticity may not be always a sole function of promoted lateral root (LR) production, but also of the integrated responses of nodal root (NR) development. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of mild drought intensities on the development of the NR and LR, and their contribution to the entire RSD. We used six genotypes including KDML105 (indica, lowland adapted), a high lateral rooting ability genotype. The plants were grown up to heading or maturity stage for two years under soil with limited soil depth (20 cm) assuming the presence of the hardpan and at different moisture gradients generated by the line source sprinkler system. The effects of drought intensities generally differed between the development of NR and LR. In both years, all genotypes showed highest LR development under mild drought stress intensities. However, in some genotypes including KDML105, NR development was maintained in a limited soil moisture range only, which was narrower and wetter than that in which LR plasticity was expressed. Furthermore, the entire RSD was maintained only when both the NR and LR were simultaneously promoted or maintained. These results suggest that the NR have less plasticity than the LR in response to drought and the contribution of the plasticity in LR development to the entire RSD is dependent on both the soil moisture and nodal rooting ability

Plasticity in root system architecture of rice genotypes exhibited under different soil water distributions in soil profile

The root system architecture (RSA) has been reported to be determined by several root traits such as branching, elongation, and growth angle. This study aimed to evaluate the genotypic variation of plasticity in RSA in response to different soil water distributions in a soil profile. IR64 (shallow root system), YTH183 (adapted to rainfed lowland conditions due to high plasticity in root elongation), and Kinandang Patong (KP – deep root system) were grown in PVC root boxes for 34 days under continuously waterlogged conditions and with soil moisture fluctuations (SMF). For SMF, watering was done from the top of the root box (TI-SMF) or from the bottom of the root box (BI-SMF). A water gradient was observed more clearly in BI-SMF than in TI-SMF, while mean soil moisture content in the root box was kept at around 23% (v/v) after first irrigation in both SMF treatments. RSA changed drastically with SMF in all cultivars, all of which tended to shift root distribution to deeper soil layers in response to SMF. Such changes in RSA resulted from different degrees of plasticity exhibited mainly in nodal root and L-type lateral root development. YTH183 showed a greater ability to change its root growth angle and thus its root distribution in the deeper soil layer compared to IR64 and KP under SMF, indicating that YTH183 could help to improve RSA in cultivars adapted to SMF