Cell-type–specific transcriptome and histone modification dynamics during cellular reprogramming in the Arabidopsis stomatal lineage

Plant cells maintain remarkable developmental plasticity, allowing them to clonally reproduce and to repair tissues following wounding; yet plant cells normally stably maintain consistent identities. Although this capacity was recognized long ago, our mechanistic understanding of the establishment, maintenance, and erasure of cellular identities in plants remains limited. Here, we develop a cell-type?specific reprogramming system that can be probed at the genome-wide scale for alterations in gene expression and histone modifications. We show that relationships among H3K27me3, H3K4me3, and gene expression in single cell types mirror trends from complex tissue, and that H3K27me3 dynamics regulate guard cell identity. Further, upon initiation of reprogramming, guard cells induce H3K27me3-mediated repression of a regulator of wound-induced callus formation, suggesting that cells in intact tissues may have mechanisms to sense and resist inappropriate dedifferentiation. The matched ChIP-sequencing (seq) and RNA-seq datasets created for this analysis also serve as a resource enabling inquiries into the dynamic and global-scale distribution of histone modifications in single cell types in plants.Fil: Lee, Laura R.. University of Stanford; Estados UnidosFil: Wengier, Diego Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Bergmann, Dominique C.. University of Stanford; Estados Unido

The pollen receptor kinase LePRK2 mediates growth-promoting signals and positively regulates pollen germination and tube growth

In flowering plants, the process of pollen germination and tube growth is required for successful fertilization. A pollen receptor kinase from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), LePRK2, has been implicated in signaling during pollen germination and tube growth as well as in mediating pollen (tube)-pistil communication. Here we show that reduced expression of LePRK2 affects four aspects of pollen germination and tube growth. First, the percentage of pollen that germinates is reduced, and the time window for competence to germinate is also shorter. Second, the pollen tube growth rate is reduced both in vitro and in the pistil. Third, tip-localized superoxide production by pollen tubes cannot be increased by exogenous calcium ions. Fourth, pollen tubes have defects in responses to style extract component (STIL), an extracellular growth-promoting signal from the pistil. Pollen tubes transiently overexpressing LePRK2-fluorescent protein fusions had slightly wider tips, whereas pollen tubes coexpressing LePRK2 and its cytoplasmic partner protein KPP (a Rop-GEF) had much wider tips. Together these results show that LePRK2 positively regulates pollen germination and tube growth and is involved in transducing responses to extracellular growth-promoting signals.Fil: Zhang, Dong. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de ChinaFil: Wengier, Diego Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular. Laboratorio de Fisiología y Biología Molecular; Argentina. University of California at Berkeley; Estados UnidosFil: Shuai, Bin. University of California at Berkeley; Estados UnidosFil: Gui, Cai Ping. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de ChinaFil: Muschietti, Jorge Prometeo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular. Laboratorio de Fisiología y Biología Molecular; ArgentinaFil: McCormick, Sheila. University of California at Berkeley; Estados UnidosFil: Tang, Wei Hua. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de China. University of California at Berkeley; Estados Unido

Arabidopsis pollen extensins LRX are required for cell wall integrity during pollen tube growth

Proper cell wall assembly is crucial during pollen tube growth. Leucine-rich repeat extensins (LRXs) are extracellular glycoproteins which belong to the hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein (HRGP) family. They contain a conserved N-terminal leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain and a highly variable C-terminal extensin domain. Here, we characterized four LRX proteins (LRX8 through LRX11) from pollen of Arabidopsis thaliana. To investigate the role of LRX8-LRX11 in pollen germination and pollen tube growth, multiple T-DNA lrx mutants were obtained. The lrx mutants display abnormal pollen tubes with an irregular deposition of callose and pectin. They also show serious alterations in pollen germination and segregation ratio. Our results suggest that LRXs are involved in ensuring proper cell wall assembly during pollen tube growth.Fil: Sede, Ana Rocío. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Borassi, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; ArgentinaFil: Wengier, Diego Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Mecchia, Martin Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Estevez, Jose Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Muschietti, Jorge Prometeo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentin

Isolation and characterization of the pistil-produced ligand that interacts with pollen receptor kinases LePRK1 and LePRK2 from Solanum lycopersicon (tomato)

Los LePRKs son receptores quinasa que se localizan en la membrana plasmática de polen, posiblemente mediando interacciones polen-pistilo. Previamente, hemos demostrado que LePRK2 se encuentra fosforilada en polen maduro y germinado, y se desfosforila cuando microsomas de polen son incubados con extractos de estigma-estilo. Esto sugiere que por lo menos LePRK2 podría estar transduciendo una señal del pistilo a través de la actividad de LePRK2. En esta tesis, mostramos que la desfosforilación de LePRK2 está mediada por una molécula proveniente del pistilo resistente al tratamiento térmico, alcalino y proteasas. Basándonos en la desfosforilación de LePRK2, desarrollamos un protocolo de purificación con el cual obtuvimos un pico aislado de ~3550 Da (determinado por UV-MALDI-TOF MS) correspondiente a esta molécula peptídica que nombramos MrX. Con el fin de evaluar los efectos de MrX en tubos polínicos en crecimiento, realizamos ensayos de germinación in vitro en presencia de MrX parcialmente purificado y determinamos la longitud del tubo polínico como marcador del estado fisiológico. La adición de MrX al medio de germinación resultó en un aumento del largo del largo del tubo polínico en una forma dependiente de la dosis, mientras que las fracciones control no tuvieron efecto alguno. Nuestra hipótesis plantea que las interacciones polen-pistilo a través del complejo de LePRKs involucran la percepción de MrX por LePRK2, seguido de una desfosforilación de ésta y un incremento de la tasa de crecimiento del tubo polínico.LePRK1 and LePRK2 are pollen specific receptor kinases that belong to a plasma membrane high molecular weight complex possibly involved in pollen-pistil interactions. Previously, we have shown that LePRK2 is phosphorylated in mature and germinated pollen grains, but is dephosphorylated when pollen microsomes are incubated with stigma-style extracts. This suggests that LePRK complex might be transducing a signal from pistils through LePRK2 activity. In this thesis, we show that LePRK2 dephosphorylation is mediated by a heat-, base- and protease-resistant molecule from pistils. Based on LePRK2 phosphorylation, we developed a purification protocol and obtained an isolated peak of ~3550 Da peptidic compound (as determined by UV-MALDI-TOF MS) that we named MrX. In order to assess the effects of MrX on growing pollen tubes, we did in vitro germination assays in the presence of partially purified fraction of MrX and determined pollen tube length as a marker of the physiological state. MrX addition to germination medium resulted in pollen tube length increase in a dose-dependent manner, but not when pollen grains were incubated with control fractions. We hypothesize that pollen-pistil interactions through LePRK complex involve MrX perception by LePRK2, followed by LePRK2 dephosphorylation and an increase in pollen tube growth rate.Fil:Wengier, Diego Leonardo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

Aislamiento y caracterización del ligando del pistilo que interactúa con el sistema de receptores quinasa LePRK1 y LePRK2 de polen de Solanum lycopersicon (tomate)

Los LePRKs son receptores quinasa que se localizan en la membrana plasmática de polen, posiblemente mediando interacciones polen-pistilo. Previamente, hemos demostrado que LePRK2 se encuentra fosforilada en polen maduro y germinado, y se desfosforila cuando microsomas de polen son incubados con extractos de estigma-estilo. Esto sugiere que por lo menos LePRK2 podría estar transduciendo una señal del pistilo a través de la actividad de LePRK2. En esta tesis, mostramos que la desfosforilación de LePRK2 está mediada por una molécula proveniente del pistilo resistente al tratamiento térmico, alcalino y proteasas. Basándonos en la desfosforilación de LePRK2, desarrollamos un protocolo de purificación con el cual obtuvimos un pico aislado de ~3550 Da (determinado por UV-MALDI-TOF MS) correspondiente a esta molécula peptídica que nombramos MrX. Con el fin de evaluar los efectos de MrX en tubos polínicos en crecimiento, realizamos ensayos de germinación in vitro en presencia de MrX parcialmente purificado y determinamos la longitud del tubo polínico como marcador del estado fisiológico. La adición de MrX al medio de germinación resultó en un aumento del largo del largo del tubo polínico en una forma dependiente de la dosis, mientras que las fracciones control no tuvieron efecto alguno. Nuestra hipótesis plantea que las interacciones polen-pistilo a través del complejo de LePRKs involucran la percepción de MrX por LePRK2, seguido de una desfosforilación de ésta y un incremento de la tasa de crecimiento del tubo polínico

How many receptor-like kinases are required to operate a pollen tube

Successful fertilization depends on active molecular dialogues that the male gametophyte can establish with the pistil and the female gametophyte. Pollen grains and stigmas must recognize each other; pollen tubes need to identify the pistil tissues they will penetrate, follow positional cues to exit the transmitting tract and finally, locate the ovules. These molecular dialogues directly affect pollen tube growth rate and orientation. Receptor-like kinases (RLKs) are natural candidates for the perception and decoding of extracellular signals and their transduction to downstream cytoplasmic interactors. Here, we update knowledge regarding how RLKs are involved in pollen tube growth, cell wall integrity and guidance. In addition, we use public data to build a pollen tube RLK interactome that might help direct experiments to elucidate the function of pollen RLKs and their associated proteins.Fil: Muschietti, Jorge Prometeo. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Instituto de Investigaciones En Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular, Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Wengier, Diego Leonardo. Instituto de Investigaciones En Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular, Buenos Aires; Argentin

Diseñando estrategias para descubrir funciones específicas de las MAPK en el desarrollo vegetal

As sessile organism, plants have acquired strategies to adjust their growth and development toenvironmental fluctuations. This flexibility relies on mechanisms to perceive and integrate conflicting signals. In eukaryotes, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are well known integrators of developmental and stress signals.Traditional genetic approaches, however, have two major obstacles when trying to uncover how MAPK signaling works: 1) redundancy obscures MAPK functions, so combinatorial mutants need to be generated, often resulting in pleiotropic effects; 2) some MAPKs are promiscuous and shared between different signaling cascades (yet signal-to-output specificity is guaranteed). To uncover the cellular logic behind MAPK cascades and their specificity-enforcing mechanisms, we usethe developmentofstomata (theepidermalvalves that regulate gas exchange), a process controlled by MAPK signaling. Here, we present a genetic screen looking forsuppressorsof a severestomatalclustering phenotype caused by the artificial activation of the MAPK cascade. Among five suppressors, we found a known MAPK with novel rolesin latestomatal development. This finding not only validates our screen, but also provides a context to study specificity-enforcing mechanisms. Our preliminary results suggest that activity level and subcellular localization mightcontribute to signaling specificity.Fil: Vallero Nafarrate, Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Muschietti, Jorge Prometeo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Wengier, Diego Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaXXXII Reunión Argentina de Fisiología Vegetal; XVI Congreso Latinoamericano de Fisiología VegetalCórdobaArgentinaSociedad Argentina de Fisiología Vegeta

Synaptic contributions to cochlear outer hair cell Ca2+ dynamics

For normal cochlear function, outer hair cells (OHCs) require a precise control of intracellular Ca21 levels. In the absence of regulatory elements such as proteinaceous buffers or extrusion pumps, OHCs degenerate, leading to profound hearing impairment. Influx of Ca21 occurs both at the stereocilia tips and the basolateral membrane. In this latter compartment, two different origins for Ca21 influx have been poorly explored: voltage-gated L-type Ca21 channels (VGCCs) at synapses with Type II afferent neurons, and a9a10 cholinergic nicotinic receptors at synapses with medio-olivochlear complex (MOC) neurons. Using functional imaging in mouse OHCs, we dissected Ca21 influx individually through each of these sources, either by applying step depolarizations to activate VGCC, or stimulating MOC axons. Ca21 ions originated in MOC synapses, but not by VGCC activation, was confined by Ca21-ATPases most likely present in nearby synaptic cisterns. Although Ca21 currents in OHCs are small, VGCC Ca21 signals were comparable in size to those elicited by a9a10 receptors, and were potentiated by ryanodine receptors (RyRs). In contrast, no evidence of potentiation by RyRs was found for MOC Ca21 signals over a wide range of presynaptic stimulation strengths. Our study shows that despite the fact that these two Ca21 entry sites are closely positioned, they differ in their regulation by intracellular cisterns and/or organelles, suggesting the existence of well-tuned mechanisms to separate the two different OHC synaptic functions.Fil: Moglie, Marcelo Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Wengier, Diego Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Elgoyhen, Ana Belen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Goutman, Juan Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentin

A novel strategy to uncover specific GO terms/phosphorylation pathways in phosphoproteomic data in Arabidopsis thaliana

Background: Proteins are the workforce of the cell and their phosphorylation status tailors specific responses efficiently. One of the main challenges of phosphoproteomic approaches is to deconvolute biological processes that specifically respond to an experimental query from a list of phosphoproteins. Comparison of the frequency distribution of GO (Gene Ontology) terms in a given phosphoproteome set with that observed in the genome reference set (GenRS) is the most widely used tool to infer biological significance. Yet, this comparison assumes that GO term distribution between the phosphoproteome and the genome are identical. However, this hypothesis has not been tested due to the lack of a comprehensive phosphoproteome database. Results: In this study, we test this hypothesis by constructing three phosphoproteome databases in Arabidopsis thaliana: one based in experimental data (ExpRS), another based in in silico phosphorylation protein prediction (PredRS) and a third that is the union of both (UnRS). Our results show that the three phosphoproteome reference sets show default enrichment of several GO terms compared to GenRS, indicating that GO term distribution in the phosphoproteomes does not match that of the genome. Moreover, these differences overshadow the identification of GO terms that are specifically enriched in a particular condition. To overcome this limitation, we present an additional comparison of the sample of interest with UnRS to uncover GO terms specifically enriched in a particular phosphoproteome experiment. Using this strategy, we found that mRNA splicing and cytoplasmic microtubule compounds are important processes specifically enriched in the phosphoproteome of dark-grown Arabidopsis seedlings. Conclusions: This study provides a novel strategy to uncover GO specific terms in phosphoproteome data of Arabidopsis that could be applied to any other organism. We also highlight the importance of specific phosphorylation pathways that take place during dark-grown Arabidopsis development.Fil: Arico, Denise Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Beati, Maria Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Wengier, Diego Leonardo. University of Stanford; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Mazzella, Maria Agustina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentin

Study of pollen tube growth by ralf-mediated signaling with receptor-like kinases in Arabidopsis thaliana

In flowering plants, fertilization requires complex signal exchanges and a flawless communication between male and female reproductive tissues. This complex cell-to-cell communication that occurs in the extracellular matrix to the interior of the cell is crucial for cell?s function. Receptor-like kinases (RLKs) have been implicated in various processes, including cell wall integrity, sexual reproduction, immunity and various hormone pathways. In turn, small proteins of the RAPID ALKALINIZATION FACTOR (RALF) family have been recently identified as ligands of different RLKs. RLK/RALF interaction is essential for a correct polarized growth of pollen tubes, process regulated by cytoskeletal reorganization, vesicular movement, Ca2+ signaling and reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, the mechanism of their perception has not been fully elucidated. Using transgenic plants that express pollen proteins followed by fluorescent proteins, we propose to study the mechanism of interactions between pollen RALFs and their respective RLKs. These results will shed light to understand the signaling pathway during pollen tube growth in Arabidopsis thaliana.Fil: Boccardo, Noelia Ayelen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Somoza, Sofía Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Wengier, Diego Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Muschietti, Jorge Prometeo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaThe LV Annual SAIB Meeting and XIV PABMB CongressSaltaArgentinaSociedad Argentina de Investigación Bioquímica y Biología MolecularPanamerican Association of Biochemestry and Molecular Biolog