Gibberellin Signaling in Plants – The Extended Version

The plant hormone gibberellin (GA) controls major aspects of plant growth such as germination, elongation growth, flower development, and flowering time. In recent years, a number of studies have revealed less apparent roles for GA in a surprisingly broad set of developmental as well as cell biological processes. The identification of GA receptor proteins on the one end of the signaling cascade, DELLA proteins as central repressors of the pathway and transcription regulators such as the phytochrome interacting factors and the GATA-type transcription factors GNC and CGA1/GNL on the current other end of the signaling cascade have extended our knowledge about how GA and DELLAs regulate a diverse set of plant responses

B-GATA transcription factors – insights into their structure, regulation, and role in plant development

GATA transcription factors are evolutionarily conserved transcriptional regulators that recognize promoter elements with a G-A-T-A core sequence. In comparison to animal genomes, the GATA transcription factor family in plants is comparatively large with approximately 30 members. Here, we review the current knowledge on B-GATAs, one of four GATA factor subfamilies from Arabidopsis thaliana. We show that B-GATAs can be subdivided based on structural features and their biological function into family members with a C-terminal LLM- (leucine–leucine–methionine) domain or an N-terminal HAN- (HANABA TARANU) domain. The paralogous GNC (GATA, NITRATE-INDUCIBLE, CARBON-METABOLISM INVOLVED) and CGA1/GNL (CYTOKININ-INDUCED GATA1/GNC-LIKE) are introduced as LLM-domain containing B-GATAs from Arabidopsis that control germination, greening, senescence, and flowering time downstream from several growth regulatory signals. Arabidopsis HAN and its monocot-specific paralogs from rice (NECK LEAF1), maize (TASSEL SHEATH1), and barley (THIRD OUTER GLUME) are HAN-domain-containing B-GATAs with a predominant role in embryo development and floral development. We also review GATA23, a regulator of lateral root initiation from Arabidopsis that is closely related to GNC and GNL but has a degenerate LLM-domain that is seemingly specific for the Brassicaceae family. The Brassicaceae-specific GATA23 and the monocot-specific HAN-domain GATAs provide evidence that neofunctionalization of B-GATAs was used during plant evolution to expand the functional repertoire of these transcription factors

Getting Ready for Large-Scale Proteomics in Crop Plants

Plants are an indispensable cornerstone of sustainable global food supply. While immense progress has been made in decoding the genomes of crops in recent decades, the composition of their proteomes, the entirety of all expressed proteins of a species, is virtually unknown. In contrast to the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, proteomic analyses of crop plants have often been hindered by the presence of extreme concentrations of secondary metabolites such as pigments, phenolic compounds, lipids, carbohydrates or terpenes. As a consequence, crop proteomic experiments have, thus far, required individually optimized protein extraction protocols to obtain samples of acceptable quality for downstream analysis by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In this article, we present a universal protein extraction protocol originally developed for gel-based experiments and combined it with an automated single-pot solid-phase-enhanced sample preparation (SP3) protocol on a liquid handling robot to prepare high-quality samples for proteomic analysis of crop plants. We also report an automated offline peptide separation protocol and optimized micro-LC-MS/MS conditions that enables the identification and quantification of ~10,000 proteins from plant tissue within 6 h of instrument time. We illustrate the utility of the workflow by analyzing the proteomes of mature tomato fruits to an unprecedented depth. The data demonstrate the robustness of the approach which we propose for use in upcoming large-scale projects that aim to map crop tissue proteomes

B‐GATA factors are required to repress high‐light stress responses in Marchantia polymorpha and Arabidopsis thaliana

GATAs are evolutionarily conserved zinc-finger transcription factors from eukaryotes. In plants, GATAs can be subdivided into four classes, A–D, based on their DNA-binding domain, and into further subclasses based on additional protein motifs. B-GATAs with a so-called leucine-leucine-methionine (LLM)-domain can already be found in algae. In angiosperms, the B-GATA family is expanded and can be subdivided in to LLM- or HAN-domain B-GATAs. Both, the LLM- and the HAN-domain are conserved domains of unknown biochemical function. Interestingly, the B-GATA family in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha and the moss Physcomitrium patens is restricted to one and four family members, respectively. And, in contrast to vascular plants, the bryophyte B-GATAs contain a HAN- as well as an LLM-domain. Here, we characterise mutants of the single B-GATA from Marchantia polymorpha. We reveal that this mutant has defects in thallus growth and in gemma formation. Transcriptomic studies uncover that the B-GATA mutant displays a constitutive high-light (HL) stress response, a phenotype that we then also confirm in mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana LLM-domain B-GATAs, suggesting that the B-GATAs have a protective role towards HL stress.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659Peer Reviewe

SHADE AVOIDANCE 4 is required for proper auxin distribution in the hypocotyl

The phytohormone auxin is involved in virtually every aspect of plant growth and development. Through polar auxin transport, auxin gradients can be established, which then direct plant differentiation and growth. Shade avoidance responses are well- known processes that require polar auxin transport. In this study, we have identified a mutant, shade avoidance 4 (sav4), defective in shade-induced hypocotyl elongation and basipetal auxin transport. SAV4 encodes an unknown protein with armadillo repeat- and tetratricopeptide repeat-like domains known to provide protein-protein interaction surfaces. C terminally yellow fluorescent protein-tagged SAV4 localizes to both the plasma membrane and the nucleus. Membrane-localized SAV4 displays a polar association with the shootward plasma membrane domain in hypocotyl and root cells, which appears to be necessary for its function in hypocotyl elongation. Cotransfection of SAV4 and ATP-binding cassette B1 (ABCB1) auxin transporter in tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) revealed that SAV4 blocks ABCB1-mediated auxin efflux. We thus propose that polarly localized SAV4 acts to inhibit ABCB-mediated auxin efflux toward shoots and facilitates the establishment of proper auxin gradients

A molecular signal integration network underpinning Arabidopsis thaliana seed germination

Seed dormancy is an adaptive trait defining where and when plants are established. Diverse signals from the environment are used to decide when to initiate seed germination, a process driven by the expansion of cells within the embryo. How these signals are integrated and transduced into the biomechanical changes that drive embryo growth remains poorly understood. Using Arabidopsis seeds, we demonstrate that cell-wall-loosening EXPANSIN (EXPA) genes promote gibberellic acid (GA)-mediated germination, identifying EXPAs as downstream molecular targets of this developmental phase transition. Molecular interaction screening identified transcription factors (TFs) that bind to both EXPA promoter fragments and DELLA GA-response regulators. A subset of these TFs is targeted each by nitric oxide (NO) and the phytochrome-interacting TF PIL5. This molecular interaction network therefore directly links the perception of an external environmental signal (light) and internal hormonal signals (GA and NO) with downstream germination-driving EXPA gene expression. Experimental validation of this network established that many of these TFs mediate GA-regulated germination, including TCP14/15, RAP2.2/2.3/2.12, and ZML1. The reduced germination phenotype of the tcp14 tcp15 mutant seed was partially rescued through ectopic expression of their direct target EXPA9. The GA-mediated control of germination by TCP14/15 is regulated through EXPA-mediated control of cell wall loosening, providing a mechanistic explanation for this phenotype and a previously undescribed role for TCPs in the control of cell expansion. This network reveals the paths of signal integration that culminate in seed germination and provides a resource to uncover links between the genetic and biomechanical bases of plant growth

The <i>Arabidopsis</i> NPF3 protein is a GA transporter

Gibberellins (GAs) are plant hormones that promote a wide range of developmental processes. While GA signalling is well understood, little is known about how GA is transported or how GA distribution is regulated. Here we utilize fluorescently labelled GAs (GA-Fl) to screen for Arabidopsis mutants deficient in GA transport. We show that the NPF3 transporter efficiently transports GA across cell membranes in vitro and GA-Fl in vivo. NPF3 is expressed in root endodermis and repressed by GA. NPF3 is targeted to the plasma membrane and subject to rapid BFA-dependent recycling. We show that abscisic acid (ABA), an antagonist of GA, is also transported by NPF3 in vitro. ABA promotes NPF3 expression and GA-Fl uptake in plants. On the basis of these results, we propose that GA distribution and activity in Arabidopsis is partly regulated by NPF3 acting as an influx carrier and that GA–ABA interaction may occur at the level of transport