Plant-KBBE: Cornfed: lntegration of advanced mapping and phenotyping methods to identify key alleles for building European maize ideotypes

1 página, 3 figuras.-- Trabajo presentado al "Gabi Status Seminar" celebrado en Paris (Francia) en Marzo de 2010.-- et al.The project is funded in the framework of the Transnational (France, Germany, Spain) Cooperation within the PLANT-KBBE initiative, with funding from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). and the Ministry os Science and Innovation (MICINN).Peer reviewe

Deepening into the proteome of maize cells habituated to the cellulose biosynthesis inhibitor dichlobenil

[EN] Cellulose biosynthesis inhibitors, such as dichlobenil (DCB), have become a valuable tool for the analysis of structural and compositional plasticity of plant cell walls. By stepwise increasing the concentration of DCB in the culture medium, we obtained maize cells able to cope with DCB through the acquisition of a modified cell wall in which cellulose was partially replaced by a more extensive network of feruloylated arabinox-ylans. Recently we demonstrated that the expression of several Cellulose Synthase and phenylpropanoid-related genes is altered in DCB-habituated cells. In addition, by using a proteomic approach we identified several proteins induced or repressed in DCB-habituated cells. After a more in-depth analysis, some new proteins induced (two inhibitors TAXI-IV, an α-1,4-glucan-protein synthase and a pectinesterase inhibitor) or repressed (a chaperonin 60, a fructokinase-1 and a spermidine synthase 1) were identified, and their possible role in the context of DCB-habituation is discussed.SIThis work received financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CGL2008-02470/BOS and AGL2008-05157) and the Junta de Castilla y León (LE044A10-2). DCR was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (“I3” Program)

Expression Characterization of Flavonoid Biosynthetic Pathway Genes and Transcription Factors in Peanut Under Water Deficit Conditions

Drought is one of the hostile environmental stresses that limit the yield production of crop plants by modulating their growth and development. Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) has a wide range of adaptations to arid and semi-arid climates, but its yield is prone to loss due to drought. Other than beneficial fatty acids and micronutrients, peanut harbors various bioactive compounds including flavonoids that hold a prominent position as antioxidants in plants and protect them from oxidative stress. In this study, understanding of the biosynthesis of flavonoids in peanut under water deficit conditions was developed through expression analysis and correlational analysis and determining the accumulation pattern of phenols, flavonols, and anthocyanins. Six peanut varieties (BARD479, BARI2011, BARI2000, GOLDEN, PG1102, and PG1265) having variable responses against drought stress have been selected. Higher water retention and flavonoid accumulation have been observed in BARI2011 but downregulation has been observed in the expression of genes and transcription factors (TFs) which indicated the maintenance of normal homeostasis. ANOVA revealed that the expression of flavonoid genes and TFs is highly dependent upon the genotype of peanut in a spatiotemporal manner. Correlation analysis between expression of flavonoid biosynthetic genes and TFs indicated the role of AhMYB111 and AhMYB7 as an inhibitor for AhF3H and AhFLS, respectively, and AhMYB7, AhTTG1, and AhCSU2 as a positive regulator for the expression of Ah4CL, AhCHS, and AhF3H, respectively. However, AhbHLH and AhGL3 revealed nil-to-little relation with the expression of flavonoid biosynthetic pathway genes. Correlational analysis between the expression of TFs related to the biosynthesis of flavonoids and the accumulation of phenolics, flavonols, and anthocyanins indicated coregulation of flavonoid synthesis by TFs under water deficit conditions in peanut. This study would provide insight into the role of flavonoid biosynthetic pathway in drought response in peanut and would aid to develop drought-tolerant varieties of peanut

A MYB/ZML complex regulates wound-induced lignin genes in maize

Lignin is an essential polymer in vascular plants that plays key structural roles in vessels and fibers. Lignification is induced by external inputs such as wounding, but the molecular mechanisms that link this stress to lignification remain largely unknown. In this work, we provide evidence that three maize (Zea mays) lignin repressors, MYB11, MYB31, and MYB42, participate in wound-induced lignification by interacting with ZML2, a protein belonging to the TIFY family. We determined that the three R2R3-MYB factors and ZML2 bind in vivo to AC-rich and GAT(A/C) cis-elements, respectively, present in a set of lignin genes. In particular, we show that MYB11 and ZML2 bind simultaneously to the AC-rich and GAT(A/C) cis-elements present in the promoter of the caffeic acid O-methyl transferase (comt) gene. We show that, like the R2R3-MYB factors, ZML2 also acts as a transcriptional repressor. We found that upon wounding and methyl jasmonate treatments, MYB11 and ZML2 proteins are degraded and comt transcription is induced. Based on these results, we propose a molecular regulatory mechanism involving a MYB/ZML complex in which wound-induced lignification can be achieved by the derepression of a set of lignin genes.Research in D.C.-R.'s laboratory was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education (AGL2011-30545-C02-01), the “Xarxa de Referència de Biotecnologia” (XarBa) from the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, the CONSOLIDER-INGENIO program (CSD2007-00036) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and the SGR programs (SGR2009-GRC703). Research in M.P.'s laboratory was supported by two grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education (BIO2009-13044-C02-01 and BIO2012-31860), the framework of the XarBa, and the SGR programs (SGR2009-GRC626) from the Autonomous Government of Catalonia. Research in R.S.'s laboratory was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Innovation to R.S. (BIO2013-44407). M.P. and R.S. received financial support from the CONSOLIDER-INGENIO program (CSD2007-00057-B) from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Research in the W.S. laboratory is supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology and Academia Sinica. Research in phenylpropanoid gene regulation in the laboratories of E.G. and J.G. was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (IOS-1125620). I.-C.V.-B. was supported by a Spanish FPI Fellowship (BES-2007-17316). J.E.S.-H. was supported by the Department of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise of the Generalitatde Catalunya, the European Social Fund FI Fellowship (AGAUR: FI-2006, Resolució EDU/3600/2006; FI-2008, Resolució IUE/2658/2007 and BE-DGR2010), and CRAG.Peer reviewe

Diverging cell wall strategies for drought adaptation in two maize inbreds with contrasting lodging resistance

© 2024 The Authors. Plant, Cell & Environment published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.The plant cell wall is a plastic structure of variable composition that constitutes the first line of defence against environmental challenges. Lodging and drought are two stressful conditions that severely impact maize yield. In a previous work, we characterised the cell walls of two maize inbreds, EA2024 (susceptible) and B73 (resistant) to stalk lodging. Here, we show that drought induces distinct phenotypical, physiological, cell wall, and transcriptional changes in the two inbreds, with B73 exhibiting lower tolerance to this stress than EA2024. In control conditions, EA2024 stalks had higher levels of cellulose, uronic acids and p-coumarate than B73. However, upon drought EA2024 displayed increased levels of arabinose-enriched polymers, such as pectin-arabinans and arabinogalactan proteins, and a decreased lignin content. By contrast, B73 displayed a deeper rearrangement of cell walls upon drought, including modifications in lignin composition (increased S subunits and S/G ratio; decreased H subunits) and an increase of uronic acids. Drought induced more substantial changes in gene expression in B73 compared to EA2024, particularly in cell wall-related genes, that were modulated in an inbred-specific manner. Transcription factor enrichment assays unveiled inbred-specific regulatory networks coordinating cell wall genes expression. Altogether, these findings reveal that B73 and EA2024 inbreds, with opposite stalk-lodging phenotypes, undertake different cell wall modification strategies in response to drought. We propose that the specific cell wall composition conferring lodging resistance to B73, compromises its cell wall plasticity, and renders this inbred more susceptible to drought.This work was supported by the Grants AGL2014-58126-R; RTC-2016-5816-2 and PID2022-142786NB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and ERDF “A way to make Europe” and received financial support from the CONSOLIDER-INGENIO programme (CSD2007-00036) from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. S.C. was financed with a PhD contract (PRE2019-089329) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ESF Investing in your future”, and by SEV-2015-0533-19-1 and CEX2019-000902-S funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. A.M.-R. was financed with a PhD contract from the Consejería de Educación de Castilla y León and the Fondo Social Europeo (ORDEN EDU/601/2020, July 7th). This work was also supported by the SGR programmes (2017SGR710 and 2021-SGR-01131) from the Secretaria d'Universitats i Recerca del Departament d'Empresa i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya and by the CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya. This work was financially supported by RYC2021-033414-l to R.U funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 by the “European Union Next Generation EU/PRTR”. Finally, we acknowledge financial support from the Grants SEV-2015-0533-19-1 and CEX2019-000902-S funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033.With funding from the Spanish government through the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000902-S).Peer reviewe

Elucidating compositional factors of maize cell walls contributing to stalk strength and lodging resistance

Lodging is one of the causes of maize (Zea mays L.) production losses worldwide and, at least, the resistance to stalk lodging has been positively correlated with stalk strength. In order to elucidate the putative relationship between cell wall, stalk strength and lodging resistance, twelve maize inbreds varying in rind penetration strength and lodging resistance were characterized for cell wall composition and structure. Stepwise multiple regression indicates that H lignin subunits confer a greater rind penetration strength. Besides, the predictive model for lodging showed that a high ferulic acid content increases the resistance to lodging, whereas those of diferulates decrease it. These outcomes highlight that the strength and lodging susceptibility of maize stems may be conditioned by structural features of cell wall rather than by the net amount of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. The results presented here provide biotechnological targets in breeding programs aimed at improving lodging in maize.This work was funded by Projects AGL2014−58126-R and RTC-2016−5816-2 from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. This work was also supported by the CERCA Program and the SGR program (SGR-710) from the Generalitat de Catalunya. We acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the “Severo Ochoa Program for Centres of Excellence in R&D” 2016–2019 (SEV‐2015‐0533)”. Alba Manga-Robles’s contract was granted by the Junta de Castilla y León and the Fondo Social Europeo through “Sistema Nacional de Garantía Juvenil” Program, Universidad de León and Junta de Castilla y León predoctoral Programs. Rogelio Santiago acknowledges a postdoctoral contract “Ramón y Cajal” financed by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (RYC-2012-10603).Peer reviewe

Post-Hospital Syndrome and Hyponatremia

Introduction: Post-hospital syndrome (PHS) is defined as a period of vulnerability during the first 30 days after a patient is discharged from hospital, in which multiple factors come into play. Hyponatremia is the most frequent hydroelectrolytic disorder in hospitalized patients and may be related to the appearance of PHS. Objective: The objective is to estimate the prevalence of PHS that is assessed as the rate of readmissions in the first 30 days after discharge, in patients with hyponatremia. Material and Methods: It is a descriptive observational study of patients with hyponatremia who were discharged from 1 September 2010 to 2 February 2020 at the Internal Medicine Service of the Hospital University of San Juan (Alicante, Spain). Results: Of the 25 included patients, 5 (20%) were readmitted within a month of discharge, after a mean of 11.4 days (standard deviation [SD] 5.1). The overall mortality of the study was 20% (n = 5), with one case of death in the first 30 days post-hospitalization (4%). In 12 patients (48%) the origin of the hyponatremia was undetermined. The most frequently recorded etiology for the condition was pharmacological (n = 7, 28%), and there was pronounced variability in its clinical and laboratory study. The most widely used corrective measure was drug withdrawal, in 16 patients (64%). Water intake restriction was the most common treatment after discharge (5 patients, 20%), followed by urea (2 patients, 8%), while tolvaptan was not used. Conclusion: Hyponatremia may be the cause of PHS, which could increase the rate of early readmission. Hyponatremia is an underdiagnosed and undertreated entity, so it is necessary to apply an appropriate system to optimize its management and, in future studies, to assess its impact on PHS

Differential cell wall response between two contrasting stalk-lodging resistance maize lines upon drought

Trabajo presentado en 1st International Workshop: “Food Innovation Through Adding Value to Crops” celebrado en Barcelona el 17 de noviembre de 2022, organizado por la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

Que no, caram, que jo no faig biomedicina!

Trabajo presentado en el Seminar for Research Support and Management Staff del Centre de Recerca Agrigenómica (CRAG), celebrado el 22 de abril de 2021.Peer reviewe