Transient reprogramming of crop plants for agronomic performance.

The development of a new crop variety is a time-consuming and costly process due to the reliance of plant breeding on gene shuffling to introduce desired genes into elite germplasm, followed by backcrossing. Here, we propose alternative technology that transiently targets various regulatory circuits within a plant, leading to operator-specified alterations of agronomic traits, such as time of flowering, vernalization requirement, plant height or drought tolerance. We redesigned techniques of gene delivery, amplification and expression around RNA viral transfection methods that can be implemented on an industrial scale and with many crop plants. The process does not involve genetic modification of the plant genome and is thus limited to a single plant generation, is broadly applicable, fast, tunable and versatile, and can be used throughout much of the crop cultivation cycle. The RNA-based reprogramming may be especially useful in plant pathogen pandemics but also for commercial seed production and for rapid adaptation of orphan crops.

Sample Preparation of Arabidopsis thaliana Shoot Apices for Expression Studies of Photoperiod-Induced Genes.

Plants produce new organs from a population of pluripotent cells which are located in specific tissues called meristems. One of these meristems, the shoot apical meristem (SAM), gives rise to leaves during the vegetative phase and flowers during the reproductive phase. The transition from vegetative SAM to an inflorescence meristem (IM) is a dramatic developmental switch, which has been particularly well studied in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. This developmental switch is controlled by multiple environmental signals such as day length (or photoperiod), and it is accompanied by changes in expression of hundreds of genes. A major interest in plant biology is to identify and characterize those genes which are regulated in the stem cells of the SAM in response to the photoperiodic signals. In this sense, techniques such as RNA in situ hybridization (RNA ISH) have been very successfully employed to detect the temporal and spatial expression patterns of genes in the SAM. This method can be specifically optimized for photoperiodic-flowering studies. In this chapter, we describe improved methods to generate plant material and histological samples to be combined with RNA ISH in flowering-related studies.

SWP73 Subunits of Arabidopsis SWI/SNF Chromatin Remodeling Complexes Play Distinct Roles in Leaf and Flower Development.

Arabidopsis thaliana SWP73A and SWP73B are homologs of mammalian BRAHMA-associated factors (BAF60s) that tether SWITCH/SUCROSE NONFERMENTING chromatin remodeling complexes to transcription factors of genes regulating various cell differentiation pathways. Here, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana SWP73s modulate several important developmental pathways. While undergoing normal vegetative development, swp73a mutants display reduced expression of FLOWERING LOCUS C and early flowering in short days. By contrast, swp73b mutants are characterized by retarded growth, severe defects in leaf and flower development, delayed flowering, and male sterility. MNase-Seq, transcript profiling, and ChIP-Seq studies demonstrate that SWP73B binds the promoters of ASYMMETRIC LEAVES1 and 2, KANADI1 and 3, and YABBY2, 3, and 5 genes, which regulate leaf development and show coordinately altered transcription in swp73b plants. Lack of SWP73B alters the expression patterns of APETALA1, APETALA3, and the MADS box gene AGL24, whereas other floral organ identity genes show reduced expression correlating with defects in flower development. Consistently, SWP73B binds to the promoter regions of APETALA1 and 3, SEPALLATA3, LEAFY, UNUSUAL FLORAL ORGANS, TERMINAL FLOWER1, AGAMOUS-LIKE24, and SUPPRESSOR OF CONSTANS OVEREXPRESSION1 genes, and the swp73b mutation alters nucleosome occupancy on most of these loci. In conclusion, SWP73B acts as important modulator of major developmental pathways, while SWP73A functions in flowering time control.

SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE reduces gibberellin biosynthesis at the Arabidopsis shoot apex to regulate the floral transition.

In Arabidopsis thaliana environmental and endogenous cues promote flowering by activating expression of a small number of integrator genes. The MADS box transcription factor SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP) is a critical inhibitor of flowering that directly represses transcription of these genes. However, we show by genetic analysis that the effect of SVP cannot be fully explained by repressing known floral integrator genes. To identify additional SVP functions, we analyzed genome-wide transcriptome data and show that GIBBERELLIN 20 OXIDASE 2, which encodes an enzyme required for biosynthesis of the growth regulator gibberellin (GA), is upregulated in svp mutants. GA is known to promote flowering, and we find that svp mutants contain elevated levels of GA that correlate with GA-related phenotypes such as early flowering and organ elongation. The ga20ox2 mutation suppresses the elevated GA levels and partially suppresses the growth and early flowering phenotypes of svp mutants. In wild-type plants, SVP expression in the shoot apical meristem falls when plants are exposed to photoperiods that induce flowering, and this correlates with increased expression of GA20ox2. Mutations that impair the photoperiodic flowering pathway prevent this downregulation of SVP and the strong increase in expression of GA20ox2. We conclude that SVP delays flowering by repressing GA biosynthesis as well as integrator gene expression and that, in response to inductive photoperiods, repression of SVP contributes to the rise in GA at the shoot apex, promoting rapid induction of flowering.

Identification of pathways directly regulated by SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE during vegetative and reproductive development in Arabidopsis.

BACKGROUND: MADS-domain transcription factors play important roles during plant development. The Arabidopsis MADS-box gene SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP) is a key regulator of two developmental phases. It functions as a repressor of the floral transition during the vegetative phase and later it contributes to the specification of floral meristems. How these distinct activities are conferred by a single transcription factor is unclear, but interactions with other MADS domain proteins which specify binding to different genomic regions is likely one mechanism. RESULTS: To compare the genome-wide DNA binding profile of SVP during vegetative and reproductive development we performed ChIP-seq analyses. These ChIP-seq data were combined with tiling array expression analysis, induction experiments and qRT-PCR to identify biologically relevant binding sites. In addition, we compared genome-wide target genes of SVP with those published for the MADS domain transcription factors FLC and AP1, which interact with SVP during the vegetative and reproductive phases, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses resulted in the identification of pathways that are regulated by SVP including those controlling meristem development during vegetative growth and flower development whereas floral transition pathways and hormonal signaling were regulated predominantly during the vegetative phase. Thus, SVP regulates many developmental pathways, some of which are common to both of its developmental roles whereas others are specific to only one of them.

AGL24 acts in concert with SOC1 and FUL during Arabidopsis floral transition.

Arabidopsis plants flower in response to long days (LDs). Exposure of leaves to inductive day lengths activates expression of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) protein which moves to the shoot apical meristem (SAM) to induce developmental reprogramming. SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (SOC1) and FRUITFULL (FUL) are induced by FT at the apex. We previously screened the SAM for mRNAs of genes required to promote the floral transition in response to photoperiod, and conducted detailed expression and functional analyses on several putative candidates. Here, we show that expression of AGAMOUS-LIKE 24 (AGL24) is detected at the SAM under SD conditions and increases upon exposure to LDs. Mutations in AGL24 further delay flowering of a soc1 ful double mutant, suggesting that flowering is controlled by AGL24 partly independently of SOC1 and FUL.

Spatially distinct regulatory roles for gibberellins in the promotion of flowering of Arabidopsis under long photoperiods.

The plant growth regulator gibberellin (GA) contributes to many developmental processes, including the transition to flowering. In Arabidopsis, GA promotes this transition most strongly under environmental conditions such as short days (SDs) when other regulatory pathways that promote flowering are not active. Under SDs, GAs activate transcription of SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (SOC1) and LEAFY (LFY) at the shoot meristem, two genes encoding transcription factors involved in flowering. Here, the tissues in which GAs act to promote flowering were tested under different environmental conditions. The enzyme GIBBERELLIN 2 OXIDASE 7 (GA2ox7), which catabolizes active GAs, was overexpressed in most tissues from the viral CaMV 35S promoter, specifically in the vascular tissue from the SUCROSE TRANSPORTER 2 (SUC2) promoter or in the shoot apical meristem from the KNAT1 promoter. We find that under inductive long days (LDs), GAs are required in the vascular tissue to increase the levels of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and TWIN SISTER OF FT (TSF) mRNAs, which encode a systemic signal transported from the leaves to the meristem during floral induction. Similarly, impairing GA signalling in the vascular tissue reduces FT and TSF mRNA levels and delays flowering. In the meristem under inductive LDs, GAs are not required to activate SOC1, as reported under SDs, but for subsequent steps in floral induction, including transcription of genes encoding SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROMOTER LIKE (SPL) transcription factors. Thus, GA has important roles in promoting transcription of FT, TSF and SPL genes during floral induction in response to LDs, and these functions are spatially separated between the leaves and shoot meristem.

Analysis of the Arabidopsis shoot meristem transcriptome during floral transition identifies distinct regulatory patterns and a leucine-rich repeat protein that promotes flowering.

Flowering of Arabidopsis thaliana is induced by exposure to long days (LDs). During this process, the shoot apical meristem is converted to an inflorescence meristem that forms flowers, and this transition is maintained even if plants are returned to short days (SDs). We show that exposure to five LDs is sufficient to commit the meristem of SD-grown plants to flower as if they were exposed to continuous LDs. The MADS box proteins SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 (SOC1) and FRUITFULL (FUL) play essential roles in this commitment process and in the induction of flowering downstream of the transmissible FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) signal. We exploited laser microdissection and Solexa sequencing to identify 202 genes whose transcripts increase in the meristem during floral commitment. Expression of six of these transcripts was tested in different mutants, allowing them to be assigned to FT-dependent or FT-independent pathways. Most, but not all, of those dependent on FT and its paralog TWIN SISTER OF FT (TSF) also relied on SOC1 and FUL. However, this dependency on FT and TSF or SOC1 and FUL was often bypassed in the presence of the short vegetative phase mutation. FLOR1, which encodes a leucine-rich repeat protein, was induced in the early inflorescence meristem, and flor1 mutations delayed flowering. Our data contribute to the definition of LD-dependent pathways downstream and in parallel to FT.

Cytokinin promotes flowering of Arabidopsis via transcriptional activation of the FT paralogue TSF.

Cytokinins are involved in many aspects of plant growth and development, and physiological evidence also indicates that they have a role in floral transition. In order to integrate these phytohormones into the current knowledge of genetically defined molecular pathways to flowering, we performed exogenous treatments of adult wild type and mutant Arabidopsis plants, and analysed the expression of candidate genes. We used a hydroponic system that enables synchronous growth and flowering of Arabidopsis, and allows the precise application of chemicals to the roots for defined periods of time. We show that the application of N6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) promotes flowering of plants grown in non-inductive short days. The response to cytokinin treatment does not require FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), but activates its paralogue TWIN SISTER OF FT (TSF), as well as FD, which encodes a partner protein of TSF, and the downstream gene SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (SOC1). Treatment of selected mutants confirmed that TSF and SOC1 are necessary for the flowering response to BAP, whereas the activation cascade might partially act independently of FD. These experiments provide a mechanistic basis for the role of cytokinins in flowering, and demonstrate that the redundant genes FT and TSF are differently regulated by distinct floral-inducing signals.

From decision to commitment: the molecular memory of flowering.

During the floral transition the shoot apical meristem changes its identity from a vegetative to an inflorescence state. This change in identity can be promoted by external signals, such as inductive photoperiod conditions or vernalization, and is accompanied by changes in expression of key developmental genes. The change in meristem identity is usually not reversible, even if the inductive signal occurs only transiently. This implies that at least some of the key genes must possess an intrinsic memory of the newly acquired expression state that ensures irreversibility of the process. In this review, we discuss different molecular scenarios that may underlie a molecular memory of gene expression.

Genetic and spatial interactions between FT, TSF and SVP during the early stages of floral induction in Arabidopsis.

Flowering is controlled by a network of pathways that converge to regulate a small number of floral integrator genes. We studied the interactions in Arabidopsis between three of these integrators, flowering locus T (FT), twin sister of FT (TSF) and suppressor of overexpression of constans 1 (SOC1), as well as their repression by the MADS box transcription factor short vegetative phase (SVP). FT is a mobile signal transmitted from the leaf to the meristem to initiate flowering. Using mRNA null alleles, we show that FT and the closely related TSF are not essential for flowering, but that the double mutant is photoperiod-insensitive. Inactivation of both genes also fully suppresses the early-flowering phenotype caused by over-expression of constans (CO), a transcriptional regulator in the photoperiod pathway. In addition, we demonstrate that TSF and FT have similar biochemical functions by showing that they interact in yeast with the same bZIP transcription factors. Expression of FT or TSF from promoters specific for phloem companion cells drives early flowering of the double mutant, so no expression of either gene is required in the meristem. Furthermore, TSF, like FT, is repressed by SVP, but the triple mutant svp-41 ft-10 tsf-1 expresses SOC1 in the meristem sooner and flowers earlier than ft-10 tsf-1. Thus we distinguish the functions of SVP in repressing FT and TSF in the leaf and SOC1 in the meristem. In addition, a time course of in situ hybridizations suggested that repression of SVP and activation of SOC1 proceed simultaneously in the meristem. These observations clarify the relationships between these early regulators of the floral transition, and further emphasize the relatedness of mechanisms acting in the leaf and meristem to control flowering time.

Analysis of biomechanical quantities during a squat jump: evaluation of a performance index.

In this study, a procedure for evaluating the performance of an athlete in a squat jump has been developed. The athletes were divided into 2 categories according to their level of merit: elite athletes and non-elite athletes. In some of the subjects, the vertical component of acceleration during the squat jump was acquired with a uniaxial accelerometer. The acceleration-time curves obtained for each category of athletes were analyzed. Some analysis parameters suitable for establishing an athletic training level index were determined. A threshold value for this index that can be used to check gesture learning was also established, allowing the index to be used as a parameter for defining sport performance in a squat jump; thus it can also be used, during the training of an athlete, as the performance index to which reference should be made.

Atrophic mandible reconstruction using calvarial bone grafts and implant-supported overdentures: radiographic assessment of autograft healing and adaptation.

Bone grafting constitutes a vital surgical procedure in the management of severely atrophic mandibles. In this regard, calvarial bone autografts are applied in the reconstruction of wide mandibular defects caused by edentulousness and long-term denture-related resorption. Grafts are used as a framework to augment the residual ridge and provide implant stability for further prosthetic restoration. On the basis that radiographic evidence corresponds to biologic changes in bone response to transplantation and loading, the goal of this article is to document the radiographic assessment of calvarial autologous bone grafts in the recipient site. Panoramic radiographs were used to evaluate bone changes occurring during both the graft healing period and graft adaptation after implant loading. Emerging data show that conventional panoramic radiography may have an effect on the investigation of bone grafts and provide initial information about graft incorporation and adaptation.