IDA (INFLORESCENCE DEFICIENT IN ABSCISSION)-like peptides and HAE (HAESA)-like receptors regulate corolla abscission in Nicotiana benthamiana flowers.

BACKGROUND: Abscission is an active, organized, and highly coordinated cell separation process enabling the detachment of aerial organs through the modification of cell-to-cell adhesion and breakdown of cell walls at specific sites on the plant body known as abscission zones. In Arabidopsis thaliana, abscission of floral organs and cauline leaves is regulated by the interaction of the hormonal peptide INFLORESCENCE DEFICIENT IN ABSCISSION (IDA), a pair of redundant receptor-like protein kinases, HAESA (HAE) and HAESA-LIKE2 (HSL2), and SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS RECEPTOR-LIKE KINASE (SERK) co-receptors. However, the functionality of this abscission signaling module has not yet been demonstrated in other plant species. RESULTS: The expression of the pair of NbenIDA1 homeologs and the receptor NbenHAE.1 was supressed at the base of the corolla tube by the inoculation of two virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) constructs in Nicotiana benthamiana. These gene suppression events arrested corolla abscission but did not produce any obvious effect on plant growth. VIGS plants retained a higher number of corollas attached to the flowers than control plants, an observation related to a greater corolla breakstrength. The arrest of corolla abscission was associated with the preservation of the parenchyma tissue at the base of the corolla tube that, in contrast, was virtually collapsed in normal corollas. In contrast, the inoculation of a viral vector construct that increased the expression of NbenIDA1A at the base of the corolla tube negatively affected the growth of the inoculated plants accelerating the timing of both corolla senescence and abscission. However, the heterologous ectopic overexpression of citrus CitIDA3 and Arabidopsis AtIDA in N. benthamiana did not alter the standard plant phenotype suggesting that the proteolytic processing machinery was unable to yield active peptides. CONCLUSION: Here, we demonstrate that the pair of NbenIDA1 homeologs encoding small peptides of the IDA-like family and the receptor NbenHAE.1 control cellular breakdown at the base of the corolla tube awhere an adventitious AZ should be formed and, therefore, corolla abscission in N. benthamiana flowers. Altogether, our results provide the first evidence supporting the notion that the IDA-HAE/HSL2 signaling module is conserved in angiosperms.

Differential expression of IDA (INFLORESCENCE DEFICIENT IN ABSCISSION)-like genes in Nicotiana benthamiana during corolla abscission, stem growth and water stress.

BACKGROUND: IDA (INFLORESCENCE DEFICIENT IN ABSCISSION)-like signaling peptides and the associated HAE (HAESA)-like family of receptor kinases were originally reported in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) to be deeply involved in the regulation of abscission. Actually, IDA peptides, as cell-to-cell communication elements, appear to be implicated in many developmental processes that rely on cell separation events, and even in the responses to abiotic stresses. However, the knowledge related to the molecular machinery regulating abscission in economically important crops is scarce. In this work, we determined the conservation and phylogeny of the IDA-like and HAE-like gene families in relevant species of the Solanaceae family and analyzed the expression of these genes in the allopolyploid Nicotiana benthamiana, in order to identify members involved in abscission, stem growth and in the response to drought conditions. RESULTS: The phylogenetic relationships among the IDA-like members of the Solanaceae studied, grouped the two pairs of NbenIDA1 and NbenIDA2 protein homeologs with the Arabidopsis prepropeptides related to abscission. Analysis of promoter regions searching for regulatory elements showed that these two pairs of homeologs contained both hormonal and drought response elements, although NbenIDA2A lacked the hormonal regulatory elements. Expression analyses showed that the pair of NbenIDA1 homeologs were upregulated during corolla abscission. NbenIDA1 and NbenIDA2 pairs showed tissue differential expression under water stress conditions, since NbenIDA1 homeologs were highly expressed in stressed leaves while NbenIDA2 homeologs, especially NbenIDA2B, were highly expressed in stressed roots. In non-stressed active growing plants, nodes and internodes were the tissues with the highest expression levels of all members of the IDA-like family and their putative HAE-like receptors. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the pair of NbenIDA1 homeologs are involved in the natural process of corolla abscission while both pairs of NbenIDA1 and NbenIDA2 homeologs are implicated in the response to water stress. The data also suggest that IDA peptides may be important during stem growth and development. These results provide additional evidence that the functional module formed by IDA peptides and its receptor kinases, as defined in Arabidopsis, may also be conserved in Solanaceae.

Transcriptomic analysis of Citrus clementina mandarin fruits maturation reveals a MADS-box transcription factor that might be involved in the regulation of earliness.

BACKGROUND: Harvest time is a relevant economic trait in citrus, and selection of cultivars with different fruit maturity periods has a remarkable impact in the market share. Generation of early- and late-maturing cultivars is an important target for citrus breeders, therefore, generation of knowledge regarding the genetic mechanisms controlling the ripening process and causing the early and late phenotypes is crucial. In this work we analyze the evolution of the transcriptome during fruit ripening in 3 sport mutations derived from the Fina clementine (Citrus clementina) mandarin: Clemenules (CLE), Arrufatina (ARR) and Hernandina (HER) that differ in their harvesting periods. CLE is considered a mid-season cultivar while ARR and HER are early- and late-ripening mutants, respectively. RESULTS: We used RNA-Seq technology to carry out a time course analysis of the transcriptome of the 3 mutations along the ripening period. The results indicated that in these mutants, earliness and lateness during fruit ripening correlated with the advancement or delay in the expression of a set of genes that may be implicated in the maturation process. A detailed analysis of the transcription factors known to be involved in the regulation of fruit ripening identified a member of the MADS box family whose expression was lower in ARR, the early-ripening mutant, and higher in HER, the late-ripening mutant. The pattern of expression of this gene during the maturation period was basically contrary to those of the ethylene biosynthetic genes, SAM and ACC synthases and ACC oxidase. The gene was present in hemizygous dose in the early-ripening mutant. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis provides new clues about the genetic control of fruit ripening in citrus and allowed the identification of a transcription factor that could be involved in the early phenotype.

Gibberellins Regulate Ovule Integument Development by Interfering with the Transcription Factor ATS.

Gibberellins (GAs) are plant hormones that regulate most plant life cycle aspects, including flowering and fruit development. Here, we demonstrate the implication of GAs in ovule development. DELLA proteins, negative GA response regulators, act as positive factors for ovule integument development in a mechanism that involves transcription factor ABERRANT TESTA SHAPE (ATS). The seeds of the della global mutant, a complete loss-of-function of DELLA, and the ats-1 mutant are remarkably similar, with a round shape, a disorganized testa, and viviparism. These defects are the result of an alteration in integuments that fail to fully develop and are shorter than in wild-type plants. ats-1 also shows some GA-related phenotypes, for example, higher germination rates and early flowering. In fact, ats-1 has elevated GA levels due to the activation of GA biosynthesis genes, which indicates that ATS inhibits GA biosynthesis. Moreover, DELLAs and ATS proteins interact, which suggests the formation of a transcriptional complex that regulates the expression of genes involved in integument growth. Therefore, the repression of GA biosynthesis by ATS would result in the stabilization of DELLAs to ensure correct ATS-DELLA complex formation. The requirement of both activities to coordinate proper ovule development strongly argues that the ATS-DELLA complex acts as a key molecular factor. This work provides the first evidence for a role of GAs in ovule and seed development.

An RNA-Seq-based reference transcriptome for Citrus.

Previous RNA-Seq studies in citrus have been focused on physiological processes relevant to fruit quality and productivity of the major species, especially sweet orange. Less attention has been paid to vegetative or reproductive tissues, while most Citrus species have never been analysed. In this work, we characterized the transcriptome of vegetative and reproductive tissues from 12 Citrus species from all main phylogenetic groups. Our aims were to acquire a complete view of the citrus transcriptome landscape, to improve previous functional annotations and to obtain genetic markers associated with genes of agronomic interest. 28 samples were used for RNA-Seq analysis, obtained from 12 Citrus species: C. medica, C. aurantifolia, C. limon, C. bergamia, C. clementina, C. deliciosa, C. reshni, C. maxima, C. paradisi, C. aurantium, C. sinensis and Poncirus trifoliata. Four different organs were analysed: root, phloem, leaf and flower. A total of 3421 million Illumina reads were produced and mapped against the reference C. clementina genome sequence. Transcript discovery pipeline revealed 3326 new genes, the number of genes with alternative splicing was increased to 19,739, and a total of 73,797 transcripts were identified. Differential expression studies between the four tissues showed that gene expression is overall related to the physiological function of the specific organs above any other variable. Variants discovery analysis revealed the presence of indels and SNPs in genes associated with fruit quality and productivity. Pivotal pathways in citrus such as those of flavonoids, flavonols, ethylene and auxin were also analysed in detail.