Phosphate starvation response precedes abscisic acid response under progressive mild drought in plants.

Drought severely damages crop production, even under conditions so mild that the leaves show no signs of wilting. However, it is unclear how field-grown plants respond to mild drought. Here, we show through six years of field trials that ridges are a useful experimental tool to mimic mild drought stress in the field. Mild drought reduces inorganic phosphate levels in the leaves to activate the phosphate starvation response (PSR) in soybean plants in the field. Using Arabidopsis thaliana and its mutant plants grown in pots under controlled environments, we demonstrate that PSR occurs before abscisic acid response under progressive mild drought and that PSR plays a crucial role in plant growth under mild drought. Our observations in the field and laboratory using model crop and experimental plants provide insight into the molecular response to mild drought in field-grown plants and the relationship between nutrition and drought stress response.

Virus-Mediated Transient Expression Techniques Enable Functional Genomics Studies and Modulations of Betalain Biosynthesis and Plant Height in Quinoa.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), native to the Andean region of South America, has been recognized as a potentially important crop in terms of global food and nutrition security since it can thrive in harsh environments and has an excellent nutritional profile. Even though challenges of analyzing the complex and heterogeneous allotetraploid genome of quinoa have recently been overcome, with the whole genome-sequencing of quinoa and the creation of genotyped inbred lines, the lack of technology to analyze gene function in planta is a major limiting factor in quinoa research. Here, we demonstrate that two virus-mediated transient expression techniques, virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) and virus-mediated overexpression (VOX), can be used in quinoa. We show that apple latent spherical virus (ALSV) can induce gene silencing of quinoa phytoene desaturase (CqPDS1) in a broad range of quinoa inbred lines derived from the northern and southern highland and lowland sub-populations. In addition, we show that ALSV can be used as a VOX vector in roots. Our data also indicate that silencing a quinoa 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine 4,5-dioxygenase gene (CqDODA1) or a cytochrome P450 enzyme gene (CqCYP76AD1) inhibits betalain production and that knockdown of a reduced-height gene homolog (CqRHT1) causes an overgrowth phenotype in quinoa. Moreover, we show that ALSV can be transmitted to the progeny of quinoa plants. Thus, our findings enable functional genomics in quinoa, ushering in a new era of quinoa research.

Accelerating Soybean Breeding in a CO2-Supplemented Growth Chamber.

Soybean (Glycine max) is the most important dicot crop worldwide, and is increasingly used as a model legume due to the wide availability of genomic soybean resources; however, the slow generation times of soybean plants are currently a major hindrance to research. Here, we demonstrate a method for accelerating soybean breeding in compact growth chambers, which greatly shortens the generation time of the plants and accelerates breeding and research projects. Our breeding method utilizes commonly used fluorescent lamps (220 µmol m-2 s-1 at the canopy level), a 14 h light (30°C)/10 h dark (25°C) cycle and carbon dioxide (CO2) supplementation at >400 p.p.m. Using this approach, the generation time of the best-characterized elite Japanese soybean cultivar, Enrei, was shortened from 102-132 d reported in the field to just 70 d, thereby allowing up to 5 generations per year instead of the 1-2 generations currently possible in the field and/or greenhouse. The method also facilitates the highly efficient and controlled crossing of soybean plants. Our method uses CO2 supplementation to promote the growth and yield of plants, appropriate light and temperature conditions to reduce the days to flowering, and the reaping and sowing of immature seeds to shorten the reproductive period greatly. Thus, the appropriate parameters enable acceleration of soybean breeding in the compact growth chambers commonly used for laboratory research. The parameters used in our method could therefore be optimized for other species, cultivars, accessions and experimental designs to facilitate rapid breeding in a wide range of crops.

Correction to: Casein kinase 2 α and ß subunits inversely modulate ABA signal output in Arabidopsis protoplasts.

The article Casein kinase 2 α and ß subunits inversely modulate ABA signal output in Arabidopsis protoplasts, written by Yukari Nagatoshi, Miki Fujita, and Yasunari Fujita, was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on 24 May 2018 without open access. With the author(s)' decision to opt for Open Choice the copyright of the article changed on 19 November 2018 to © The Author(s) 2018 and the article is forthwith distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Protein kinase CK2α subunits constitutively activate ABA signaling in Arabidopsis.

Protein kinase CK2 (formerly known as casein kinase II), a Ser/Thr protein kinase highly conserved in eukaryotes, is essential for cell survival by regulating a wide range of plant growth, development, and stress responses. A growing body of evidence has shown a link between CK2 and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling in response to abiotic stress. However, the roles of CK2 subunits in ABA signaling remain unclear in plants. Our recent work in Arabidopsis thaliana has revealed that CK2α and CK2ß subunits inversely modulate ABA signal output. Here, we examine the roles of CK2αs, by assessing how CK2αs affect ABA signaling. Together with the previous findings, our mutant and transient expression analyses demonstrate that CK2αs positively modulate ABA signaling through the core ABA signaling pathway in the presence of ABA, though the positive effect of CK2αs are much smaller than that of core ABA signaling components in ABA response. In addtion, our current and previous findings also suggest that CK2αs play a role in maintaining constitutively active ABA signaling even in the absence of ABA independently of the core ABA signaling pathway. Thus, we found that CK2αs constitutively activate ABA signaling in the presence or absence of ABA in a different manner in Arabidopsis plants.

Casein kinase 2 α and ß subunits inversely modulate ABA signal output in Arabidopsis protoplasts.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Our transient gene expression analyses in Arabidopsis protoplasts support the view that CK2αs and CK2ßs positively and negatively modulate ABRE-dependent gene expression, respectively. The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) regulates the expression of thousands of genes via ABA-responsive elements (ABREs), and has a crucial role in abiotic stress response. Casein kinase II (CK2), a conserved Ser/Thr protein kinase in eukaryotes, is essential for plant viability. Although the CK2 has been known as a tetrameric holoenzyme comprised of two catalytic α and two regulatory ß subunits, each of the two types of subunits has been proposed to have independent functions. The Arabidopsis genome encodes four α subunits (CK2α1, CK2α2, CK2α3, CK2α4) and four ß subunits (CK2ß1, CK2ß2, CK2ß3, CK2ß4). There is a growing body of evidence linking CK2 to ABA signaling and abiotic stress responses. However, the roles of each CK2 subunit in ABA signaling remain largely elusive. Using the transient expression system with the core ABA signaling components in Arabidopsis leaf mesophyll protoplasts, we show here that CK2α1 and CK2α2 (CK2α1/2) positively modulate ABRE-dependent gene expression as ABA signal output in ABA signaling, whereas all four CK2ßs negatively modulate the ABRE-dependent gene expression mediated by subclass III SnRK2-AREB/ABF pathway and by CK2α1/2. These data indicate that CK2α1/2 and CK2ßs positively and negatively modulate ABA signal output, respectively, suggesting that the quantitative balance of CK2 subunits determines the ABA signal output in plants. Given that CK2s act as pleiotropic enzymes involved in multiple developmental and stress-responsive processes, our findings suggest that CK2 subunits may be involved in integration and coordination of ABA-dependent and -independent signaling.

Virus-induced down-regulation of GmERA1A and GmERA1B genes enhances the stomatal response to abscisic acid and drought resistance in soybean.

Drought is a major threat to global soybean production. The limited transformation potential and polyploid nature of soybean have hindered functional analysis of soybean genes. Previous research has implicated farnesylation in the plant's response to abscisic acid (ABA) and drought tolerance. We therefore used virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) to evaluate farnesyltransferase genes, GmERA1A and GmERA1B (Glycine max Enhanced Response to ABA1-A and -B), as potential targets for increasing drought resistance in soybean. Apple latent spherical virus (ALSV)-mediated GmERA1-down-regulated soybean leaves displayed an enhanced stomatal response to ABA and reduced water loss and wilting under dehydration conditions, suggesting that GmERA1A and GmERA1B negatively regulate ABA signaling in soybean guard cells. The findings provide evidence that the ALSV-VIGS system, which bypasses the need to generate transgenic plants, is a useful tool for analyzing gene function using only a single down-regulated leaf. Thus, the ALSV-VIGS system could constitute part of a next-generation molecular breeding pipeline to accelerate drought resistance breeding in soybean.

Draft genome sequence of an inbred line of Chenopodium quinoa, an allotetraploid crop with great environmental adaptability and outstanding nutritional properties.

Chenopodium quinoa Willd. (quinoa) originated from the Andean region of South America, and is a pseudocereal crop of the Amaranthaceae family. Quinoa is emerging as an important crop with the potential to contribute to food security worldwide and is considered to be an optimal food source for astronauts, due to its outstanding nutritional profile and ability to tolerate stressful environments. Furthermore, plant pathologists use quinoa as a representative diagnostic host to identify virus species. However, molecular analysis of quinoa is limited by its genetic heterogeneity due to outcrossing and its genome complexity derived from allotetraploidy. To overcome these obstacles, we established the inbred and standard quinoa accession Kd that enables rigorous molecular analysis, and presented the draft genome sequence of Kd, using an optimized combination of high-throughput next generation sequencing on the Illumina Hiseq 2500 and PacBio RS II sequencers. The de novo genome assembly contained 25 k scaffolds consisting of 1 Gbp with N50 length of 86 kbp. Based on these data, we constructed the free-access Quinoa Genome DataBase (QGDB). Thus, these findings provide insights into the mechanisms underlying agronomically important traits of quinoa and the effect of allotetraploidy on genome evolution.

GOLDEN 2-LIKE transcription factors for chloroplast development affect ozone tolerance through the regulation of stomatal movement.

Stomatal movements regulate gas exchange, thus directly affecting the efficiency of photosynthesis and the sensitivity of plants to air pollutants such as ozone. The GARP family transcription factors GOLDEN 2-LIKE1 (GLK1) and GLK2 have known functions in chloroplast development. Here, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) plants expressing the chimeric repressors for GLK1 and -2 (GLK1/2-SRDX) exhibited a closed-stomata phenotype and strong tolerance to ozone. By contrast, plants that overexpress GLK1/2 exhibited an open-stomata phenotype and higher sensitivity to ozone. The plants expressing GLK1-SRDX had reduced expression of the genes for inwardly rectifying K(+) (K(+) in) channels and reduced K(+) in channel activity. Abscisic acid treatment did not affect the stomatal phenotype of 35S:GLK1/2-SRDX plants or the transcriptional activity for K(+) in channel gene, indicating that GLK1/2 act independently of abscisic acid signaling. Our results indicate that GLK1/2 positively regulate the expression of genes for K(+) in channels and promote stomatal opening. Because the chimeric GLK1-SRDX repressor driven by a guard cell-specific promoter induced a closed-stomata phenotype without affecting chloroplast development in mesophyll cells, modulating GLK1/2 activity may provide an effective tool to control stomatal movements and thus to confer resistance to air pollutants.

Induction of a dwarf phenotype with IBH1 may enable increased production of plant-made pharmaceuticals in plant factory conditions.

Year-round production in a contained, environmentally controlled 'plant factory' may provide a cost-effective method to produce pharmaceuticals and other high-value products. However, cost-effective production may require substantial modification of the host plant phenotype; for example, using dwarf plants can enable the growth of more plants in a given volume by allowing more plants per shelf and enabling more shelves to be stacked vertically. We show here that the expression of the chimeric repressor for Arabidopsis AtIBH1 (P35S:AtIBH1SRDX) in transgenic tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum) induces a dwarf phenotype, with reduced cell size. We estimate that, in a given volume of cultivation space, we can grow five times more AtIBH1SRDX plants than wild-type plants. Although, the AtIBH1SRDX plants also showed reduced biomass compared with wild-type plants, they produced about four times more biomass per unit of cultivation volume. To test whether the dwarf phenotype affects the production of recombinant proteins, we expressed the genes for anti-hepatitis B virus antibodies (anti-HBs) in tobacco plants and found that the production of anti-HBs per unit fresh weight did not significantly differ between wild-type and AtIBH1SRDX plants. These data indicate that P35S:AtIBH1SRDX plants produced about fourfold more antibody per unit of cultivation volume, compared with wild type. Our results indicate that AtIBH1SRDX provides a useful tool for the modification of plant phenotype for cost-effective production of high-value products by stably transformed plants in plant factory conditions.

CRES-T, an effective gene silencing system utilizing chimeric repressors.

Chimeric REpressor gene Silencing Technology (CRES-T) is a useful tool for functional analysis of plant transcription factors. In this system, a chimeric repressor that is produced by fusion of a transcription factor to the plant-specific EAR-motif repression domain (SRDX) suppresses target genes of a transcription factor dominantly over the activity of endogenous and functionally redundant transcription factors. As a result, the transgenic plants that express a chimeric repressor exhibit phenotypes similar to loss-of-function of the alleles of the gene encoding the transcription factor. This system is simple and effective and can be used as a powerful tool not only for functional analysis of redundant transcription factors but also for the manipulation of plant traits by active suppression of the gene expression. Strategies for construction of the chimeric repressors and their expression in transgenic plants are described. Transient effector-reporter assays for functional analysis of transcription factors and detection of protein-protein interactions using the trans-repressive activity of SRDX repression domain are also described.

Significance of light-induced hook exaggeration as reinforced by the concomitant anatomical change of germinating tomato seeds.

Progression of the apical hook of tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, exaggerated by phytochrome mediation at the early germination stage is followed in detail macroscopically and anatomically, and its proposed significance, i.e. survival by securing the seed coat release in the field, is reinforced by new findings. Furthermore, after self-release or artificial removal of the seed coat and the endosperm, no hook exaggeration occurs any more. Similar light-induced hook exaggeration (LIHE) is also found in carrot, parsley, and Cryptotaenia japonica, which share some seed characteristics with tomato. These findings also support the above-stated significance.

Light exaggerates apical hook curvature through phytochrome actions in tomato seedlings.

Contrary to the established notion that the apical hook of dark-grown dicotyledonous seedlings opens in response to light, we found in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) that the apical hook curvature is exaggerated by light. Experiments with several tomato cultivars and phytochrome mutants, irradiated with red and far-red light either as a brief pulse (Rp, FRp) or continuously (Rc, FRc), revealed: the hook-exaggeration response is maximal at the emergence of the hypocotyl from the seed; the effect of Rp is FRp-reversible; fluence-response curves to a single Rp or FRp show an involvement of low and very low fluence responses (LFR, VLFR); the effect of Rc is fluence-rate dependent, but that of FRc is not; the phyA mutant (phyA hp-1) failed to respond to an Rp of less than 10(-2) micromol m(-2) and to an FRp of all fluences tested as well as to FRc, thus indicating that the hook-exaggeration response involves phyA-mediated VLFR. The Rp fluence-response curve with the same mutant also confirmed the presence of an LFR mediated by phytochrome(s) other than phyA, although the phyB1 mutant (phyB1 hp-1) still showed full response probably due to other redundant phytochrome species (e.g., phyB2). Simulation experiments led to the possible significance of hook exaggeration in the field that the photoresponse may facilitate the release of seed coat when seeds germinate at some range of depth in soil. It was also observed that seed coat and/or endosperm are essential to the hook exaggeration.

Arabidopsis HARMLESS TO OZONE LAYER protein methylates a glucosinolate breakdown product and functions in resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola.

Almost all of the chlorine-containing gas emitted from natural sources is methyl chloride (CH(3)Cl), which contributes to the destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer. Tropical and subtropical plants emit substantial amounts of CH(3)Cl. A gene involved in CH(3)Cl emission from Arabidopsis was previously identified and designated HARMLESS TO OZONE LAYER (hereafter AtHOL1) based on the mutant phenotype. Our previous studies demonstrated that AtHOL1 and its homologs, AtHOL2 and AtHOL3, have S-adenosyl-l-methionine-dependent methyltransferase activities. However, the physiological functions of AtHOLs have yet to be elucidated. In the present study, our comparative kinetic analyses with possible physiological substrates indicated that all of the AtHOLs have low activities toward chloride. AtHOL1 was highly reactive to thiocyanate (NCS(-)), a pseudohalide, synthesizing methylthiocyanate (CH(3)SCN) with a very high k(cat)/K(m) value. We demonstrated in vivo that substantial amounts of NCS(-) were synthesized upon tissue damage in Arabidopsis and that NCS(-) was largely derived from myrosinase-mediated hydrolysis of glucosinolates. Analyses with the T-DNA insertion Arabidopsis mutants (hol1, hol2, and hol3) revealed that only hol1 showed increased sensitivity to NCS(-) in medium and a concomitant lack of CH(3)SCN synthesis upon tissue damage. Bacterial growth assays indicated that the conversion of NCS(-) into CH(3)SCN dramatically increased antibacterial activities against Arabidopsis pathogens that normally invade the wound site. Furthermore, hol1 seedlings showed an increased susceptibility toward an Arabidopsis pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola. Here we propose that AtHOL1 is involved in glucosinolate metabolism and defense against phytopathogens. Moreover, CH(3)Cl synthesized by AtHOL1 could be considered a byproduct of NCS(-) metabolism.