Publikation
Niemeyer, M.; Moreno Castillo, E.; Ihling, C. H.; Iacobucci, C.; Wilde, V.; Hellmuth, A.; Hoehenwarter, W.; Samodelov, S. L.; Zurbriggen, M. D.; Kastritis, P. L.; Sinz, A.; Calderón Villalobos, L. I. A.; Flexibility of intrinsically disordered degrons in AUX/IAA proteins reinforces auxin co-receptor assemblies Nat. Commun. 11, 2277, (2020) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16147-2
Cullin RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligases SCFTIR1/AFB1-5 and their AUX/IAA targets perceive the phytohormone auxin. The F-box protein TIR1 binds a surface-exposed degron in AUX/IAAs promoting their ubiquitylation and rapid auxin-regulated proteasomal degradation. Here, by adopting biochemical, structural proteomics and in vivo approaches we unveil how flexibility in AUX/IAAs and regions in TIR1 affect their conformational ensemble allowing surface accessibility of degrons. We resolve TIR1·auxin·IAA7 and TIR1·auxin·IAA12 complex topology, and show that flexible intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in the degron’s vicinity, cooperatively position AUX/IAAs on TIR1. We identify essential residues at the TIR1 N- and C-termini, which provide non-native interaction interfaces with IDRs and the folded PB1 domain of AUX/IAAs. We thereby establish a role for IDRs in modulating auxin receptor assemblies. By securing AUX/IAAs on two opposite surfaces of TIR1, IDR diversity supports locally tailored positioning for targeted ubiquitylation, and might provide conformational flexibility for a multiplicity of functional states.
Preprints
Niemeyer, M.; Moreno Castillo, E.; Ihling, C. H.; Iacobucci, C.; Wilde, V.; Hellmuth, A.; Hoehenwarter, W.; Samodelov, S. L.; Zurbriggen, M. D.; Kastritis, P. L.; Sinz, A.; Calderón Villalobos, L. I. A.; Flexibility of intrinsically disordered degrons in AUX/IAA proteins reinforces auxin receptor assemblies bioRxiv (2019) DOI: 10.1101/787770
Cullin RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligases SCFTIR1/AFB1-5 and their ubiquitylation targets, AUX/IAAs, sense auxin concentrations in the nucleus. TIR1 binds a surface-exposed degron in AUX/IAAs promoting their ubiquitylation and rapid auxin-regulated proteasomal degradation. Here, we resolved TIR1·auxin·IAA7 and TIR1·auxin·IAA12 complex topology, and show that flexible intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in the degron′s vicinity, cooperatively position AUX/IAAs on TIR1. The AUX/IAA PB1 interaction domain also assists in non-native contacts, affecting AUX/IAA dynamic interaction states. Our results establish a role for IDRs in modulating auxin receptor assemblies. By securing AUX/IAAs on two opposite surfaces of TIR1, IDR diversity supports locally tailored positioning for targeted ubiquitylation and might provide conformational flexibility for adopting a multiplicity of functional states. We postulate IDRs in distinct members of the AUX/IAA family to be an adaptive signature for protein interaction and initiation region for proteasome recruitment.
Publikation
Gago-Zachert, S.; Schuck, J.; Weinholdt, C.; Knoblich, M.; Pantaleo, V.; Grosse, I.; Gursinsky, T.; Behrens, S.-E.; Highly efficacious antiviral protection of plants by small interfering RNAs identified in vitro Nucleic Acids Res. 47, 9343-9357, (2019) DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz678
In response to a viral infection, the plant’s RNA silencing machinery processes viral RNAs into a huge number of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). However, a very few of these siRNAs actually interfere with viral replication. A reliable approach to identify these immunologically effective siRNAs (esiRNAs) and to define the characteristics underlying their activity has not been available so far. Here, we develop a novel screening approach that enables a rapid functional identification of antiviral esiRNAs. Tests on the efficacy of such identified esiRNAs of a model virus achieved a virtual full protection of plants against a massive subsequent infection in transient applications. We find that the functionality of esiRNAs depends crucially on two properties: the binding affinity to Argonaute proteins and the ability to access the target RNA. The ability to rapidly identify functional esiRNAs could be of great benefit for all RNA silencing-based plant protection measures against viruses and other pathogens.
Publikation
García, M. L.; Bó, E. D.; da Graça, J. V.; Gago-Zachert, S.; Hammond, J.; Moreno, P.; Natsuaki, T.; Pallás, V.; Navarro, J. A.; Reyes, C. A.; Luna, G. R.; Sasaya, T.; Tzanetakis, I. E.; Vaira, A. M.; Verbeek, M.; ICTV Report Consortium, .; Corrigendum: ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Ophioviridae J. Gen. Virol. 99, 949-949, (2018) DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001093
0
Publikation
Winkler, M.; Niemeyer, M.; Hellmuth, A.; Janitza, P.; Christ, G.; Samodelov, S. L.; Wilde, V.; Majovsky, P.; Trujillo, M.; Zurbriggen, M. D.; Hoehenwarter, W.; Quint, M.; Calderón Villalobos, L. I. A.; Variation in auxin sensing guides AUX/IAA transcriptional repressor ubiquitylation and destruction Nat. Commun. 8, 15706, (2017) DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15706
Auxin is a small molecule morphogen that bridges SCFTIR1/AFB-AUX/IAA co-receptor interactions leading to ubiquitylation and proteasome-dependent degradation of AUX/IAA transcriptional repressors. Here, we systematically dissect auxin sensing by SCFTIR1-IAA6 and SCFTIR1-IAA19 co-receptor complexes, and assess IAA6/IAA19 ubiquitylation in vitro and IAA6/IAA19 degradation in vivo. We show that TIR1-IAA19 and TIR1-IAA6 have distinct auxin affinities that correlate with ubiquitylation and turnover dynamics of the AUX/IAA. We establish a system to track AUX/IAA ubiquitylation in IAA6 and IAA19 in vitro and show that it occurs in flexible hotspots in degron-flanking regions adorned with specific Lys residues. We propose that this signature is exploited during auxin-mediated SCFTIR1-AUX/IAA interactions. We present evidence for an evolving AUX/IAA repertoire, typified by the IAA6/IAA19 ohnologues, that discriminates the range of auxin concentrations found in plants. We postulate that the intrinsic flexibility of AUX/IAAs might bias their ubiquitylation and destruction kinetics enabling specific auxin responses.
Publikation
García, M. L.; Bó, E. D.; da Graça, J. V.; Gago-Zachert, S.; Hammond, J.; Moreno, P.; Natsuaki, T.; Pallás, V.; Navarro, J. A.; Reyes, C. A.; Luna, G. R.; Sasaya, T.; Tzanetakis, I. E.; Vaira, A. M.; Verbeek, M.; ICTV Report Consortium, .; ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Ophioviridae J. Gen. Virol. 98, 1161-1162, (2017) DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.000836
The Ophioviridae is a family of filamentous plant viruses, with single-stranded negative, and possibly ambisense, RNA genomes of 11.3–12.5 kb divided into 3–4 segments, each encapsidated separately. Virions are naked filamentous nucleocapsids, forming kinked circles of at least two different contour lengths. The sole genus, Ophiovirus, includes seven species. Four ophioviruses are soil-transmitted and their natural hosts include trees, shrubs, vegetables and bulbous or corm-forming ornamentals, both monocots and dicots. This is a summary of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Report on the taxonomy of the Ophioviridae, which is available at http://www.ictv.global/report/ophioviridae.
Preprints
Drost, H.-G.; Gabel, A.; Domazet-Lošo, T.; Quint, M.; Grosse, I.; Capturing Evolutionary Signatures in Transcriptomes with myTAI bioRxiv (2016) DOI: 10.1101/051565
Combining transcriptome data of biological processes or response to stimuli with evolutionary information such as the phylogenetic conservation of genes or their sequence divergence rates enables the investigation of evolutionary constraints on these processes or responses. Such phylotranscriptomic analyses recently unraveled that mid-developmental transcriptomes of fly, fish, and cress were dominated by evolutionarily conserved genes and genes under negative selection and thus recapitulated the developmental hourglass on the transcriptomic level. Here, we present a protocol for performing phylotranscriptomic analyses on any biological process of interest. When applying this protocol, users are capable of detecting different evolutionary constraints acting on different stages of the biological process of interest in any species. For each step of the protocol, modular and easy-to-use open-source software tools are provided, which enable a broad range of scientists to apply phylotranscriptomic analyses to a wide spectrum of biological questions.
Publikation
Drost, H.-G.; Bellstädt, J.; Ó'Maoiléidigh, D. S.; Silva, A. T.; Gabel, A.; Weinholdt, C.; Ryan, P. T.; Dekkers, B. J. W.; Bentsink, L.; Hilhorst, H. W. M.; Ligterink, W.; Wellmer, F.; Grosse, I.; Quint, M.; Post-embryonic Hourglass Patterns Mark Ontogenetic Transitions in Plant Development Mol. Biol. Evol. 33, 1158-1163, (2016) DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msw039
The historic developmental hourglass concept depicts the convergence of animal embryos to a common form during the phylotypic period. Recently, it has been shown that a transcriptomic hourglass is associated with this morphological pattern, consistent with the idea of underlying selective constraints due to intense molecular interactions during body plan establishment. Although plants do not exhibit a morphological hourglass during embryogenesis, a transcriptomic hourglass has nevertheless been identified in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, we investigated whether plant hourglass patterns are also found postembryonically. We found that the two main phase changes during the life cycle of Arabidopsis, from embryonic to vegetative and from vegetative to reproductive development, are associated with transcriptomic hourglass patterns. In contrast, flower development, a process dominated by organ formation, is not. This suggests that plant hourglass patterns are decoupled from organogenesis and body plan establishment. Instead, they may reflect general transitions through organizational checkpoints.
Bücher und Buchkapitel
Hellmuth, A.; Calderón Villalobos, L. I. A.; Radioligand Binding Assays for Determining Dissociation Constants of Phytohormone Receptors (Lois, L. M. & Matthiesen, R., eds.). Methods Mol. Biol. 1450, 23-34, (2016) ISBN: 978-1-4939-3759-2 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3759-2_3
In receptor–ligand interactions, dissociation constants provide a key parameter for characterizing binding. Here, we describe filter-based radioligand binding assays at equilibrium, either varying ligand concentrations up to receptor saturation or outcompeting ligand from its receptor with increasing concentrations of ligand analogue. Using the auxin coreceptor system, we illustrate how to use a saturation binding assay to determine the apparent dissociation constant (K D ′ ) for the formation of a ternary TIR1–auxin–AUX/IAA complex. Also, we show how to determine the inhibitory constant (Ki) for auxin binding by the coreceptor complex via a competition binding assay. These assays can be applied broadly to characterize a one-site binding reaction of a hormone to its receptor.
Preprints
Drost, H.-G.; Bellstädt, J.; Ó’Maoiléidigh, D. S.; Silva, A. T.; Gabel, A.; Weinholdt, C.; Ryan, P. T.; Dekkers, B. J. W.; Bentsink, L.; Hilhorst, H.; Ligterink, W.; Wellmer, F.; Grosse, I.; Quint, M.; Post-embryonic hourglass patterns mark ontogenetic transitions in plant development bioRxiv (2015) DOI: 10.1101/035527
The historic developmental hourglass concept depicts the convergence of animal embryos to a common form during the phylotypic period. Recently, it has been shown that a transcriptomic hourglass is associated with this morphological pattern, consistent with the idea of underlying selective constraints due to intense molecular interactions during body plan establishment. Although plants do not exhibit a morphological hourglass during embryogenesis, a transcriptomic hourglass has nevertheless been identified in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, we investigated whether plant hourglass patterns are also found post-embryonically. We found that the two main phase changes during the life cycle of Arabidopsis, from embryonic to vegetative and from vegetative to reproductive development, are associated with transcriptomic hourglass patterns. In contrast, flower development, a process dominated by organ formation, is not. This suggests that plant hourglass patterns are decoupled from organogenesis and body plan establishment. Instead, they may reflect general transitions through organizational checkpoints.
