Publikationen - Molekulare Signalverarbeitung

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.

The developmental hourglass model has been used to describe the morphological transitions of related species throughout embryogenesis. Recently, quantifiable approaches combining transcriptomic and evolutionary information provided novel evidence for the presence of a phylotranscriptomic hourglass pattern across kingdoms. As its biological function is unknown it remains speculative whether this pattern is functional or merely represents a nonfunctional evolutionary relic. The latter would seriously hamper future experimental approaches designed to test hypotheses regarding its function. Here, we address this question by generating transcriptome divergence index (TDI) profiles across embryogenesis of Danio rerio, Drosophila melanogaster, and Arabidopsis thaliana. To enable meaningful evaluation of the resulting patterns, we develop a statistical test that specifically assesses potential hourglass patterns. Based on this objective measure we find that two of these profiles follow a statistically significant hourglass pattern with the most conserved transcriptomes in the phylotypic periods. As the TDI considers only recent evolutionary signals, this indicates that the phylotranscriptomic hourglass pattern is not a rudiment but possibly actively maintained, implicating the existence of some linked biological function associated with embryogenesis in extant species.

Diadenosine 5′,5′”‐P1,P4‐tetraphosphate (Ap4A) cleaving enzymes are assumed to regulate intracellular levels of Ap4A, a compound known to affect cell proliferation and stress responses. From plants an Ap4A hydrolase was recently purified using tomato cells grown in suspension. It was partially sequenced and a peptide antibody was prepared (Feussner et al., 1996). Using this polyclonal monospecific antibody, an abundant nuclear location of Ap4A hydrolase in 4‐day‐old cells of atomato cell suspension culture is demonstrated here by means of immunocytochemical techniques using FITC (fluorescein‐5‐isothiocyanate) labeled secondary antibodies. The microscopic analysis of the occurrence of Ap4A hydrolase performed for different stages of the cell cycle visualized by parallel DAPI (4,6‐diamidino‐2‐phenylindole) staining revealed that the protein accumulates within nuclei of cells in the interphase, but is absent in the nucleus as well as cytoplasm during all stages of mitosis. This first intracellular localization of an Ap4A degrading enzyme within the nucleus and its pattern of appearance during the cell cycle is discussed in relation to the suggested role of Ap4A in triggering DNA synthesis and cell proliferation.

Changes in lipoxygenase (LOX) protein pattern and/or activity were investigated in relation to acquired resistance of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) leaves against two powdery mildews, Sphaerotheca fuliginea (Schlecht) Salmon and Erysiphe cichoracearum DC et Merat. Acquired resistance was established by spraying leaves with salicylic acid (SA) or 2,6‐dichloroisonicotinic acid (INA) and estimated in whole plants by infested leaf area compared to control plants. SA was more effective than INA. According to Western blots, untreated cucumber leaves contained a 97 kDa LOX form, which remained unchanged for up to 48 h after pathogen inoculation. Upon treatment with SA alone for 24 h or with INA plus pathogen, an additional 95 kDa LOX form appeared which had an isoelectric point in the alkaline range. For the induction of this form, a threshold concentration of 1 mM SA was required, higher SA concentrations did not change LOX‐95 expression which remained similar between 24 h and 96 h but further increased upon mildew inoculation. Phloem exudates contained only the LOX‐97 form, in intercellular washing fluid no LOX was detected. dichloroisonicotinic localization revealed LOX protein in the cytosol of the mesophyll cells without differences between the forms.