Publikation
Picchianti, L.; Sanchez de Medina Hernandez, V.; Zhan, N.; Irwin, N. A.; Groh, R.; Stephani, M.; Hornegger, H.; Beveridge, R.; Sawa‐Makarska, J.; Lendl, T.; Grujic, N.; Naumann, C.; Martens, S.; Richards, T. A.; Clausen, T.; Ramundo, S.; Karagöz, G. E.; Dagdas, Y.; Shuffled ATG8 interacting motifs form an ancestral bridge between UFMylation and autophagy EMBO J. 42, e112053, (2023) DOI: 10.15252/embj.2022112053
UFMylation involves the covalent modification of substrate proteins with UFM1 (Ubiquitin-fold modifier 1) and is important for maintaining ER homeostasis. Stalled translation triggers the UFMylation of ER-bound ribosomes and activates C53-mediated autophagy to clear toxic polypeptides. C53 contains noncanonical shuffled ATG8-interacting motifs (sAIMs) that are essential for ATG8 interaction and autophagy initiation. However, the mechanistic basis of sAIM-mediated ATG8 interaction remains unknown. Here, we show that C53 and sAIMs are conserved across eukaryotes but secondarily lost in fungi and various algal lineages. Biochemical assays showed that the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has a functional UFMylation pathway, refuting the assumption that UFMylation is linked to multicellularity. Comparative structural analyses revealed that both UFM1 and ATG8 bind sAIMs in C53, but in a distinct way. Conversion of sAIMs into canonical AIMs impaired binding of C53 to UFM1, while strengthening ATG8 binding. Increased ATG8 binding led to the autoactivation of the C53 pathway and sensitization of Arabidopsis thaliana to ER stress. Altogether, our findings reveal an ancestral role of sAIMs in UFMylation-dependent fine-tuning of C53-mediated autophagy activation.
Publikation
Naumann, C.; Heisters, M.; Brandt, W.; Janitza, P.; Alfs, C.; Tang, N.; Toto Nienguesso, A.; Ziegler, J.; Imre, R.; Mechtler, K.; Dagdas, Y.; Hoehenwarter, W.; Sawers, G.; Quint, M.; Abel, S.; Bacterial-type ferroxidase tunes iron-dependent phosphate sensing during Arabidopsis root development Curr. Biol. 32, 2189-2205, (2022) DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.005
Access to inorganic phosphate (Pi), a principal intermediate of energy and nucleotide metabolism, profoundly affects cellular activities and plant performance. In most soils, antagonistic Pi-metal interactions restrict Pi bioavailability, which guides local root development to maximize Pi interception. Growing root tips scout the essential but immobile mineral nutrient; however, the mechanisms monitoring external Pi sta-tus are unknown. Here, we show that Arabidopsis LOW PHOSPHATE ROOT 1 (LPR1), one key determinant of Fe-dependent Pi sensing in root meristems, encodes a novel ferroxidase of high substrate specificity and affinity (apparent KM ∼2 μmM Fe2+). LPR1 typifies an ancient, Fe-oxidizing multicopper protein family that evolved early upon bacterial land colonization. The ancestor of streptophyte algae and embryophytes (land plants) acquired LPR1-type ferroxidase from soil bacteria via horizontal gene transfer, a hypothesis supported by phylogenomics, homology modeling, and biochemistry. Our molecular and kinetic data on LPR1 regulation indicate that Pi-dependent Fe substrate availability determines LPR1 activity and function. Guided by the metabolic lifestyle of extant sister bacterial genera, we propose that Arabidopsis LPR1 monitors subtle concentration differentials of external Fe availability as a Pi-dependent cue to adjust root meristem maintenance via Fe redox signaling and cell wall modification. We further hypothesize that the acquisition of bacterial LPR1-type ferroxidase by embryophyte progenitors facilitated the evolution of local Pi sensing and acquisition during plant terrestrialization.
Preprints
Stephani, M.; Picchianti, L.; Gajic, A.; Beveridge, R.; Skarwan, E.; Sanchez de Medina Hernandez, V.; Mohseni, A.; Clavel, M.; Zeng, Y.; Naumann, C.; Matuszkiewicz, M.; Turco, E.; Loefke, C.; Li, B.; Durnberger, G.; Schutzbier, M.; Chen, H. T.; Abdrakhmanov, A.; Savova, A.; Chia, K.-S.; Djamei, A.; Schaffner, I.; Abel, S.; Jiang, L.; Mechtler, K.; Ikeda, F.; Martens, S.; Clausen, T.; Dagdas, Y.; A cross-kingdom conserved ER-phagy receptor maintains endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis during stress bioRxiv (2020) DOI: 10.1101/2020.03.18.995316
Eukaryotes have evolved various quality control mechanisms to promote proteostasis in the ER. Selective removal of certain ER domains via autophagy (termed as ER-phagy) has emerged as a major quality control mechanism. However, the degree to which ER-phagy is employed by other branches of ER-quality control remains largely elusive. Here, we identify a cytosolic protein, C53, that is specifically recruited to autophagosomes during ER-stress, in both plant and mammalian cells. C53 interacts with ATG8 via a distinct binding epitope, featuring a shuffled ATG8 interacting motif (sAIM). C53 senses proteotoxic stress in the ER lumen by forming a tripartite receptor complex with the ER-associated ufmylation ligase UFL1 and its membrane adaptor DDRGK1. The C53/UFL1/DDRGK1 receptor complex is activated by stalled ribosomes and induces the degradation of internal or passenger proteins in the ER. Consistently, the C53 receptor complex and ufmylation mutants are highly susceptible to ER stress. Thus, C53 forms an ancient quality control pathway that bridges selective autophagy with ribosome-associated quality control at the ER.
Publikation
Stephani, M.; Picchianti, L.; Gajic, A.; Beveridge, R.; Skarwan, E.; Sanchez de Medina Hernandez, V.; Mohseni, A.; Clavel, M.; Zeng, Y.; Naumann, C.; Matuszkiewicz, M.; Turco, E.; Loefke, C.; Li, B.; Durnberger, G.; Schutzbier, M.; Chen, H. T.; Abdrakhmanov, A.; Savova, A.; Chia, K.-S.; Djamei, A.; Schaffner, I.; Abel, S.; Jiang, L.; Mechtler, K.; Ikeda, F.; Martens, S.; Clausen, T.; Dagdas, Y.; A cross-kingdom conserved ER-phagy receptor maintains endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis during stress eLife 9, e58396, (2020) DOI: 10.7554/elife.58396
Eukaryotes have evolved various quality control mechanisms to promote proteostasis in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Selective removal of certain ER domains via autophagy (termed as ER-phagy) has emerged as a major quality control mechanism. However, the degree to which ER-phagy is employed by other branches of ER-quality control remains largely elusive. Here, we identify a cytosolic protein, C53, that is specifically recruited to autophagosomes during ER-stress, in both plant and mammalian cells. C53 interacts with ATG8 via a distinct binding epitope, featuring a shuffled ATG8 interacting motif (sAIM). C53 senses proteotoxic stress in the ER lumen by forming a tripartite receptor complex with the ER-associated ufmylation ligase UFL1 and its membrane adaptor DDRGK1. The C53/UFL1/DDRGK1 receptor complex is activated by stalled ribosomes and induces the degradation of internal or passenger proteins in the ER. Consistently, the C53 receptor complex and ufmylation mutants are highly susceptible to ER stress. Thus, C53 forms an ancient quality control pathway that bridges selective autophagy with ribosome-associated quality control in the ER.
Publikation
Bellstaedt, J.; Trenner, J.; Lippmann, R.; Poeschl, Y.; Zhang, X.; Friml, J.; Quint, M.; Delker, C.; A Mobile Auxin Signal Connects Temperature Sensing in Cotyledons with Growth Responses in Hypocotyls Plant Physiol. 180, 757-766, (2019) DOI: 10.1104/pp.18.01377
Plants have a remarkable capacity to adjust their growth and development to elevated ambient temperatures. Increased elongation growth of roots, hypocotyls, and petioles in warm temperatures are hallmarks of seedling thermomorphogenesis. In the last decade, significant progress has been made to identify the molecular signaling components regulating these growth responses. Increased ambient temperature utilizes diverse components of the light sensing and signal transduction network to trigger growth adjustments. However, it remains unknown whether temperature sensing and responses are universal processes that occur uniformly in all plant organs. Alternatively, temperature sensing may be confined to specific tissues or organs, which would require a systemic signal that mediates responses in distal parts of the plant. Here, we show that Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seedlings show organ-specific transcriptome responses to elevated temperatures and that thermomorphogenesis involves both autonomous and organ-interdependent temperature sensing and signaling. Seedling roots can sense and respond to temperature in a shoot-independent manner, whereas shoot temperature responses require both local and systemic processes. The induction of cell elongation in hypocotyls requires temperature sensing in cotyledons, followed by the generation of a mobile auxin signal. Subsequently, auxin travels to the hypocotyl, where it triggers local brassinosteroid-induced cell elongation in seedling stems, which depends upon a distinct, permissive temperature sensor in the hypocotyl.
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
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Publikation
Gantner, J.; Ordon, J.; Ilse, T.; Kretschmer, C.; Gruetzner, R.; Löfke, C.; Dagdas, Y.; Bürstenbinder, K.; Marillonnet, S.; Stuttmann, J.; Peripheral infrastructure vectors and an extended set of plant parts for the Modular Cloning system PLOS ONE 13, e0197185, (2018) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197185
Standardized DNA assembly strategies facilitate the generation of multigene constructs from collections of building blocks in plant synthetic biology. A common syntax for hierarchical DNA assembly following the Golden Gate principle employing Type IIs restriction endonucleases was recently developed, and underlies the Modular Cloning and GoldenBraid systems. In these systems, transcriptional units and/or multigene constructs are assembled from libraries of standardized building blocks, also referred to as phytobricks, in several hierarchical levels and by iterative Golden Gate reactions. Here, a toolkit containing further modules for the novel DNA assembly standards was developed. Intended for use with Modular Cloning, most modules are also compatible with GoldenBraid. Firstly, a collection of approximately 80 additional phytobricks is provided, comprising e.g. modules for inducible expression systems, promoters or epitope tags. Furthermore, DNA modules were developed for connecting Modular Cloning and Gateway cloning, either for toggling between systems or for standardized Gateway destination vector assembly. Finally, first instances of a “peripheral infrastructure” around Modular Cloning are presented: While available toolkits are designed for the assembly of plant transformation constructs, vectors were created to also use coding sequence-containing phytobricks directly in yeast two hybrid interaction or bacterial infection assays. The presented material will further enhance versatility of hierarchical DNA assembly strategies.
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.
Publikation
López-Carrasco, A.; Ballesteros, C.; Sentandreu, V.; Delgado, S.; Gago-Zachert, S.; Flores, R.; Sanjuán, R.; Different rates of spontaneous mutation of chloroplastic and nuclear viroids as determined by high-fidelity ultra-deep sequencing PLOS Pathog. 13, e1006547, (2017) DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006547
Mutation rates vary by orders of magnitude across biological systems, being higher for simpler genomes. The simplest known genomes correspond to viroids, subviral plant replicons constituted by circular non-coding RNAs of few hundred bases. Previous work has revealed an extremely high mutation rate for chrysanthemum chlorotic mottle viroid, a chloroplast-replicating viroid. However, whether this is a general feature of viroids remains unclear. Here, we have used high-fidelity ultra-deep sequencing to determine the mutation rate in a common host (eggplant) of two viroids, each representative of one family: the chloroplastic eggplant latent viroid (ELVd, Avsunviroidae) and the nuclear potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd, Pospiviroidae). This revealed higher mutation frequencies in ELVd than in PSTVd, as well as marked differences in the types of mutations produced. Rates of spontaneous mutation, quantified in vivo using the lethal mutation method, ranged from 1/1000 to 1/800 for ELVd and from 1/7000 to 1/3800 for PSTVd depending on sequencing run. These results suggest that extremely high mutability is a common feature of chloroplastic viroids, whereas the mutation rates of PSTVd and potentially other nuclear viroids appear significantly lower and closer to those of some RNA viruses.
Publikation
Trenner, J.; Poeschl, Y.; Grau, J.; Gogol-Döring, A.; Quint, M.; Delker, C.; Auxin-induced expression divergence between Arabidopsis species may originate within the TIR1/AFB–AUX/IAA–ARF module J. Exp. Bot. 68, 539-552, (2017) DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erw457
Auxin is an essential regulator of plant growth and development, and auxin signaling components are conserved among land plants. Yet, a remarkable degree of natural variation in physiological and transcriptional auxin responses has been described among Arabidopsis thaliana accessions. As intraspecies comparisons offer only limited genetic variation, we here inspect the variation of auxin responses between A. thaliana and A. lyrata. This approach allowed the identification of conserved auxin response genes including novel genes with potential relevance for auxin biology. Furthermore, promoter divergences were analyzed for putative sources of variation. De novo motif discovery identified novel and variants of known elements with potential relevance for auxin responses, emphasizing the complex, and yet elusive, code of element combinations accounting for the diversity in transcriptional auxin responses. Furthermore, network analysis revealed correlations of interspecies differences in the expression of AUX/IAA gene clusters and classic auxin-related genes. We conclude that variation in general transcriptional and physiological auxin responses may originate substantially from functional or transcriptional variations in the TIR1/AFB, AUX/IAA, and ARF signaling network. In that respect, AUX/IAA gene expression divergence potentially reflects differences in the manner in which different species transduce identical auxin signals into gene expression responses.
