Preprints
Bassal, M.; Majovsky, P.; Thieme, D.; Herr, T.; Abukhalaf, M.; Ayash, M.; Al Shweiki, M. R.; Proksch, C.; Hmedat, A.; Ziegler, J.; Neumann, S.; Hoehenwarter, W.; Reshaping of the Arabidopsis thaliana proteome landscape and co-regulation of proteins in development and immunity bioRxiv (2020) DOI: 10.1101/2020.03.09.978627
Proteome remodeling is a fundamental adaptive response and proteins in complex and functionally related proteins are often co-expressed. Using a deep sampling strategy we define Arabidopsis thaliana tissue core proteomes at around 10,000 proteins per tissue and absolutely quantify (copy numbers per cell) nearly 16,000 proteins throughout the plant lifecycle. A proteome wide survey of global post translational modification revealed amino acid exchanges pointing to potential conservation of translational infidelity in eukaryotes. Correlation analysis of protein abundance uncovered potentially new tissue and age specific roles of entire signaling modules regulating transcription in photosynthesis, seed development and senescence and abscission. Among others, the data suggest a potential function of RD26 and other NAC transcription factors in seed development related to desiccation tolerance as well as a possible function of Cysteine-rich Receptor-like Kinases (CRKs) as ROS sensors in senescence. All of the components of ribosome biogenesis factor (RBF) complexes were co-expressed tissue and age specifically indicating functional promiscuity in the assembly of these little described protein complexes in Arabidopsis. Treatment of seedlings with flg22 for 16 hours allowed us to characterize proteome architecture in basal immunity in detail. The results were complemented with parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) targeted proteomics, phytohormone, amino acid and transcript measurements. We obtained strong evidence of suppression of jasmonate (JA) and JA-Ile levels by deconjugation and hydroxylation via IAA-ALA RESISTANT3 (IAR3) and JASMONATE-INDUCED OXYGENASE 2 (JOX2) under the control of JASMONATE INSENSITIVE 1 (MYC2). This previously unknown regulatory switch is another part of the puzzle of the as yet understudied role of JA in pattern triggered immunity. The extensive coverage of the Arabidopsis proteome in various biological scenarios presents a rich resource to plant biologists that we make available to the community.
Publikation
Plants adjust the balance between growth and defence using photoreceptors and jasmonates. Levels of active jasmonates are reduced in a phytochrome B-dependent manner by upregulation of a 12-hydroxyjasmonate sulfotransferase, leading to increase in shade avoidance and decrease in defence.
Publikation
Wasternack, C.; Determination of sex by jasmonate J. Integr. Plant Biol. 62, 162-164, (2020) DOI: 10.1111/jipb.12840
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Publikation
Bassal, M.; Abukhalaf, M.; Majovsky, P.; Thieme, D.; Herr, T.; Ayash, M.; Tabassum, N.; Al Shweiki, M. R.; Proksch, C.; Hmedat, A.; Ziegler, J.; Lee, J.; Neumann, S.; Hoehenwarter, W.; Reshaping of the Arabidopsis thaliana Proteome Landscape and Co-regulation of Proteins in Development and Immunity Mol. Plant 13, 1709-1732, (2020) DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2020.09.024
Proteome remodeling is a fundamental adaptive response, and proteins in
complexes and functionally related proteins are often co-expressed.
Using a deep sampling strategy we define core proteomes of Arabidopsis thaliana
tissues with around 10 000 proteins per tissue, and absolutely quantify
(copy numbers per cell) nearly 16 000 proteins throughout the plant
lifecycle. A proteome-wide survey of global post-translational
modification revealed amino acid exchanges pointing to potential
conservation of translational infidelity in eukaryotes. Correlation
analysis of protein abundance uncovered potentially new tissue- and
age-specific roles of entire signaling modules regulating transcription
in photosynthesis, seed development, and senescence and abscission.
Among others, the data suggest a potential function of RD26 and other
NAC transcription factors in seed development related to desiccation
tolerance as well as a possible function of cysteine-rich receptor-like
kinases (CRKs) as ROS sensors in senescence. All of the components of
ribosome biogenesis factor (RBF) complexes were found to be co-expressed
in a tissue- and age-specific manner, indicating functional promiscuity
in the assembly of these less-studied protein complexes in Arabidopsis. Furthermore, we characterized detailed proteome remodeling in basal immunity by treating Arabidopsis
seeldings with flg22. Through simultaneously monitoring
phytohormone and transcript changes upon flg22 treatment, we obtained
strong evidence of suppression of jasmonate (JA) and JA-isoleucine
(JA-Ile) levels by deconjugation and hydroxylation by IAA-ALA RESISTANT3
(IAR3) and JASMONATE-INDUCED OXYGENASE 2 (JOX2), respectively, under
the control of JASMONATE INSENSITIVE 1 (MYC2), suggesting an
unrecognized role of a new JA regulatory switch in pattern-triggered
immunity. Taken together, the datasets generated in this study present
extensive coverage of the Arabidopsis proteome in various biological scenarios, providing a rich resource available to the whole plant science community.
Publikation
Bosch, M.; Wright, L. P.; Gershenzon, J.; Wasternack, C.; Hause, B.; Schaller, A.; Stintzi, A.; Jasmonic Acid and Its Precursor 12-Oxophytodienoic Acid Control Different Aspects of Constitutive and Induced Herbivore Defenses in Tomato Plant Physiol. 166, 396-410, (2014) DOI: 10.1104/pp.114.237388
The jasmonate family of growth regulators includes the isoleucine (Ile) conjugate of jasmonic acid (JA-Ile) and its biosynthetic precursor 12-oxophytodienoic acid (OPDA) as signaling molecules. To assess the relative contribution of JA/JA-Ile and OPDA to insect resistance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), we silenced the expression of OPDA reductase3 (OPR3) by RNA interference (RNAi). Consistent with a block in the biosynthetic pathway downstream of OPDA, OPR3-RNAi plants contained wild-type levels of OPDA but failed to accumulate JA or JA-Ile after wounding. JA/JA-Ile deficiency in OPR3-RNAi plants resulted in reduced trichome formation and impaired monoterpene and sesquiterpene production. The loss of these JA/JA-Ile -dependent defense traits rendered them more attractive to the specialist herbivore Manduca sexta with respect to feeding and oviposition. Oviposition preference resulted from reduced levels of repellant monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. Feeding preference, on the other hand, was caused by increased production of cis-3-hexenal acting as a feeding stimulant for M. sexta larvae in OPR3-RNAi plants. Despite impaired constitutive defenses and increased palatability of OPR3-RNAi leaves, larval development was indistinguishable on OPR3-RNAi and wild-type plants, and was much delayed compared with development on the jasmonic acid-insensitive1 (jai1) mutant. Apparently, signaling through JAI1, the tomato ortholog of the ubiquitin ligase CORONATINE INSENSITIVE1 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), is required for defense, whereas the conversion of OPDA to JA/JA-Ile is not. Comparing the signaling activities of OPDA and JA/JA-Ile, we found that OPDA can substitute for JA/JA-Ile in the local induction of defense gene expression, but the production of JA/JA-Ile is required for a systemic response.
Publikation
Grubb, C. D.; Zipp, B. J.; Kopycki, J.; Schubert, M.; Quint, M.; Lim, E.-K.; Bowles, D. J.; Pedras, M. S. C.; Abel, S.; Comparative analysis of Arabidopsis UGT74 glucosyltransferases reveals a special role of UGT74C1 in glucosinolate biosynthesis Plant J. 79, 92-105, (2014) DOI: 10.1111/tpj.12541
The study of glucosinolates and their regulation has provided a powerful framework for the exploration of fundamental questions about the function, evolution, and ecological significance of plant natural products, but uncertainties about their metabolism remain. Previous work has identified one thiohydroximate S‐glucosyltransferase, UGT74B1, with an important role in the core pathway, but also made clear that this enzyme functions redundantly and cannot be the sole UDP‐glucose dependent glucosyltransferase (UGT) in glucosinolate synthesis. Here, we present the results of a nearly comprehensive in vitro activity screen of recombinant Arabidopsis Family 1 UGTs, which implicate other members of the UGT74 clade as candidate glucosinolate biosynthetic enzymes. Systematic genetic analysis of this clade indicates that UGT74C1 plays a special role in the synthesis of aliphatic glucosinolates, a conclusion strongly supported by phylogenetic and gene expression analyses. Finally, the ability of UGT74C1 to complement phenotypes and chemotypes of the ugt74b1‐2 knockout mutant and to express thiohydroximate UGT activity in planta provides conclusive evidence for UGT74C1 being an accessory enzyme in glucosinolate biosynthesis with a potential function during plant adaptation to environmental challenge.
Publikation
Floková, K.; Tarkowská, D.; Miersch, O.; Strnad, M.; Wasternack, C.; Novák, O.; UHPLC–MS/MS based target profiling of stress-induced phytohormones Phytochemistry 105, 147-157, (2014) DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2014.05.015
Stress-induced changes in phytohormone metabolite profiles have rapid effects on plant metabolic activity and growth. The jasmonates (JAs) are a group of fatty acid-derived stress response regulators with roles in numerous developmental processes. To elucidate their dual regulatory effects, which overlap with those of other important defence-signalling plant hormones such as salicylic acid (SA), abscisic acid (ABA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), we have developed a highly efficient single-step clean-up procedure for their enrichment from complex plant matrices that enables their sensitive quantitative analysis using hyphenated mass spectrometry technique. The rapid extraction of minute quantities of plant material (less than 20 mg fresh weight, FW) into cold 10% methanol followed by one-step reversed-phase polymer-based solid phase extraction significantly reduced matrix effects and increased the recovery of labile JA analytes. This extraction and purification protocol was paired with a highly sensitive and validated ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) method and used to simultaneously profile sixteen stress-induced phytohormones in minute plant material samples, including endogenous JA, several of its biosynthetic precursors and derivatives, as well as SA, ABA and IAA.
Publikation
Erickson, J. L.; Ziegler, J.; Guevara, D.; Abel, S.; Klösgen, R. B.; Mathur, J.; Rothstein, S. J.; Schattat, M. H.; Agrobacterium-derived cytokinin influences plastid morphology and starch accumulation in Nicotiana benthamiana during transient assays BMC Plant Biol. 14, 127, (2014) DOI: 10.1186/1471-2229-14-127
BackgroundAgrobacterium tumefaciens-based transient assays have become a common tool for answering questions related to protein localization and gene expression in a cellular context. The use of these assays assumes that the transiently transformed cells are observed under relatively authentic physiological conditions and maintain ‘normal’ sub-cellular behaviour. Although this premise is widely accepted, the question of whether cellular organization and organelle morphology is altered in Agrobacterium-infiltrated cells has not been examined in detail. The first indications of an altered sub-cellular environment came from our observation that a common laboratory strain, GV3101(pMP90), caused a drastic increase in stromule frequency. Stromules, or ‘stroma-filled-tubules’ emanate from the surface of plastids and are sensitive to a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses. Starting from this observation, the goal of our experiments was to further characterize the changes to the cell resulting from short-term bacterial infestation, and to identify the factor responsible for eliciting these changes.ResultsUsing a protocol typical of transient assays we evaluated the impact of GV3101(pMP90) infiltration on chloroplast behaviour and morphology in Nicotiana benthamiana. Our experiments confirmed that GV3101(pMP90) consistently induces stromules and alters plastid position relative to the nucleus. These effects were found to be the result of strain-dependant secretion of cytokinin and its accumulation in the plant tissue. Bacterial production of the hormone was found to be dependant on the presence of a trans-zeatin synthase gene (tzs) located on the Ti plasmid of GV3101(pMP90). Bacteria-derived cytokinins were also correlated with changes to both soluble sugar level and starch accumulation.ConclusionAlthough we have chosen to focus on how transient Agrobacterium infestation alters plastid based parameters, these changes to the morphology and position of a single organelle, combined with the measured increases in sugar and starch content, suggest global changes to cell physiology. This indicates that cells visualized during transient assays may not be as ‘normal’ as was previously assumed. Our results suggest that the impact of the bacteria can be minimized by choosing Agrobacterium strains devoid of the tzs gene, but that the alterations to sub-cellular organization and cell carbohydrate status cannot be completely avoided using this strategy.
Publikation
Delker, C.; Sonntag, L.; James, G.; Janitza, P.; Ibañez, C.; Ziermann, H.; Peterson, T.; Denk, K.; Mull, S.; Ziegler, J.; Davis, S.; Schneeberger, K.; Quint, M.; The DET1-COP1-HY5 Pathway Constitutes a Multipurpose Signaling Module Regulating Plant Photomorphogenesis and Thermomorphogenesis Cell Rep. 9, 1983-1989, (2014) DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.11.043
Developmental plasticity enables plants to respond to elevated ambient temperatures by adapting their shoot architecture. On the cellular level, the basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4) coordinates this response by activating hormonal modules that in turn regulate growth. In addition to an unknown temperature-sensing mechanism, it is currently not understood how temperature regulates PIF4 activity. Using a forward genetic approach in Arabidopsis thaliana, we present extensive genetic evidence demonstrating that the DE-ETIOLATED 1 (DET1)-CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1)-ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5)-dependent photomorphogenesis pathway transcriptionally regulates PIF4 to coordinate seedling growth in response to elevated temperature. Our findings demonstrate that two of the most prevalent environmental cues, light and temperature, share a much larger set of signaling components than previously assumed. Similar to the toolbox concept in animal embryonic patterning, multipurpose signaling modules might have evolved in plants to translate various environmental stimuli into adaptational growth processes.
Publikation
Budiharjo, A.; Chowdhury, S. P.; Dietel, K.; Beator, B.; Dolgova, O.; Fan, B.; Bleiss, W.; Ziegler, J.; Schmid, M.; Hartmann, A.; Borriss, R.; Transposon Mutagenesis of the Plant-Associated Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ssp. plantarum FZB42 Revealed That the nfrA and RBAM17410 Genes Are Involved in Plant-Microbe-Interactions PLOS ONE 9, e98267, (2014) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098267
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ssp. plantarum FZB42 represents the prototype of Gram-positive plant growth promoting and biocontrol bacteria. In this study, we applied transposon mutagenesis to generate a transposon library, which was screened for genes involved in multicellular behavior and biofilm formation on roots as a prerequisite of plant growth promoting activity. Transposon insertion sites were determined by rescue-cloning followed by DNA sequencing. As in B. subtilis, the global transcriptional regulator DegU was identified as an activator of genes necessary for swarming and biofilm formation, and the DegU-mutant of FZB42 was found impaired in efficient root colonization. Direct screening of 3,000 transposon insertion mutants for plant-growth-promotion revealed the gene products of nfrA and RBAM_017140 to be essential for beneficial effects exerted by FZB42 on plants. We analyzed the performance of GFP-labeled wild-type and transposon mutants in the colonization of lettuce roots using confocal laser scanning microscopy. While the wild-type strain heavily colonized root surfaces, the nfrA mutant did not colonize lettuce roots, although it was not impaired in growth in laboratory cultures, biofilm formation and swarming motility on agar plates. The RBAM17410 gene, occurring in only a few members of the B. subtilis species complex, was directly involved in plant growth promotion. None of the mutant strains were affected in producing the plant growth hormone auxin. We hypothesize that the nfrA gene product is essential for overcoming the stress caused by plant response towards bacterial root colonization.