Genetic variations of cell wall digestibility related traits in floral stems of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions as a basis for the improvement of the feeding value in maize and forage plants.

Floral stems of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions were used as a model system relative to forage plant stems in genetic variation studies of lignin content and cell wall digestibility related traits. Successive investigations were developed in a core collection of 24 Arabidopsis accessions and in a larger collection of 280 accessions. Significant genetic variation for lignin content in the cell wall, and for the two in vitro cell wall digestibility investigated traits, were found both in the core collection and in the large collection. Genotype x environment interactions, investigated in the core collection, were significant with a few genotypes contributing greatly to interactions, based on ecovalence value estimates. In the core collection, genotypes 42AV, 224AV, and 8AV had low cell wall digestibility values, whatever be the environmental conditions. Genotype 157AV, observed only in one environment, also appeared to have a low cell wall digestibility. Conversely, genotypes 236AV, 162AV, 70AV, 101AV, 83AV had high cell wall digestibility values, genotype 83AV having a slightly greater instability across differing environments than others. The well-known accession Col-0 (186AV) appeared with a medium level of cell wall digestibility and a weak to medium level of interaction between environments. The ranges of variation in cell wall digestibility traits were higher in the large collection than in the core collection of 24 accessions, these results needing confirmation due to the lower number of replicates. Accessions 295AV, 148AV, and 309AV could be models for low stem cell wall digestibility values, with variable lignin content. Similarly, accessions 83AV and 162AV, already identified from the study of the core collection, and five accessions (6AV, 20AV, 91AV, 114AV, and 223AV) could be models for high stem cell wall digestibility values. The large variations observed between Arabidopsis accessions for both lignin content and cell wall digestibility in floral stems have strengthened the use this species as a powerful tool for discovering genes involved in cell wall biosynthesis and lignification of dicotyledons forage plants. Investigations of this kind might also be applicable to monocotyledons forage plants due to the basic similarity of the genes involved in the lignin pathway of Angiosperms and the partial homology of the cell wall composition and organization of the mature vascular system in grasses and Arabidopsis.

Mutations in zucchini yellow mosaic virus helper component protein associated with loss of aphid transmissibility.

Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) is a potyvirus transmitted by aphids in a non-persistent manner. Isolates having partially or totally lost their ability to be transmitted by aphids have been isolated and found to be affected in their helper component activities. We have sequenced the helper component coding region of poorly aphid-transmissible (PAT) variants of two strains of ZYMV, E15 and R5A. Mutations have been identified at the nucleotide level leading to two amino acid changes in the E15 PAT variant helper component and to one amino acid change located in the cysteine-rich region (well-conserved among potyviruses) in R5A PAT variant helper component. The mutation in the R5A variant changes the same amino acid as the one identified in potato virus C, a non-transmissible strain of potato virus Y.

Nucleotide sequence of potato virus Y (N Strain) genomic RNA.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the genomic RNA of the potyvirus potato virus Y strain N (PVYn) was obtained from cloned cDNAs. This sequence is 9704 nucleotides long and can encode a polyprotein of 3063 amino acids. The positions of the cleavage sites at the N terminus of the capsid and cytoplasmic inclusion proteins have been determined. Other putative protein cleavage sites have been deduced by searching for consensus sequences and by analogy with the polyprotein of the tobacco vein mottling virus and of the tobacco etch virus. Comparison of the PVY polyprotein sequence with that of other potyvirus polyproteins shows similarities in genome organization and a high level of identity along most of the polyprotein, except for the putative proteins flanking the helper component. A search for specific protein motifs has revealed the existence of a potential metal-binding site at the putative N terminus of the helper component in potyviruses. The possible functions of this structure are discussed.

Nucleotide sequence analysis of TL-DNA of Agrobacterium rhizogenes agropine type plasmid. Identification of open reading frames.

We have determined the nucleotide sequence of the Ri TL-DNA region from an Agrobacterium rhizogenes agropine-type plasmid using subcloned regions from the essentially identical Ri TL-DNAs from strains A4 and HRI. This sequenced region of 21,126 base pairs (bp) contains the complete TL-DNA region of the Ri plasmid as determined by analysis of TL-DNA borders in the genome of infected, clonal, Convolvulus arvensis plants. The left and right borders of the TL-DNA are flanked by 25-bp sequences which match the 25-bp terminal sequences found near the borders of T-DNA regions of Agrobacterium tumefaciens Ti plasmids. Other DNA sequences similar to these 25-bp terminal sequences are found within the TL region, and some of these sequences appear to be associated with Ri TL-DNA structures found in transformed tobacco plants. The TL-DNA region contains 18 open reading frames, many of which have 5' and 3' regulatory elements similar to those found in eukaryotic genes. In many cases, CCAAT and TATA elements were found upstream from putative transcriptional initiation codons, and poly(A) addition (AATAAA) elements were observed in presumed 3'-noncoding regions. Comparison of Ri TL-DNA coding and noncoding sequence regions with T-DNA sequence regions from octopine type Ti plasmid pTi15955 reveals no extensive sequence homologies.

Structure and expression of Ri T-DNA from Agrobacterium rhizogenes in Nicotiana tabacum. Organ and phenotypic specificity.

The incorporation of transferred DNA (T-DNA) from the Ri plasmid of Agrobacterium rhizogenes into the chromosomal DNA of higher plants is correlated with the appearance of a complex phenotype. The transformed genotype and phenotype undergo Mendelian inheritance. Through studies of Ri T-DNA content and transcription in Nicotiana tabacum, we have delineated a particular part of this foreign DNA as the likely source of the transformed phenotype. One inducible/repressible aspect of the transformed phenotype is termed T' and is correlated with the presence of a supplementary Ri T-DNA-encoded transcript. This transcript is found specifically in leaves, whereas most of the other T-DNA transcripts are more abundant in roots. The T' phenotype does not appear to be due to structural changes in the Ri T-DNA. It is inherited in a dominant Mendelian fashion. We propose that the T' phenotype is caused by heritable changes in the regulation of Ri T-DNA expression. We comment on the potential of this system as a model for studying eukaryotic gene expression.