The identification of type I MADS box genes as the upstream activators of an endosperm-specific invertase inhibitor in Arabidopsis.

BACKGROUND: Nuclear endosperm development is a common mechanism among Angiosperms, including Arabidopsis. During nuclear development, the endosperm nuclei divide rapidly after fertilization without cytokinesis to enter the syncytial phase, which is then followed by the cellularized phase. The endosperm can be divided into three spatial domains with distinct functions: the micropylar, peripheral, and chalazal domains. Previously, we identified two putative small invertase inhibitors, InvINH1 and InvINH2, that are specifically expressed in the micropylar region of the syncytial endosperm. In addition, ectopically expressing InvINH1 in the cellularized endosperm led to a reduction in embryo growth rate. However, it is not clear what are the upstream regulators responsible for the specific expression of InvINHs in the syncytial endosperm. RESULTS: Using protoplast transient expression system, we discovered that a group of type I MADS box transcription factors can form dimers to activate InvINH1 promoter. Promoter deletion assays carried out in the protoplast system revealed the presence of an enhancer region in InvINH1 promoter, which contains several consensus cis-elements for the MADS box proteins. Using promoter deletion assay in planta, we further demonstrated that this enhancer region is required for InvINH1 expression in the syncytial endosperm. One of the MADS box genes, AGL62, is a key transcription factor required for syncytial endosperm development. Using promoter-GFP reporter assay, we demonstrated that InvINH1 and InvINH2 are not expressed in agl62 mutant seeds. Collectively, our data supports the role of AGL62 and other type I MADS box genes as the upstream activators of InvINHs expression in the syncytial endosperm. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed several type I MADS box genes that are responsible for activating InvINH1 in the syncytial endosperm, which in turn regulates embryo growth rate during early stage of seed development.

Functional disruption of cell wall invertase inhibitor by genome editing increases sugar content of tomato fruit without decrease fruit weight.

Sugar content is one of the most important quality traits of tomato. Cell wall invertase promotes sucrose unloading in the fruit by maintaining a gradient of sucrose concentration between source leaves and fruits, while invertase inhibitor (INVINH) regulates this process. In this study, knock-out of cell wall INVINH in tomato (SlINVINH1) was performed by genome editing using, CRISPR/Cas9 and Target-AID technologies. Most of the genome-edited lines set higher soluble solid content (SSC) fruit than the original cultivar 'Suzukoma', while fruit weight was different among the genome-edited lines. From these genome-edited lines, three lines (193-3, 199-2, and 247-2), whose SSC was significantly higher than 'Suzukoma' and fruit weight were almost the same as the original cultivar, were selected. The fruit weight and overall plant growth of the two lines were comparable to those of the original cultivar. In contrast, the fructose and glucose contents in the mature fruits of the two lines were significantly higher than those of the original cultivar. The mature fruits of genome edited line 193-3 showed the highest sugar content, and the fructose and glucose contents were 29% and 36% higher than that of the original cultivar, respectively. Whole genome sequence data showed no off-target mutations in the genome-edited lines. Non-target metabolome analysis of mature fruits revealed that fructose was the highest loading factor in principal component analysis (PCA) between the genome-edited line and the original cultivar, and no unexpected metabolites appeared in the genome-edited line. In this study, we succeeded in producing tomato lines with high sugar content without a decrease in fruit weight and deterioration of plant growth by knock-out of SlINVINH1 using genome editing technology. This study showed that functional disruption of SlINVINH1 is an effective approach to produce tomato cultivars with high sugar content.

Acid vacuolar invertase 1 (PbrAc-Inv1) and invertase inhibitor 5 (PbrII5) were involved in sucrose hydrolysis during postharvest pear storage.

In pear, sucrose was mainly distributed in vacuole; and the alternation of sucrose abundance was associated the change of vacuolar invertase (VI) activity during fruit storage. However, the molecular mechanism beneath such phenomenon has not been clarified until recently. For this, a combination of metabolite, enzyme activity, transcriptome, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), bioinformation, subcellular localization, and transient overexpression assay was conducted in this study to identify the acid invertase 1 (PbrAc-Inv1) and invertase inhibitor 5 (PbrII5) involved in sucrose degradation during 'Housui' pear storage. Both PbrAc-Inv1 and PbrII5 were located in vacuolar membrane. PbrAc-Inv1 could accelerate sucrose degradation; on the other hand, PbrII5 could bind with PbrAc-Inv1 to form a inactive complex, downregulate the VI activity, and suppressed sucrose decomposition. Based on Bio-layer interferometry (BLI) result after domain substitution, the domain on the left of catalytic 'WEC-P/V-D' box in PbrAc-Inv1 might played a key role in its interaction with PbrII5.

Deciphering the molecular specificity of phenolic compounds as inhibitors or glycosyl acceptors of ß-fructofuranosidase from Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous.

Enzymatic glycosylation of polyphenols is a tool to improve their physicochemical properties and bioavailability. On the other hand, glycosidic enzymes can be inhibited by phenolic compounds. In this work, we studied the specificity of various phenolics (hydroquinone, hydroxytyrosol, epigallocatechin gallate, catechol and p-nitrophenol) as fructosyl acceptors or inhibitors of the ß-fructofuranosidase from Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous (pXd-INV). Only hydroquinone and hydroxytyrosol gave rise to the formation of glycosylated products. For the rest, an inhibitory effect on both the hydrolytic (H) and transglycosylation (T) activity of pXd-INV, as well as an increase in the H/T ratio, was observed. To disclose the binding mode of each compound and elucidate the molecular features determining its acceptor or inhibitor behaviour, ternary complexes of the inactive mutant pXd-INV-D80A with fructose and the different polyphenols were analyzed by X-ray crystallography. All the compounds bind by stacking against Trp105 and locate one of their phenolic hydroxyls making a polar linkage to the fructose O2 at 3.6-3.8 Å from the C2, which could enable the ulterior nucleophilic attack leading to transfructosylation. Binding of hydroquinone was further investigated by soaking in absence of fructose, showing a flexible site that likely allows productive motion of the intermediates. Therefore, the acceptor capacity of the different polyphenols seems mediated by their ability to make flexible polar links with the protein, this flexibility being essential for the transfructosylation reaction to proceed. Finally, the binding affinity of the phenolic compounds was explained based on the two sites previously reported for pXd-INV.

A 6&1-FEH Encodes an Enzyme for Fructan Degradation and Interact with Invertase Inhibitor Protein in Maize (Zea mays L.).

About 15% of higher plants have acquired the ability to convert sucrose into fructans. Fructan degradation is catalyzed by fructan exohydrolases (FEHs), which are structurally related to cell wall invertases (CWI). However, the biological function(s) of FEH enzymes in non-fructan species have remained largely enigmatic. In the present study, one maize CWI-related enzyme named Zm-6&1-FEH1, displaying FEH activity, was explored with respect to its substrate specificities, its expression during plant development, and its possible interaction with CWI inhibitor protein. Following heterologous expression in Pichia pastoris and in N. benthamiana leaves, recombinant Zm-6&1-FEH1 revealed substrate specificities of levan and inulin, and also displayed partially invertase activity. Expression of Zm-6&1-FEH1 as monitored by qPCR was strongly dependent on plant development and was further modulated by abiotic stress. To explore whether maize FEH can interact with invertase inhibitor protein, Zm-6&1-FEH1 and maize invertase inhibitor Zm-INVINH1 were co-expressed in N. benthamiana leaves. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) analysis and in vitro enzyme inhibition assays indicated productive complex formation. In summary, the results provide support to the hypothesis that in non-fructan species FEH enzymes may modulate the regulation of CWIs.

Effect of fipronil on biogas production performance during anaerobic digestion of chicken manure and corn straw.

Fipronil is a broad-spectrum insecticide that has a good control effect on pests of commercial poultry. Although many studies have reported the environmental fate of fipronil, the influence of residual fipronil in poultry waste on biogas production has not been further explored yet. In this article, an experimental comparative study on anaerobic digestion (AD) of chicken manure (CM) and corn straw (CS) with different fipronil concentrations (FCs) was carried at 8% of total solid (TS) and mid-temperature (35 ± 1)°C. The results showed that fipronil had a significant effect on biogas production during AD of CM and CS. When the FC is at a low level (≤10 mg·kg-1), the biogas production rate is increased and the digestion period was shortened, while higher FC (≥ 20 mg·kg-1) showed an inhibitory effect. During the monitoring of enzyme activity, low FC showed no significant effect on cellulase and saccharase, but the urease activity increased in the early stage. High FC showed inhibition of activity of cellulase and urease, but the saccharase activity was significantly inhibited until FC reached 40 mg·kg-1. This study also confirms that the environment in anaerobic digester is favorable for the degradation of fipronil, and its half-life is about 15.83 days.

Activation of small heat shock protein (SlHSP17.7) gene by cell wall invertase inhibitor (SlCIF1) gene involved in sugar metabolism in tomato.

Fruit quality formation involves a series of physiological and biochemical changes during fruit ripening. Sucrose metabolism plays not only important roles in fruit ripening to establish energy status and nutritional quality but also a non-nutritive role in gene expression. In carbon metabolism and fruit ripening, cell wall invertases (CWINs) perform essential regulatory functions. Knowledge regarding the gene expression changes that occur following the repression of CWIN activity in fruit through the overexpression of a cell-wall inhibitor of ß-fructosidase (CIF) under a fruit-specific promoter is limited. To further explore the molecular mechanism of sucrose regulation, global expression profiling of the fruits of transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants carrying a cell wall invertase inhibitor (SlCIF1) gene was performed using a microarray. In total, 622 and 833 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. The expression of the SlHSP17.7 gene was increased by thousands of times in the transgenic-SlCIF1 tomato. Then, SlHSP17.7-RNA interference (RNAi) lines were generated by introducing pB7GWIWG2 (I)-SlHSP17.7 into wild-type chmielewskii tomatoes (WT). The sucrose and fructose contents significantly decreased in the RNAi fruits compared with those in the WT. Furthermore, 14 sugar metabolism related genes were also decreased synergistically by silencing SlHSP17.7 gene. Our data indicate that the posttranslational modulation of CWIN activity by SlCIF1 contributes to earlier bloom times. SlHSP17.7 and sugar can interact to regulate the development of tomato fruit and affect the quality of tomato, providing a different insight into improving the quality of tomato.

Vacuolar sucrose cleavage prevents limitation of cytosolic carbohydrate metabolism and stabilizes photosynthesis under abiotic stress.

Stabilization of central carbohydrate metabolism plays a key role in plant stress response. Carbohydrates are substrate for numerous metabolic and stress-responsive reactions and have been shown to be involved in diverse signalling processes on a whole-plant level. Regulation of enzymatic sucrose synthesis and degradation is well-known to be central to many stress-related processes as it significantly impacts stress tolerance. Leaf sucrose metabolism involves sucrose cleavage by invertases and ATP-consuming resynthesis catalysed by hexokinase and sucrose phosphate synthase. These reactions establish a metabolic cycle. To study the physiological role of sucrose cycling, a kinetic model was developed to simulate dynamics of subcellular sugar concentrations in Arabidopsis thaliana under combined cold and high-light stress. Model simulation revealed that subcellular reprogramming of invertase-driven sucrose cleavage varies substantially between natural accessions of Arabidopsis which differ in their cold tolerance levels. A stress-induced shift of sucrose cleavage from the cytosol into the vacuole could only be observed for the tolerant accession while the susceptible accession increased the cytosolic proportion of sucrose cleavage. Under stress, reduction in vacuolar invertase activity significantly affected maximum quantum yield of photosystem II and CO2 assimilation rates. While wild-type plants circumvented a limitation of sucrose cleavage by increasing vacuolar invertase activity, mutant plants were not able to compensate their deficiency of vacuolar by cytosolic activity. Consequently, the capacity for cytosolic hexose generation was lower than for enzymatic hexose phosphorylation suggesting a role of vacuolar invertase activity in preventing a limitation in cytosolic hexose metabolism under stress. ENZYMES: Invertase, EC 3.2.1.26; Hexokinase, EC 2.7.1.1.

The roles of call wall invertase inhibitor in regulating chilling tolerance in tomato.

BACKGROUND: Hexoses are important metabolic signals that respond to abiotic and biotic stresses. Cold stress adversely affects plant growth and development, limiting productivity. The mechanism by which sugars regulate plant cold tolerance remains elusive. RESULTS: We examined the function of INVINH1, a cell wall invertase inhibitor, in tomato chilling tolerance. Cold stress suppressed the transcription of INVINH1 and increased that of cell wall invertase genes, Lin6 and Lin8 in tomato seedlings. Silencing INVINH1 expression in tomato increased cell wall invertase activity and enhanced chilling tolerance. Conversely, transgenic tomatoes over-expressing INVINH1 showed reduced cell wall invertase activity and were more sensitive to cold stress. Chilling stress increased glucose and fructose levels, and the hexoses content increased or decreased by silencing or overexpression INVINH1. Glucose applied in vitro masked the differences in chilling tolerance of tomato caused by the different expressions of INVINH1. The repression of INVINH1 or glucose applied in vitro regulated the expression of C-repeat binding factors (CBFs) genes. Transcript levels of NCED1, which encodes 9-cisepoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED), a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of abscisic acid, were suppressed by INVINH1 after exposure to chilling stress. Meanwhile, application of ABA protected plant from chilling damage caused by the different expression of INVINH1. CONCLUSIONS: In tomato, INVINH1 plays an important role in chilling tolerance by adjusting the content of glucose and expression of CBFs.

Heat stress affects carbohydrate metabolism during cold-induced sweetening of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.).

MAIN CONCLUSION: Tolerance to heat stress for retention of low-temperature sweetening-resistant phenotype in potato is conferred by insensitivity of acid invertase activity to cold induction. Heat stress exacerbated cold sweetening (buildup of reducing sugars) of the LTS (low-temperature sweetening)-susceptible potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars, Ranger Russet and Russet Burbank, and completely abolished the resistance to cold sweetening in the LTS-resistant cultivars/clones, Sage Russet, GemStar Russet, POR06V12-3 and A02138-2. Payette Russet and EGA09702-2, however, demonstrated considerable tolerance to heat stress for retention of their LTS-resistant phenotype. Heat-primed Payette Russet and EGA09702-2 tubers accumulated fourfold more sucrose when subsequently stored at 4 °C, while reducing sugar concentrations also increased marginally but remained low relative to the non-heat-tolerant LTS-resistant clones, resulting in light-colored fries. By contrast, sucrose concentrations in heat-primed tubers of the non-heat-tolerant clones remained unchanged during LTS, but reducing sugars increased fivefold, resulting in darkening of processed fries. Acid invertase activity increased in the LTS-susceptible and non-heat-tolerant LTS-resistant cultivars/clones during cold storage. However, Payette Russet tubers maintained very low invertase activity regardless of heat stress and cold storage treatments, as was the case for Innate® Russet Burbank (W8) tubers, where silenced invertase conferred robust tolerance to heat stress for retention of LTS-resistant phenotype. Importantly, heat-stressed tubers of Payette Russet, EGA09702-2 and Innate® Russet Burbank (W8) demonstrated similar low reducing sugar and high sucrose-accumulating phenotypes when stored at 4 °C. Tolerance to heat stress for retention of LTS-resistant phenotype in Payette Russet and likely its maternal parent, EGA09702-2, is, therefore, conferred by the ability to maintain low invertase activity during cold storage of heat-stressed tubers.

Metabolic Control of Tobacco Pollination by Sugars and Invertases.

Pollination in flowering plants is initiated by germination of pollen grains on stigmas followed by fast growth of pollen tubes representing highly energy-consuming processes. The symplastic isolation of pollen grains and tubes requires import of Suc available in the apoplast. We show that the functional coupling of Suc cleavage by invertases and uptake of the released hexoses by monosaccharide transporters are critical for pollination in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). Transcript profiling, in situ hybridization, and immunolocalization of extracellular invertases and two monosaccharide transporters in vitro and in vivo support the functional coupling in supplying carbohydrates for pollen germination and tube growth evidenced by spatiotemporally coordinated expression. Detection of vacuolar invertases in maternal tissues by these approaches revealed metabolic cross talk between male and female tissues and supported the requirement for carbohydrate supply in transmitting tissue during pollination. Tissue-specific expression of an invertase inhibitor and addition of the chemical invertase inhibitor miglitol strongly reduced extracellular invertase activity and impaired pollen germination. Measurements of (competitive) uptake of labeled sugars identified two import pathways for exogenously available Suc into the germinating pollen operating in parallel: direct Suc uptake and via the hexoses after cleavage by extracellular invertase. Reduction of extracellular invertase activity in pollen decreases Suc uptake and severely compromises pollen germination. We further demonstrate that Glc as sole carbon source is sufficient for pollen germination, whereas Suc is supporting tube growth, revealing an important regulatory role of both the invertase substrate and products contributing to a potential metabolic and signaling-based multilayer regulation of pollination by carbohydrates.

Ectopic expression of a tobacco vacuolar invertase inhibitor in guard cells confers drought tolerance in Arabidopsis.

There are several hypotheses that explain stomatal behavior. These include the concept of osmoregulation mediated by potassium and its counterions malate and chlorine and the more recent starch-sugar hypothesis. We have previously reported that the activity of the sucrose cleavage enzyme, vacuolar invertase (VIN), is significantly higher in guard cells than in other leaf epidermal cells and its activity is correlated with stomatal aperture. Here, we examined whether VIN indeed controls stomatal movement under normal and drought conditions by transforming Arabidopsis with a tobacco vacuolar invertase inhibitor homolog (Nt-inhh) under the control of an abscisic acid-sensitive and guard cell-specific promoter (AtRab18). The data obtained showed that guard cells of transgenic Arabidopsis plants had lower VIN activity, stomatal aperture and conductance than that of wild-type plants. Moreover, the transgenic plants also displayed higher drought tolerance than wild-type plants. The data indicate that VIN is a promising target for manipulating stomatal function to increase drought tolerance.

Reassessment of an Arabidopsis cell wall invertase inhibitor AtCIF1 reveals its role in seed germination and early seedling growth.

In higher plants, cell wall invertase (CWI) and vacuolar invertase (VI) are recognized as essential players in sugar metabolism and sugar signaling, thereby affecting source-sink interactions, plant development and responses to environmental cues. CWI and VI expression levels are transcriptionally controlled; however, both enzymes are also subject to posttranslational control by invertase inhibitor proteins. The physiological significances of inhibitor proteins during seed germination and early seedling development are not yet fully understood. Here, we demonstrate that the inhibitor isoform AtCIF1 impacted on seed germination and early seedling growth in Arabidopsis. The primary target of AtCIF1 was shown to be localized to the apoplast after expressing an AtCIF1 YFP-fusion construct in tobacco epidermis and transgenic Arabidopsis root. The analysis of expression patterns showed that AtCWI1 was co-expressed spatiotemporally with AtCIF1 within the early germinating seeds. Seed germination was observed to be accelerated independently of exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) in the AtCIF1 loss-of-function mutant cif1-1. This effect coincided with a drastic increase of CWI activity in cif1-1 mutant seeds by 24 h after the onset of germination, both in vitro and in planta. Accordingly, quantification of sugar content showed that hexose levels were significantly boosted in germinating seeds of the cif1-1 mutant. Further investigation of AtCIF1 overexpressors in Arabidopsis revealed a markedly suppressed CWI activity as well as delayed seed germination. Thus, we conclude that the posttranslational modulation of CWI activity by AtCIF1 helps to orchestrate seed germination and early seedling growth via fine-tuning sucrose hydrolysis and, possibly, sugar signaling.

Genetic variation in NIN1 and C/VIF1 genes is significantly associated with Populus angustifolia resistance to a galling herbivore, Pemphigus betae.

The identification of genes associated with ecologically important traits provides information on the potential genetic mechanisms underlying the responses of an organism to its natural environment. In this study, we investigated the genetic basis of host plant resistance to the gall-inducing aphid, Pemphigus betae, in a natural population of 154 narrowleaf cottonwoods (Populus angustifolia). We surveyed genetic variation in two genes putatively involved in sink-source relations and a phenology gene that co-located in a previously identified quantitative trait locus for resistance to galling. Using a candidate gene approach, three major findings emerged. First, natural variation in tree resistance to galling was repeatable. Sampling of the same tree genotypes 20 years after the initial survey in 1986 show that 80% of the variation in resistance was due to genetic differences among individuals. Second, we identified significant associations at the single nucleotide polymorphism and haplotype levels between the plant neutral invertase gene NIN1 and tree resistance. Invertases are a class of sucrose hydrolyzing enzymes and play an important role in plant responses to biotic stress, including the establishment of nutrient sinks. These associations with NIN1 were driven by a single nucleotide polymorphism (NIN1_664) located in the second intron of the gene and in an orthologous sequence to two known regulatory elements. Third, haplotypes from an inhibitor of invertase (C/VIF1) were significantly associated with tree resistance. The identification of genetic variation in these two genes provides a starting point to understand the possible genetic mechanisms that contribute to tree resistance to gall formation. We also build on previous work demonstrating that genetic differences in sink-source relationships of the host influence the ability of P. betae to manipulate the flow of nutrients and induce a nutrient sink.

Functional characterization of an invertase inhibitor gene involved in sucrose metabolism in tomato fruit.

In this study, we produced tomato plants overexpressing an invertase inhibitor gene (Sly-INH) from tomato, using a simple and efficient transient transformation system. Compared with control plants, the expression of Sly-INH was highly upregulated in Sly-INH overexpressing plants, as indicated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Physiological analysis revealed that Sly-INH inhibited the activity of cell wall invertase (CWIN), which increased sugar accumulation in tomato fruit. Furthermore, Sly-INH mediated sucrose metabolism by regulating CWIN activity. Our results suggest that invertase activity is potentially regulated by the Sly-INH inhibitor at the post-translational level, and they demonstrate that the transient transformation system is an effective method for determining the functions of genes in tomato.

Subtle Regulation of Potato Acid Invertase Activity by a Protein Complex of Invertase, Invertase Inhibitor, and SUCROSE NONFERMENTING1-RELATED PROTEIN KINASE.

Slowing down cold-induced sweetening (CIS) of potato (Solanum tuberosum) tubers is of economic importance for the potato industry to ensure high-quality products. The conversion of sucrose to reducing sugars by the acid invertase StvacINV1 is thought to be critical for CIS. Identification of the specific StvacINV1 inhibitor StInvInh2B and the α- and ß-subunits of the interacting protein SUCROSE NONFERMENTING1-RELATED PROTEIN KINASE from the wild potato species Solanum berthaultii (SbSnRK1) has led to speculation that invertase activity may be regulated via a posttranslational mechanism that remains to be elucidated. Using bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays, this study confirmed the protein complex by pairwise interactions. In vitro kinase assays and protein phosphorylation analysis revealed that phosphorylation of SbSnRK1α is causal for StvacINV1 activity and that its active form blocks the inhibition of StInvInh2B by SbSnRK1ß, whereas its inactive form restores the function of SbSnRK1ß that prevents StInvInh2B from repressing StvacINV1. Overexpression of SbSnRK1α in CIS-sensitive potato confirmed that SbSnRK1α has significant effects on acid invertase-associated sucrose degradation. A higher level of SbSnRK1α expression was accompanied by elevated SbSnRK1α phosphorylation, reduced acid invertase activity, a higher sucrose-hexose ratio, and improved chip color. Our results lend new insights into a subtle regulatory mode of invertase activity and provide a novel approach for potato CIS improvement.

A Nicotiana attenuata cell wall invertase inhibitor (NaCWII) reduces growth and increases secondary metabolite biosynthesis in herbivore-attacked plants.

Plant invertases are sucrolytic enzymes that are essential for the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism and source-sink relationships. While their activity has been well documented during abiotic and biotic stresses, the role of proteinaceous invertase inhibitors in regulating these changes is unknown. Here, we identify a putative Nicotiana attenuata cell wall invertase inhibitor (NaCWII) which is strongly up-regulated in a jasmonate (JA)-dependent manner following simulated attack by the specialist herbivore Manduca sexta. To understand the role of NaCWII in planta, we silenced its expression by RNA interference and measured changes in primary and secondary metabolism and plant growth following simulated herbivory. NaCWII-silenced plants displayed a stronger depletion of carbohydrates and a reduced capacity to increase secondary metabolite pools relative to their empty vector control counterparts. This coincided with the attenuation of herbivore-induced CWI inhibition and growth suppression characteristic of wild-type plants. Together our findings suggest that NaCWII may act as a regulatory switch located downstream of JA accumulation which fine-tunes the plant's balance between growth and defense metabolism under herbivore attack. Although carbohydrates are not typically viewed as key factors in plant growth and defense, our study shows that interfering with their catabolism strongly influences plant responses to herbivory.

Production and application of a rare disaccharide using sucrose phosphorylase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides.

Sucrose phosphorylase (SPase) from Leuconostoc mesenteroides exhibited activity towards eight ketohexoses, which behaved as D-glucosyl acceptors, and α-D-glucose-1-phosphate (G1P), which behaved as a donor. All eight of these ketohexoses were subsequently transformed into the corresponding d-glucosyl-ketohexoses. Of the eight ketohexoses evaluated in the current study, d-allulose behaved as the best substrate for SPase, and the resulting d-glucosyl-d-alluloside product was found to be a non-reducing sugar with a specific optical rotation of [α]D(20) + 74.36°. D-Glucosyl-D-alluloside was identified as α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-ß-D-allulofuranoside by NMR analysis. D-Glucosyl-D-alluloside exhibited an inhibitory activity towards an invertase from yeast with a Km value of 50 mM, where it behaved as a competitive inhibitor with a Ki value of 9.2 mM. D-Glucosyl-D-alluloside was also successfully produced from sucrose using SPase and D-tagatose 3-epimerase. This process also allowed for the production of G1P from sucrose and d-allulose from D-fructose, which suggested that this method could be used to prepare d-glucosyl-d-alluloside without the need for expensive reagents such as G1P and d-allulose.

Model-assisted analysis of sugar metabolism throughout tomato fruit development reveals enzyme and carrier properties in relation to vacuole expansion.

A kinetic model combining enzyme activity measurements and subcellular compartmentation was parameterized to fit the sucrose, hexose, and glucose-6-P contents of pericarp throughout tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit development. The model was further validated using independent data obtained from domesticated and wild tomato species and on transgenic lines. A hierarchical clustering analysis of the calculated fluxes and enzyme capacities together revealed stage-dependent features. Cell division was characterized by a high sucrolytic activity of the vacuole, whereas sucrose cleavage during expansion was sustained by both sucrose synthase and neutral invertase, associated with minimal futile cycling. Most importantly, a tight correlation between flux rate and enzyme capacity was found for fructokinase and PPi-dependent phosphofructokinase during cell division and for sucrose synthase, UDP-glucopyrophosphorylase, and phosphoglucomutase during expansion, thus suggesting an adaptation of enzyme abundance to metabolic needs. In contrast, for most enzymes, flux rates varied irrespectively of enzyme capacities, and most enzymes functioned at <5% of their maximal catalytic capacity. One of the major findings with the model was the high accumulation of soluble sugars within the vacuole together with organic acids, thus enabling the osmotic-driven vacuole expansion that was found during cell division.

Partner manipulation stabilises a horizontally transmitted mutualism.

Mutualisms require protection from non-reciprocating exploiters. Pseudomyrmex workers that engage in an obligate defensive mutualism with Acacia hosts feed exclusively on the sucrose-free extrafloral nectar (EFN) that is secreted by their hosts, a behaviour linking ant energy supply directly to host performance and thus favouring reciprocating behaviour. We tested the hypothesis that Acacia hosts manipulate this digestive specialisation of their ant mutualists. Invertase (sucrose hydrolytic) activity in the ant midguts was inhibited by chitinase, a dominant EFN protein. The inhibition occurred quickly in cell-free gut liquids and in native gels and thus likely results from an enzyme-enzyme interaction. Once a freshly eclosed worker ingests EFN as the first diet available, her invertase becomes inhibited and she, thus, continues feeding on host-derived EFN. Partner manipulation acts at the phenotypic level and means that one partner actively controls the phenotype of the other partner to enhance its dependency on host-derived rewards.