The tomato FRUITFULL homologs TDR4/FUL1 and MBP7/FUL2 regulate ethylene-independent aspects of fruit ripening.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) contains two close homologs of the Arabidopsis thaliana MADS domain transcription factor FRUITFULL (FUL), FUL1 (previously called TDR4) and FUL2 (previously MBP7). Both proteins interact with the ripening regulator RIPENING INHIBITOR (RIN) and are expressed during fruit ripening. To elucidate their function in tomato, we characterized single and double FUL1 and FUL2 knockdown lines. Whereas the single lines only showed very mild alterations in fruit pigmentation, the double silenced lines exhibited an orange-ripe fruit phenotype due to highly reduced lycopene levels, suggesting that FUL1 and FUL2 have a redundant function in fruit ripening. More detailed analyses of the phenotype, transcriptome, and metabolome of the fruits silenced for both FUL1 and FUL2 suggest that the genes are involved in cell wall modification, the production of cuticle components and volatiles, and glutamic acid (Glu) accumulation. Glu is responsible for the characteristic umami taste of the present-day cultivated tomato fruit. In contrast with previously identified ripening regulators, FUL1 and FUL2 do not regulate ethylene biosynthesis but influence ripening in an ethylene-independent manner. Our data combined with those of others suggest that FUL1/2 and TOMATO AGAMOUS-LIKE1 regulate different subsets of the known RIN targets, probably in a protein complex with the latter.

Endophytic Methylobacterium extorquens expresses a heterologous ß-1,4-endoglucanase A (EglA) in Catharanthus roseus seedlings, a model host plant for Xylella fastidiosa.

Based on the premise of symbiotic control, we genetically modified the citrus endophytic bacterium Methylobacterium extorquens, strain AR1.6/2, and evaluated its capacity to colonize a model plant and its interaction with Xylella fastidiosa, the causative agent of Citrus Variegated Chlorosis (CVC). AR1.6/2 was genetically transformed to express heterologous GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein) and an endoglucanase A (EglA), generating the strains ARGFP and AREglA, respectively. By fluorescence microscopy, it was shown that ARGFP was able to colonize xylem vessels of the Catharanthus roseus seedlings. Using scanning electron microscopy, it was observed that AREglA and X. fastidiosa may co-inhabit the C. roseus vessels. M. extorquens was observed in the xylem with the phytopathogen X. fastidiosa, and appeared to cause a decrease in biofilm formation. AREglA stimulated the production of resistance protein, catalase, in the inoculated plants. This paper reports the successful transformation of AR1.6/2 to generate two different strains with a different gene each, and also indicates that AREglA and X. fastidiosa could interact inside the host plant, suggesting a possible strategy for the symbiotic control of CVC disease. Our results provide an enhanced understanding of the M. extorquens-X. fastidiosa interaction, suggesting the application of AR1.6/2 as an agent of symbiotic control.

Characterization of Laguncularia racemosa transcriptome and molecular response to oil pollution.

Mangroves are ecosystems of economic and ecological importance. Laguncularia racemosa (Combretaceae), popularly known as white mangrove, is a species that greatly contributes to the community structure of neotropical and West African mangrove forests. Despite the significance of these ecosystems, they have been destroyed by oil spills that can cause yellowing of leaves, increased sensitivity to other stresses and death of trees. However, the molecular response of plants to oil stress is poorly known. In this work, Illumina reads were de novo assembled into 46,944 transcripts of L. racemosa roots and leaves, including putative isoform variants. In addition to improving the genomic information available for mangroves, the L. racemosa assembled transcriptome allowed us to identify reference genes to normalize quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) expression data from oil-stressed mangrove plants, which were used in RNASeq validation. The analysis of expression changes induced by the oil exposure revealed 310 and 286 responsive transcripts of leaves and roots, respectively, mainly up-regulated. Enriched GO categories related to chloroplasts and photosynthesis were found among both leaf and root oil-responsive transcripts, while "response to heat" and "response to hypoxia" were exclusively enriched in leaves and roots, respectively. The comparison of L. racemosa 12-h-oil-stressed leaf expression profile to previous Arabidopsis heat-stress studies and co-expression evidence also pointed to similarities between the heat and oil responses, in which the HSP-coding genes seem to play a key role. A subset of the L. racemosa oil-responsive root genes exhibited similar up-regulation profiles to their Arabidopsis homologs involved in hypoxia responses, including the HRA1 and LBD41 TF-coding genes. Genes linked to the ethylene pathway such as those coding for ERF TFs were also modulated during the L. racemosa root response to oil stress. Taken together, these results show that oil contamination affects photosynthesis, protein metabolism, hypoxia response and the ethylene pathway in L. racemosa 12-h-oil-exposed leaves and roots.