Metabolic adaptations leading to an enhanced lignification in wheat roots under salinity stress.

Analysis of salinity tolerance processes in wheat has focused on salt exclusion from shoots while root phenotypes have received limited attention. Here, we consider the varying phenotypic response of four bread wheat varieties that differ in their type and degree of salt tolerance and assess their molecular responses to salinity and changes in root cell wall lignification. These varieties were Westonia introgressed with Nax1 and Nax2 root sodium transporters (HKT1;4-A and HKT1;5-A) that reduce Na+ accumulation in leaves, as well as the 'tissue tolerant' Portuguese landrace Mocho de Espiga Branca that has a mutation in the homologous gene HKT1;5-D and has high Na+ concentration in leaves. These three varieties were compared with the relatively more salt-sensitive cultivar Gladius. Through the use of root histochemical analysis, ion concentrations, as well as differential proteomics and targeted metabolomics, we provide an integrated view of the wheat root response to salinity. We show different metabolic re-arrangements in energy conversion, primary metabolic machinery and phenylpropanoid pathway leading to monolignol production in a genotype and genotype by treatment-dependent manner that alters the extent and localisation of root lignification which correlated with an improved capacity of wheat roots to cope better under salinity stress.

Variation in leaf dark respiration among C3 and C4 grasses is associated with use of different substrates.

Measurements of respiratory properties have often been made at a single time point either during daytime using dark-adapted leaves or during nighttime. The influence of the day-night cycle on respiratory metabolism has received less attention but is crucial to understand photosynthesis and photorespiration. Here, we examined how CO2- and O2-based rates of leaf dark respiration (Rdark) differed between midday (after 30-min dark adaptation) and midnight in 8 C3 and C4 grasses. We used these data to calculate the respiratory quotient (RQ; ratio of CO2 release to O2 uptake), and assessed relationships between Rdark and leaf metabolome. Rdark was higher at midday than midnight, especially in C4 species. The day-night difference in Rdark was more evident when expressed on a CO2 than O2 basis, with the RQ being higher at midday than midnight in all species, except in rice (Oryza sativa). Metabolomic analyses showed little correlation of Rdark or RQ with leaf carbohydrates (sucrose, glucose, fructose, or starch) but strong multivariate relationships with other metabolites. The results suggest that rates of Rdark and differences in RQ were determined by several concurrent CO2-producing and O2-consuming metabolic pathways, not only the tricarboxylic acid cycle (organic acids utilization) but also the pentose phosphate pathway, galactose metabolism, and secondary metabolism. As such, Rdark was time-, type- (C3/C4) and species-dependent, due to the use of different substrates.

Perception of butenolides by Bacillus subtilis via the α/ß hydrolase RsbQ.

The regulation of behavioral and developmental decisions by small molecules is common to all domains of life. In plants, strigolactones and karrikins are butenolide growth regulators that influence several aspects of plant growth and development, as well as interactions with symbiotic fungi.1,2,3 DWARF14 (D14) and KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2) are homologous enzyme-receptors that perceive strigolactones and karrikins, respectively, and that require hydrolase activity to effect signal transduction.4,5,6,7 RsbQ, a homolog of D14 and KAI2 from the gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis, regulates growth responses to nutritional stress via the alternative transcription factor SigmaB (σB).8,9 However, the molecular function of RsbQ is unknown. Here, we show that RsbQ perceives butenolide compounds that are bioactive in plants. RsbQ is thermally destabilized by the synthetic strigolactone GR24 and its desmethyl butenolide equivalent dGR24. We show that, like D14 and KAI2, RsbQ is a functional butenolide hydrolase that undergoes covalent modification of the catalytic histidine residue. Exogenous application of both GR24 and dGR24 inhibited the endogenous signaling function of RsbQ in vivo, with dGR24 being 10-fold more potent. Application of dGR24 to B. subtilis phenocopied loss-of-function rsbQ mutations and led to a significant downregulation of σB-regulated transcripts. We also discovered that exogenous butenolides promoted the transition from planktonic to biofilm growth. Our results suggest that butenolides may serve as inter-kingdom signaling compounds between plants and bacteria to help shape rhizosphere communities.