Feruloyl-CoA 6'-hydroxylase-mediated scopoletin accumulation enhances cotton resistance to Verticillium dahliae.

Verticillium dahliae is a widespread and destructive soilborne fungus that can cause vascular wilt disease and substantially reduce cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) yield and quality. Scopoletin, a natural coumarin, exhibits antifungal activity against V. dahliae; however, the mechanisms of action remain unclear. In this study, we reveal the regulatory activities of feruloyl-CoA 6'-hydroxylase 1 (GhF6'H1) in enhancing V. dahliae resistance by modulating scopoletin accumulation. Silencing GhF6'H1, encoding the pivotal enzyme in scopoletin biosynthesis, through virus-induced silencing resulted in increased susceptibility to V. dahliae and decreased scopoletin accumulation. In transgenic cotton plants expressing GhF6'H1 under the CaMV 35S promoter, GhF6'H1 modulated scopoletin accumulation, affecting cotton resistance to V. dahliae, with increased resistance associated with increased scopoletin accumulation. GhF6'H1 has been identified as a direct target of the transcription factor GhWRKY33-like, indicating that GhWRKY33-like can bind to and activate the GhF6'H1 promoter. Moreover, GhWRKY33-like overexpression in cotton enhanced resistance to V. dahliae through scopoletin accumulation, phenylpropanoid pathway activation, and upregulation of defense response genes. Ectopic expression of GhF6'H1 resulted in effective catalysis of scopoletin synthesis in enzyme assays using substrates like feruloyl coenzyme A, while molecular docking analysis revealed specific amino acid residues playing crucial roles in establishing salt-bridge interactions with the substrate. These findings suggest that GhF6`H1, regulated by GhWRKY33-like, plays a crucial role in enhancing cotton resistance to V. dahliae by modulating scopoletin accumulation.

Visible-Light Photocatalytic Reduction of Aryl Halides as a Source of Aryl Radicals.

Aryl- and heteroaryl units are present in a wide variety of natural products, pharmaceuticals, and functional materials. The method for reduction of aryl halides with ubiquitous distribution is highly sought after for late-stage construction of various aromatic compounds. The visible-light-driven reduction of aryl halides to aryl radicals by electron transfer provides an efficient, simple, and environmentally friendly method for the construction of aromatic compounds. This review summarizes the recent progress in the generation of aryl radicals by visible-light-driven reduction of aryl halides with metal complexes, organic compounds, semiconductors as catalysts, and alkali-assisted reaction system. The ability and mechanism of reduction of aromatic halides in various visible light induced systems are summarized, intending to illustrate a comprehensive introduction of this research topic to the readers.

Understanding the molecular mechanism of anther development under abiotic stresses.

KEY MESSAGE: The developmental stage of anther development is generally more sensitive to abiotic stress than other stages of growth. Specific ROS levels, plant hormones and carbohydrate metabolism are disturbed in anthers subjected to abiotic stresses. As sessile organisms, plants are often challenged to multiple extreme abiotic stresses, such as drought, heat, cold, salinity and metal stresses in the field, which reduce plant growth, productivity and yield. The development of reproductive stage is more susceptible to abiotic stresses than the vegetative stage. Anther, the male reproductive organ that generate pollen grains, is more sensitive to abiotic stresses than female organs. Abiotic stresses affect all the processes of anther development, including tapetum development and degradation, microsporogenesis and pollen development, anther dehiscence, and filament elongation. In addition, abiotic stresses significantly interrupt phytohormone, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, alter reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis in anthers, which are strongly responsible for the loss of pollen fertility. At present, the precise molecular mechanisms of anther development under adverse abiotic stresses are still not fully understood. Therefore, more emphasis should be given to understand molecular control of anther development during abiotic stresses to engineer crops with better crop yield.

Quantitative phosphoproteomic analyses provide evidence for extensive phosphorylation of regulatory proteins in the rhizobia-legume symbiosis.

KEY MESSAGE: Symbiotic nitrogen fixation in root nodules of grain legumes is essential for high yielding. Protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation plays important role in root nodule development. Differences in the phosphoproteomes may either be developmental specific and related to nitrogen fixation activity. An iTRAQ-based quantitative phosphoproteomic analyses during nodule development enables identification of specific phosphorylation signaling in the Lotus-rhizobia symbiosis. During evolution, legumes (Fabaceae) have evolved a symbiotic relationship with rhizobia, which fix atmospheric nitrogen and produce ammonia that host plants can then absorb. Root nodule development depends on the activation of protein phosphorylation-mediated signal transduction cascades. To investigate possible molecular mechanisms of protein modulation during nodule development, we used iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analyses to identify root phosphoproteins during rhizobial colonization and infection of Lotus japonicus. 1154 phosphoproteins with 2957 high-confidence phosphorylation sites were identified. Gene ontology enrichment analysis of functional groups of these genes revealed that the biological processes mediated by these proteins included cellular processes, signal transduction, and transporter activity. Quantitative data highlighted the dynamics of protein phosphorylation during nodule development and, based on regulatory trends, seven groups were identified. RNA splicing and brassinosteroid (BR) signaling pathways were extensively affected by phosphorylation, and most Ser/Arg-rich (SR) proteins were multiply phosphorylated. In addition, many proposed kinase-substrate pairs were predicted, and in these MAPK6 substrates were found to be highly enriched. This study offers insights into the regulatory processes underlying nodule development, provides an accessible resource cataloging the phosphorylation status of thousands of Lotus proteins during nodule development, and develops our understanding of post-translational regulatory mechanisms in the Lotus-rhizobia symbiosis.

Proteomes and Phosphoproteomes of Anther and Pollen: Availability and Progress.

In flowering plants, anther development plays crucial role in sexual reproduction. Within the anther, microspore mother cells meiosis produces microspores, which further develop into pollen grains that play decisive role in plant reproduction. Previous studies on anther biology mainly focused on single gene functions relying on genetic and molecular methods. Recently, anther development has been expanded from multiple OMICS approaches like transcriptomics, proteomics/phosphoproteomics, and metabolomics. The development of proteomics techniques allowing increased proteome coverage and quantitative measurements of proteins which can characterize proteomes and their modulation during normal development, biotic and abiotic stresses in anther development. In this review, we summarize the achievements of proteomics and phosphoproteomics with anther and pollen organs from model plant and crop species (i.e. Arabidopsis, rice, tobacco). The increased proteomic information facilitated translation of information from the models to crops and thus aid in agricultural improvement.

How to Study the Proteomes and Phosphoproteomes of Anther and Pollen.

Proteomics analysis was a powerful technology for characterizing proteins and protein posttranslational modification (PTMs). Recently, many anther and pollen-related proteomic analyses have been reported, which have expanded our understanding of anther and pollen development and regulation. In this chapter, we describe a detailed, optimized protocol for the separation, digestion, tagging, and subsequent mass spectrometry-based identification and quantification of proteins and phosphoproteins from anther and pollen.

Advances in research on functional genes of tea plant.

Tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is an important leaf-type woody crop used to produce non-alcoholic beverages all over the world. Tea is one of the oldest and most popular non-alcoholic beverages in the world, and long-term tea drinking has numerous healthful for humans due to many of the important secondary metabolites, such as polyphenols and theanine. Theanine and polyphenols are also closely related to tea flavor and tea aroma, which is usually as the standard for judging tea quality. The growth of tea plants and quality of teas are susceptible to adversity abiotic and biotic stresses, such as low temperatures and pests. Consequently, this review focus on the research progress of key genes related to the stress resistance and material metabolism of tea plants in recent years. We aim at comprehensively understanding the growth and metabolism of tea plants and their relationship with the external environment, so as to provide an in-depth and broad theoretical support for the breeding of excellent tea plant varieties.

Role of Papain-Like Cysteine Proteases in Plant Development.

Papain-like cysteine proteases (PLCP) are prominent peptidases found in most living organisms. In plants, PLCPs was divided into nine subgroups based on functional and structural characterization. They are key enzymes in protein proteolysis and involved in numerous physiological processes. In this paper, we reviewed the updated achievements of physiological roles of plant PLCPs in germination, development, senescence, immunity, and stress responses.