Cultivar-biased regulation of HSFA7 and HSFB4a govern high-temperature tolerance in tomato.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Cultivar-biased regulation of HSFB4a and HSFA7 mediates heat stress tolerance/sensitivity in tomato. Reduced HSFB4a repressor levels and enhanced HSFA7 activator levels govern thermo-tolerance in tolerant cultivars. Heat shock factors (HSFs) are at the core of heat stress (HS) response in plants. However, the contribution of HSFs governing the inherent thermo-tolerance mechanism in tomato from sub-tropical hot climates is poorly understood. With the above aim, comparative expression profiles of the HSF family in a HS-tolerant (CLN1621L) and -sensitive cultivars (CA4 and Pusa Ruby) of tomato under HS revealed cultivar-biased regulation of an activator (HSFA7) and a repressor (HSFB4a) class HSF. HSFA7 exhibited strong upregulation while HSFB4a showed downregulation in tolerant tomato cultivar upon HS. Functional characterization of HSFA7 and HSFB4a in a tolerant-sensitive cultivar pair by virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS)-based silencing and transient overexpression established them as a positive and a negative regulator of HS tolerance, respectively. Promoter:GUS reporter assays and promoter sequence analyses suggest heat-mediated transcriptional control of both the HSF genes in the contrasting cultivars. Moreover, degradome data highlighted HSFB4a is a probable target of microRNA Sly-miR4200. Transient in-planta Sly-MIR4200-effector:HSFB4a-reporter assays showed miRNA-dependent target down-regulation. Chelation of miRNA by short-tandem-target-mimic of Sly-miR4200 increased target abundance, highlighting a link between Sly-miR4200 and HSFB4a. This miRNA has induced several folds upon HS in the tolerant cultivar where HSFB4a levels are reduced, thus exhibiting the inverse miR:target expression. Thus, we speculate that the alleviation of HSFB4a and increased HSFA7 levels govern thermo-tolerance in the tolerant cultivar by regulating downstream heat stress-responsive genes.

Elongation factor TFIIS is essential for heat stress adaptation in plants.

Elongation factor TFIIS (transcription factor IIS) is structurally and biochemically probably the best characterized elongation cofactor of RNA polymerase II. However, little is known about TFIIS regulation or its roles during stress responses. Here, we show that, although TFIIS seems unnecessary under optimal conditions in Arabidopsis, its absence renders plants supersensitive to heat; tfIIs mutants die even when exposed to sublethal high temperature. TFIIS activity is required for thermal adaptation throughout the whole life cycle of plants, ensuring both survival and reproductive success. By employing a transcriptome analysis, we unravel that the absence of TFIIS makes transcriptional reprogramming sluggish, and affects expression and alternative splicing pattern of hundreds of heat-regulated transcripts. Transcriptome changes indirectly cause proteotoxic stress and deterioration of cellular pathways, including photosynthesis, which finally leads to lethality. Contrary to expectations of being constantly present to support transcription, we show that TFIIS is dynamically regulated. TFIIS accumulation during heat occurs in evolutionary distant species, including the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, dicot Brassica napus and monocot Hordeum vulgare, suggesting that the vital role of TFIIS in stress adaptation of plants is conserved.

Involvement of dehydrin proteins in mitigating the negative effects of drought stress in plants.

Drought stress-induced crop loss has been considerably increased in recent years because of global warming and changing rainfall pattern. Natural drought-tolerant plants entail the recruitment of a variety of metabolites and low molecular weight proteins to negate the detrimental effects of drought stress. Dehydrin (DHN) proteins are one such class of proteins that accumulate in plants during drought and associated stress conditions. These proteins are highly hydrophilic and perform multifaceted roles in the protection of plant cells during drought stress conditions. Evidence gathered over the years suggests that DHN proteins impart drought stress tolerance by enhancing the water retention capacity, elevating chlorophyll content, maintaining photosynthetic machinery, activating ROS detoxification, and promoting the accumulation of compatible solutes, among others. Overexpression studies have indicated that these proteins can be effectively targeted to mitigate the negative effects of drought stress and for the development of drought stress-tolerant crops to feed the ever-growing population in the near future. In this review, we describe the mechanism of DHNs mediated drought stress tolerance in plants and their interaction with several phytohormones to provide an in-depth understanding of DHNs function.

Ethylene: A Master Regulator of Salinity Stress Tolerance in Plants.

Salinity stress is one of the major threats to agricultural productivity across the globe. Research in the past three decades, therefore, has focused on analyzing the effects of salinity stress on the plants. Evidence gathered over the years supports the role of ethylene as a key regulator of salinity stress tolerance in plants. This gaseous plant hormone regulates many vital cellular processes starting from seed germination to photosynthesis for maintaining the plants' growth and yield under salinity stress. Ethylene modulates salinity stress responses largely via maintaining the homeostasis of Na+/K+, nutrients, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) by inducing antioxidant defense in addition to elevating the assimilation of nitrates and sulfates. Moreover, a cross-talk of ethylene signaling with other phytohormones has also been observed, which collectively regulate the salinity stress responses in plants. The present review provides a comprehensive update on the prospects of ethylene signaling and its cross-talk with other phytohormones to regulate salinity stress tolerance in plants.

Long-term bonding effectiveness of simplified etch-and-rinse adhesives to dentin after different surface pre-treatments.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of 2% chlorhexidine (CHX) and 30% proanthocyanidin (PA) application on the immediate and long-term bond strength of simplified etch-and-rinse adhesives to dentin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred twenty extracted human molar teeth were ground to expose the flat dentin surface. The teeth were equally divided into six groups according to the adhesives used, either Tetric N Bond or Solobond M and pretreatments given either none, CHX, or PA. Composite cylinder was bonded to each specimen using the respective adhesive technique. Half the samples from each group (n = 10) were then tested immediately. The remaining samples were tested after 6 month storage in distilled water. RESULTS: The mean bond strength of samples was not significantly different upon immediate testing being in the range of 8.4(±0.7) MPa. The bond strength fell dramatically in the control specimens after 6 month storage to around 4.7(±0.33) MPa, while the bond strength was maintained in the samples treated with both CHX and PA. CONCLUSION: Thirty percent PA was comparable to 2% CHX with respect to preservation of the resin dentin bond over 6 months.

Familial Cleidocranial Dysplasia.

Cleidocranial dysplasia or mutational dysostosis or cleidocranial dysostosis is a generalized skeletodental dysplastic disorder, inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern. The expression of this disorder can vary widely in severity, even within the same family. This is a relatively rare disease and has no standard effective treatment option as of yet. Here we present a case report of affected mother and son with classical manifestations of the disease.

Comparative study of dentinogenesis imperfecta in different families of the same topographical region.

Dental hard tissue is subject to variety of disorders. Dentinogenesis Imperfecta is one such disorder attributed to heredity. It is known to be an autosomal dominant trait. Teeth with such 'imperfect' dentin are liable to be weak and discolored. The disease has variable penetration and therefore can be expressed as a range of phenotypic manifestations from mild discoloration and chipping to frank attrition and multiple pulp canal exposures. Here we present a comparative study of a series of cases from different families of one topographical region with widely different presentation and histories that are characteristic of this disease.