The effect of nitrogen input on N2O emission depends on precipitation in a temperate desert steppe.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the third most important greenhouse gas, and can damage the atmospheric ozone layer, with associated threats to terrestrial ecosystems. However, to date it is unclear how extreme precipitation and nitrogen (N) input will affect N2O emissions in temperate desert steppe ecosystems. Therefore, we conducted an in-situ in a temperate desert steppe in the northwest of Inner Mongolia, China between 2018 and 2021, in which N inputs were combined with natural extreme precipitation events, with the aim of better understanding the mechanism of any interactive effects on N2O emission. The study result showed that N2O emission in this desert steppe was relatively small and did not show significant seasonal change. The annual N2O emission increased in a non-linear trend with increasing N input, with a much greater effect of N input in a wet year (2019) than in a dry year (2021). This was mainly due to the fact that the boost effect of high N input (on June 17th 2019) on N2O emission was greatly amplified by nearly 17-46 times by an extreme precipitation event on June 24th 2019. In contrast, this greatly promoting effect of high N input on N2O emission was not observed on September 26th 2019 by a similar extreme precipitation event. Further analysis showed that soil NH4+-N content and the abundance of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (amoA (AOB)) were the most critical factors affecting N2O emission. Soil moisture played an important indirect role in regulating N2O emission, mainly by influencing the abundance of amoA (AOB) and de-nitrification functional microorganisms (nosZ gene). In conclusion, the effect of extreme precipitation events on N2O emission was greatly increased by high N input. Furthermore, in this desert steppe, annual N2O flux is co-managed through soil nitrification substrate concentration (NH4+-N), the abundance of soil N transformation functional microorganisms and soil moisture. Overall, it was worth noting that an increase in extreme precipitation coupled with increasing N input may significantly increase future N2O emissions from desert steppes.

Six Unprecedented Cytochalasin Derivatives from the Potato Endophytic Fungus Xylaria curta E10 and Their Cytotoxicity.

Six previously undescribed cytochalasins, Curtachalasins X1-X6 (1-6), together with six known compounds (7-12) were isolated from the endophytic fungus Xylaria curta E10 harbored in the plant Solanum tuberosum. The structures were elucidated by the interpretation of HRESIMS, UV, and NMR data. The absolute configurations of Curtachalasins X1-X6 were determined by comparison of their experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. In bioassays, Curtachalasin X1 (1) and X5 (5) showed cytotoxic activity against the MCF-7 cell line with IC50 values of 2.03 µM and 0.85 µM, respectively.

Genome-wide analysis of HSF family and overexpression of PsnHSF21 confers salt tolerance in Populus simonii × P. nigra.

Heat shock transcription factor (HSF) is an important TF that performs a dominant role in plant growth, development, and stress response network. In this study, we identified a total of 30 HSF members from poplar, which are unevenly distributed on 17 chromosomes. The poplar HSF family can be divided into three subfamilies, and the members of the same subfamily share relatively conserved domains and motifs. HSF family members are acidic and hydrophilic proteins that are located in the nucleus and mainly carry out gene expansion through segmental replication. In addition, they have rich collinearity across plant species. Based on RNA-Seq analysis, we explored the expression pattern of PtHSFs under salt stress. Subsequently, we cloned the significantly upregulated PtHSF21 gene and transformed it into Populus simonii × P. nigra. Under salt stress, the transgenic poplar overexpressing PtHSF21 had a better growth state and higher reactive oxygen scavenging ability. A yeast one-hybrid experiment indicated PtHSF21 could improve salt tolerance by specifically binding to the anti-stress cis-acting element HSE. This study comprehensively profiled the fundamental information of poplar HSF family members and their responses to salt stress and specifically verified the biological function of PtHSF21, which provides clues for understanding the molecular mechanism of poplar HSF members in response to salt stress.

Arabidopsis pollen-specific glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase-like genes are essential for pollen tube tip growth.

In angiosperms, pollen tube growth is critical for double fertilization and seed formation. Many of the factors involved in pollen tube tip growth are unknown. Here, we report the roles of pollen-specific GLYCEROPHOSPHODIESTER PHOSPHODIESTERASE-LIKE (GDPD-LIKE) genes in pollen tube tip growth. Arabidopsis thaliana GDPD-LIKE6 (AtGDPDL6) and AtGDPDL7 were specifically expressed in mature pollen grains and pollen tubes and green fluorescent protein (GFP)-AtGDPDL6 and GFP-AtGDPDL7 fusion proteins were enriched at the plasma membrane at the apex of forming pollen tubes. Atgdpdl6 Atgdpdl7 double mutants displayed severe sterility that was rescued by genetic complementation with AtGDPDL6 or AtGDPDL7. This sterility was associated with defective male gametophytic transmission. Atgdpdl6 Atgdpdl7 pollen tubes burst immediately after initiation of pollen germination in vitro and in vivo, consistent with the thin and fragile walls in their tips. Cellulose deposition was greatly reduced along the mutant pollen tube tip walls, and the localization of pollen-specific CELLULOSE SYNTHASE-LIKE D1 (CSLD1) and CSLD4 was impaired to the apex of mutant pollen tubes. A rice pollen-specific GDPD-LIKE protein also contributed to pollen tube tip growth, suggesting that members of this family have conserved functions in angiosperms. Thus, pollen-specific GDPD-LIKEs mediate pollen tube tip growth, possibly by modulating cellulose deposition in pollen tube walls.

Band Structure Engineering of Single Pt Atoms on Fe-TiO2 for Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance.

Single atomic site catalysts display the maximal atom-utilization efficiency, unique structural properties, and remarkable enhancements on catalytic activity. Herein, single Pt atoms loaded Fe-TiO2 catalysts were prepared. Fe3+ doping leads to the formation of oxygen vacancies and improve the interaction between TiO2 and Pt. Single Pt atoms are thus anchored and effectively modify the local energy band structure of TiO2 . The optimized local band structures improve the intrinsic photoexcitation of Pt/Fe-TiO2 , promote the separation of photogenerated carriers, and extend the lifetime of photogenerated carriers. Meanwhile, the electrons transfer from the excited dyes to the conduction band edge of Pt/Fe-TiO2 is also facilitated due to the shift-down of the conduction band edge. Therefore, with the increase of the Pt content (till up to 0.6 wt%), the photocatalytic performance of Pt/ Fe-TiO2 with the confined single Pt atoms is significantly boosted in either the intrinsic or the sensitized photocatalytic process.

Contrasting relationships between plant-soil microbial diversity are driven by geographic and experimental precipitation changes.

Soil microbe diversity plays a key role in dryland ecosystem function under global climate change, yet little is known about how plant-soil microbe relationships respond to climate change. Altered precipitation patterns strongly shape plant community composition in deserts and steppes, but little research has demonstrated whether plant biodiversity attributes mediate the response of soil microbial diversity to long- and short-term precipitation changes. Here we used a comparative study to explore how altered precipitation along the natural and experimental gradients affected associations of soil bacterial and fungal diversity with plant biodiversity attributes (species, functional and phylogenetic diversity) and soil properties in desert-shrub and steppe-grass communities. We found that along both gradients, increasing precipitation increased soil bacterial and fungal richness in the desert and soil fungal richness in the steppe. Soil bacterial richness in the steppe was also increased by increasing precipitation in the experiment but was decreased along the natural gradient. Plant biodiversity and soil properties explained the variations in soil bacterial and fungal richness from 43 % to 96 % along the natural gradient and from 19 to 46 % in the experiment. Overall, precipitation effects on soil bacterial or fungal richness were mediated by plant biodiversity attributes (species richness and plant height) or soil properties (soil water content) along the natural gradient but were mediated by plant biodiversity attributes (functional or phylogenetic diversity) in the experiment. These results suggest that different mechanisms are responsible for the responses of soil bacterial and fungal diversity to long- and short-term precipitation changes. Long- and short-term precipitation changes may modify plant biodiversity attribute effects on soil microbial diversity in deserts and steppes, highlighting the importance of precipitation changes in shaping relationships between plant and soil microbial diversity in water-limited areas.

Paecilins F-P, new dimeric chromanones isolated from the endophytic fungus Xylaria curta E10, and structural revision of paecilin A.

A total of eleven new dimeric chromanones, paecilins F-P (2-12), were isolated from the endophytic fungus Xylaria curta E10, along with four known analogs (1, 13-15). Their structures and absolute configurations were determined by extensive experimental spectroscopic methods, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and equivalent circulating density (ECD) calculations. In addition, the structure of paecilin A, which was reported to be a symmetric C8-C8' dimeric pattern, was revised by analysis of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 showed antifungal activity against the human pathogenic fungus Candida albicans with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 16 µg/mL, and Compounds 8 and 10 showed antibacterial activity against the gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli with the same minimum inhibitory concentration of 16 µg/mL.

Fatigue and Sleep Assessment using Digital Sleep Trackers: Insights from a Multi-Device Pilot Study.

For the patient community with neurodegenerative disorders (NDD) and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID), fatigue and sleep disturbances stand out as two of the most common and disabling symptoms, which mightily impair patient's quality of life. Traditional questionnaire-oriented approaches to reflect such symptoms suffer from recall bias and poor sensitivity to change. By virtue of multiple sensing modalities at home, IDEA-FAST project aims to identify novel digital endpoints of fatigue and sleep disturbances, that are objective, reliable and sensitive to change. This article presents and discusses results from a pilot study of IDEA-FAST to evaluate the feasibility of capturing sleep and fatigue measures from three sleep trackers. Data collected from 143 participants (age range: 21-82) across 6 disease groups and healthy cohort for a period of 9 months, were investigated using our proposed sensor analytical pipeline. The overall performance reveals that the median coverage rate of sleep trackers ranged from 48.3% to 76.9%. Furthermore, the digital measures obtained from each device, indicated a higher association with sleep related patient reported outcomes (PROs) than fatigue related ones, when taking all participants into account.

Overexpression of histone deacetylase gene 84KHDA909 from poplar confers enhanced tolerance to drought and salt stresses in Arabidopsis.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are important enzymes participating in histone modification and epigenetic regulation of gene transcription. HDACs play an essential role in plant development and stress responses. To date, the role of HDACs is largely uninvestigated in woody plants. In this study, we identified a RPD3/HDA1-type HDAC, named 84KHDA909, from 84 K poplar (Populus alba × Populus glandulosa). The protein encoded by 84KHDA909 contained an HDAC domain. The 84KHDA909 was responsive to drought, salt, and cold stresses, but displayed different expression patterns. Overexpression of 84KHDA909 improved root growth, and conferred enhanced tolerance to drought and salt stresses in Arabidopsis. The transgenic plants displayed greater fresh weight, higher proline content and lower malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation than the wild type. In the transgenic plants, transcript levels of several genes related to abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis and response were altered upon exposure to drought and salt stresses. Our results suggested that 84KHDA909 positively regulates drought and salt stress tolerance through ABA pathway.

Three new pyrrole alkaloids from the endophytic fungus Albifimbria viridis.

Three new pyrrole alkaloids albifipyrrols A-C (1-3), were isolated from the endophytic fungus Albifimbria viridis collected from the Chinese medicinal plant. Their structures were elucidated by extensive NMR and HRESIMS spectrometric analyses. All compounds were evaluated for immunosuppressive activity. Fortunately, compound 2 exhibits certain inhibition specifically against the LPS-induced proliferation of B lymphocyte cells with IC50 value 16.16 µM.

Increasing precipitation weakened the negative effects of simulated warming on soil microbial community composition in a semi-arid sandy grassland.

Soil microbial diversity, composition, and function are sensitive to global change factors. It has been predicted that the temperature and precipitation will increase in northern China. Although many studies have been carried out to reveal how global change factors affect soil microbial biomass and composition in terrestrial ecosystems, it is still unexplored how soil microbial diversity and composition, especially in microbial functional genes, respond to increasing precipitation and warming in a semiarid grassland of northern China. A field experiment was established to simulate warming and increasing precipitation in a temperate semiarid grassland of the Horqin region. Soil bacterial (16S) and fungal (ITS1) diversity, composition, and functional genes were analyzed after two growing seasons. The result showed that warming exerted negative effects on soil microbial diversity, composition, and predicted functional genes associated with carbon and nitrogen cycles. Increasing precipitation did not change soil microbial diversity, but it weakened the negative effects of simulated warming on soil microbial diversity. Bacterial and fungal diversities respond consistently to the global change scenario in semiarid sandy grassland, but the reasons were different for bacteria and fungi. The co-occurrence of warming and increasing precipitation will alleviate the negative effects of global change on biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation under a predicted climate change scenario in a semiarid grassland. Our results provide evidence that soil microbial diversity, composition, and function changed under climate change conditions, and it will improve the predictive models of the ecological changes of temperate grassland in future climate change scenarios.

Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Strains Facilitate Cd2+ Enrichment in a Woody Hyperaccumulator under Co-Existing Stress of Cadmium and Salt.

Cadmium (Cd2+) pollution occurring in salt-affected soils has become an increasing environmental concern in the world. Fast-growing poplars have been widely utilized for phytoremediation of soil contaminating heavy metals (HMs). However, the woody Cd2+-hyperaccumulator, Populus × canescens, is relatively salt-sensitive and therefore cannot be directly used to remediate HMs from salt-affected soils. The aim of the present study was to testify whether colonization of P. × canescens with ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi, a strategy known to enhance salt tolerance, provides an opportunity for affordable remediation of Cd2+-polluted saline soils. Ectomycorrhization with Paxillus involutus strains facilitated Cd2+ enrichment in P. × canescens upon CdCl2 exposures (50 µM, 30 min to 24 h). The fungus-stimulated Cd2+ in roots was significantly restricted by inhibitors of plasmalemma H+-ATPases and Ca2+-permeable channels (CaPCs), but stimulated by an activator of plasmalemma H+-ATPases. NaCl (100 mM) lowered the transient and steady-state Cd2+ influx in roots and fungal mycelia. Noteworthy, P. involutus colonization partly reverted the salt suppression of Cd2+ uptake in poplar roots. EM fungus colonization upregulated transcription of plasmalemma H+-ATPases (PcHA4, 8, 11) and annexins (PcANN1, 2, 4), which might mediate Cd2+ conductance through CaPCs. EM roots retained relatively highly expressed PcHAs and PcANNs, thus facilitating Cd2+ enrichment under co-occurring stress of cadmium and salinity. We conclude that ectomycorrhization of woody hyperaccumulator species such as poplar could improve phytoremediation of Cd2+ in salt-affected areas.

Comparative effects of pollen limitation, floral traits and pollinators on reproductive success of Hedysarum scoparium Fisch. et Mey. in different habitats.

BACKGROUND: Reproduction in most flowering plants may be limited because of the decreased visitation or activity of pollinators in fragmented habitats. Hedysarum scoparium Fisch. et Mey. is an arid region shrub with ecological importance. We explored the pollen limitation and seed set of Hedysarum scoparium in fragmented and restored environments, and examined whether pollen limitation is a significant limiting factor for seed set. We also compared floral traits and pollinator visitation between both habitats, and we determined the difference of floral traits and pollinators influenced reproductive success in Hedysarum scoparium. RESULTS: Our results indicated that supplementation with pollen significantly increased seed set per flower, which is pollen-limited in this species. Furthermore, there was greater seed set of the hand cross-pollination group in the restored habitat compared to the fragmented environment. More visits by Apis mellifera were recorded in the restored habitats, which may explain the difference in seed production between the fragmented and restored habitats. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, a positive association between pollinator visitation frequency and open flower number was observed. The findings of this study are important for experimentally quantifying the effects of floral traits and pollinators on plant reproductive success in different habitats.

Kandelia candel Thioredoxin f Confers Osmotic Stress Tolerance in Transgenic Tobacco.

Water deficit caused by osmotic stress and drought limits crop yield and tree growth worldwide. Screening and identifying candidate genes from stress-resistant species are a genetic engineering strategy to increase drought resistance. In this study, an increased concentration of mannitol resulted in elevated expression of thioredoxin f (KcTrxf) in the nonsecretor mangrove species Kandelia candel. By means of amino acid sequence and phylogenetic analysis, the mangrove Trx was classified as an f-type thioredoxin. Subcellular localization showed that KcTrxf localizes to chloroplasts. Enzymatic activity characterization revealed that KcTrxf recombinant protein possesses the disulfide reductase function. KcTrxf overexpression contributes to osmotic and drought tolerance in tobacco in terms of fresh weight, root length, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production. KcTrxf was shown to reduce the stomatal aperture by enhancing K+ efflux in guard cells, which increased the water-retaining capacity in leaves under drought conditions. Notably, the abscisic acid (ABA) sensitivity was increased in KcTrxf-transgenic tobacco, which benefits plants exposed to drought by reducing water loss by promoting stomatal closure. KcTrxf-transgenic plants limited drought-induced H2O2 in leaves, which could reduce lipid peroxidation and retain the membrane integrity. Additionally, glutathione (GSH) contributing to reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and transgenic plants are more efficient at regenerating GSH from oxidized glutathione (GSSG) under conditions of drought stress. Notably, KcTrxf-transgenic plants had increased glucose and fructose contents under drought stress conditions, presumably resulting from KcTrxf-promoted starch degradation under water stress. We conclude that KcTrxf contributes to drought tolerance by increasing the water status, by enhancing osmotic adjustment, and by maintaining ROS homeostasis in transgene plants.

Histone deacetylase gene PtHDT902 modifies adventitious root formation and negatively regulates salt stress tolerance in poplar.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) regulate gene transcription, and play a critical role in plant growth, development and stress responses. HD2 proteins are plant specific histone deacetylases. In woody plants, functions of HD2s are not known. In this study, we cloned an HD2 gene PtHDT902 from Populus trichocarpa and investigated its sequence, expression, subcellular localization, and functions in root development and salt stress responses. Our findings indicated that PtHDT902 was a nuclear protein and its expression was regulated by abiotic stresses. The over-expression of PtHDT902 in both Arabidopsis and poplar increased the expression levels of gibberellin (GA) biosynthetic genes. The expression of PtHDT902 in Arabidopsis enhanced primary root growth, and its over-expression in poplar inhibited adventitious root formation. These phenotypes resulted from over-expression of PtHDT902 were consistent with the GA-overproduction phenotypes. In addition, the poplar plants over-expressing PtHDT902 exhibited lower tolerance to salt than non-transgenic plants. These findings indicated that PtHDT902 worked as an important regulator in adventitious root formation and salt stress tolerance in poplar.

Amelioration of nitrate uptake under salt stress by ectomycorrhiza with and without a Hartig net.

Salt stress is an important environmental cue impeding poplar nitrogen nutrition. Here, we characterized the impact of salinity on proton-driven nitrate fluxes in ectomycorrhizal roots and the importance of a Hartig net for nitrate uptake. We employed two Paxillus involutus strains for root colonization: MAJ, which forms typical ectomycorrhizal structures (mantle and Hartig net), and NAU, colonizing roots with a thin, loose hyphal sheath. Fungus-colonized and noncolonized Populus × canescens were exposed to sodium chloride and used to measure root surface pH, nitrate (NO3- ) flux and transcription of NO3- transporters (NRTs; PcNRT1.1, -1.2, -2.1), and plasmalemma proton ATPases (HAs; PcHA4, -8, -11). Paxillus colonization enhanced root NO3- uptake, decreased surface pH, and stimulated NRTs and HA4 of the host regardless the presence or absence of a Hartig net. Under salt stress, noncolonized roots exhibited strong net NO3- efflux, whereas beneficial effects of fungal colonization on surface pH and HAs prevented NO3- loss. Inhibition of HAs abolished NO3- influx under all conditions. We found that stimulation of HAs was crucial for the beneficial influence of ectomycorrhiza on NO3- uptake, whereas the presence of a Hartig net was not required for improved NO3- translocation. Mycorrhizas may contribute to host adaptation to salt-affected environments by keeping up NO3- nutrition.

Expression of a populus histone deacetylase gene 84KHDA903 in tobacco enhances drought tolerance.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play a key role in regulating plant growth, development and stress responses. However, functions of HDACs in woody plants are largely unknown. In this study, a novel gene encoding a RPD3/HDA1-type histone deacetylase was cloned from 84K poplar (Populus alba×Populus glandulosa) and designated as 84KHDA903. The 84KHDA903 encodes a protein composed of 500 amino acid residues, which contains a conserved HDAC domain. Transient expression of 84KHDA903 in onion epidermal cells suggested that it was exclusively localized in nucleus. The 84KHDA903 exhibited different expression patterns under drought, salt and ABA treatments. The expression of 84KHDA903 was responsive to drought and ABA but not to salt. To understand the function of 84KHDA903 in stress responses, the 84KHDA903 gene was transformed into tobacco. The expression of 84KHDA903 in tobacco increased the tolerance of transgenic seeds to mannitol but not to salt. In adult stage, the 84KHDA903-expressing tobacco exhibited drought tolerance and showed strong capacity to recover after drought. During the recovery period, the stress-responsive genes including NtDREB4, NtDREB3 and NtLEA5 were induced to be highly expressed in the 84KHDA903 transgenic plants in contrast to wild-type plants. Taken together, for the first time, we reported a RPD3/HDA1-type histone deacetylase from poplar, 84KHDA903, which acted as a positive regulator in drought stress responses.

Reduced Oxygenated g-C3 N4 with Abundant Nitrogen Vacancies for Visible-Light Photocatalytic Applications.

A novel g-C3 N4 photocatalyst (RCNO) with abundant nitrogen vacancies and oxygen-containing electron-withdrawing groups was prepared. Oxygen was gradually introduced into the g-C3 N4 structure by a hydrothermal hydrolysis/condensation process, and nitrogen vacancies were produced with H2 reduction. The presence of nitrogen vacancies reduced the conduction band energy of g-C3 N4 from -0.75 to -0.5 eV and introduced plenty of defect levels in the band gap (just below the conductive band with a width of 0.45 eV). The oxygenation of g-C3 N4 induced the formation of oxygen-containing functional groups, such as C=O and C-O, as well as effectively enhancing the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers and reducing the valence band energy from 2.05 to 2.30 eV. Therefore, the photocatalytic activity and photocurrent responses of RCNO were about nine and eight times higher than that of g-C3 N4 , respectively.

Identification of genes regulated by histone acetylation during root development in Populus trichocarpa.

BACKGROUND: Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are key enzymes catalyzing the removal of acetyl groups from histones. HDACs act in concert with histone acetyltransferases (HATs) to regulate histone acetylation status, which modifies chromatin structure, affecting gene transcription and thus regulating multiple biological processes such as plant growth and development. Over a decade, certain HDACs in herbaceous plants have been deeply studied. However, functions of HDACs in woody plants are not well understood. RESULTS: Histone deacetylase specific inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) was used to investigate the role of HDACs in organogenesis of roots and root development in Populus trochocarpa. The adventitious roots were regenerated and grown on medium supplemented with 0, 1, and 2.5 µM TSA. TSA treatment delayed root regeneration and inhibited primary root growth. To examine the genes modified by TSA in the regenerated roots, tag-based digital gene expression (DGE) analysis was performed using Illumina HiSeqTM 2000. Approximately 4.5 million total clean tags were mapped per library. The distinct clean tags for the three libraries corresponding to 0, 1 and 2.5 µM TSA treatment were 166167, 143103 and 153507, from which 38.45%, 31.84% and 38.88% were mapped unambiguously to the unigene database, respectively. Most of the tags were expressed at similar levels, showing a < 5-fold difference after 1 µM and 2.5 µM TSA treatments and the maximum fold-change of the tag copy number was around 20. The expression levels of many genes in roots were significantly altered by TSA. A total of 36 genes were up-regulated and 1368 genes were down-regulated after 1 µM TSA treatment, while 166 genes were up-regulated and 397 genes were down-regulated after 2.5 µM TSA treatment. Gene ontology (GO) and pathway analyses indicated that the differentially expressed genes were related to many kinds of molecular functions and biological processes. The genes encoding key enzymes catalyzing gibberellin biosynthesis were significantly down-regulated in the roots exposed to 2.5 µM TSA and their expression changes were validated by using real-time PCR. CONCLUSIONS: HDACs were required for de novo organogenesis and normal growth of populus roots. DGE data provides the gene profiles in roots probably regulated by histone acetylation during root growth and development, which will lead to a better understanding of the mechanism controlling root development.

Paxillus involutus-Facilitated Cd2+ Influx through Plasma Membrane Ca2+-Permeable Channels Is Stimulated by H2O2 and H+-ATPase in Ectomycorrhizal Populus × canescens under Cadmium Stress.

Using a Non-invasive Micro-test Technique, flux profiles of Cd2+, Ca2+, and H+ were investigated in axenically grown cultures of two strains of Paxillus involutus (MAJ and NAU), ectomycorrhizae formed by these fungi with the woody Cd2+-hyperaccumulator, Populus × canescens, and non-mycorrhizal (NM) roots. The influx of Cd2+ increased in fungal mycelia, NM and ectomycorrhizal (EM) roots upon a 40-min shock, after short-term (ST, 24 h), or long-term (LT, 7 days) exposure to a hydroponic environment of 50 µM CdCl2. Cd2+ treatments (shock, ST, and LT) decreased Ca2+ influx in NM and EM roots but led to an enhanced influx of Ca2+ in axenically grown EM cultures of the two P. involutus isolates. The susceptibility of Cd2+ flux to typical Ca2+ channel blockers (LaCl3, GdCl3, verapamil, and TEA) in fungal mycelia and poplar roots indicated that the Cd2+ entry occurred mainly through Ca2+-permeable channels in the plasma membrane (PM). Cd2+ treatment resulted in H2O2 production. H2O2 exposure accelerated the entry of Cd2+ and Ca2+ in NM and EM roots. Cd2+ further stimulated H+ pumping activity benefiting NM and EM roots to maintain an acidic environment, which favored the entry of Cd2+ across the PM. A scavenger of reactive oxygen species, DMTU, and an inhibitor of PM H+-ATPase, orthovanadate, decreased Ca2+ and Cd2+ influx in NM and EM roots, suggesting that the entry of Cd2+ through Ca2+-permeable channels is stimulated by H2O2 and H+ pumps. Compared to NM roots, EM roots exhibited higher Cd2+-fluxes under shock, ST, and LT Cd2+ treatments. We conclude that ectomycorrhizal P. × canescens roots retained a pronounced H2O2 production and a high H+-pumping activity, which activated PM Ca2+ channels and thus facilitated a high influx of Cd2+ under Cd2+ stress.