scholarly journals Vesicle Transport in Plants: A Revised Phylogeny of SNARE Proteins

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 117693432095657
Author(s):  
Xiaoyan Gu ◽  
Adrian Brennan ◽  
Wenbin Wei ◽  
Guangqin Guo ◽  
Keith Lindsey

Communication systems within and between plant cells involve the transfer of ions and molecules between compartments, and are essential for development and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. This in turn requires the regulated movement and fusion of membrane systems with their associated cargo. Recent advances in genomics has provided new resources with which to investigate the evolutionary relationships between membrane proteins across plant species. Members of the soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) are known to play important roles in vesicle trafficking across plant, animal and microbial species. Using recent public expression and transcriptomic data from 9 representative green plants, we investigated the evolution of the SNARE classes and linked protein changes to functional specialization (expression patterns). We identified an additional 3 putative SNARE genes in the model plant Arabidopsis. We found that all SNARE classes have expanded in number to a greater or lesser degree alongside the evolution of multicellularity, and that within-species expansions are also common. These gene expansions appear to be associated with the accumulation of amino acid changes and with sub-functionalization of SNARE family members to different tissues. These results provide an insight into SNARE protein evolution and functional specialization. The work provides a platform for hypothesis-building and future research into the precise functions of these proteins in plant development and responses to the environment.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Lindsey ◽  
Xiaoyan Gu ◽  
Adrian Brennan ◽  
Wenbin Wei ◽  
Guangqin Guo

Abstract Background Communication systems within and between plant cells involve the transfer of ions and molecules between compartments, and are essential for development and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. This is turn requires the regulated movement and fusion of membrane systems with their associated cargo. Recent advances in genomics has provided new resources with which to investigate the evolutionary relationships between membrane proteins across plant species. Results Members of the soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) are known to play important roles in vesicle trafficking across plant, animal and microbial species. Using recent public expression and transcriptomic data from nine representative green plants, we investigated the evolution of the SNARE classes and linked protein changes to functional specialization (expression patterns). We identified an additional three putative SNARE genes in the model plant Arabidopsis. We found that all SNARE classes have expanded in number to a greater or lesser degree alongside the evolution of multicellularity. Sub-functionalization of SNARE family members to different tissues, associated with an accumulation of protein changes is typical, although at least one example of neo-functionalization between the R-SNAREs VAMP722 and VAMP723 was also observed. Conclusion These results provide an insight into SNARE protein evolution and functional specialization. The work provides a platform for hypothesis-building and future research into the precise functions of these proteins in plant development and responses to the environment.


Biology Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. bio051029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya Morita ◽  
Mayu Kajiye ◽  
Chiye Sakurai ◽  
Shuichi Kubo ◽  
Miki Takahashi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMicrotubule-associated protein A1/B1-light chain 3 (LC3)-associated phagocytosis (LAP) is a type of non-canonical autophagy that regulates phagosome maturation in macrophages. However, the role and regulatory mechanism of LAP remain largely unknown. Recently, the membrane occupation and recognition nexus repeat-containing-2 (MORN2) was identified as a key component of LAP for the efficient formation of LC3-recruiting phagosomes. To characterize MORN2 and elucidate its function in LAP, we established a MORN2-overexpressing macrophage line. At a steady state, MORN2 was partially cleaved by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. MORN2 overexpression promoted not only LC3-II production but also LAP phagosome (LAPosome) acidification during Escherichia coli uptake. Furthermore, the formation of LAPosomes containing the yeast cell wall component zymosan was enhanced in MORN2-overexpressing cells and depended on reactive oxygen species (ROS). Finally, MORN2-mediated LAP was regulated by plasma membrane-localized soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) such as SNAP-23 and syntaxin 11. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that MORN2, whose expression is downregulated via proteasomal digestion, is a limiting factor for LAP, and that membrane trafficking by SNARE proteins is involved in MORN2-mediated LAP.


Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linders ◽  
Horst ◽  
Beest ◽  
van den Bogaart

The soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) syntaxin 5 (Stx5) in mammals and its ortholog Sed5p in Saccharomyces cerevisiae mediate anterograde and retrograde endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi trafficking. Stx5 and Sed5p are structurally highly conserved and are both regulated by interactions with other ER-Golgi SNARE proteins, the Sec1/Munc18-like protein Scfd1/Sly1p and the membrane tethering complexes COG, p115, and GM130. Despite these similarities, yeast Sed5p and mammalian Stx5 are differently recruited to COPII-coated vesicles, and Stx5 interacts with the microtubular cytoskeleton, whereas Sed5p does not. In this review, we argue that these different Stx5 interactions contribute to structural differences in ER-Golgi transport between mammalian and yeast cells. Insight into the function of Stx5 is important given its essential role in the secretory pathway of eukaryotic cells and its involvement in infections and neurodegenerative diseases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 456-475
Author(s):  
Efat Zohra ◽  
Muhammad Ikram ◽  
Ahmad A. Omar ◽  
Mujahid Hussain ◽  
Seema Hassan Satti ◽  
...  

Abstract In the present era, due to the increasing incidence of environmental stresses worldwide, the developmental growth and production of agriculture crops may be restrained. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have precedence over other nanoparticles because of the significant role of selenium in activating the defense system of plants. In addition to beneficial microorganisms, the use of biogenic SeNPs is known as an environmentally friendly and ecologically biocompatible approach to enhance crop production by alleviating biotic and abiotic stresses. This review provides the latest development in the green synthesis of SeNPs by using the results of plant secondary metabolites in the biogenesis of nanoparticles of different shapes and sizes with unique morphologies. Unfortunately, green synthesized SeNPs failed to achieve significant attention in the agriculture sector. However, research studies were performed to explore the application potential of plant-based SeNPs in alleviating drought, salinity, heavy metal, heat stresses, and bacterial and fungal diseases in plants. This review also explains the mechanistic actions that the biogenic SeNPs acquire to alleviate biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. In this review article, the future research that needs to use plant-mediated SeNPs under the conditions of abiotic and biotic stresses are also highlighted.


2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-39
Author(s):  
Ankur Lohachab ◽  
Saurabh Garg ◽  
Byeong Kang ◽  
Muhammad Bilal Amin ◽  
Junmin Lee ◽  
...  

Unprecedented attention towards blockchain technology is serving as a game-changer in fostering the development of blockchain-enabled distinctive frameworks. However, fragmentation unleashed by its underlying concepts hinders different stakeholders from effectively utilizing blockchain-supported services, resulting in the obstruction of its wide-scale adoption. To explore synergies among the isolated frameworks requires comprehensively studying inter-blockchain communication approaches. These approaches broadly come under the umbrella of Blockchain Interoperability (BI) notion, as it can facilitate a novel paradigm of an integrated blockchain ecosystem that connects state-of-the-art disparate blockchains. Currently, there is a lack of studies that comprehensively review BI, which works as a stumbling block in its development. Therefore, this article aims to articulate potential of BI by reviewing it from diverse perspectives. Beginning with a glance of blockchain architecture fundamentals, this article discusses its associated platforms, taxonomy, and consensus mechanisms. Subsequently, it argues about BI’s requirement by exemplifying its potential opportunities and application areas. Concerning BI, an architecture seems to be a missing link. Hence, this article introduces a layered architecture for the effective development of protocols and methods for interoperable blockchains. Furthermore, this article proposes an in-depth BI research taxonomy and provides an insight into the state-of-the-art projects. Finally, it determines possible open challenges and future research in the domain.


2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Vassiliou ◽  
K Alavian ◽  
M Tsujishita ◽  
H Bae

Abstract Introduction Primary brain tumours originate from cells within the brain. The commonest malignant types are gliomas which are graded from I-IV. Emerging evidence has elucidated the function of the mitochondrially localised B-cell lymphoma-extra-large (Bcl-xL) protein, and its promotion of tumour progression-associated properties. Our lab has previously established that Bcl-xL-overexpressing neurons increase metabolic efficiency by producing more adenosine triphosphate and consuming less oxygen, which we assumed, fuels cancer cells to proliferate. Method We quantified the subcellular expression patterns of Bcl-xL in primary brain tumour samples through immunohistochemistry on a brain tissue microarray containing 16 glioma cases from Grades II-IV. We used antibodies against Bcl-xL, heat shock protein 60 for mitochondrial detection and proliferating cell nuclear antigen for cancerous cell detection. Results Bcl-xL is overexpressed in cancerous cells of Grade IV gliomas and is significantly greater than cancerous cells of Grade III and Grade II gliomas. Cancerous cells express higher levels of Bcl-xL than non-cancerous cells in all grades of glioma. Conclusions Bcl-xL-overexpressing neurons exhibit enhanced metabolic efficiency, contributing to increased proliferation rates. Future research should focus on the characterisation of ATP levels and oxygen consumption in glioma cells. Conclusively, pharmacological inhibition of Bcl-xL will suppress the proliferation rate in gliomas and cease cancer cell growth.


2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Jun Huang ◽  
Debiao He ◽  
Mohammad S. Obaidat ◽  
Pandi Vijayakumar ◽  
Min Luo ◽  
...  

Voting is a formal expression of opinion or choice, either positive or negative, made by an individual or a group of individuals. However, conventional voting systems tend to be centralized, which are known to suffer from security and efficiency limitations. Hence, there has been a trend of moving to decentralized voting systems, such as those based on blockchain. The latter is a decentralized digital ledger in a peer-to-peer network, where a copy of the append-only ledger of digitally signed and encrypted transactions is maintained by each participant. Therefore, in this article, we perform a comprehensive review of blockchain-based voting systems and classify them based on a number of features (e.g., the types of blockchain used, the consensus approaches used, and the scale of participants). By systematically analyzing and comparing the different blockchain-based voting systems, we also identify a number of limitations and research opportunities. Hopefully, this survey will provide an in-depth insight into the potential utility of blockchain in voting systems and device future research agenda.


Author(s):  
Exequiel Gabriel S. Dizon ◽  
Jeric P. Da-Anoy ◽  
Melissa S. Roth ◽  
Cecilia Conaco

Abstract Fluorescent proteins (FPs) are reported to play an important role as photoprotectants and antioxidants in corals subjected to stressful conditions. Identifying the various FP genes expressed and FP gene expression patterns under stress in diverse coral species can provide insight into FP function. In this study, we identified 16 putative FP homologues from the transcriptomes of corals with varying susceptibility to elevated temperature, including Acropora digitifera, Favites colemani, Montipora digitata and Seriatopora caliendrum. Each coral expressed a different complement of FP transcripts, which were predicted to have distinct spectral properties. The most diverse and abundant repertoire of FP transcripts, including at least 6 green FPs, were expressed in the temperature-tolerant coral, F. colemani. In comparison, the other corals expressed fewer FP types. Specific FP transcripts exhibited variable expression profiles in coral fragments subjected to 32 ± 1 °C (treatment) or 28 ± 1 °C (control) for up to 72 h, suggesting that distinct FPs may have different roles. Further studies on the expression of the proteins encoded by these FP transcripts, their fluorescence activity, tissue localization, and possible antioxidant properties, are needed to reveal their contribution to thermal stress tolerance in certain species of corals.


2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Rao ◽  
Indrit Troshani

Mobile services are heralded to create a tremendous spectrum of business opportunities. User acceptance of these services is of paramount importance. Consequently, a deeper insight into theory-based research is required to better understand the underlying motivations that lead users to adopting mobile services. As mobile services bring additional functional dimensions, including hedonic and experiential aspects, using extant models for predicting mobile services acceptance by individuals may be inadequate. The aim of this paper is to explore, analyse and critically assess the use of existing acceptance theories in the light of the evolving and ubiquitous mobile services and their underlying technologies. Constructs affecting consumer adoption behaviour are discussed and relevant propositions are made. Managerial implications are explored and future research directions are also identified.


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