scholarly journals Improving plant stress tolerance: potential applications of engineered MAPK cascades

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaled Moustafa

The need to develop solutions to the problem of worldwide food crop scarcity under exacerbated climate change will be paramount. This motivates an effort to leverage agricultural biotechnology to improve plant adaptation to severe and multiple, simultaneous environmental stresses. Consequently, engineering synthetic signaling pathways, particularly mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades utilizing components already involved in plant stress tolerance, is a worthy focus for research to breed new plant varieties with enhanced stress-tolerance traits.

Biologia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teng Zhang ◽  
Yuan Wang ◽  
Juan Wang ◽  
Xiao Xia ◽  
Ning Yang ◽  
...  

AbstractMitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades participate in various processes, including plant growth and development as well as biotic and abiotic stress responses. MAPK kinases (MKKs), which link MPKs and MPKK kinases, are involved in MAPK cascades by mediating various plant stress responses. However, only a few MKKs from Brassica campestris (rape) have been functionally characterized. This study delivers the results from isolation and characterization of a novel gene, MKK2, from rape. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the cDNA length of MKK2 is 1,344 bp with an open reading frame of 1,068 bp, which encodes a polypeptide containing 355 amino acids. The obtained MKK2 exhibited a predicted molecular mass of 39.3 kDa and an isoelectric point of 6.8. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that MKK2 expression can be induced by cold and salt. Western blot analysis revealed that MKK2 protein expression can be induced by cold, salt, and UV-B radiation. The MKK2 protein was localized in the nucleus. These results suggest that MKK2 is important for the regulation of cold- and salt-stress responses in plants.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Ayatollahi ◽  
Vaiva Kazanaviciute ◽  
Volodymyr Shubchynskyy ◽  
Kotryna Kvederaviciute ◽  
Manfred Schwanninger ◽  
...  

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades transmit environmental signals and induce stress and defence responses in plants. These signalling cascades are negatively controlled by specific phosphatases of the type 2C Ser/Thr protein phosphatase (PP2C) and dual-specificity phosphatase (DSP) families that inactivate stress-induced MAPKs; however, the interplay between phosphatases of these different types has remained unknown. Our work reveals that different Arabidopsis MAPK phosphatases, the PP2C-type AP2C1 and the DSP-type MKP1, exhibit both specific and overlapping functions in plant stress responses. Each single mutant and ap2c1 mkp1 double mutant displayed enhanced wound-induced activation of MAPKs MPK3, MPK4, and MPK6, as well as induction of a set of transcription factors. Moreover, ap2c1 mkp1 double mutants show an autoimmune-like response, associated with elevated levels the stress hormones salicylic acid and ethylene, and of the phytoalexin camalexin. Interestingly, this phenotype is reduced in ap2c1 mkp1 mpk6 triple mutants, suggesting that the autoimmune-like response is due to MPK6 misregulation. We conclude that the evolutionarily distant MAPK phosphatases AP2C1 and MKP1 contribute crucially to the tight control of MPK6 activity, ensuring appropriately balanced stress signalling and suppression of autoimmune-like responses during plant growth and development.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 1114-1123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjali Khajuria ◽  
Nandni Sharma ◽  
Renu Bhardwaj ◽  
Puja Ohri

2004 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Chau Long ◽  
Ulrika Widegren ◽  
Juleen R. Zierath

Exercise training improves glucose homeostasis through enhanced insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle. Muscle contraction through physical exercise is a physiological stimulus that elicits multiple biochemical and biophysical responses and therefore requires an appropriate control network. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathways constitute a network of phosphorylation cascades that link cellular stress to changes in transcriptional activity. MAPK cascades are divided into four major subfamilies, including extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2, p38 MAPK, c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5. The present review will present the current understanding of parallel MAPK signalling in human skeletal muscle in response to exercise and muscle contraction, with an emphasis on identifying potential signalling mechanisms responsible for changes in gene expression.


Reproduction ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
pp. 707-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi En Yang ◽  
Mariana I Giassetti ◽  
Alan D Ealy

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) 2 and FGF10 are uterine- and conceptus-derived factors that mediate trophoblast activities in cattle and sheep. To extend our understanding of how FGFs may control peri-implantation development in ruminants, we determined whether FGF2 and FGF10 impact trophoblast cell migration. Transwell inserts containing 8 μm pores were used to examine whether FGF2 or FGF10 supplementation increased oTr1 cell migration. Supplementation with 0.5 ng/ml FGF2 or FGF10 did not affect oTr1 cell migration number, but exposure to 5 or 50 ng/ml FGF2 or FGF10 increased (P<0.05) oTr1 cell migration when compared with controls. The involvement of specific MAP kinase (MAPK) cascades in mediating this FGF response was examined by using pharmacological inhibitors of specific MAPKs. Western blot analysis indicated that FGF2 and FGF10 increased phosphorylation status of MAPKs 1, 3, 8, 9, and 14. Exposure to specific inhibitors blocked FGF induction of each MAPK. Exposure to inhibitors before supplementation with FGF2 or FGF10 prevented FGF induction of cell migration, indicating that each of these signaling molecules was required for FGF effects. A final series of studies examined whether FGF2 and FGF10 also mediated the migration of a bovine trophoblast line (CT1 cell). Increases in migration were detected in each cell line by supplementing 5 or 50 ng/ml FGF2 or FGF10 (P<0.05). In summary, FGF2 and FGF10 regulate migratory activity of ovine trophoblast cells through MAPK-dependent pathways. These outcomes provide further evidence that FGFs function as mediators of peri-implantation conceptus development in cattle and sheep.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZhiGuo Liu ◽  
Lixin Wang ◽  
Chaoling Xue ◽  
Yuetong Chu ◽  
Weilin Gao ◽  
...  

Abstract Backgrounds Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades play vital roles in signal transduction in response to various biotic and abiotic stresses. In the previous study we have identified 10 ZjMAPKs and 5 ZjMAPKKs in Chinese jujube genome and found some crucial members of ZjMAPKs and ZjMAPKKs might function importantly in the process of phytoplasma infection. But how these ZjMAPKKs were modulated by ZjMAPKKKs during this process is still elusive and little information is known about the MAPKKKs in Chinese jujube. Results In the current study, 56 ZjMAPKKKs were identified in the jujube genome and all of them contain the key S-TKc (serine/threonine protein kinase) domain which distributed in all 12 chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these ZjMAPKKKs could be classified into two subfamilies, of which 41 belonged to Raf, and 15 to MEKK subfamily. In addition, the ZjMAPKKKs in each subfamily share the same conserved motifs and gene structures, one pair of ZjMAPKKKs (15/16) was the only tandem duplication event on Chromosome 5. Furthermore, the expression profiles of these MAPKKKs in response to phytoplasma disease were investigated by qPCR. In the three main infected tissues (witches’ broom leaves, phyllody leaves, apparent normal leaves), the ZjMAPKKK26 and 45 were significantly up regulated and the ZjMAPKKK3, 43 and 50 were down regulated. While the ZjMAPKKK4, 10, 25 and 44 were significant highly induced in the sterile cultivated tissues infected by phytoplasma, and the ZjMAPKKK7, 30, 35, 37, 40, 41, 43 and 46 were significantly down regulated. Conclusions The identification and classification analysis of ZjMAPKKKs was firstly reported and some key individual ZjMAPKKKs genes might play essential roles in response to phytoplasma infection. This could provide initial understanding for the mechanism that how the ZjMAPKKKs were involved in jujube - phytoplasma infection.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 2079-2092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashu Singh ◽  
Manoj Kumar Sharma ◽  
R. S. Sengar

Proline accumulation occurs in a large range of plant species in retaliation to the numerous abiotic stresses. An exclusive research pattern suggests there is a pragmatic relation between proline accumulation and plant stress tolerance. In this review, we will discuss the metabolism of proline accumulation and its role in stress tolerance in plants. Pertaining to the literature cited clearly indicates that not only does it acts as an osmolyte, it also plays important roles during stress as a metal chelator and an antioxidative defence molecule. Moreover, when applied exogenously at low concentrations, proline enhanced stress tolerance in plants. However, some reports point out adverse effects of proline when applied at higher doses. Role of proline gene in seed germination, flowering and other developmental programmes; thus creation of transgene overexpressing this gene would provide better and robust plants. In this context this review gives a detailed account of different proline gene over-expressed in all the trans-genic crops so far.


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