Molecular Research on Stress Responses in Quercus spp.: From Classical Biochemistry to Systems Biology through Omics Analysis

The genus Quercus (oak), family Fagaceae, comprises around 500 species, being one of the most important and dominant woody angiosperms in the Northern Hemisphere. Nowadays, it is threatened by environmental cues, which are either of biotic or abiotic origin. This causes tree decline, dieback, and deforestation, which can worsen in a climate change scenario. In the 21st century, biotechnology should take a pivotal role in facing this problem and proposing sustainable management and conservation strategies for forests. As a non-domesticated, long-lived species, the only plausible approach for tree breeding is exploiting the natural diversity present in this species and the selection of elite, more resilient genotypes, based on molecular markers. In this direction, it is important to investigate the molecular mechanisms of the tolerance or resistance to stresses, and the identification of genes, gene products, and metabolites related to this phenotype. This research is being performed by using classical biochemistry or the most recent omics (genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) approaches, which should be integrated with other physiological and morphological techniques in the Systems Biology direction. This review is focused on the current state-of-the-art of such approaches for describing and integrating the latest knowledge on biotic and abiotic stress responses in Quercus spp., with special reference to Quercus ilex, the system on which the authors have been working for the last 15 years. While biotic stress factors mainly include fungi and insects such as Phytophthora cinnamomi, Cerambyx welensii, and Operophtera brumata, abiotic stress factors include salinity, drought, waterlogging, soil pollutants, cold, heat, carbon dioxide, ozone, and ultraviolet radiation. The review is structured following the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology and the omic cascade, from DNA (genomics, epigenomics, and DNA-based markers) to metabolites (metabolomics), through mRNA (transcriptomics) and proteins (proteomics). An integrated view of the different approaches, challenges, and future directions is critically discussed.

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Update on the Roles of Rice MAPK Cascades

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22041679 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 1679

Author(s):

Jie Chen ◽

Lihan Wang ◽

Meng Yuan

Keyword(s):

Signal Transduction ◽

Abiotic Stress ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Developmental Regulation ◽

Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽

Biotic And Abiotic Stress ◽

Mapk Kinase ◽

Mapk Cascades ◽

Mitogen Activated Protein

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades have been validated playing critical roles in diverse aspects of plant biology, from growth and developmental regulation, biotic and abiotic stress responses, to phytohormone signal transduction or responses. A classical MAPK cascade consists of a MAPK kinase kinase (MAPKKK), a MAPK kinase (MAPKK), and a MAPK. From the 75 MAPKKKs, eight MAPKKs, and 15 MAPKs of rice, a number of them have been functionally deciphered. Here, we update recent advances in knowledge of the roles of rice MAPK cascades, including their components and complicated action modes, their diversified functions controlling rice growth and developmental responses, coordinating resistance to biotic and abiotic stress, and conducting phytohormone signal transduction. Moreover, we summarize several complete MAPK cascades that harbor OsMAPKKK-OsMAPKK-OsMAPK, their interaction with different upstream components and their phosphorylation of diverse downstream substrates to fulfill their multiple roles. Furthermore, we state a comparison of networks of rice MAPK cascades from signal transduction crosstalk to the precise selection of downstream substrates. Additionally, we discuss putative concerns for elucidating the underlying molecular mechanisms and molecular functions of rice MAPK cascades in the future.

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Jute Responses and Tolerance to Abiotic Stress: Mechanisms and Approaches

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10081595 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 1595

Author(s):

Khussboo Rahman ◽

Naznin Ahmed ◽

Md. Rakib Hossain Raihan ◽

Farzana Nowroz ◽

Faria Jannat ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Abiotic Stress ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Growth Yield ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Stress Factors ◽

Growth Physiology ◽

Abiotic Stress Factors ◽

Hot And Humid Climates ◽

Adverse Environmental Conditions ◽

Cold Metal

Jute (Corchorus spp.) belongs to the Malvaceae family, and there are two species of jute, C. capsularis and C. olitorious. It is the second-largest natural bast fiber in the world according to production, which has diverse uses not only as a fiber but also as multiple industrial materials. Because of climate change, plants experience various stressors such as salt, drought, heat, cold, metal/metalloid toxicity, and flooding. Although jute is particularly adapted to grow in hot and humid climates, it is grown under a wide variety of climatic conditions and is relatively tolerant to some environmental adversities. However, abiotic stress often restricts its growth, yield, and quality significantly. Abiotic stress negatively affects the metabolic activities, growth, physiology, and fiber yield of jute. One of the major consequences of abiotic stress on the jute plant is the generation of reactive oxygen species, which lead to oxidative stress that damages its cellular organelles and biomolecules. However, jute’s responses to abiotic stress mainly depend on the plant’s age and type and duration of stress. Therefore, understanding the abiotic stress responses and the tolerance mechanism would help plant biologists and agronomists in developing climate-smart jute varieties and suitable cultivation packages for adverse environmental conditions. In this review, we summarized the best possible recent literature on the plant abiotic stress factors and their influence on jute plants. We described the possible approaches for stress tolerance mechanisms based on the available literature.

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Biotic and Abiotic Stress Responses of Domesticated Vigna Legumes: A Comprehensive Review

Microbial Mitigation of Stress Response of Food Legumes ◽

10.1201/9781003028413-3 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 11-23

Author(s):

Difo Voukang Harouna

Keyword(s):

Abiotic Stress ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Biotic And Abiotic Stress ◽

Comprehensive Review

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Genome-wide promoter analysis, homology modeling and protein interaction network of Dehydration Responsive Element Binding (DREB) gene family in Solanum tuberosum

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0261215 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (12) ◽

pp. e0261215

Author(s):

Qurat-ul ain-Ali ◽

Nida Mushtaq ◽

Rabia Amir ◽

Alvina Gul ◽

Muhammad Tahir ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Abiotic Stress ◽

Gene Family ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Promoter Analysis ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Regulatory Elements ◽

Start Codon ◽

Gene Promoters ◽

Responsive Element ◽

Dreb Gene

Dehydration Responsive Element Binding (DREB) regulates the expression of numerous stress-responsive genes, and hence plays a pivotal role in abiotic stress responses and tolerance in plants. The study aimed to develop a complete overview of the cis-acting regulatory elements (CAREs) present in S. tuberosum DREB gene promoters. A total of one hundred and four (104) cis-regulatory elements (CREs) were identified from 2.5kbp upstream of the start codon (ATG). The in-silico promoter analysis revealed variable sets of cis-elements and functional diversity with the predominance of light-responsive (30%), development-related (20%), abiotic stress-responsive (14%), and hormone-responsive (12%) elements in StDREBs. Among them, two light-responsive elements (Box-4 and G-box) were predicted in 64 and 61 StDREB genes, respectively. Two development-related motifs (AAGAA-motif and as-1) were abundant in StDREB gene promoters. Most of the DREB genes contained one or more Myeloblastosis (MYB) and Myelocytometosis (MYC) elements associated with abiotic stress responses. Hormone-responsive element i.e. ABRE was found in 59 out of 66 StDREB genes, which implied their role in dehydration and salinity stress. Moreover, six proteins were chosen corresponding to A1-A6 StDREB subgroups for secondary structure analysis and three-dimensional protein modeling followed by model validation through PROCHECK server by Ramachandran Plot. The predicted models demonstrated >90% of the residues in the favorable region, which further ensured their reliability. The present study also anticipated pocket binding sites and disordered regions (DRs) to gain insights into the structural flexibility and functional annotation of StDREB proteins. The protein association network determined the interaction of six selected StDREB proteins with potato proteins encoded by other gene families such as MYB and NAC, suggesting their similar functional roles in biological and molecular pathways. Overall, our results provide fundamental information for future functional analysis to understand the precise molecular mechanisms of the DREB gene family in S. tuberosum.

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Genome-wide identification of citrus calmodulin-like genes and their expression in response to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization and drought

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.1139/cjps-2020-0160 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Bo Shu ◽

YaChao Xie ◽

Fei Zhang ◽

Dejian Zhang ◽

Chunyan Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Abiotic Stress ◽

Drought Stress ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽

Biotic And Abiotic Stress ◽

Genome Wide ◽

A Genome

Calmodulin-like (CML) proteins represent a diverse family of protein in plants, and play significant roles in biotic and abiotic stress responses. However, the involvement of citrus CMLs in plant responses to drought stress (abiotic stress) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization remain relatively unknown. We characterized the citrus CML genes by analyzing the EF-hand domains and a genome-wide search, and identified a total of 38 such genes, distributed across at least nine chromosomes. Six tandem duplication clusters were observed in the CsCMLs, and 12 CsCMLs exhibited syntenic relationships with Arabidopsis thaliana CMLs. Gene expression analysis showed that 29 CsCMLs were expressed in the roots, and exhibited differential expression patterns. The regulation of CsCMLs expression was not consistent with the cis-elements identified in their promoters. CsCML2, 3, and 5 were upregulated in response to drought stress, and AMF colonization repressed the expression of CsCML7, 9, 12, 13,20, 27, 28, and 35,and induced that of CsCML1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 25, 30, 33, and 37. Furthermore, AMF colonization and drought stress exerted a synergistic effect, evident from the enhanced repression of CsCML7, 9, 12, 13, 27, 28, and 35 and enhanced expression of CsCML2, 3, and 5 under AMF colonization and drought stress. The present study provides valuable insights into the CsCML gene family and its responses to AMF colonization and drought stress.

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Effects of Substrate-Binding Site Residues on the Biochemical Properties of a Tau Class Glutathione S-Transferase from Oryza sativa

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes11010025 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 25 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xue Yang ◽

Jinchi Wei ◽

Zhihai Wu ◽

Jie Gao

Keyword(s):

Amino Acids ◽

Enzyme Activity ◽

Abiotic Stress ◽

Binding Site ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Stress Resistance ◽

Substrate Binding ◽

Biochemical Properties ◽

Biotic And Abiotic Stress ◽

Substrate Binding Site

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs)—an especially plant-specific tau class of GSTs—are key enzymes involved in biotic and abiotic stress responses. To improve the stress resistance of crops via the genetic modification of GSTs, we predicted the amino acids present in the GSH binding site (G-site) and hydrophobic substrate-binding site (H-site) of OsGSTU17, a tau class GST in rice. We then examined the enzyme activity, substrate specificity, enzyme kinetics and thermodynamic stability of the mutant enzymes. Our results showed that the hydrogen bonds between Lys42, Val56, Glu68, and Ser69 of the G-site and glutathione were essential for enzyme activity and thermal stability. The hydrophobic side chains of amino acids of the H-site contributed to enzyme activity toward 4-nitrobenzyl chloride but had an inhibitory effect on enzyme activity toward 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene and cumene hydroperoxide. Different amino acids of the H-site had different effects on enzyme activity toward a different substrate, 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole. Moreover, Leu112 and Phe162 were found to inhibit the catalytic efficiency of OsGSTU17 to 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole, while Pro16, Leu112, and Trp165 contributed to structural stability. The results of this research enhance the understanding of the relationship between the structure and function of tau class GSTs to improve the abiotic stress resistance of crops.

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Proteins involved in biotic and abiotic stress responses as the most significant biomarkers in the ripening of Pinot Noir skins

Functional & Integrative Genomics ◽

10.1007/s10142-010-0205-0 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 341-355 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Alfredo Simone Negri ◽

Elisa Robotti ◽

Bhakti Prinsi ◽

Luca Espen ◽

Emilio Marengo

Keyword(s):

Abiotic Stress ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Pinot Noir ◽

Biotic And Abiotic Stress

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Genome-Wide Characterization, Expression Profile Analysis of WRKY Family Genes in Santalum album and Functional Identification of Their Role in Abiotic Stress

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms20225676 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (22) ◽

pp. 5676 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Haifeng Yan ◽

Mingzhi Li ◽

Yuping Xiong ◽

Jianming Wu ◽

Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factors ◽

Abiotic Stress ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Protein Sequences ◽

Santalum Album ◽

Biotic And Abiotic Stress ◽

Functional Identification ◽

Wrky Protein

WRKY proteins are a large superfamily of transcription factors that are involved in diverse biological processes including development, as well as biotic and abiotic stress responses in plants. WRKY family proteins have been extensively characterized and analyzed in many plant species, including Arabidopsis, rice, and poplar. However, knowledge on WRKY transcription factors in Santalum album is scarce. Based on S. album genome and transcriptome data, 64 SaWRKY genes were identified in this study. A phylogenetic analysis based on the structures of WRKY protein sequences divided these genes into three major groups (I, II, III) together with WRKY protein sequences from Arabidopsis. Tissue-specific expression patterns showed that 37 SaWRKY genes were expressed in at least one of five tissues (leaves, roots, heartwood, sapwood, or the transition zone), while the remaining four genes weakly expressed in all of these tissues. Analysis of the expression profiles of the 42 SaWRKY genes after callus was initiated by salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) revealed that 25 and 24 SaWRKY genes, respectively, were significantly induced. The function of SaWRKY1, which was significantly up-regulated by SA and MeJA, was analyzed. SaWRKY1 was localized in the nucleus and its overexpression improved salt tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. Our study provides important information to further identify the functions of SaWRKY genes and to understand the roles of SaWRKY family genes involved in the development and in SA- and MeJA-mediated stress responses.

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