scholarly journals Targeted Metabolic and In-Silico Analyses Highlight Distinct Glucosinolates and Phenolics Signatures in Korean Rapeseed Cultivars

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2027
Author(s):  
Joonyup Kim ◽  
Soo In Sohn ◽  
Ramaraj Sathasivam ◽  
Allah Jurio Khaskheli ◽  
Min Cheol Kim ◽  
...  

Rapeseed is an economically important oilseed crop throughout the world. We examined the content and composition of glucosinolates (GSLs) and phenolics in the sprouts of seven Korean cultivars. A total of eight GSLs that include four aliphatic GSLs (AGSLs) (progoitrin, gluconapin, gluconapoleiferin, and glucobrassicanapin) and four indole GSLs (IGSLs) (4-methoxyglucobrassicin, 4-hydroxyglucobrassicin, neoglucobrassicin, and glucobrassicin) were identified in these cultivars. Of the total GSLs, the highest level was detected for progoitrin, while the lowest level was identified for glucobrassicanapin in all the cultivars. Phenolics that include chlorogenic acid, catechin hydrate, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, gallic acid, ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, epicatechin, caffeic acid, rutin, quercetin, trans-cinnamic acid, benzoic acid, and kaempferol were present in all the cultivars. Of these, rutin was identified with the highest level while trans-cinnamic acid was identified with the lowest level in all the cultivars. Cluster analysis revealed the unique metabolic signature of eight GSLs and thirteen phenolics for the seven cultivars of rapeseed, which implies that genomic commonality and variability resulted from the previous breeding program. Further, gene expression and cis-regulatory elements suggest that the biosynthesis of GSLs and phenolics of these cultivars appears to be regulated through transcription factors associated with stress responses, phytohormones, and cellular growth.

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 419
Author(s):  
Jordi Sardans ◽  
Josep Peñuelas

Potassium, mostly as a cation (K+), together with calcium (Ca2+) are the most abundant inorganic chemicals in plant cellular media, but they are rarely discussed. K+ is not a component of molecular or macromolecular plant structures, thus it is more difficult to link it to concrete metabolic pathways than nitrogen or phosphorus. Over the last two decades, many studies have reported on the role of K+ in several physiological functions, including controlling cellular growth and wood formation, xylem–phloem water content and movement, nutrient and metabolite transport, and stress responses. In this paper, we present an overview of contemporary findings associating K+ with various plant functions, emphasizing plant-mediated responses to environmental abiotic and biotic shifts and stresses by controlling transmembrane potentials and water, nutrient, and metabolite transport. These essential roles of K+ account for its high concentrations in the most active plant organs, such as leaves, and are consistent with the increasing number of ecological and agricultural studies that report K+ as a key element in the function and structure of terrestrial ecosystems, crop production, and global food security. We synthesized these roles from an integrated perspective, considering the metabolic and physiological functions of individual plants and their complex roles in terrestrial ecosystem functions and food security within the current context of ongoing global change. Thus, we provide a bridge between studies of K+ at the plant and ecological levels to ultimately claim that K+ should be considered at least at a level similar to N and P in terrestrial ecological studies.


BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiwei Chen ◽  
Longhua Zhou ◽  
Panpan Jiang ◽  
Ruiju Lu ◽  
Nigel G. Halford ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Sucrose nonfermenting-1 (SNF1)-related protein kinases (SnRKs) play important roles in regulating metabolism and stress responses in plants, providing a conduit for crosstalk between metabolic and stress signalling, in some cases involving the stress hormone, abscisic acid (ABA). The burgeoning and divergence of the plant gene family has led to the evolution of three subfamilies, SnRK1, SnRK2 and SnRK3, of which SnRK2 and SnRK3 are unique to plants. Therefore, the study of SnRKs in crops may lead to the development of strategies for breeding crop varieties that are more resilient under stress conditions. In the present study, we describe the SnRK gene family of barley (Hordeum vulgare), the widespread cultivation of which can be attributed to its good adaptation to different environments. Results The barley HvSnRK gene family was elucidated in its entirety from publicly-available genome data and found to comprise 50 genes. Phylogenetic analyses assigned six of the genes to the HvSnRK1 subfamily, 10 to HvSnRK2 and 34 to HvSnRK3. The search was validated by applying it to Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and rice (Oryza sativa) genome data, identifying 50 SnRK genes in rice (four OsSnRK1, 11 OsSnRK2 and 35 OsSnRK3) and 39 in Arabidopsis (three AtSnRK1, 10 AtSnRK2 and 26 AtSnRK3). Specific motifs were identified in the encoded barley proteins, and multiple putative regulatory elements were found in the gene promoters, with light-regulated elements (LRE), ABA response elements (ABRE) and methyl jasmonate response elements (MeJa) the most common. RNA-seq analysis showed that many of the HvSnRK genes responded to ABA, some positively, some negatively and some with complex time-dependent responses. Conclusions The barley HvSnRK gene family is large, comprising 50 members, subdivided into HvSnRK1 (6 members), HvSnRK2 (10 members) and HvSnRK3 (34 members), showing differential positive and negative responses to ABA.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1371
Author(s):  
Madiha Zaynab ◽  
Athar Hussain ◽  
Yasir Sharif ◽  
Mahpara Fatima ◽  
Mateen Sajid ◽  
...  

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are the universal signal transduction networks that regulate cell growth and development, hormone signaling, and other environmental stresses. However, their essential contribution to plant tolerance is very little known in the potato (Solanum tuberosum) plant. The current study carried out a genome-wide study of StMAPK and provided a deep insight using bioinformatics tools. In addition, the relative expression of StMAPKs was also assessed in different plant tissues. The similarity search results identified a total of 22 StMAPK genes in the potato genome. The sequence alignment also showed conserved motif TEY/TDY in most StMAPKs with conserved docking LHDXXEP sites. The phylogenetic analysis divided all 22 StMAPK genes into five groups, i.e., A, B, C, D, and E, showing some common structural motifs. In addition, most of the StMAPKs were found in a cluster form at the terminal of chromosomes. The promoter analysis predicted several stress-responsive Cis-acting regulatory elements in StMAPK genes. Gene duplication under selection pressure also indicated several purifying and positive selections in StMAPK genes. In potato, StMAPK2, StMAPK6, and StMAPK19 showed a high expression in response to heat stress. Under ABA and IAA treatment, the expression of the total 20 StMAPK genes revealed that ABA and IAA played an essential role in this defense process. The expression profiling and real-time qPCR (RT-qPCR) exhibited their high expression in roots and stems compared to leaves. These results deliver primary data for functional analysis and provide reference data for other important crops.


2019 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-35
Author(s):  
Krissana Boonpa ◽  
Suparuk Tantong ◽  
Kamonwan Weerawanich ◽  
Pawinee Panpetch ◽  
Onanong Pringsulaka ◽  
...  

Thionins are a family of antimicrobial peptides. We performed in silico expression analyses of the 44 rice (Oryza sativa) thionins (OsTHIONs). Modulated expression levels of OsTHIONs under different treatments suggest their involvement in many processes, including biotic, abiotic, and nutritional stress responses, and in hormone signaling. OsTHION15 (LOC_Os06g32600) was selected for further characterization based on several in silico analyses. OsTHION15 in O. sativa subsp. indica ‘KDML 105’ was expressed in all of the tissues and organs examined, including germinating seed, leaves, and roots of seedlings and mature plants, and inflorescences. To investigate the antimicrobial activity of OsTHION15, we produced a recombinant peptide in Escherichia coli Rosetta-gami (DE3). The recombinant OsTHION15 exhibited inhibitory activities toward rice-pathogenic bacteria such as Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and Pectobacterium carotovorum pv. atroseptica, with minimum inhibitory concentrations of 112.6 and 14.1 µg ml−1, respectively. A significant hyphal growth inhibition was also observed toward Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense and Helminthosporium oryzae. In addition, we demonstrated the in planta antibacterial activity of this peptide in Nicotiana benthamiana against X. campestris pv. glycines. These activities suggest the possible application of OsTHION15 in plant disease control.


1959 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 537-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. McCalla ◽  
A. C. Neish

p-Coumaric, caffeic, ferulic, and sinapic acids were found to occur in Salvia splendens Sello in alkali-labile compounds of unknown constitution. A number of C14-labelled compounds were administered to leafy cuttings of salvia and these phenolic acids were isolated after a metabolic period of several hours and their specific activities measured. Cinnamic acid, dihydrocinnamic acid, L-phenylalanine, and (−)-phenyllactic acid were found to be good precursors of the phenolic acids. D-Phenylalanine, L-tyrosine, and (+)-phenyllactic acid were poor precursors. A kinetic study of the formation of the phenolic acids from L-phenylalanine-C14 gave data consistent with the view that p-coumaric acid → caffeic acid → ferulic acid → sinapic acid, and that these compounds can act as intermediates in lignification. Feeding of C14-labelled members of this series showed that salvia could convert any one to a more complex member of the series but not so readily to a simpler member. Caffeic acid-β-C14 was obtained from salvia after the feeding of L-phenylalanine-β-C14 or cinnamic acid-β-C14, and caffeic acid labelled only in the ring was obtained after feeding generally labelled shikimic acid.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey P. Simpson ◽  
Jacob Olson ◽  
Brian Dilkes ◽  
Clint Chapple

The synthesis of small organic molecules, known as specialized or secondary metabolites, is one mechanism by which plants resist and tolerate biotic and abiotic stress. Many specialized metabolites are derived from the aromatic amino acids phenylalanine (Phe) and tyrosine (Tyr). In addition, the improved characterization of compounds derived from these amino acids could inform strategies for developing crops with greater resilience and improved traits for the biorefinery. Sorghum and other grasses possess phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) enzymes that generate cinnamic acid from Phe and bifunctional phenylalanine/tyrosine ammonia-lyase (PTAL) enzymes that generate cinnamic acid and p-coumaric acid from Phe and Tyr, respectively. Cinnamic acid can, in turn, be converted into p-coumaric acid by cinnamate 4-hydroxylase. Thus, Phe and Tyr are both precursors of common downstream products. Not all derivatives of Phe and Tyr are shared, however, and each can act as a precursor for unique metabolites. In this study, 13C isotopic-labeled precursors and the recently developed Precursor of Origin Determination in Untargeted Metabolomics (PODIUM) mass spectrometry (MS) analytical pipeline were used to identify over 600 MS features derived from Phe and Tyr in sorghum. These features comprised 20% of the MS signal collected by reverse-phase chromatography and detected through negative-ionization. Ninety percent of the labeled mass features were derived from both Phe and Tyr, although the proportional contribution of each precursor varied. In addition, the relative incorporation of Phe and Tyr varied between metabolites and tissues, suggesting the existence of multiple pools of p-coumaric acid that are fed by the two amino acids. Furthermore, Phe incorporation was greater for many known hydroxycinnamate esters and flavonoid glycosides. In contrast, mass features derived exclusively from Tyr were the most abundant in every tissue. The Phe- and Tyr-derived metabolite library was also utilized to retrospectively annotate soluble MS features in two brown midrib mutants (bmr6 and bmr12) identifying several MS features that change significantly in each mutant.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0261215
Author(s):  
Qurat-ul ain-Ali ◽  
Nida Mushtaq ◽  
Rabia Amir ◽  
Alvina Gul ◽  
Muhammad Tahir ◽  
...  

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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