Highest Defoliation Tolerance in Amaranthus cruentus Plants at Panicle Development Is Associated With Sugar Starvation Responses

Defoliation tolerance (DT) in Amaranthus cruentus is known to reach its apex at the panicle emergence (PE) phase and to decline to minimal levels at flowering (FL). In this study, defoliation-induced changes were recorded in the content of non-structural carbohydrates and raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs), and in the expression and/or activity of sugar starvation response-associated genes in plants defoliated at different vegetative and reproductive stages. This strategy identified sugar-starvation-related factors that explained the opposite DT observed at these key developmental stages. Peak DT at PE was associated with increased cytosolic invertase (CI) activity in all organs and with the extensive induction of various class II trehalose-phosphate synthase (TPS) genes. Contrariwise, least DT at FL coincided with a sharp depletion of starch reserves and with sucrose (Suc) accumulation, in leaves and stems, the latter of which was consistent with very low levels of CI and vacuolar invertase activities that were not further modified by defoliation. Increased Suc suggested growth-inhibiting conditions associated with altered cytosolic Suc-to-hexose ratios in plants defoliated at FL. Augmented cell wall invertase activity in leaves and roots, probably acting in a regulatory rather than hydrolytic role, was also associated with minimal DT observed at FL. The widespread contrast in gene expression patterns in panicles also matched the opposite DT observed at PE and FL. These results reinforce the concept that a localized sugar starvation response caused by C partitioning is crucial for DT in grain amaranth.

Expression of Recombinant Human Octamer-Binding Transcription Factor 4 in Rice Suspension Cells

The rice cell suspension culture system is a good way to produce recombinant human proteins, owing to its high biosafety and low production cost. Human Octamer-binding Transcription Factor 4 (Oct4) is a fundamental transcription factor responsible for maintaining human pluripotent embryonic stem cells. Recombinant Oct4 protein has been used to induce pluripotent stem cells. In this study, recombinant Oct4 proteins are produced via a sugar starvation-inducible αAmy3/RAmy3D promoter–signal peptide-based rice recombinant protein expression system. Oct4 mRNAs accumulate in the transgenic rice suspension cells under sugar starvation. The Oct4 recombinant protein is detected in the transgenic rice suspension cells, and its highest yield is approximately 0.41% of total cellular soluble proteins after one day of sugar starvation. The rice cell-synthesized recombinant human Oct4 protein show DNA-binding activity in vitro, which implies that the protein structure is correct for enabling specific binding to the target DNA motif.

PPi plays a role in sugar starvation tolerance

H+-PPase acidifies the endo-membrane compartments utilizing the energy of PPi hydrolysis. This acidification creates an electrochemical proton gradient that powers the secondary active transport and allows for vacuolar accumulation of several materials against their concentration gradients. The hydrolysis of the cytosolic PPi is necessary for the forwardness of the PPi-generating reactions. However, information is lacking on the role of PPi in adaptation to sugar starvation and low energy status in plants. Here, several mutants lacking the functional H+-PPases were used to illuminate this role. Three alleles of fugu5 mutants defective in type I H+-PPase exhibited better tolerance to sugar starvation than wild-type plants, when grown on ½ and full-strength MS media under photosynthesis-constraining low light intensity. The PPi level in fugu5 mutants was significantly higher than its level in wild type and type II H+-PPase-defective mutants. SnRK1 (Sucrose-non-fermenting1-Related kinase-1) plays a central role in the coordination of the plant transcriptome to the energy signals. SnRK1 senses the energy depletion in plant cells, and controls the expression of genes and phosphorylation of proteins in a way that promotes catabolism, and inhibits anabolism. Sugar starvation significantly induced the SnRK1 phosphorylation activity in wild type and type II H+-PPase lacking mutants. Whereas the activity remained unchanged in sugar-starved fugu5 mutants. This is possibly achieved through activation of PPi-dependent enzymes. Results suggest that the high PPi level in fugu5 mutants might contribute to more efficiently use of low level of ATP under sugar starvation and low light conditions.

Global lysine acetylation and 2-hydroxyisobutyrylation reveal the metabolism conversion mechanism in Giardia lamblia

Giardia lamblia (G. lamblia) disease is a zoonosis with a-infection rate affecting the general population of the world. Despite the constant possibility of damage due to their own metabolism, G. lamblia have survived and evolved to adapt to various environments. However, research on energy-metabolism conversion in G. lamblia is limited. This study aimed to reveal the dynamic metabolism-conversion mechanism in G. lamblia under sugar starvation by detecting global lysine acetylation and 2-hydroxyisobutyrylation sites combined with quantitative proteome analyses. A total of 2999 acetylation sites on 956 proteins and 8877 2-hydroxyisobutyryl sites on 1546 proteins were quantified under sugar starvation. Integrated Kac and Khib data revealed that modified proteins were associated with arginine biosynthesis, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism. These findings suggested that lysine acetylation and 2-hydroxyisobutyrylation were ubiquitous and provided deep insight into the metabolism-conversion mechanism in G. lamblia under sugar starvation. Overall, these results can help understand the biology of G. lamblia infections and reveal the evolution rule from prokaryote to eukaryote.

Participation of ABA Metabolism and ROS Generation in Sugar Starvation-Induced Senescence of Rice Flag Leaves

Background: Both sucrose and abscisic acid (ABA) play pivotal role in the regulation of plant leaf senescence. However, the exact mechanism by which sugar starvation , ABA, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) interact with each other during leaf senescence remains largely unknown. In this study, the genotype-dependent alteration in temporal patterns of sugar concentration during leaf senescence and its relation to ABA metabolism and ROS generation were investigated by using the premature senescence of flag leaf ( psf ) mutant and its wild type. Results: Results showed that sugar starvation-induced leaf senescence was closely associated with the endogenous ABA concentration and ROS level in senescent leaves. Sugar starvation accelerated leaf senescence, concomitantly with the marked increase in ABA concentration and malonaldehyde (MDA) accumulation in detached leaves. Conversely, exogenous sugar treatment significantly suppressed the ABA concentration ad ROS level in detached leaves, thus leaf senescence was delayed by exogenous sugar supply. Pharmacological tests revealed that ABA biosynthesis inhibitor (NDGA) delayed the sugar starvation-induced leaf senescence, while ABA catabolism inhibitor (DNCZ) accelerated leaf senescence and significantly increased the endogenous ABA content in senescent leaves. For the expression patterns of ABA synthesis and catabolism related genes induced by sugar starvation, exogenous sucrose supply, NDGA and DNCZ. sugar starvation up-regulated the OsABA8ox1 transcript, while exogenous sucrose and NDGA down-regulated the transciptional expressions of OsNCED1 , OsNCED4 and OsNCED5 and OsABA8ox2 and OsABA8ox3 e by sugar starvation and DNCZ, while the transcript of was increased. Conclusion: Together, our results demonstrated that the rise in endogenous ABA content during sugar starvation-induced leaf senescence is mostly caused by the suppression of ABA catabolism, rather than the enhancement of ABA biosynthesis, and the expression of ABA metabolic genes determines the equilibrium between ABA biosynthesis and catabolism that eventually influence cross-talk between endogenous factors. The breaking for the equilibrium between ABA biosynthesis and catabolism was strongly responsible for sugar starvation-induced leaf senescence, which was resulted from the suppression of ABA catabolism, rather than the enhancement of ABA biosynthesis .

Sugar starvation-regulated MYBS2 and 14-3-3 protein interactions enhance plant growth, stress tolerance, and grain weight in rice

Autotrophic plants have evolved distinctive mechanisms for maintaining a range of homeostatic states for sugars. The on/off switch of reversible gene expression by sugar starvation/provision represents one of the major mechanisms by which sugar levels are maintained, but the details remain unclear. α-Amylase (αAmy) is the key enzyme for hydrolyzing starch into sugars for plant growth, and it is induced by sugar starvation and repressed by sugar provision. αAmy can also be induced by various other stresses, but the physiological significance is unclear. Here, we reveal that the on/off switch of αAmy expression is regulated by 2 MYB transcription factors competing for the same promoter element. MYBS1 promotes αAmy expression under sugar starvation, whereas MYBS2 represses it. Sugar starvation promotes nuclear import of MYBS1 and nuclear export of MYBS2, whereas sugar provision has the opposite effects. Phosphorylation of MYBS2 at distinct serine residues plays important roles in regulating its sugar-dependent nucleocytoplasmic shuttling and maintenance in cytoplasm by 14-3-3 proteins. Moreover, dehydration, heat, and osmotic stress repress MYBS2 expression, thereby inducing αAmy3. Importantly, activation of αAmy3 and suppression of MYBS2 enhances plant growth, stress tolerance, and total grain weight per plant in rice. Our findings reveal insights into a unique regulatory mechanism for an on/off switch of reversible gene expression in maintaining sugar homeostatic states, which tightly regulates plant growth and development, and also highlight MYBS2 and αAmy3 as potential targets for crop improvement.