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Authors: Takuya Yoshida, Julia Mergner, Zhenyu Yang, Jinghui Liu, Bernhard Kuster, Alisdair R. Fernie and Erwin Grill.
The Plant Journal (2024)
Abstract: "Phytohormones are essential signaling molecules regulating various processes in growth, development, and stress responses. Genetic and molecular studies, especially using Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis), have discovered many important players involved in hormone perception, signal transduction, transport, and metabolism. Phytohormone signaling pathways are extensively interconnected with other endogenous and environmental stimuli. However, our knowledge of the huge and complex molecular network governed by a hormone remains limited. Here we report a global overview of downstream events of an abscisic acid (ABA) receptor, REGULATORY COMPONENTS OF ABA RECEPTOR (RCAR) 6 (also known as PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE 1 [PYR1]-LIKE [PYL] 12), by integrating phosphoproteomic, proteomic and metabolite profiles. Our data suggest that the RCAR6 overexpression constitutively decreases the protein levels of its coreceptors, namely clade A protein phosphatases of type 2C, and activates sucrose non-fermenting-1 (SNF1)-related protein kinase 1 (SnRK1) and SnRK2, the central regulators of energy and ABA signaling pathways. Furthermore, several enzymes in sugar metabolism were differentially phosphorylated and expressed in the RCAR6 line, and the metabolite profile revealed altered accumulations of several organic acids and amino acids. These results indicate that energy- and water-saving mechanisms mediated by the SnRK1 and SnRK2 kinases, respectively, are under the control of the ABA receptor-coreceptor complexes."
Authors: June-Sik Kim, Satoshi Kidokoro, Kazuko Yamaguchi-Shinozaki and Kazuo Shinozaki.
Plant Physiology (2024)
Abstract: "Drought and cold represent distinct types of abiotic stress, each initiating unique primary signaling pathways in response to dehydration and temperature changes, respectively. However, a convergence at the gene regulatory level is observed where a common set of stress-responsive genes is activated to mitigate the impacts of both stresses. In this review, we explore these intricate regulatory networks, illustrating how plants coordinate distinct stress signals into a collective transcriptional strategy. We delve into the molecular mechanisms of stress perception, stress signaling, and the activation of gene regulatory pathways, with a focus on insights gained from model species. By elucidating both the shared and distinct aspects of plant responses to drought and cold, we provide insight into the adaptive strategies of plants, paving the way for the engineering of stress-resilient crop varieties that can withstand a changing climate."
Authors: Hikaru Sato, Junya Mizoi, Kazuo Shinozaki and Kazuko Yamaguchi-Shinozaki.
The Plant Journal (2024)
Significance Statement: In this review, we explain how plants respond to drought, heat, and their combined stress at both physiological and molecular levels. Additionally, we summarize novel resilience mechanisms revealed through natural variations and discuss strategies for developing crops resilient to the increasing dry and hot conditions resulting from climate change.
Abstract: "Global climate change is predicted to result in increased yield losses of agricultural crops caused by environmental conditions. In particular, heat and drought stress are major factors that negatively affect plant development and reproduction, and previous studies have revealed how these stresses induce plant responses at physiological and molecular levels. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of current knowledge concerning how drought, heat, and combinations of these stress conditions affect the status of plants, including crops, by affecting factors such as stomatal conductance, photosynthetic activity, cellular oxidative conditions, metabolomic profiles, and molecular signaling mechanisms. We further discuss stress-responsive regulatory factors such as transcription factors and signaling factors, which play critical roles in adaptation to both drought and heat stress conditions and potentially function as ‘hubs’ in drought and/or heat stress responses. Additionally, we present recent findings based on forward genetic approaches that reveal natural variations in agricultural crops that play critical roles in agricultural traits under drought and/or heat conditions. Finally, we provide an overview of the application of decades of study results to actual agricultural fields as a strategy to increase drought and/or heat stress tolerance. This review summarizes our current understanding of plant responses to drought, heat, and combinations of these stress conditions."
Authors: Ariel Cerda and José M. Alvarez.
New Phytologist (2024)
Abstract: "Drought and the availability of nitrate, the predominant source of nitrogen (N) in agriculture, are major factors limiting plant growth and crop productivity. The dissection of the transcriptional networks' components integrating drought stress and nitrate responses provides valuable insights into how plants effectively balance stress response with growth programs. Recent evidence in Arabidopsis thaliana indicates that transcription factors (TFs) involved in abscisic acid (ABA) signaling affect N metabolism and nitrate responses, and reciprocally, components of nitrate signaling might affect ABA and drought gene responses. Advances in understanding regulatory circuits of nitrate and drought crosstalk in plant tissues empower targeted genetic modifications to enhance plant development and stress resistance, critical traits for optimizing crop yield and promoting sustainable agriculture."
Authors: Takuya Yoshida and Alisdair R. Fernie
Journal of Experimental Botany (2024)
Abstract: "Phytohormones are essential signaling molecules globally regulating many processes of plants, including their growth, development and stress responses. The promotion of growth and the enhancement of stress resistance have to be balanced, especially under adverse conditions such as drought stress, because of limited resources. Plants cope with drought stress via various strategies, including the transcriptional regulation of stress-responsive genes and the adjustment of metabolism, and phytohormones play roles in these processes. However, besides abscisic acid (ABA) is an important signal under drought, less attention has been paid to other phytohormones. In this review, we summarize progress in the understanding of phytohormone-regulated primary metabolism under water-limited conditions, especially in Arabidopsis thaliana, and highlight recent findings concerning the amino acids associated with ABA metabolism and signaling. We also discuss how phytohormones function antagonistically and synergistically in order to balance growth and stress responses."
Authors: Jun Yang, Reqing He, Zhipeng Qu, Jinbao Gu, Liyun Jiang, Xiangqiang Zhan, Ying Gao, David L. Adelson, Sisi Li, Zhen-Yu Wang, Youlin Zhu and Dong Wang.
Developmental Cell (2023)
Highlights: • ARTA is involved in plant responses to abscisic acid (ABA) by regulating ABI5 gene expression • SAD2 interacts with ARTA through its long noncoding RNA-binding region • ABA treatment reduces MYB7 binding at the ABI5 promoter • ARTA impairs SAD2-mediated nuclear trafficking of MYB7 in plant responses to ABA
Abstract: "In eukaryotes, transcription factors are a crucial element in the regulation of gene expression, and nuclear translocation is the key to the function of transcription factors. Here, we show that the long intergenic noncoding RNA ARTA interacts with an importin β-like protein, SAD2, through a long noncoding RNA-binding region embedded in the carboxyl terminal, and then it blocks the import of the transcription factor MYB7 into the nucleus. Abscisic acid (ABA)-induced ARTA expression can positively regulate ABI5 expression by fine-tuning MYB7 nuclear trafficking. Therefore, the mutation of arta represses ABI5 expression, resulting in desensitization to ABA, thereby reducing Arabidopsis drought tolerance. Our results demonstrate that lncRNA can hijack a nuclear trafficking receptor to modulate the nuclear import of a transcription factor during plant responses to environmental stimuli."
Authors: Zhenning Teng, Jiahan Lv, Yinke Chen, Jianhua Zhang and Nenghui Ye.
The Crop Journal (2023)
Abstract: "Root architecture development, an agronomic trait that influences crop yield, is regulated by multiple plant hormones. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a stress hormone that responds to multiple stresses, including salt, drought, and cold stress, and modulates various aspects of plant growth and development. In recent years, it has been found that ABA synthesized under mild stress or well-watered conditions can support plant growth and stress resistance by positively regulating root architecture development. In this review, we summarize the molecular, cellular, and organismal basis of ABA homeostasis in the root and how ABA signaling affects root architecture development both as an inhibitor and as an activator. We discuss the implications of these studies and the potential for exploiting the components of ABA signaling in designing crop plants with improved root system development and stress resistance."
Authors: Meng-Chun Lin, I-Chieh Tseng, Ching-Lan Wang, Wen-Rong Hsiao, Yun-Jhih Shih, Wen-Dar Lin, Su-May Yu and Tuan-hua David Ho.
bioRxiv (2023)
Abstract: "Water deficit stress causes devastating loss of crop yield worldwide. Improving crop drought resistance has become an urgent issue. Here we report that a group of abscisic acid (ABA)/drought stress-induced monocot-specific, intrinsically disordered, and highly proline-rich proteins, REPETITIVE PROLINE-RICH PROTEINS (RePRPs), play pivotal roles in drought resistance in rice seedlings. Rice ectopically expressing RePRPs outlived wild-type rice under extreme drought conditions primarily due to two underlying mechanisms. First, RePRP reduces water loss by decreasing stomata conductance in shoot. In addition, RePRP overexpression enhances the levels of extracellular water barriers such as lignin and suberin, primarily in the root vascular bundle. Several groups of genes involved in lignin biosynthesis, especially the wall-bound peroxidase responsible for the final assembly of the lignin network, were induced by RePRP. Second, overexpression of RePRP leads to lowered root osmotic potential. Root cell osmotic pressure was more negative in rice plants overexpressing RePRP2 than wild-type plants, and the concentration of a key osmolyte, proline, was enhanced. Furthermore, the protein levels of two aquaporins that are important for drought stress tolerance were elevated. Hence, ABA/stress-induced RePRP expression leads to several beneficial traits of drought resistance, including lower water loss rate upon dehydration and higher root water use efficiency under drought conditions. This group of unique stress proteins may be an important target for technology development in enhancing drought stress resistance in cereals."
Authors: Miguel-Ángel Torres and Diego José Berlanga.
Molecular Plant (2023)
Excerpt: "In the accompanying article, Wang et al. (2023) identify in rice a new kinase that activates RBOH-dependent ROS production in ABA signaling. Rice Ca2+/CALMODULIN-DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASE (CCaMK) DOESN'T MAKE INFECTIONS 3 (DMI3) was previously recognized as a positive regulator of ABA signaling, increasing ABA sensitivity and stress tolerance, and promoting the induction of antioxidant defences (Ni et al., 2019). In the present study, Wang et al. (2023) identify OsRBOHB as the main NADPH oxidase involved in ABA induced H2O2 production, and show that OsDMI3 interacts with and phosphorylates OsRBOHB at Ser-191. This phosphorylation positively regulates and enhances the production of H2O2 in ABA signaling, thereby increasing the sensitivity of seed germination and root growth to ABA and the tolerance of rice plants to drought and oxidative stress. The discovery of this novel regulatory mechanism of RBOH-dependent ROS production linked to Ca2+ signaling, added to the recent identification of proteins functioning as H2O2 sensors, point to the existence of positive feed-back regulatory loops to amplify H2O2 signaling and enhance downstream responses (Figure 1)."
Text of Figure: "Several amplification loops enhance H2O2 production and Ca2+ signaling in response to ABA. In the presence of ABA, loss of inhibition by class A PP2Cs activates SnRK2s (like OsSAPK8/9/10) that phosphorylate different targets, including RBOHs (Ser-140 in OsRBOHB) to trigger initial apoplastic H2O2 production. Downstream H2O2 targets comprise receptor kinases (like AtHPCA1) that activate channels allowing Ca+2 entry into the cytosol. Ca+2 will directly stimulate RBOH activity via its EF hands or indirectly through the activation of CCaMK (OsDMI3) that phosphorylates Ser-191 in OsRBOHB and further enhance RBOH activity to produce a second and sustained ABA-induced H2O2 burst. H2O2 can also contribute to enhance RBOH activity by oxidizing cysteins in clue inhibitors of ABA signaling, thus conforming additional amplification loops. H2O2 entering the cell through aquaporins (AQP) can oxidize clade K PP2Cs (OsPP45), releasing the inhibition of OsDMI3. In addition, H2O2 can oxidize thiol peroxidase PRXIIB, which forms a disulfide bridge with and inhibits clade A PP2Cs (AtABI2). Inhibition of these phosphatases allows further activation of SnRK2s to enhance downstream signaling, including phosphorylation of RBOH at Ser-140. These various positive feedback loops will augment H2O2 (and Ca+2) signaling to enhance ABA responses. Crosses indicate loss of inhibition of signaling components by ABA (blue) or H2O2 (red) that amplify signaling."
Author: Emma Marris
Nature (2023)
Excepts: "Microphones capture ultrasonic crackles from plants that are water-deprived or injured."
"Plants do not suffer in silence. Instead, when thirsty or stressed, plants make “airborne sounds,” according to a study published today in Cell1. Plants that need water or have recently had their stems cut produce up to roughly 35 sounds per hour, the authors found. But well-hydrated and uncut plants are much quieter, making only about one sound per hour. The reason you have probably never heard a thirsty plant make noise is that the sounds are ultrasonic — about 20–100 kilohertz. That means they are so high-pitched that very few humans could hear them. Some animals, however, probably can. Bats, mice and moths could potentially live in a world filled with the sounds of plants, and previous work by the same team has found that plants respond to sounds made by animals, too."
"The team produced a machine-learning model to deduce whether a plant had been cut or was water stressed from the sounds it made, with about 70% accuracy. This result suggests a possible role for the audio monitoring of plants in farming and horticulture. To test the practicality of this approach, the team tried recording plants in a greenhouse. With the aid of a computer program trained to filter out background noise from wind and air-conditioning units, the plants could still be heard. Pilot studies by the authors suggest that tomato and tobacco plants are not outliers. Wheat (Triticum aestivum), corn (Zea mays) and wine grapes (Vitis vinifera) also make noises when they are thirsty.
Authors: Xinkai Jin, Yifan Zhang, Xingxing Li and Junli Huang.
The Plant Journal (2023)
Abstract: "The antagonism between gibberellin (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathways is vital to balance plant growth and stress response. Nevertheless, the mechanism by which plants determine the balance remains to be elucidated. Here, we report that rice NUCLEAR FACTOR-Y A3 (OsNF-YA3) modulates GA- and ABA-mediated balance between plant growth and osmotic stress tolerance. OsNF-YA3 loss-of-function mutants exhibit stunted growth, compromised GA biosynthetic gene expression, and decreased GA levels, while its overexpression lines have promoted growth and enhanced GA content. ChIP-qPCR analysis and transient transcriptional regulation assays demonstrate that OsNF-YA3 activates GA biosynthetic gene OsGA20ox1 expression. Furthermore, the DELLA protein SLENDER RICE1 (SLR1) physically interacts with OsNF-YA3 and thus inhibits its transcriptional activity. On the other side, OsNF-YA3 negatively regulates plant osmotic stress tolerance by repressing ABA response. OsNF-YA3 reduces ABA levels by transcriptionally regulating ABA catabolic genes OsABA8ox1 and OsABA8ox3 by binding to their promoters. Furthermore, OSMOTIC STRESS/ABA-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE 9 (SAPK9), the positive component in ABA signaling, interacts with OsNF-YA3 and mediates OsNF-YA3 phosphorylation, resulting in its degradation in plants. Collectively, our findings establish OsNF-YA3 as an important transcription factor that positively modulates GA-regulated plant growth and negatively controls ABA-mediated water-deficit and salt tolerance. These findings shed light on the regulatory mechanism underlying the balance between the growth and stress response of the plant."
Authors: Ameena Fatima Alvi, Zebus Sehar, Mehar Fatma, Asim Masood and Nafees A. Khan.
Plants (2022)
Abstract: "Improving plant resilience to changing environmental conditions is the primary focus of today’s scientific research globally. It is essential to find various strategies for the better survival of plants with higher resistance potential to climate change. Strigolactones (SLs) are multifunctional β-carotene derivative molecules that determine a range of plant growth and development aspects, such as root architecture, shoot branching, chlorophyll synthesis, and senescence. SLs facilitate strong defense responses against drought, salinity, heavy metal, nutrient starvation, and heat stress. The SLs trigger other hormonal-responsive pathways and determine plant resilience against stressful environments. This review focuses on the mechanisms regulated by SLs and interaction with other plant hormones to regulate plant developmental processes and SLs’ influence on the mitigation of plant damage under abiotic stresses. A better understanding of the signaling and perception of SLs may lead to the path for the sustainability of plants in the changing environmental scenario. The SLs may be considered as an opening door toward sustainable agriculture."
Authors: Wen-Cheng Liu, Ru-Feng Song, Si-Qiu Zheng, Ting-Ting Li, Bing-Lei Zhang, Xiang Gao and Ying-Tang Lu.
Molecular Plant (2022)
Abstract: "To adapt to changing environments, plants have evolved elaborate regulatory mechanisms balancing their growth with stress responses. It is currently unclear whether and how the tryptophan (Trp), the growth-related hormone auxin, and the stress hormone abscisic acid (ABA) are coordinated in this trade-off. Here, we show that tryptophan synthase β subunit 1 (TSB1) is involved in the coordination of Trp and ABA, thereby affecting plant growth and abiotic stress responses. Plants experiencing high salinity or drought display reduced TSB1 expression, resulting in decreased Trp and auxin accumulation and thus reduced growth. In comparison with the wild type, amiR-TSB1 lines and TSB1 mutants exhibited repressed growth under non-stress conditions but had enhanced ABA accumulation and stress tolerance when subjected to salt or drought stress. Furthermore, we found that TSB1 interacts with and inhibits β-glucosidase 1 (BG1), which hydrolyses glucose-conjugated ABA into active ABA. Mutation of BG1 in the amiR-TSB1 lines compromised their increased ABA accumulation and enhanced stress tolerance. Moreover, stress-induced H2O2 disrupted the interaction between TSB1 and BG1 by sulfenylating cysteine-308 of TSB1, relieving the TSB1-mediated inhibition of BG1 activity. Taken together, we revealed that TSB1 serves as a key coordinator of plant growth and stress responses by balancing Trp and ABA homeostasis."
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Authors: Yuqing Zhao, Qing Han and Dawei Zhang.
Plant and Cell Physiology (2024)
Abstract: "Due to their sessile lifestyle, plants need to optimize their growth in order to adapt to ever-changing environments. Plants receive stimuli from the environment and convert them into cellular responses. Brassinosteroids (BRs), as growth-promoting steroid hormones, play a significant role in the tradeoff between growth and environmental responses. Here, we provide a comprehensive summary for understanding the crosstalk between BR and various environmental stresses, including water availability, temperature fluctuations, salinization, nutrient deficiencies and diseases. We also highlight the bottlenecks that need to be addressed in future studies. Ultimately, we suppose to improve plant environmental adaptability and crop yield by excavating natural BR mutants or modifying BR signaling and its targets."
Authors: Omer Falik, Lennart Kersting and Ariel Novoplansky.
Physiologia Plantarum (2024)
Abstract: "Plants possess the ability to detect, integrate, and react to myriad signals and cues regarding imminent challenges and opportunities. In this study, we investigated whether unstressed plants can adaptively respond to cues emitted by neighbouring plants treated with abscisic acid (ABA) and if they can subsequently induce adaptive responses in additional unstressed neighbours. Triplets of split-root Pisum sativum plants were grown in rows. The findings reveal that, under drought conditions, cues from ABA-treated plants enhanced the survival of both immediately adjacent target plants and more distantly located relayed target plants. However, this cueing adversely impacted the performance of plants growing under sufficient water availability. These findings hold potential implications for our understanding of the role of interplant communication in plant interactions, as well as its effects on the survival and performance of plants in both natural and agricultural settings."
Authors: Manvi Sharma and Petra Marhava.
Current Opinion in Plant Biology (2023)
Abstract: "Plants have evolved robust adaptive mechanisms to withstand the ever-changing environment. Tightly regulated distribution of the hormone auxin throughout the plant body controls an impressive variety of developmental processes that tailor plant growth and morphology to environmental conditions. The proper flow and directionality of auxin between cells is mainly governed by asymmetrically localized efflux carriers – PINs – ensuring proper coordination of developmental processes in plants. Discerning the molecular players and cellular dynamics involved in the establishment and maintenance of PINs in specific membrane domains, as well as their ability to readjust in response to abiotic stressors is essential for understanding how plants balance adaptability and stability. While much is known about how PINs get polarized, there is still limited knowledge about how abiotic stresses alter PIN polarity by acting on these systems. In this review, we focus on the current understanding of mechanisms involved in (re)establishing and maintaining PIN polarity under abiotic stresses."
Authors: Zhang You, Shiyuan Guo, Qiao Li, Yanjun Fang, Panpan Huang, Chuanfeng Ju and Cun Wang.
Nature Communications (2023)
Editor's view: ABA signaling and Ca2+ signaling regulatory networks are crucial for how plants respond to drought stress. Here, the authors reported that the functional module of the CBL1/9-CIPK1-PYLs regulatory network plays a negative role in ABA signaling and its response to drought stress.
Abstract: "The stress hormone, Abscisic acid (ABA), is crucial for plants to respond to changes in their environment. It triggers changes in cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels, which activate plant responses to external stresses. However, how Ca2+ sensing and signaling feeds back into ABA signaling is not well understood. Here we reveal a calcium sensing module that negatively regulates drought stress via modulating ABA receptor PYLs. Mutants cbl1/9 and cipk1 exhibit hypersensitivity to ABA and drought resilience. Furthermore, CIPK1 is shown to interact with and phosphorylate 7 of 14 ABA receptors at the evolutionarily conserved site corresponding to PYL4 Ser129, thereby suppressing their activities and promoting PP2C activities under normal conditions. Under drought stress, ABA impedes PYLs phosphorylation by CIPK1 to respond to ABA signaling and survive in unfavorable environment. These findings provide insights into a previously unknown negative regulatory mechanism of the ABA signaling pathway, which is mediated by CBL1/9-CIPK1-PYLs, resulting in plants that are more sensitive to drought stress. This discovery expands our knowledge about the interplay between Ca2+ signaling and ABA signaling."
Authors: Aung Htay Naing, Sangcheol Baek, Jova Riza Campol, Hyunhee Kang and Chang Kil Kim.
Plant Physiology and Biochemistry (2023)
Highlights: • Abiotic stress-induced growth inhibition in petunia was linked to ethylene production. • Loss of ACO4 in petunia reduced stress-induced ethylene and ROS. • ACO4 acts as a negative regulator of stress tolerance.
Abstract: "To investigate the role of ethylene (ET) in abiotic stress tolerance in petunia cv. ‘Mirage Rose’, petunia plants in which the ET biosynthesis gene 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase 4 (ACO4) was knocked out (phaco4 mutants) and wild-type (WT) plants were exposed to heat and drought conditions. Loss of function of ACO4 significantly delayed leaf senescence and chlorosis under heat and drought stress by maintaining the SPAD values and the relative water content, indicating a greater stress tolerance of phaco4 mutants than that of WT plants. This tolerance was related to the lower ET and reactive oxygen species levels in the mutants than in WT plants. Furthermore, the stress-induced expression of genes related to ET signal transduction, antioxidant and proline activities, heat response, and biosynthesis of abscisic acid was higher in the mutants than in WT plants, indicating a greater stress tolerance in the former than in the latter. These results demonstrate the deleterious effects of stress-induced ET on plant growth and provide a better physiological and molecular understanding of the role of stress ET in the abiotic stress response of petunia. Because the loss of function of ACO4 in petunia improved stress tolerance, we suggest that ACO4 plays a vital role in stress-induced leaf senescence and acts as a negative regulator of abiotic stress tolerance."
Authors: Richard V. Espley and Laura Jaakola.
Plant, Cell & Environment (2023)
Abstract: "For many fruit crops, the colour of the fruit outwardly defines its eating quality. Fruit pigments provide reproductive advantage for the plant as well as providing protection against unfavourable environmental conditions and pathogens. For consumers these colours are considered attractive and provide many of the dietary benefits derived from fruits. In the majority of species, the main pigments are either carotenoids and/or anthocyanins. They are produced in the fruit as part of the ripening process, orchestrated by phytohormones and an ensuing transcriptional cascade, culminating in pigment biosynthesis. Whilst this is a controlled developmental process, the production of pigments is also attuned to environmental conditions such as light quantity and quality, availability of water and ambient temperature. If these factors intensify to stress levels, fruit tissues respond by increasing (or ceasing) pigment production. In many cases, if the stress is not severe, this can have a positive outcome for fruit quality. Here, we focus on the principal environmental factors (light, temperature and water) that can influence fruit colour."
Authors: Yunhua Yang, Rui Ren, Adhimoolam Karthikeyan, Jinlong Yin, Tongtong Jin, Fei Fang, Han Cai, Mengzhuo Liu, Dagang Wang, Haijian Zhi and Kai Li.
The Crop Journal (2023)
Abstract: "Drought-induced protein 19 (Di19) is a Cys2/His2 zinc-finger protein that functions in plant growth and development and in tolerance to abiotic stresses. GmPUB21, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, negatively regulates drought and salinity response in soybean. We identified potential interaction target proteins of GmPUB21 by yeast two-hybrid cDNA library screening, GmDi19-5 as a candidate. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation and glutathione-S-transferase pull-down assays confirmed the interaction between GmDi19-5 and GmPUB21. GmDi19-5 was induced by NaCl, drought, and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments. GmDi19-5 was expressed in the cytoplasm and nucleus. GmDi19-5 overexpression conferred hypersensitivity to drought and high salinity, whereas GmDi19-5 silencing increased drought and salinity tolerance. Transcripts of ABA- and stress response-associated genes including GmRAB18 and GmDREB2A were down-regulated in GmDi19-5-overexpressing plants under drought and salinity stresses. ABA decreased the protein level of GmDi19-5 in vivo, whereas GmPUB21 increased the decrease of GmDi19-5 after exogenous ABA application. The accumulation of GmPUB21 was also inhibited by GmDi19-5. We conclude that GmPUB21 and GmDi19-5 collaborate to regulate drought and salinity tolerance via an ABA-dependent pathway.
Authors: Muhammad Waqas, Dominique Van Der Straeten and Christoph-Martin Geilfus.
Trends in Plant Science (2023)
Abstract: "Plants perceive sounds, while responses to these sounds were already known. A breakthrough is the discovery by Khait et al. that stressed plants emit various informative ultrasonic sound signals, which can be categorized according to plant species, stress type, and stress severity. This discovery may change how plants are cultivated."
Authors: Qingwen Wang, Tao Shen, Lan Ni, Chao Chen, Jingjing Jiang, Zhenzhen Cui, Shuang Wang, Fengjuan Xu, Runjiao Yan and Mingyi Jiang.
Molecular Plant (2023)
Abstract: "In rice, the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase OsDMI3 is an important positive regulator of abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. In ABA signaling, H2O2 is required for ABA-induced activation of OsDMI3, which in turn increase H2O2 production. However, how OsDMI3 regulates H2O2 production in ABA signaling remains unknown. Here we show that OsRbohB is the main NADPH oxidase involved in ABA-induced H2O2 production and ABA-mediated physiological responses. OsDMI3 directly interacts with and phosphorylates OsRbohB at Ser-191, which is OsDMI3-mediated site-specific phosphorylation in ABA signaling. Further analyses revealed that OsDMI3-mediated OsRbohB Ser-191 phosphorylation positively regulates the activity of NADPH oxidase and the production of H2O2 in ABA signaling, thereby enhancing the sensitivity of seed germination and root growth to ABA and plant tolerance to water stress and oxidative stress. Moreover, we discovered that the OsDMI3-mediated OsRbohB phosphorylation and H2O2 production is dependent on the sucrose non-fermenting 1-related protein kinases SAPK8/9/10, which phosphorylate OsRbohB at Ser-140 in ABA signaling. Taken together, these results not only reveal an important regulatory mechanism that directly activates Rboh for ABA-induced H2O2 production but also uncover the importance of this regulatory mechanism in ABA signaling."
Authors: Itzhak Khait, Ohad Lewin-Epstein, Raz Sharon, Kfir Saban, Revital Goldstein, Yehuda Anikster, Yarden Zeron, Chen Agassy, Shaked Nizan, Gayl Sharabi, Ran Perelman, Arjan Boonman, Nir Sade, Yossi Yovel and Lilach Hadany.
Cell (2023)
Editor's view: Plants emit species- and stress-specific airborne sounds that can be detected in acoustic chambers and greenhouses.
Highlights • Plants emit ultrasonic airborne sounds when stressed • The emitted sounds reveal plant type and condition • Plant sounds can be detected and interpreted in a greenhouse setting
Abstract: "Stressed plants show altered phenotypes, including changes in color, smell, and shape. Yet, airborne sounds emitted by stressed plants have not been investigated before. Here we show that stressed plants emit airborne sounds that can be recorded from a distance and classified. We recorded ultrasonic sounds emitted by tomato and tobacco plants inside an acoustic chamber, and in a greenhouse, while monitoring the plant’s physiological parameters. We developed machine learning models that succeeded in identifying the condition of the plants, including dehydration level and injury, based solely on the emitted sounds. These informative sounds may also be detectable by other organisms. This work opens avenues for understanding plants and their interactions with the environment and may have significant impact on agriculture."
Authors: Runming Zhang, Yanlong Dong, Yuanyuan Li, Guangyue Ren, Chao Chen and Xiaoxia Jin.
Gene (2023)
Highlights: • The over-expression of SLs signaling pathway gene CsMAX2 increased the tolerance to salt, drought and ABA stress of Arabidopsis thaliana L. • CsMAX2 might improve plant tolerance by regulating the expression of stress related genes, ABA signaling pathway and SLs related genes. • The stress tolerance induced by CsMAX2 might be related to ABA, and it preliminary concluded that there was partially correlation between SLs and ABA.
Abstract: "Recent studies have demonstrated that strigolactones (SLs) participate in the regulation of stress adaptation, however, the mechanisms remain elusive. MAX2 (MORE AXILLARY GROWTH2) is the key gene in the signal transduction pathway of SLs. This study aimed to clone and functionally characterize the CsMAX2 gene of cucumber in Arabidopsis. The results showed that the expression levels of the CsMAX2 gene changed significantly after salt, drought, and ABA stresses in cucumber. Moreover, the overexpression of CsMAX2 promoted stress tolerance and increased the germination rate and root length of Arabidopsis thaliana. Meanwhile, the content of chlorophyll increased and malondialdehyde decreased in CsMAX2 OE lines under salt and drought stresses. Additionally, the expression levels of stress-related marker genes, especially AREB1 and COR15A, were significantly upregulated under salt stress, while the expression levels of all genes were upregulated under drought stress, except ABI4 and ABI5 genes. The level of NCED3 continued to rise under both salt and drought stresses. In addition, D10 and D27 gene expression level also showed a continuous increase under ABA stress. The result suggested the interaction between SL and ABA in the process of adapting to stress. Overall, CsMAX2 could positively regulate salt, drought, and ABA stress resistance, and this process correlated with ABA transduction."
Authors: Haipei Liu, Amanda J. Able and Jason A. Able.
Trends in Plant Science (2022)
Highlights: Plants have stress memories that lead to epigenetic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic changes, enabling enhanced responses to additional stress exposure. Multi-omic studies have identified previously unrecognised regulators, metabolites, and pathways as key components of priming-induced thermotolerance. Successful acclimation for drought and flooding-induced stress memory is linked to changes in antioxidative capacity, biochemical modifications, and hormone pathways. Cross-stress tolerance can be elicited by pre-exposure of a primary stress to improve crop performance under subsequent stress. Application of priming agents is another effective cross-priming approach, particularly for seed priming or commercial seed production. Cross-stress priming success relies on synergistic stress signalling pathways being shared across stresses varying in nature and intensity.
Abstract: "The agricultural sector must produce resilient and climate-smart crops to meet the increasing needs of global food production. Recent advancements in elucidating the mechanistic basis of plant stress memory have provided new opportunities for crop improvement. Stress memory-coordinated changes at the organismal, cellular, and various omics levels prepare plants to be more responsive to reoccurring stress within or across generation(s). The exposure to a primary stress, or stress priming, can also elicit a beneficial impact when encountering a secondary abiotic or biotic stress through the convergence of synergistic signalling pathways, referred to as cross-stress tolerance. ‘Rewired plants’ with stress memory provide a new means to stimulate adaptable stress responses, safeguard crop reproduction, and engineer climate-smart crops for the future."
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