Botrytis cinerea (Bc) is a major pathogen of cultivated grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), with cell wall (CW) remodelling playing a critical role in fungal colonisation. CW-modifying enzymes, particularly pectin methylesterases (PMEs), produced by both host and pathogen, influence CW integrity and the outcome of infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFL. (hop) is a multipurpose crop valued for its essential role in beer production and for its bioactive compounds with recognized medicinal properties. Otherwise, climate change represents a major challenge to agriculture, particularly impacting the cultivation of crops with stenoecious characteristics, such as hop.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCrop yield is at increasing risk due to water scarcity and climate change. Agrochemicals can activate hormone receptors to regulate transpiration and modulate transcription and address water deficits. Structure-guided optimization of multiple abscisic acid (ABA) receptor-agonist interactions is necessary to activate the entire PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE 1 (PYR1)/PYR1-LIKE (PYL)/REGULATORY COMPONENTS OF ABA RECEPTORS (RCAR) receptor family.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIncreasing global temperatures, in tandem with predicted increases in future frequencies of drought and flooding episodes, represent a threat to agricultural productivity [...
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe escalating impact of abiotic stress on crop productivity requires innovative strategies to ensure sustainable agriculture. This review examines the promising role of biostimulants in mitigating the adverse effects of abiotic stress on crops. Biostimulants, ranging from simple organic compounds to complex living microorganisms, have demonstrated significant potential in enhancing plant resilience, stress tolerance, and overall performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants continuously respond to changing environmental conditions to prevent damage and maintain optimal performance. To regulate gas exchange with the environment and to control abiotic stress relief, plants have pores in their leaf epidermis, called stomata. Multiple environmental signals affect the opening and closing of these stomata.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGrapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is the world's third most valuable horticultural crop, and the current environmental scenario is massively shifting the grape cultivation landscape. The increase in heatwaves and drought episodes alter fruit ripening, compromise grape yield and vine survival, intensifying the pressure on using limited water resources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe balance between the CO entry for photosynthesis and transpiration water loss is crucial for plant growth, and ABA signaling can affect this equilibrium. To test how ABA balances plant growth and environmental adaptation, we performed molecular genetics studies in the biotech crop Nicotiana benthamiana under well-watered or drought conditions. Studies on ABA signaling in crops are complicated by the multigenic nature of the PYR/PYL/RCAR ABA receptor family and its functional redundancy, which is particularly challenging in polyploid plants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAgbiotechnology uses genetic engineering to improve the output and value of crops. Altering the expression of the plant (H-PPase) has already proven to be a useful tool to enhance crop productivity. Despite the effective use of this gene in translational research, information regarding the intracellular localization and functional plasticity of the pump remain largely enigmatic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProper spatiotemporal regulation of protein phosphorylation in cells and tissues is required for normal development and homeostasis. We present the protocol 'In Gel Kinase Assay', which is useful for protein kinase activity measurements from crude protein extracts. We have successfully used 'In Gel Kinase Assay' protocol to show that the sextuple mutant in the PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE1/PYR1-LIKE/REGULATORY COMPONENTS OF ABA RECEPTORS (PYR/PYL/RCAR-ABA receptors; line ) is impaired in ABA-mediated activation of SnRK2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant Physiol
January 2016
Plant productivity is determined in large part by the partitioning of assimilates between the sites of production and the sites of utilization. Proton-pumping pyrophosphatases (H(+)-PPases) are shown to participate in many energetic plant processes, including general growth and biomass accumulation, CO2 fixation, nutrient acquisition, and stress responses. H(+)-PPases have a well-documented role in hydrolyzing pyrophosphate (PPi) and capturing the released energy to pump H(+) across the tonoplast and endomembranes to create proton motive force (pmf).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhloem loading is a critical process in plant physiology. The potential of regulating the translocation of photoassimilates from source to sink tissues represents an opportunity to increase crop yield. Pyrophosphate homeostasis is crucial for normal phloem function in apoplasmic loaders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBecause abscisic acid (ABA) is recognized as the critical hormonal regulator of plant stress physiology, elucidating its signaling pathway has raised promise for application in agriculture, for instance through genetic engineering of ABA receptors. PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE1/PYR1-LIKE (PYL)/REGULATORY COMPONENTS OF ABA RECEPTORS ABA receptors interact with high affinity and inhibit clade A phosphatases type-2C (PP2Cs) in an ABA-dependent manner. We generated an allele library composed of 10,000 mutant clones of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) PYL4 and selected mutations that promoted ABA-independent interaction with PP2CA/ABA-HYPERSENSITIVE3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAbscisic acid (ABA) signaling plays a critical role in regulating root growth and root system architecture. ABA-mediated growth promotion and root tropic response under water stress are key responses for plant survival under limiting water conditions. In this work, we have explored the role of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE1 (PYR1)/PYR1-LIKE (PYL)/REGULATORY COMPONENTS OF ABA RECEPTORS for root ABA signaling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAbscisic acid (ABA) is a key hormone for plant growth, development, and stress adaptation. Perception of ABA through four types of receptors has been reported. We show here that impairment of ABA perception through the PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE1 (PYR1)/PYR1-LIKE (PYL)/REGULATORY COMPONENTS OF ABA RECEPTORS (RCAR) branch reduces vegetative growth and seed production and leads to a severe open stomata and ABA-insensitive phenotype, even though other branches for ABA perception remain functional.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClade A protein phosphatases type 2C (PP2Cs) are negative regulators of abscisic acid (ABA) signaling that are inhibited in an ABA-dependent manner by PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE1 (PYR1)/PYR1-LIKE (PYL)/REGULATORY COMPONENTS OF ABA RECEPTORS (RCAR) intracellular receptors. We provide genetic evidence that a previously uncharacterized member of this PP2C family in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), At5g59220, is a negative regulator of osmotic stress and ABA signaling and that this function was only apparent when double loss-of-function mutants with pp2ca-1/ahg3 were generated. At5g59220-green fluorescent protein and its close relative PP2CA-green fluorescent protein showed a predominant nuclear localization; however, hemagglutinin-tagged versions were also localized to cytosol and microsomal pellets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Opin Plant Biol
October 2011
The recent identification of abscisic acid (ABA) transporters provides an important insight into the delivery of ABA from the vascular system and its uptake by target cells. A putative connection with PYR/PYL receptors is envisaged, linking ABA uptake and intracellular perception by a fast and efficient mechanism. Downstream signaling of the core pathway involves regulation of ABA-responsive element binding factors (ABFs/AREBs) through phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and sumoylation in the case of ABI5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Mol Neurosci
February 2008
MAP kinases (MAPKs) play a key role in photic entrainment signaling in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), the mammalian circadian clock. The control of MAPKs is a fine balance between specific kinases (MEKs) and phosphatases (MKPs), whose orchestration in the SCN is still unresolved. We have found MKP1/2 and MKP3 immunoreactive-cells in the hamster SCN, whose levels are rapidly increased in response to transient light stimulation in the subjective night (CT 18), when light is able to entrain the clock.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCircadian entrainment involves photic stimulation of the suprachiasmatic molecular oscillator, including activation of the ERK/MAP kinase, which is phosphorylated endogenously during the day and in response to light during the night. We aimed to disrupt the diurnal cycle of ERK phosphorylation by in vivo transfection of a constitutively active form of MEK, a MAPK kinase. This procedure did not affect normal circadian parameters, but completely inhibited light-induced phase advances.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCircadian rhythms are entrained by light and by several neurochemical stimuli. In hamsters housed in constant darkness, i.c.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCircadian rhythms are entrained by light-activated signal transduction pathways in the biological clock. Among these, circadian and photic control of mouse suprachiasmatic ERK MAP kinase activation has been reported. In this paper we extend these results to hamsters and to the two other major members of the MAPK family: JNK and p38.
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