Sean T. May

The auxin influx carrier LAX3 promotes lateral root emergence

Lateral roots originate deep within the parental root from a small number of founder cells at the periphery of vascular tissues and must emerge through intervening layers of tissues. We describe how the hormone auxin, which originates from the developing lateral root, acts as a local inductive signal which re-programmes adjacent cells. Auxin induces the expression of a previously uncharacterized auxin influx carrier LAX3 in cortical and epidermal cells directly overlaying new primordia. Increased LAX3 activity reinforces the auxin-dependent induction of a selection of cell-wall-remodelling enzymes, which are likely to promote cell separation in advance of developing lateral root primordia.

Changes in Gene Expression in Arabidopsis Shoots during Phosphate Starvation and the Potential for Developing Smart Plants

Our aim was to generate and prove the concept of “smart” plants to monitor plant phosphorus (P) status in Arabidopsis. Smart plants can be genetically engineered by transformation with a construct containing the promoter of a gene up-regulated specifically by P starvation in an accessible tissue upstream of a marker gene such as β-glucuronidase (GUS). First, using microarrays, we identified genes whose expression changed more than 2.5-fold in shoots of plants growing hydroponically when P, but not N or K, was withheld from the nutrient solution. The transient changes in gene expression occurring immediately (4 h) after P withdrawal were highly variable, and many nonspecific, shock-induced genes were up-regulated during this period. However, two common putative cis-regulatory elements (a PHO-like element and a TATA box-like element) were present significantly more often in the promoters of genes whose expression increased 4 h after the withdrawal of P compared with their general occurrence in the promoters of all genes represented on the microarray. Surprisingly, the expression of only four genes differed between shoots of P-starved and -replete plants 28 h after P was withdrawn. This lull in differential gene expression preceded the differential expression of a new group of 61 genes 100 h after withdrawing P. A literature survey indicated that the expression of many of these “late” genes responded specifically to P starvation. Shoots had reduced P after 100 h, but growth was unaffected. The expression of SQD1, a gene involved in the synthesis of sulfolipids, responded specifically to P starvation and was increased 100 h after withdrawing P. Leaves of Arabidopsis bearing a SQD1::GUS construct showed increased GUS activity after P withdrawal, which was detectable before P starvation limited growth. Hence, smart plants can monitor plant P status. Transferring this technology to crops would allow precision management of P fertilization, thereby maintaining yields while reducing costs, conserving natural resources, and preventing pollution.

Structure-Function Analysis of the Presumptive Arabidopsis Auxin Permease AUX1

We have investigated the subcellular localization, the domain topology, and the amino acid residues that are critical for the function of the presumptive Arabidopsis thaliana auxin influx carrier AUX1. Biochemical fractionation experiments and confocal studies using an N-terminal yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) fusion observed that AUX1 colocalized with plasma membrane (PM) markers. Because of its PM localization, we were able to take advantage of the steep pH gradient that exists across the plant cell PM to investigate AUX1 topology using YFP as a pH-sensitive probe. The YFP-coding sequence was inserted in selected AUX1 hydrophilic loops to orient surface domains on either apoplastic or cytoplasmic faces of the PM based on the absence or presence of YFP fluorescence, respectively. We were able to demonstrate in conjunction with helix prediction programs that AUX1 represents a polytopic membrane protein composed of 11 transmembrane spanning domains. In parallel, a large aux1 allelic series containing null, partial-loss-of-function, and conditional mutations was characterized to identify the functionally important domains and amino acid residues within the AUX1 polypeptide. Whereas almost all partial-loss-of-function and null alleles cluster in the core permease region, the sole conditional allele aux1-7 modifies the function of the external C-terminal domain.

Cytokinin Regulation of Auxin Synthesis in Arabidopsis Involves a Homeostatic Feedback Loop Regulated via Auxin and Cytokinin Signal Transduction

This study demonstrates that auxin and cytokinin regulate each others biosynthesis, providing an intrinsic mechanism for optimizing the relative intracellular concentrations of both hormones. Together, auxin and cytokinin regulate many of the processes that are critical to plant growth, development, and environmental responsiveness. We have previously shown that exogenous auxin regulates cytokinin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. In this work, we show that, conversely, the application or induced ectopic biosynthesis of cytokinin leads to a rapid increase in auxin biosynthesis in young, developing root and shoot tissues. We also show that reducing endogenous cytokinin levels, either through the induction of CYTOKININ OXIDASE expression or the mutation of one or more of the cytokinin biosynthetic ISOPENTENYLTRANSFERASE genes leads to a reduction in auxin biosynthesis. Cytokinin modifies the abundance of transcripts for several putative auxin biosynthetic genes, suggesting a direct induction of auxin biosynthesis by cytokinin. Our data indicate that cytokinin is essential, not only to maintain basal levels of auxin biosynthesis in developing root and shoot tissues but also for the dynamic regulation of auxin biosynthesis in response to changing developmental or environmental conditions. In combination with our previous work, the data suggest that a homeostatic feedback regulatory loop involving both auxin and cytokinin signaling acts to maintain appropriate auxin and cytokinin concentrations in developing root and shoot tissues.

How to decide? Different methods of calculating gene expression from short oligonucleotide array data will give different results

BackgroundShort oligonucleotide arrays for transcript profiling have been available for several years. Generally, raw data from these arrays are analysed with the aid of the Microarray Analysis Suite or GeneChip Operating Software (MAS or GCOS) from Affymetrix. Recently, more methods to analyse the raw data have become available. Ideally all these methods should come up with more or less the same results. We set out to evaluate the different methods and include work on our own data set, in order to test which method gives the most reliable results.ResultsCalculating gene expression with 6 different algorithms (MAS5, dChip PMMM, dChip PM, RMA, GC-RMA and PDNN) using the same (Arabidopsis) data, results in different calculated gene expression levels. Consequently, depending on the method used, different genes will be identified as differentially regulated. Surprisingly, there was only 27 to 36% overlap between the different methods. Furthermore, 47.5% of the genes/probe sets showed good correlation between the mismatch and perfect match intensities.ConclusionAfter comparing six algorithms, RMA gave the most reproducible results and showed the highest correlation coefficients with Real Time RT-PCR data on genes identified as differentially expressed by all methods. However, we were not able to verify, by Real Time RT-PCR, the microarray results for most genes that were solely calculated by RMA. Furthermore, we conclude that subtraction of the mismatch intensity from the perfect match intensity results most likely in a significant underestimation for at least 47.5% of the expression values. Not one algorithm produced significant expression values for genes present in quantities below 1 pmol. If the only purpose of the microarray experiment is to find new candidate genes, and too many genes are found, then mutual exclusion of the genes predicted by contrasting methods can be used to narrow down the list of new candidate genes by 64 to 73%.

Expression studies on AUX1-like genes in Medicago truncatula suggest that auxin is required at two steps in early nodule development.

Medicago truncatula contains a family of at least five genes related to AUX1 of Arabidopsis thaliana (termed MtLAX genes for Medicago truncatula-like AUX1 genes). The high sequence similarity between the encoded proteins and AUX1 implies that the MtLAX genes encode auxin import carriers. The MtLAX genes are expressed in roots and other organs, suggesting that they play pleiotropic roles related to auxin uptake. In primary roots, the MtLAX genes are expressed preferentially in the root tips, particularly in the provascular bundles and root caps. During lateral root and nodule development, the genes are expressed in the primordia, particularly in cells that were probably derived from the pericycle. At slightly later stages, the genes are expressed in the regions of the developing organs where the vasculature arises (central position for lateral roots and peripheral region for nodules). These results are consistent with MtLAX being involved in local auxin transport and suggest that auxin is required at two common stages of lateral root and nodule development: development of the primordia and differentiation of the vasculature.

Quick on the uptake: characterization of a family of plant auxin influx carriers

Auxins are unique among plant signalling molecules in that they are subject to polar transport. Plants employ specialized influx and efflux carrier proteins to transport the auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in and out of cells. Until recently, auxin transport research has largely focused on the role of the efflux carrier. Given our rapidly advancing knowledge about the development importance of auxin uptake, this review aims to redress the balance by exclusively focusing on the auxin influx carrier. We will review the discovery, molecular characterization, evolution and developmental function(s) of the auxin influx carrier.

Medicago truncatula CYP716A12 Is a Multifunctional Oxidase Involved in the Biosynthesis of Hemolytic Saponins

Triterpenic saponins participate in plant defense mechanisms and possess a broad spectrum of biological and pharmacological properties. This article identifies the P450 cytochrome CYP716A12 as a key gene in the synthesis of hemolytic saponins in Medicago truncatula by a combination of genetic and biochemical analyses. Saponins, a group of glycosidic compounds present in several plant species, have aglycone moieties that are formed using triterpenoid or steroidal skeletons. In spite of their importance as antimicrobial compounds and their possible benefits for human health, knowledge of the genetic control of saponin biosynthesis is still poorly understood. In the Medicago genus, the hemolytic activity of saponins is related to the nature of their aglycone moieties. We have identified a cytochrome P450 gene (CYP716A12) involved in saponin synthesis in Medicago truncatula using a combined genetic and biochemical approach. Genetic loss-of-function analysis and complementation studies showed that CYP716A12 is responsible for an early step in the saponin biosynthetic pathway. Mutants in CYP716A12 were unable to produce hemolytic saponins and only synthetized soyasaponins, and were thus named lacking hemolytic activity (lha). In vitro enzymatic activity assays indicate that CYP716A12 catalyzes the oxidation of β-amyrin and erythrodiol at the C-28 position, yielding oleanolic acid. Transcriptome changes in the lha mutant showed a modulation in the main steps of triterpenic saponin biosynthetic pathway: squalene cyclization, β-amyrin oxidation, and glycosylation. The analysis of CYP716A12 expression in planta is reported together with the sapogenin content in different tissues and stages. This article provides evidence for CYP716A12 being a key gene in hemolytic saponin biosynthesis.

Probing the Reproducibility of Leaf Growth and Molecular Phenotypes: A Comparison of Three Arabidopsis Accessions Cultivated in Ten Laboratories

A major goal of the life sciences is to understand how molecular processes control phenotypes. Because understanding biological systems relies on the work of multiple laboratories, biologists implicitly assume that organisms with the same genotype will display similar phenotypes when grown in comparable conditions. We investigated to what extent this holds true for leaf growth variables and metabolite and transcriptome profiles of three Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genotypes grown in 10 laboratories using a standardized and detailed protocol. A core group of four laboratories generated similar leaf growth phenotypes, demonstrating that standardization is possible. But some laboratories presented significant differences in some leaf growth variables, sometimes changing the genotype ranking. Metabolite profiles derived from the same leaf displayed a strong genotype × environment (laboratory) component. Genotypes could be separated on the basis of their metabolic signature, but only when the analysis was limited to samples derived from one laboratory. Transcriptome data revealed considerable plant-to-plant variation, but the standardization ensured that interlaboratory variation was not considerably larger than intralaboratory variation. The different impacts of the standardization on phenotypes and molecular profiles could result from differences of temporal scale between processes involved at these organizational levels. Our findings underscore the challenge of describing, monitoring, and precisely controlling environmental conditions but also demonstrate that dedicated efforts can result in reproducible data across multiple laboratories. Finally, our comparative analysis revealed that small variations in growing conditions (light quality principally) and handling of plants can account for significant differences in phenotypes and molecular profiles obtained in independent laboratories.

Using genomic DNA-based probe-selection to improve the sensitivity of high-density oligonucleotide arrays when applied to heterologous species

High-density oligonucleotide (oligo) arrays are a powerful tool for transcript profiling. Arrays based on GeneChip® technology are amongst the most widely used, although GeneChip® arrays are currently available for only a small number of plant and animal species. Thus, we have developed a method to improve the sensitivity of high-density oligonucleotide arrays when applied to heterologous species and tested the method by analysing the transcriptome of Brassica oleracea L., a species for which no GeneChip® array is available, using a GeneChip® array designed for Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Genomic DNA from B. oleracea was labelled and hybridised to the ATH1-121501 GeneChip® array. Arabidopsis thaliana probe-pairs that hybridised to the B. oleracea genomic DNA on the basis of the perfect-match (PM) probe signal were then selected for subsequent B. oleracea transcriptome analysis using a .cel file parser script to generate probe mask files. The transcriptional response of B. oleracea to a mineral nutrient (phosphorus; P) stress was quantified using probe mask files generated for a wide range of gDNA hybridisation intensity thresholds. An example probe mask file generated with a gDNA hybridisation intensity threshold of 400 removed > 68 % of the available PM probes from the analysis but retained >96 % of available A. thaliana probe-sets. Ninety-nine of these genes were then identified as significantly regulated under P stress in B. oleracea, including the homologues of P stress responsive genes in A. thaliana. Increasing the gDNA hybridisation intensity thresholds up to 500 for probe-selection increased the sensitivity of the GeneChip® array to detect regulation of gene expression in B. oleracea under P stress by up to 13-fold. Our open-source software to create probe mask files is freely available http://affymetrix.arabidopsis.info/xspecies/ and may be used to facilitate transcriptomic analyses of a wide range of plant and animal species in the absence of custom arrays.