Virginia Walbot

The maize handbook

This book brings together information and techniques for working with maize (com), a plant of enormous significance as a crop and as a model system for studies in plant genetics, biochemistry, and molecular biology. A distinguished editorial board has coordinated the compilation of protocols on maize cell biology, genetic methods and maps, tissue culture, and molecular biology. This book should be useful to those involved in maize research and scienitists working on other plants.

Plant glutathione S-transferases: enzymes with multiple functions in sickness and in health.

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are abundant proteins encoded by a highly divergent, ancient gene family. Soluble GSTs form dimers, each subunit of which contains active sites that bind glutathione and hydrophobic ligands. Plant GSTs attach glutathione to electrophilic xenobiotics, which tags them for vacuolar sequestration. The role of GSTs in metabolism is unclear, although their complex regulation by environmental stimuli implies that they have important protective functions. Recent studies show that GSTs catalyse glutathione-depend-ent isomerizations and the reduction of toxic organic hydroperoxides. GSTs might also have non-catalytic roles as carriers for phytochemicals.

Impact of low-temperature stress on general phenylpropanoid and anthocyanin pathways: Enhancement of transcript abundance and anthocyanin pigmentation in maize seedlings

Changes in anthocyanin content and transcript abundance for genes whose products function in general phenylpropanoid metabolism and the anthocyanin pathway were monitored in maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings during short-term, low-temperature treatment. Anthocyanin and mRNA abundance in sheaths of maize seedlings increased with the severity and duration of cold. Anthocyanin accumulation was found in all tested lines that were genotypically capable of any anthocyanin production. Within 24 h of transferring 7-d maize (B37N) seedlings to 10° C, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (Pal) (EC 4.3.1.5)-homologous and chalcone synthase (C2) (EC 2.3.1.74) transcript levels increased at least 8- and 50-fold, respectively, and 4-coumarate:CoA ligase (4Cl) (EC 6.2.1.12)-homologous and chalcone isomerase (Chi) (EC 5.5.1.6)-homologous transcripts increased at least 3-fold over levels in unstressed plants. Time-course studies showed thatPal (EC 4.3.1.5) andC2-transcript levels remained relatively constant for the first 12 h of cold stress, dramatically increased over the next 12 h, and declined to pretreatment levels within 2 d of returning coldstressed seedlings to ambient (25° C) temperature. Transcripts4Cl (EC 6.2.1.12) andChi (EC 5.5.1.6) increased in abundance within 6 h of cold stress, exhibited no further increase over the next 36 h, and declined to pretreatment levels upon returning seedlings to 25° C. Transcripts homologous to two regulatory (R, C1) and three structural (A1,A2, andBz2) anthocyanin genes increased at least 7- to 10-fold during cold treatment, exhibiting similar kinetics of accumulation as forPal (EC 4.3.1.5) andC2 transcripts. Transcripts encoded byBz1, the anthocyanin structural gene for UDP:glucose-flavonol glucosyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.91), were relatively abundant in control tissues and exhibited only a transient increase during the cold period. Our studies suggest that the genes of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway can be consideredcor (Cold-Regulation) genes, and because this pathway is well defined, it is an excellent subject for characterizing plant molecular responses to low temperatures.

Flavonoids can protect maize DNA from the induction of ultraviolet radiation damage

Diverse flavonoid compounds are widely distributed in angiosperm families. Flavonoids absorb radiation in the ultraviolet (UV) region of the spectrum, and it has been proposed that these compounds function as UV filters. We demonstrate that the DNA in Zea mays plants that contain flavonoids (primarily anthocyanins) is protected from the induction of damage caused by UV radiation relative to the DNA in plants that are genetically deficient in these compounds. DNA damage was measured with a sensitive and simple assay using individual monoclonal antibodies, one specific for cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer damage and the other specific for pyrimidine(6,4)pyrimidone damage.

Functional Complementation of Anthocyanin Sequestration in the Vacuole by Widely Divergent Glutathione S-Transferases

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) traditionally have been studied in plants and other organisms for their ability to detoxify chemically diverse herbicides and other toxic organic compounds. Anthocyanins are among the few endogenous substrates of plant GSTs that have been identified. The Bronze2 (Bz2) gene encodes a type III GST and performs the last genetically defined step of the maize anthocyanin pigment pathway. This step is the conjugation of glutathione to cyanidin 3-glucoside (C3G). Glutathionated C3G is transported to the vacuole via a tonoplast Mg-ATP–requiring glutathione pump (GS-X pump). Genetically, the comparable step in the petunia anthocyanin pathway is controlled by the Anthocyanin9 (An9) gene. An9 was cloned by transposon tagging and found to encode a type I plant GST. Bz2 and An9 have evolved independently from distinct types of GSTs, but each is regulated by the conserved transcriptional activators of the anthocyanin pathway. Here, a phylogenetic analysis is presented, with special consideration given to the origin of these genes and their relaxed substrate requirements. In particle bombardment tests, An9 and Bz2 functionally complement both mutants. Among several other GSTs tested, only soybean GmGST26A (previously called GmHsp26A and GH2/4) and maize GSTIII were found to confer vacuolar sequestration of anthocyanin. Previously, these genes had not been associated with the anthocyanin pathway. Requirements for An9 and Bz2 gene function were investigated by sequencing functional and nonfunctional germinal revertants of an9-T3529, bz2::Ds, and bz2::Mu1.

A Multidrug Resistance–Associated Protein Involved in Anthocyanin Transport in Zea mays

Anthocyanin biosynthesis is one of the most thoroughly studied enzymatic pathways in biology, but little is known about the molecular mechanisms of its final stage: the transport of the anthocyanin pigment into the vacuole. We have identified a multidrug resistance–associated protein (MRP), ZmMrp3, that is required for this transport process in maize (Zea mays). ZmMrp3 expression is controlled by the regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis and mirrors the expression of other anthocyanin structural genes. Localization of ZmMRP3 in vivo shows its presence in the tonoplast, the site at which anthocyanin transport occurs. Mutants generated using antisense constructs have a distinct pigmentation phenotype in the adult plant that results from a mislocalization of the pigment as well as significant reduction in anthocyanin content, with no alteration in the anthocyanin species produced. Surprisingly, mutant plants did not show a phenotype in the aleurone. This appears to reflect the presence of a second, highly homologous gene, ZmMrp4, that is also coregulated with the anthocyanin pathway but is expressed exclusively in aleurone tissue. This description of a plant MRP with a role in the transport of a known endogenous substrate provides a new model system for examining the biological and biochemical mechanisms involved in the MRP-mediated transport of plant secondary metabolites.

Signal perception, transduction, and gene expression involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis

Abstract Anthocyanin pigments provide fruits and flowers with their bright red and blue colors and are induced in vegetative tissues by various signals. The biosynthetic pathway probably represents one of the best‐studied examples of higher plant secondary metabolism. It has attracted much attention of plant geneticists because of the dispensable nature of the compounds it produces. Not unexpectedly, several excellent reviews on anthocyanin biosynthesis have been published over the last 5 years (Dooner et al., 1991; Martin and Gerats, 1993a, 1993b; Koes et al., 1994; Holton and Cornish, 1995). These reviews emphasize the late steps of pigment biosynthesis rather than the early and intermediate events of signal perception and transduction. This review is broader and not only covers the identification of components of the anthocyanin signal perception/transduction networks but also provides a description of our current understanding of how they evoke the responses that they do. Progress has derived from a c...

Gene Expression Profiling in Response to Ultraviolet Radiation in Maize Genotypes with Varying Flavonoid Content

Microarray hybridization was used to assess acclimation responses to four UV regimes by near isogenic maize (Zea mays) lines varying in flavonoid content. We found that 355 of the 2,500 cDNAs tested were regulated by UV radiation in at least one genotype. Among these, 232 transcripts are assigned putative functions, whereas 123 encode unknown proteins. UV-B increased expression of stress response and ribosomal protein genes, whereas photosynthesis-associated genes were down-regulated; lines lacking UV-absorbing pigments had more dramatic responses than did lines with these pigments, confirming the shielding role of these compounds. Sunlight filtered to remove UV-B or UV-B plus UV-A resulted in significant expression changes in many genes not previously associated with UV responses. Some pathways regulated by UV radiation are shared with defense, salt, and oxidative stresses; however, UV-B radiation can activate additional pathways not shared with other stresses.

Intron enhancement of gene expression and the splicing efficiency of introns in maize cells

SummaryThe inclusion of the alcohol dehydrogenase 1-S (Adh1-S) intron 1 in the transcription unit of maize gene constructs has been shown to increase gene expression in cultured maize cells. We have extended these studies with Adh1-S intron 1 using the firefly luciferase, Escherichia coli β-glucuronidase and chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter genes adjoined to different plant promoters and find enhancement of transient gene expression in all cases but one. We also show that the enhancement phenomenon can be mediated by the third intron of the maize actin gene. In all cases tested, the inclusion of an intron results in increased levels of steady-state RNA. The degree of enhancement depends on the exon sequences flanking the intron; flanking exons also influence the efficiency of intron splicing. Unexpectedly, unspliced RNAs accumulate during the transient assay.

Clusters and superclusters of phased small RNAs in the developing inflorescence of rice

To address the role of small regulatory RNAs in rice development, we generated a large data set of small RNAs from mature leaves and developing roots, shoots, and inflorescences. Using a spatial clustering algorithm, we identified 36,780 genomic groups of small RNAs. Most consisted of 24-nt RNAs that are expressed in all four tissues and enriched in repeat regions of the genome; 1029 clusters were composed primarily of 21-nt small RNAs and, strikingly, 831 of these contained phased RNAs and were preferentially expressed in developing inflorescences. Thirty-eight of the 24-mer clusters were also phased and preferentially expressed in inflorescences. The phased 21-mer clusters derive from nonprotein coding, nonrepeat regions of the genome and are grouped together into superclusters containing 10-46 clusters. The majority of these 21-mer clusters (705/831) are flanked by a degenerate 22-nt motif that is offset by 12 nt from the main phase of the cluster. Small RNAs complementary to these flanking 22-nt motifs define a new miRNA family, which is conserved in maize and expressed in developing reproductive tissues in both plants. These results suggest that the biogenesis of phased inflorescence RNAs resembles that of tasiRNAs and raise the possibility that these novel small RNAs function in early reproductive development in rice and other monocots.