Biomedical subjects

Anna N Stepanova

Publications and source records attributed to Anna N Stepanova.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

PCR-based screening for insertional mutants.

In Arabidopsis, where homologous recombination is highly inefficient, insertional mutagenesis has provided a great alternative means for identifying loss-of-function mutants in genes of interest. Many collections of T-DNA and transposon-tagged plants have been generated and several have been made available to the research community. With recent sequencing of the insertion sites and the creation of public databases, identification of knockouts in most of the genes of interest has become a matter of a few minutes. However, because of the random selection of the insertion lines to be sequenced, knockouts of the remaining several thousand genes may not be easily found by the mere continuation of these types of approaches. Therefore, alternative methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based screening of pooled genomic DNA from mutant lines using a combination of tag- and gene-specific primers, once again, are becoming valuable for obtaining loss-of-function alleles in the genes "missed" by the sequencing projects. In this chapter, we provide a detailed description of the design and implementation of a PCR-based screen for insertional knockouts using T-DNA-mutagenized lines as an example.

Alleles↗

PubMed2005

A Link between ethylene and auxin uncovered by the characterization of two root-specific ethylene-insensitive mutants in Arabidopsis.

The plant hormone ethylene participates in the regulation of a variety of developmental processes and serves as a key mediator of plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress factors. The diversity of ethylene functions is achieved, at least in part, by combinatorial interactions with other hormonal signals. Here, we show that ethylene-triggered inhibition of root growth, one of the classical effects of ethylene in Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings, is mediated by the action of the WEAK ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE2/ANTHRANILATE SYNTHASE alpha1 (WEI2/ASA1) and WEI7/ANTHRANILATE SYNTHASE beta1 (ASB1) genes that encode alpha- and beta-subunits of a rate-limiting enzyme of Trp biosynthesis, anthranilate synthase. Upregulation of WEI2/ASA1 and WEI7/ASB1 by ethylene results in the accumulation of auxin in the tip of primary root, whereas loss-of-function mutations in these genes prevent the ethylene-mediated auxin increase. Furthermore, wei2 and wei7 suppress the high-auxin phenotypes of superroot1 (sur1) and sur2, two auxin-overproducing mutants, suggesting that the roles of WEI2 and WEI7 in the regulation of auxin biosynthesis are not restricted to the ethylene response. Together, these findings reveal that ASA1 and ASB1 are key elements in the regulation of auxin production and an unexpected node of interaction between ethylene responses and auxin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis. This study provides a mechanistic explanation for the root-specific ethylene insensitivity of wei2 and wei7, illustrating how interactions between hormones can be used to achieve response specificity.

Anthranilate Synthase↗

PubMed2005

Ethylene signaling pathway.

The structural simplicity of the plant hormone ethylene contrasts with its dramatic effects in various developmental processes, as well as in the cellular processes that ethylene initiates in response to a diversity of environmental signals. A single well-conserved signaling cascade mediates this broad spectrum of responses. Ethylene is perceived by a family of two-component histidine kinase receptors that become inactivated upon ethylene binding. In the absence of the hormone, the receptors activate CTR1, a negative regulator of ethylene responses. Sequence similarity between CTR1 and the Raf protein kinases implies involvement of a mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade in this signaling pathway. The protein EIN2 acts downstream of CTR1 and the possible kinase cascade. Although the biochemical function of EIN2 is not understood, its critical role is manifested by the complete ethylene insensitivity of EIN2 loss-of-function mutants. Downstream of EIN2, a family of plant-specific EIN3-like transcription factors mediate ethylene responses. The regulation of EIN3 stability by ethylene is accomplished by F-box-containing proteins that participate in the formation of a SKP1/cullin/F-box complex that targets proteins for degradation by the proteasome. A large number of ethylene-regulated genes have been identified, including the APETALA2 domain-containing transcription factor genes ERF1 and EDF1 to 4, which suggests the participation of a transcriptional cascade in the ethylene response. The differential regulation of some components of this complex nuclear cascade by other signaling pathways provides a possible mechanism for interaction and signal integration. As new points of intersection with other pathways and additional participants in the pathway are identified, the Connections Map will be updated to include this new information.

Arabidopsis↗

PubMed2005

Arabidopsis ethylene signaling pathway.

In plants, ethylene gas functions as a potent endogenous growth regulator. In the model system Arabidopsis thaliana, the molecular mechanisms that underlie perception and transduction of the ethylene signal to the nucleus, where the transcription of hundreds of genes is altered, are being elucidated. In the current view, ethylene is sensed by a family of five receptors that show similarity to the bacterial two-component histidine kinases, and in plants function as negative regulators of the pathway. Binding of the ethylene gas turns off the receptors, resulting in the inactivation of another negative regulator of ethylene signaling, CTR1, a Raf-like protein kinase that directly interacts with the receptors. EIN2, a protein of unknown biochemical activity that functions as a positive regulator of the pathway, acts downstream of CTR. Derepression of EIN2 by ethylene upon disabling of the receptors and CTR1 leads to the activation of EIN3 and EIN3-like transcription factors. In the absence of ethylene, the levels of EIN3 protein are extremely low because of the function of two F-box-containing proteins, EBF1 and EBF2, that target EIN3 for proteosome-mediated degradation. In the presence of ethylene, the EIN3 protein accumulates in the nucleus and initiates a transcriptional cascade, resulting in the activation and repression of hundreds of genes. To date, the only empirically demonstrated direct target of EIN3 is the APETALA2 (AP2)-domain-containing transcription factor gene ERF1. The coregulation of ERF1 by another plant hormone, jasmonic acid, illustrates how a transcriptional cascade could be utilized in a combinatorial fashion to generate a large diversity of responses using a limited number of input signals. As new components and points of intersection with other pathways are identified, the Connections Map will be updated.

Arabidopsis↗

PubMed2004

The ethylene signaling pathway.

Plants use a structurally very simple gas molecule, the hydrocarbon ethylene, to modulate various developmental programs and coordinate responses to a multitude of external stress factors. How this simple molecule generates such a diverse array of effects has been the subject of intense research for the past two decades. A fascinating signaling pathway, with classical as well as novel plant-specific signaling elements, is emerging from these studies. We describe the four main modules that constitute this signaling pathway: a phosphotransfer relay, an EIN2-based unit, a ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation component, and a transcriptional cascade. The canonical and Arabidopsis ethylene signaling pathways in the Signal Transduction Knowledge Environment Connections Maps provide a complete panoramic view of these signaling events in plants.

Arabidopsis↗

PubMed2004

Short-term growth responses to ethylene in Arabidopsis seedlings are EIN3/EIL1 independent.

Kinetic studies indicate there are two phases to growth inhibition by ethylene for the hypocotyls of etiolated Arabidopsis seedlings. Phase I is transient, while phase II results in sustained growth inhibition. The EIN2 membrane protein is required for both the first and second phases of growth inhibition by ethylene, while the transcription factors EIN3 and EIL1 are required for the second phase but not the first phase. The first phase lasts no more than 2 h. It is less sensitive to the ethylene response inhibitor 1-methylcyclopropene and more sensitive to ethylene than the second phase. The first phase shows adaptation at low concentrations of ethylene (< or =0.01 microL L(-1)) with a relative refractory period of 5 h after ethylene is added. A modified signal transduction model is proposed that accounts for the two phases of growth inhibition.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2003

Genome-wide insertional mutagenesis of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Over 225,000 independent Agrobacterium transferred DNA (T-DNA) insertion events in the genome of the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana have been created that represent near saturation of the gene space. The precise locations were determined for more than 88,000 T-DNA insertions, which resulted in the identification of mutations in more than 21,700 of the approximately 29,454 predicted Arabidopsis genes. Genome-wide analysis of the distribution of integration events revealed the existence of a large integration site bias at both the chromosome and gene levels. Insertion mutations were identified in genes that are regulated in response to the plant hormone ethylene.

3' Untranslated Regions↗

PubMed2003

Five components of the ethylene-response pathway identified in a screen for weak ethylene-insensitive mutants in Arabidopsis.

Five ethylene-insensitive loci (wei1-wei5) were identified by using a low-dose screen for "weak" ethylene-insensitive mutants. wei1, wei2, and wei3 seedlings showed hormone insensitivity only in roots, whereas wei4 and wei5 displayed insensitivity in both roots and hypocotyls. The genes corresponding to wei1, wei4, and wei5 were isolated using a positional cloning approach. The wei1 mutant harbored a recessive mutation in TIR1, which encodes a component of the SCF protein ubiquitin ligase involved in the auxin response. wei4, a dominant mutant, resulted from a mutation in the ethylene receptor ERS, whereas wei5, a semidominant mutant, was caused by a mutation in the EIN3-related transcription factor gene EIL1. The simultaneous loss of functional WEI5EIL1 and EIN3 nearly completely abolished the ethylene response in etiolated seedlings, and adult plants were highly susceptible to infection by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea. Moreover, wei5eil1 ein3 double mutants were able to fully suppress constitutive signaling caused by ctr1, suggesting a synergistic interaction among these gene products. Unlike previously known root ethylene-insensitive mutants, wei2 and wei3 were not affected in their response to auxin and showed a normal response to gravity. Genetic mapping studies indicate that wei2 and wei3 correspond to previously unidentified ethylene pathway genes that may control cell-elongation processes functioning at the intersection of the ethylene and auxin response pathways.

Alleles↗

PubMed2003

T-DNA mutagenesis in Arabidopsis.

Insertional mutagenesis is a basic genetic tool that allows for a rapid identification of the tagged genes responsible for a particular phenotype. Transposon and Agrobacterium-mediated DNA integration are the most commonly used biological mutagens in plants. The main drawback of these technologies is the relatively low frequency of mutations, as compared to those induced by conventional chemical or physical agents, thus limiting the use of insertional mutagens to the generation of large mutant populations in few genetic backgrounds. Recent improvements in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation efficiency and an increasing repertoire of transformation vectors available to the research community is making this type of mutagen very attractive for individual laboratories interested in the studies of mutations in particular genetic backgrounds. Herein, we describe a simple yet robust Arabidopsis transformation procedure that can be used to generate large numbers of insertional mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana. Using this protocol, transformation efficiencies of up to 5% can be achieved.

Arabidopsis↗