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Plant development meets cell proliferation in Madrid.

Cell division is intimately intertwined with plant development, and the mechanisms that link the control of cell proliferation and differentiation with the processes of organogenesis, morphogenesis, and growth are starting to be understood. A recent Juan March meeting explored this interface, and revealed a rich seam of exciting work that is leading toward an integrated view of the role of cell proliferation in the unfolding of developmental programs.

Cell Division↗

Peptide signalling in plant development and self/non-self perception.

Plant genomes contain very large families of genes encoding receptor-like kinases (RLKs). In recent years, several of these RLKs have been shown by biochemical and mutational analysis to represent receptors for peptides, and the emerging picture shows that peptide signalling in development and self/non-self perception is based on a similar repertoire of receptors and signalling cascades. The need to recognize multiple peptide signals in self/non-self recognition may have led to the surprising radiation and diversification of RLKs in the plant kingdom.

Gene Expression Regulation, Plant↗

Spatio-temporal accumulation of microRNAs is highly coordinated in developing plant tissues.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of small, endogenous non-protein-coding RNAs, approximately 21 nucleotides in length, that modulate the expression of animal and plant target genes at the post-transcriptional level. Recent work has shown that miRNA-based gene regulation plays a crucial role in pathways involved in plant growth and development. However, knowledge about the timing and spatial regulation of plant miRNA expression is still limited. Here we used in situ analysis to demonstrate that miRNAs accumulate spatially and temporally in a highly restricted manner in Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabidopsis thaliana. The presence of the seven investigated miRNAs was characteristic of the developing organs, implying a role in cell-fate establishment, differentiation and cell-cycle progression. Spatial analyses revealed that six of the studied miRNAs were present in vascular bundles, suggesting that mobile miRNAs in the phloem could contribute to the coordination of organogenesis and development. The obvious absence of miR167 in vascular bundles represented an exception to this observation, implying an active process in regulating the presence of miRNAs in the vascular system. Taken together, our results imply that the spatially and temporally organized accumulation of miRNAs plays a pivotal role in fine-tuning of target gene expression in plant development.

Arabidopsis↗

Plant development scores from fixed-date photographs: the influence of weather variables and recorder experience.

In 1944, John Willis produced a summary of his meticulous record keeping of weather and plants over the 30 years 1913-1942. This publication contains fixed-date, fixed-subject photography taken on the 1st of each month from January to May, using as subjects snowdrop Galanthus nivalis, daffodil Narcissus pseudo-narcissus, horse chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum and beech Fagus sylvatica. We asked 38 colleagues to assess rapidly the plant development in each of these photographs according to a supplied five-point score. The mean scores from this exercise were assessed in relation to mean monthly weather variables preceding the date of the photograph and the consistency of scoring was examined according to the experience of the recorders. Plant development was more strongly correlated with mean temperature than with minimum or maximum temperatures or sunshine. No significant correlations with rainfall were detected. Whilst mean scores were very similar, botanists were more consistent in their scoring of developmental stages than non-botanists. However, there was no overall pattern for senior staff to be more consistent in scoring than junior staff. These results suggest that scoring of plant development stages on fixed dates could be a viable method of assessing the progress of the season. We discuss whether such recording could be more efficient than traditional phenology, especially in those sites that are not visited regularly and hence are less amenable to frequent or continuous observation to assess when a plant reaches a particular growth stage.

Climate↗

New insights into plant development in New England.

This year, the biannually organized FASEB meeting 'Mechanisms in Plant Development' took place in August in Vermont, USA, organized by Martin Hulskamp (University of Koln, Koln, Germany) and John Schiefelbein (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA). The meeting covered numerous topics, ranging from patterning and differentiation to the evolution of developmental mechanisms. Despite apparent distinctions between the sessions, many of the talks were broad ranging and most highlighted unifying developmental concepts.

Biological Evolution↗

Mechanical signals in plant development: a new method for single cell studies.

Cell division, which is critical to plant development and morphology, requires the orchestration of hundreds of intracellular processes. In the end, however, cells must make critical decisions, based on a discrete set of mechanical signals such as stress, strain, and shear, to divide in such a way that they will survive the mechanical loads generated by turgor pressure and cell enlargement within the growing tissues. Here we report on a method whereby tobacco protoplasts swirled into a 1.5% agarose entrapment medium will survive and divide. The application of a controlled mechanical load to agarose blocks containing protoplasts orients the primary division plane of the embedded cells. Photoelastic analysis of the agarose entrapment medium can identify the lines of principal stress within the agarose, confirming the hypothesis that cells divide either parallel or perpendicular to the principal stress tensors. The coincidence between the orientation of the new division wall and the orientation of the principal stress tensors suggests that the perception of mechanical stress is a characteristic of individual plant cells. The ability of a cell to determine a shear-free orientation for a new partition wall may be related to the applied load through the deformation of the matrix material. In an isotropic matrix a uniaxial load will produce a rotationally symmetric strain field, which will define a shear-free plane. Where high stress intensities combine with the loading geometry to produce multiaxial loads there will be no axis of rotational symmetry and hence no shear free plane. This suggests that two mechanisms may be orienting the division plane, one a mechanism that works in rotationally symmetrical fields, yielding divisions perpendicular to the compressive tensor, parallel to the long axis of the cell, and one in asymmetric fields, yielding divisions parallel to the short axis of the cell and the compressive tensor.

Cell Division↗

Gene network analysis in plant development by genomic technologies.

The analysis of the gene regulatory networks underlying development is of central importance for a better understanding of the mechanisms that control the formation of the different cell-types, tissues or organs of an organism. The recent invention of genomic technologies has opened the possibility of studying these networks at a global level. In this paper, we summarize some of the recent advances that have been made in the understanding of plant development by the application of genomic technologies. We focus on a few specific processes, namely flower and root development and the control of the cell cycle, but we also highlight landmark studies in other areas that opened new avenues of experimentation or analysis. We describe the methods and the strategies that are currently used for the analysis of plant development by genomic technologies, as well as some of the problems and limitations that hamper their application. Since many genomic technologies and concepts were first developed and tested in organisms other than plants, we make reference to work in non-plant species and compare the current state of network analysis in plants to that in other multicellular organisms.

Cell Cycle↗

The ethanol switch: a tool for tissue-specific gene induction during plant development.

Controlled gene expression in time and space is a powerful tool for the analysis of gene function during plant development. Here, we report ethanol inducible gene expression in defined sub-domains of the shoot apical and floral meristems. For this, expression of an ethanol-regulated transcription factor, ALCR, is restricted to precise domains using specific promoters. Gene expression activation is followed using reporters under the control of the alcA promoter, which responds to ALCR only in the presence of the ethanol. We demonstrate that precise control of spatially limited gene expression can be achieved. The kinetics of reporter gene activation and inactivation following a pulse of ethanol induction shows that the system is dynamic and suitable for precise temporal control of expression. The system is both flexible and robust, permitting simultaneous expression of two genes in a given domain or, conversely, the expression of a gene in two separate domains. We also show that this strategy can be applied to mis-express genes with developmental roles, by manipulating expression of the SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM) and CYCLIN D3;1 (CYCD3;1) genes during plant development.

Arabidopsis↗

Expression of a plant gene with sequence similarity to animal TGF-beta receptor interacting protein is regulated by brassinosteroids and required for normal plant development.

Brassinosteroids (BRs) regulate the expression of numerous genes associated with plant development, and require the activity of a Ser/Thr receptor kinase to realize their effects. In animals, the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) family of peptides acts via Ser/Thr receptor kinases to have a major impact on several pathways involved in animal development and adult homeostasis. TGF-beta receptor-interacting protein (TRIP-1) was previously shown by others to be an intracellular substrate of the TGF-beta type II receptor kinase which plays an important role in TGF-beta signaling. TRIP-1 is a WD-repeat protein that also has a dual role as an essential subunit of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF3 in animals, yeast and plants, thereby revealing a putative link between a developmental signaling pathway and the control of protein translation. In yeast, expression of a TRIP-1 homolog has also been closely associated with cell proliferation and progression through the cell cycle. We report here the novel observation that transcript levels of TRIP-1 homologs in plants are regulated by BR treatment under a variety of conditions, and that transgenic plants expressing antisense TRIP-1 RNA exhibit a broad range of developmental defects, including some that resemble the phenotype of BR-deficient and -insensitive mutants. This correlative evidence suggests that a WD-domain protein with reported dual functions in vertebrates and fungi might mediate some of the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of plant growth and development by BRs.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Control of plant development by limiting factors: A nutritional perspective.

It is postulated that limiting nutritional factors play a major role in the regulation of some aspects of plant development, and can provide an alternative to mechanisms based on the concept of hormonal control. This hypothesis is consistent with experimental evidence of the role of water as a limiting factor in (1) seed maturation and viviparous germination, (2) the elongation and phototropism of hypocotyls and coleoptiles, (3) the NO3--induced germination of dormant seeds, and (4) the release of buds from correlative inhibition. Studies on the influence of nutrition on morphogenesis have shown that the relative amounts of nitrogen and carbohydrate can determine the path of bud development as a shoot or rhizome. There is also evidence that either NO3- or sugar can limit lateral root initiation, and it is postulated that they may influence this process by a combination of osmotic and nutritional effects. The close correlation between environmentally induced developmental responses and the associated changes in the water or nutritional status of the responsive tissues, together with increasing evidence of the role of water and nutrients as transmitted signals and as regulators of gene expression, are in good agreement with their postulated role as limiting factors in the regulation of plant development.

Journal Article↗

Carbohydrate differences in strawberry crowns and fruit (Fragaria x ananassa) during plant development.

Carbohydrates accumulation and mobilization are highly relevant in plants because they have been related to yield and quality. Therefore, the aims of this work were to determine soluble carbohydrates and starch in strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa cv. Camarosa) crown sections (basal, middle, and upper) at three different plant growth stages (vegetative, blooming, and fruiting), and in fruit varieties (cv. Camarosa, Seascape, and Oso Grande) grown on the same field and in a different geoclimate. The main soluble carbohydrates found were glucose, sucrose, and fructose. Concentration differences were found among crown sections and time. The lowest levels of glucose, fructose, and sucrose were present at the beginning of fruit formation (6.2, 1.8 mg/g, and trace, respectively). Starch increased in basal and middle sections at the same time (8.6 to 109.6 and 6.6 to 93.5 mg/g, respectively). There appears to be a relationship between crown and fruit soluble carbohydrates. The most abundant fruit monosaccharides in all varieties were glucose (160-190 mg/g), fructose (90-180 mg/g), and sucrose (30-120 mg/g), followed by myo-inositol (10-23 mg/g). Strawberry crowns are an important source of carbohydrates and they might play a role during plant development specifically related to fruit sweetness. Fruit quality is highly influenced by a combination of several factors such as genotype, geoclimate, and probably carbon partitioning.

Carbohydrates↗

The HSP90 chaperone complex, an emerging force in plant development and phenotypic plasticity.

The essential cellular functions of the molecular chaperone HSP90 have been intensively investigated in fungal and mammalian model systems. Several recent publications have highlighted the importance of this chaperone complex in plant development and responsiveness to external stimuli. In particular, HSP90 is crucial for R-protein-mediated defense against pathogens. Other facets of HSP90 function in plants include its involvement in phenotypic plasticity, developmental stability, and buffering of genetic variation. Plants have emerged as powerful tools that complement other model systems in attempts to extend our knowledge of the myriad impacts of protein folding and chaperone function.

Disease Susceptibility↗

The immunophilin-interacting protein AtFIP37 from Arabidopsis is essential for plant development and is involved in trichome endoreduplication.

The FKBP12 (FK506-binding protein 12 kD) immunophilin interacts with several protein partners in mammals and is a physiological regulator of the cell cycle. In Arabidopsis, only one specific partner of AtFKBP12, namely AtFIP37 (FKBP12 interacting protein 37 kD), has been identified but its function in plant development is not known. We present here the functional analysis of AtFIP37 in Arabidopsis. Knockout mutants of AtFIP37 show an embryo-lethal phenotype that is caused by a strong delay in endosperm development and embryo arrest. AtFIP37 promoter::beta-glucuronidase reporter gene constructs show that the gene is expressed during embryogenesis and throughout plant development, in undifferentiating cells such as meristem or embryonic cells as well as highly differentiating cells such as trichomes. A translational fusion with the enhanced yellow fluorescent protein indicates that AtFIP37 is a nuclear protein localized in multiple subnuclear foci that show a speckled distribution pattern. Overexpression of AtFIP37 in transgenic lines induces the formation of large trichome cells with up to six branches. These large trichomes have a DNA content up to 256C, implying that these cells have undergone extra rounds of endoreduplication. Altogether, these data show that AtFIP37 is critical for life in Arabidopsis and implies a role for AtFIP37 in the regulation of the cell cycle as shown for FKBP12 and TOR (target of rapamycin) in mammals.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

14-3-3 proteins and plant development.

The 14-3-3 proteins are a family of ubiquitous regulatory molecules which have been found in virtually every eukaryotic organism and tissue. Discovered 34 years ago, 14-3-3 proteins have first been studied in mammalian nervous tissues, but in the past decade their indispensable role in various plant regulatory and metabolic pathways has been increasingly established. We now know that 14-3-3 members regulate fundamental processes of nitrogen assimilation and carbon assimilation, play an auxiliary role in regulation of starch synthesis, ATP production, peroxide detoxification, and participate in modulation of several other important biochemical pathways. Plant development and seed germination appear also to be under control of factors whose interaction with 14-3-3 molecules is crucial for their activation. Located within the nucleus, 14-3-3 isoforms are constituents of transcription factor complexes and interact with components of abscisic acid (ABA)-induced gene expression machinery. In addition, in animal cells they participate in nucleo-cytoplasmic trafficking and molecular sequestration. Cytoplasmic 14-3-3 members form a guidance complex with chloroplast destined preproteins and facilitate their import into these photosynthetic organelles. Recently, several 14-3-3s have been identified within chloroplasts where they could be involved in targeting and insertion of thylakoid proteins. The identification of 14-3-3 isoform specificity, and in particular the elucidation of the signal transduction mechanisms connecting 14-3-3 members with physiological responses, are central and developing topics of current research in this field.

14-3-3 Proteins↗