Planta

De Veylder, Lieven; de Almeida Engler, Janice; Burssens, Sylvia; Manevski, Alexandra; Lescure, Bernard; Van Montagu, Marc; Engler, Gilbert; Inzé, Dirk

doi: 10.1007/s004250050582pmid: 10420643

D-type cyclins are believed to regulate the onset of cell division upon mitogenic signaling. Here, the isolation is reported of a new D-type cyclin gene (CYCD4;1) of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. during a two-hybrid screen using the cyclin-dependent kinase CDC2aAt as bait. Transcription of CYCD4;1 can be induced by sucrose. The co-regulated expression of CYCD4;1 and CDC2aAt in starved suspension cultures upon mitogenic stimulation indicates that the formation of a complex between these two partners is important for the resumption of cell division activity. By in-situ hybridizations CYCD4;1 was shown to be expressed during vascular tissue development, embryogenesis, and formation of lateral root primordia. Expression during the latter process suggests that the induced expression of D-type cyclins by mitogenic stimuli might be one of the rate-limiting events for the initiation of lateral roots.

Kubigsteltig, I.; Laudert, D.; Weiler, E. W.

doi: 10.1007/s004250050583pmid: 10420644

Allene oxide synthase (AOS) is encoded by a single intronless gene in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. The promoter region of the AOS gene exhibits, in addition to the elements of a minimal promoter and the presence of general enhancers, cis-elements that, in other promoters, are responsible for stress- and ethylene-responsiveness. Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum L. were transformed with a chimaeric gene consisting of a 1.9-kb 5′-upstream sequence and the first 95 nucleotides of the AOS coding sequence translationally fused to uid A encoding β-glucuronidase (GUS). Using histochemistry, GUS activity was seen in older leaves, in the bases of petioles and in stipules, during the early stages of carpel development, in maturing pollen grains and at the base of elongated filaments, as well as in abscission-zone scars. A role for jasmonates in floral organ abscission is suggested by these findings. Furthermore, the AOS promoter was activated both locally as well as systemically upon wounding. Jasmonic acid, 12-oxophytodienoic acid and coronatine strongly induced GUS activity. This induction remained confined to the treated leaf when agonists were applied locally to a leaf, suggesting that neither jasmonic acid nor 12-oxophytodienoic acid are physiologically relevant components of the systemic wound signal complex. Rather, the data show that jasmonates behave as local response regulators produced at or around the sites of action in response to appropriate triggers of their synthesis.

Bourett, Timothy M.; Czymmek, Kirk J.; Howard, Richard J.

doi: 10.1007/s004250050584pmid: N/A

High-pressure freezing and freeze substitution were used to prepare leaves of rice (Oryza sativa L.) for ultrastructural analysis. Under these preparative conditions, plastid-derived stroma-containing protuberances were preserved and described with the electron microscope for the first time. Similar protuberances were observed previously only in living cells examined with the light microscope. Infoldings of the chloroplast inner envelope were a prominent ultrastructural feature of protuberances. Infoldings were also observed in the main body of the chloroplasts and sometimes appeared contiguous with thylakoid membranes. Protuberances also contained infoldings in the form of bifurcated tubules. Apparent interconnection between protuberances of adjacent plastids was observed only in one instance. A distinct gradient in the staining density of thylakoid lumina appeared to be a function of grana position and orientation relative to the cell wall. Immunocytochemistry was used to determine that the stroma within protuberances contained 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase enzyme.

Foissner, Ilse; Wasteneys, Geoffrey O.

doi: 10.1007/s004250050585pmid: N/A

The organization of cortical microtubules at wound sites in Nitella pseudoflabellata(A. Br. & Nordst.) em. R.D.W. and N. flexilis(L.) Ag. internodal cells was examined in relation to the regeneration of actin filament bundles in order to identify the mechanisms by which microtubules are oriented. Actin bundle regrowth occurs prior to that of microtubules, so it was considered possible that microtubule alignment is actin-dependent, perhaps mediated by cross-linking proteins. In all types of wounds investigated, subcortical actin bundles regenerated parallel to the direction of cytoplasmic streaming. Microtubule orientation patterns, however, varied according to the nature of wound formation and the type of wound wall eventually produced. In chloroplast-free windows induced by blue light irradiation, microtubule orientation varied according to the size of the window. Microtubules were randomized in 10- to 30-μm-wide windows where exposure to cytoplasmic flow is minimal, but were aligned more or less parallel to regenerated actin bundles in 80- to 100-μm-wide windows. Where co-alignment between microtubules and actin bundles was obvious after fluorescence labelling, electron micrographs revealed that microtubules and actin bundles were too widely spaced to account for any cross-linkages. Furthermore, treatments that inhibited or reduced cytoplasmic streaming without altering the direction of actin bundles caused randomization of microtubules previously oriented in the streaming direction, even in the presence of taxol. When evenly flat wound walls were induced by 10−4 M chlortetracycline, microtubules were co-aligned with nearby actin bundles at the surface of the wound wall. At wounds induced by treatment with 5 × 10−2 M CaCl2, however, microtubules were randomly oriented and preferentially located in the narrow clefts between the wound-wall protuberances, up to several micrometers away from the actin bundles near the wound-wall tips. These results indicate that microtubules regenerated in wounds are merely co-aligned with actin filament bundles because they are passively aligned by the hydrodynamic forces created by cytoplasmic flow.

Weiss, Markus; Schmidt, Jürgen; Neumann, Dieter; Wray, Victor; Christ, Ruprecht; Strack, Dieter

doi: 10.1007/s004250050586pmid: N/A

Tissue-specific accumulation of phenylpropanoids was studied in mycorrhizas of the conifers, silver fir (Abies alba Mill.), Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.], white pine (Pinus strobus L.), Scots pine (Pinus silvestris L.), and Douglas fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco], using high-performance liquid chromatography and histochemical methods. The compounds identified were soluble flavanols (catechin and epicatechin), proanthocyanidins (mainly dimeric catechins and/or epicatechins), stilbene glucosides (astringin and isorhapontin), one dihydroflavonol glucoside (taxifolin 3′-O-glucopyranoside), and a hydroxycinnamate derivative (unknown ferulate conjugate). In addition, a cell wall-bound hydroxycinnamate (ferulate) and a hydroxybenzaldehyde (vanillin) were analysed. Colonisation of the root by the fungal symbiont correlated with the distribution pattern of the above phenylpropanoids in mycorrhizas suggesting that these compounds play an essential role in restricting fungal growth. The levels of flavanols and cell wall-bound ferulate within the cortex were high in the apical part and decreased to the proximal side of the mycorrhizas. In both Douglas fir and silver fir, which allowed separation of inner and outer parts of the cortical tissues, a characteristic transversal distribution of these compounds was found: high levels in the inner non-colonised part of the cortex and low levels in the outer part where the Hartig net is formed. Restriction of fungal growth to the outer cortex may also be achieved by characteristic cell wall thickening of the inner cortex which exhibited flavanolic wall infusions in Douglas fir mycorrhizas. Long and short roots of conifers from natural stands showed similar distribution patterns of phenylpropanoids and cell wall thickening compared to the respective mycorrhizas. These results are discussed with respect to co-evolutionary adaptation of both symbiotic partners regarding root structure (anatomy) and root chemistry.

Kossmann, Jens; Abel, Gernot J. W.; Springer, Franziska; Lloyd, James R.; Willmitzer, Lothar

doi: 10.1007/s004250050587pmid: 10420646

Three isoforms of starch synthase (SS) were shown to be present in soluble potato tuber extracts by activity staining after native gel electrophoresis. A cDNA encoding SSI from rice was used as a probe to clone a corresponding cDNA from potato. The deduced amino acid sequence identified the protein as an SS from potato with an Mr of 70.6 kDa for the immature enzyme including its transit peptide. This novel isoform was designated SSI. An analysis of the expression pattern of the gene indicated that SSI is predominantly expressed in sink and source leaves, and, to a lower extent in tubers. In several independent transgenic potato lines, where the expression of SSI was repressed using the antisense approach, the activity of a specific SS isoform was reduced to non-detectable levels as determined through activity staining after native gel electrophoresis. The reduction in the amount of this isoform of SS did not lead to any detectable changes in starch structure, probably due to the fact that this isoform only represents a minor activity in potato tubers.

Ishihara, Atsushi; Ohtsu, Yoshiaki; Iwamura, Hajime

doi: 10.1007/s004250050588pmid: N/A

The accumulation of oat (Avena sativa L.) phytoalexins, avenanthramides, occurred in leaf segments treated with oligo-N-acetylchitooligosaccharides. The amount of avenanthramide A, the major oat phytoalexin, reached a maximum 36–48 h after elicitor treatment. This accumulation was preceded by a marked increase in enzyme activities of phenylpropanoid pathway members, including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (EC 4.3.1.5), cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.13.11) and 4-coumarate:CoA ligase (EC 6.2.1.12). These enzyme activities reached a maximum 6–12 h after elicitor treatment, when the avenanthramides were produced most rapidly. Both phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and 4-coumarate:CoA ligase activities decreased thereafter to undetectable levels 72 h after treatment, while cinnamate 4-hydroxylase activity showed a second increase 48 h after treatment. Among the chitooligosaccharides tested, tetra- and pentasaccharides most effectively induced these enzyme activities in a dose-dependent manner. The elicitor-induced 4-coumarate: CoA ligase accepted all hydroxycinnamic acids occurring in the avenanthramides as substrates, with the exception of avenalumic acid. These findings indicate that accumulation of the avenanthramides results from de-novo synthesis through the general phenylpropanoid pathway and that early biosynthetic enzymes function as regulatory points of carbon flow to the avenanthramides.

Montané, Marie-Hélène; Petzold, Björn; Kloppstech, Klaus

doi: 10.1007/s004250050589pmid: N/A

In our previous work we found considerable accumulation of early light-inducible proteins (ELIPs) in barley during adaptation to combined high light and cold stress, an accumulation which occurred preferentially in the apical part of the leaves (M.-H. Montané et al., 1997, Planta 202: 293–302). Here we studied, under the same conditions, the effect of adaptation on the composition of thylakoid membrane proteins and pigments, particularly xanthophylls and chlorophyll, and their distribution within the barley leaf. It was observed that high light fluxes appeared to favour the trimerization of the light-harvesting complex of photosystem II (LHC II) whereas cold appeared to favour the monomers of LHC II. High light, cold or the combination of both factors had only a small effect on the protein composition of the thylakoid membranes except for the proteins of LHC II which were found to decrease under high light to a greater extent at 25 °C than at 5 °C. The total xanthophyll-cycle carotenoid content increased linearly with cellular development, the highest amount being observed in the apical part of the leaf. Cold and high light acted synergistically to induce less than a doubling in the amount of total xanthophylls, while chlorophylls a and b remained nearly constant. The fraction consisting of antheraxanthin plus zeaxanthin was up to 4- to 5-fold higher at 5 °C than at 25 °C. As determined previously (Montané et al. 1997), the same conditions caused a 15-fold increase in the accumulation of ELIPs. Consequently, neither the distribution of total xanthophylls nor that of antheraxanthin plus zeaxanthin along the leaf followed the same pattern as ELIP. Thus, the accumulation of xanthophylls cannot be stoichiometrically correlated with that of ELIPs. Using electrophoresis in the presence of decylmaltoside, we could demonstrate for the first time that ELIPs of 13.5 kDa are contained in high-molecular-mass complexes of >100 kDa, which are located in the unstacked stroma lamellar region of the thylakoid membranes.

Li, Huijuan; Bacic, Antony; Read, Steve M.

doi: 10.1007/s004250050590pmid: N/A

The callose synthase (CalS) activity of membrane preparations from cultured Nicotiana alata Link & Otto pollen tubes is increased several-fold by treatment with trypsin in the presence of digitonin, possibly due to activation of an inactive (zymogen) form of the enzyme. Active and inactive forms of CalS are also present in stylar-grown tubes. Callose deposition was first detected immediately after germination of pollen grains in liquid medium, at the rim of the germination aperture. During tube growth the 3-linked glucan backbone of callose was deposited at an increasing rate, reaching a maximum of 65 mg h−1 in tubes grown from 1 g pollen. Callose synthase activity was first detected immediately after germination, and then also increased substantially during tube growth. Trypsin caused activation of CalS throughout a 30-h time course of tube growth, but the degree of activation was higher for younger pollen tubes. Over a 10-fold range of callose deposition rates, the assayed CalS activity was sufficient to account for the rate of callose deposition without trypsin activation, implying that the form of CalS active in isolated membranes is responsible for callose deposition in intact pollen tubes. Sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation separated a lighter, intracellular membrane fraction containing only inactive CalS from a heavier, plasma-membrane fraction containing both active and inactive CalS, with younger pollen tubes containing relatively more of the inactive intracellular enzyme. The increasing rate of callose deposition during pollen-tube growth may thus be caused by the transport of inactive forms of CalS from intracellular membranes to the plasma membrane, followed by the regulated activation of these inactive forms in this final location.

Zhang, Zhaojie; Russell, Scott D.

doi: 10.1007/s004250050591pmid: N/A

Myosin associated with the male germ cells of angiosperms interacts with actin, promoting transport of the non-motile generative and later sperm cells in the pollen tube. Myosin localizing on the sperm cell plasma membrane seems negligible in Plumbago, as reflected by the absence of: (i) anti-myosin labeling using immunoelectron microscopy, (ii) sperm motility on actin matrices, and (iii) electrophoretic movement changes after addition of antibody. Sperm cells injected directly into actively streaming Nitella internodal cells, however, follow actin bundles and their movement is sensitive to ATP and Mg2+. This may be based on simple charge binding since negatively charged latex beads also migrate on actin, whereas neutral or positively-charged latex beads do not. Sperm cells are negatively charged according to capillary microelectrophoresis, whereas killed sperm cells, which are positively charged do not migrate. The sperm cell that normally fertilizes the egg has a higher calculated charge (8.277 × 103 esu/cm2) compared with the sperm cell that fuses with the central cell (6.120 × 103 esu/cm2).