Новости науки и практики // Июль 2023

Arabidopsis metacaspase MC1 localizes in stress granules, clears protein aggregates and delays senescence
Stress granules (SGs) are highly conserved cytoplasmic condensates that assemble in response to stress and contribute to maintaining protein homeostasis. These membraneless organelles are dynamic, disassembling once the stress is no longer present. Persistence of SGs due to mutations or chronic stress has been often related to age-dependent protein-misfolding diseases in animals. Ruiz-Solaní et al. find that the metacaspase MC1 is dynamically recruited into SGs upon proteotoxic stress in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana).

https://academic.oup.com/plcell/advance-article/doi/10.1093/plcell/koad172/7208185?login=false&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Plasmodesmata mediate cell-to-cell transport of brassinosteroid hormones
Wang et al. demonstrate that plasmodesmata (PD) mediate the passage of brassinosteroids (BRs) between neighboring cells. Intracellular BR content, in turn, is capable of modulating PD permeability to optimize its own mobility, thereby manipulating BR biosynthesis and signaling.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41589-023-01346-x?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Investigating the intricacies of auxin signaling mechanisms in algae

Phytohormones are chemical messengers that regulate the growth of plants and their response to the environment. In land plants, auxin is an important and well-studied phytohormone that affects various aspects of plant development. However, the main cell receptor that regulates the auxin signaling machinery in land plants—transport inhibitor response 1/auxin signaling F-box (TIR1/AFB)—is absent in algae. Past research has shown that a TIR1/AFB-independent auxin signaling mechanism may be involved in regulating the gene expression and growth in algae. However, not much is known about the underlying mechanisms of the auxin signaling pathway and their purpose in algae.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/993628

The dynamic multi-functionality of leaf water transport outside the xylem
A surge of papers have reported low leaf vulnerability to xylem embolism during drought. Scoffoni et al. focus on the less studied, and more sensitive, outside-xylem leaf hydraulic responses to multiple internal and external conditions.

https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.19069?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

The root of the problem: diverse vulnerability to xylem cavitation found within the root system of wheat plants
Harrison Day et al. used optical and X-ray imaging to capture xylem embolism propagation across the intact root systems of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ‘Krichauff’) plants subjected to drying. Patterns in vulnerability to xylem cavitation were examined to investigate whether vulnerability may vary based on root size and placement across the entire root system.

https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19017?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Why did glutamate, GABA, and melatonin become intercellular signalling molecules in plants?
Caspi et al. review the plant function of three highly studied animal intercellular signalling molecules, namely glutamate, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and melatonin. By considering both their signalling function in plants and their broader physiological function, they suggest that molecules with an original function as key metabolites or active participants in reactive ion species scavenging have a high chance of becoming intercellular signalling molecules.

https://elifesciences.org/articles/83361?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Next-generation ABACUS biosensors reveal cellular ABA dynamics driving root growth at low aerial humidity
The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) accumulates under abiotic stress to recast water relations and development. To overcome a lack of high-resolution sensitive reporters, Rowe et al. developed ABACUS2s—next-generation Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) biosensors for ABA with high affinity, signal-to-noise ratio and orthogonality—that reveal endogenous ABA patterns in Arabidopsis thaliana.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-023-01447-4?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Why do plants blush when they are hungry?
Foliar anthocyanins, as well as other secondary metabolites, accumulate transiently under nutritional stress. A misconception that only nitrogen or phosphorus deficiency induces leaf purpling/reddening has led to overuse of fertilizers that burden the environment. Jezek et al. emphasize that several other nutritional imbalances induce anthocyanin accumulation, and nutrient-specific differences in this response have been reported for some deficiencies.

https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.18833?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Учёные выяснили, как запускается процесс фотосинтеза

Достаточно одного фотона, чтобы запустить процесс фотосинтеза.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/992117

Root cap is an important determinant of rhizosphere microbiome assembly
Rüger et al.’s results indicate a central role of root caps in microbiome assembly with ripple-on effects affecting higher trophic levels and microbiome composition on older root zones.

https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19002?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Developing drought-smart, ready-to-grow future crops
This review examines recent advances in plant responses to drought stress (DS) to expand our understanding of DS-associated mechanisms. Suboptimal water sources adversely affect crop growth and yields through physical impairments, physiological disturbances, biochemical modifications, and molecular adjustments.

https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tpg2.20279?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

The role of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in improving plant water status under drought
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been presumed to ameliorate crop tolerance to drought. Abdalla et al. review the role of AMF in maintaining water supply to plants from drying soils and the underlying biophysical mechanisms. We used a soil–plant hydraulic model to illustrate the impact of several AMF mechanisms on plant responses to edaphic drought.

https://academic.oup.com/jxb/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jxb/erad249/7220146?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Бороться с грибками Candida помогут соединения растительного происхождения

В качестве альтернативы ученые рассматривают терпеноиды — группу растительных кислородсодержащих соединений. Терпеноиды сочетают в себе два ценных свойства: они подавляют рост грибков (хотя и не убивают их, как препараты, содержащие азолы) и легко проникают через кожные покровы. 

https://poisknews.ru/themes/biologiya/borotsya-s-gribkami-candida-pomogut-soedineniya-rastitelnogo-proishozhdeniya/

Мох оказался обладателем большого количества жирных кислот, в том числе уникальных

Ученые определили, что мхи содержат большое количество различных жирных
кислот. Среди них оказались ценные полиненасыщенные жирные кислоты и уникальные ацетиленовые. Результаты исследования опубликованы в журнале Biomolecules.

https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/13/5/840/htm

Молекулярный шприц ввел редакторы генома точно в заданные клетки

Американские исследователи выяснили, что молекулярные инъекционные системы, обнаруженные у некоторых эндосимбиотических бактерий, можно перепрограммировать для целевой доставки в клетки разнообразных белков, включая генетические ножницы Cas9, редакторы азотистых оснований и токсины.

http://sci-dig.ru/biology/molekulyarnyj-shpric-vvel-redaktory-genoma-tochno-v-zadannye-kletki/

Биофизики проследили за прогулкой кинезина по микротрубочкам живой клетки

Две группы биофизиков независимо друг от друга применили флуоресцентный наноскоп для исследования движения белка кинезина-1 по микротрубочкам цитоскелета. Одна группа ученых подробно изучила конформации шагающего кинезина, а другая смогла проследить за прогулкой белка по микротрубочкам in vivo.

http://sci-dig.ru/biology/biofiziki-prosledili-za-progulkoj-kinezina-po-mikrotrubochkam-zhivoj-kletki/