Widespread horizontal transfer of mitochondrial genes in flowering plants

Horizontal gene transfer--the exchange of genes across mating barriers--is recognized as a major force in bacterial evolution. However, in eukaryotes it is prevalent only in certain phagotrophic protists and limited largely to the ancient acquisition of bacterial genes. Although the human genome was initially reported to contain over 100 genes acquired during vertebrate evolution from bacteria, this claim was immediately and repeatedly rebutted. Moreover, horizontal transfer is unknown within the evolution of animals, plants and fungi except in the special context of mobile genetic elements. Here we show, however, that standard mitochondrial genes, encoding ribosomal and respiratory proteins, are subject to evolutionarily frequent horizontal transfer between distantly related flowering plants. These transfers have created a variety of genomic outcomes, including gene duplication, recapture of genes lost through transfer to the nucleus, and chimaeric, half-monocot, half-dicot genes. These results imply the existence of mechanisms for the delivery of DNA between unrelated plants, indicate that horizontal transfer is also a force in plant nuclear genomes, and are discussed in the contexts of plant molecular phylogeny and genetically modified plants.     

Gene regulation: ancient microRNA target sequences in plants

MicroRNAs are an abundant class of small RNAs that are thought to regulate the expression of protein-coding genes in plants and animals. Here we show that the target sequence of two microRNAs, known to regulate genes in the class-III homeodomain-leucine zipper (HD-Zip) gene family of the flowering plant Arabidopsis, is conserved in homologous sequences from all lineages of land plants, including bryophytes, lycopods, ferns and seed plants. We also find that the messenger RNAs from these genes are cleaved within the same microRNA-binding site in representatives of each land-plant group, as they are in Arabidopsis. Our results indicate not only that microRNAs mediate gene regulation in non-flowering as well as flowering plants, but also that the regulation of this class of plant genes dates back more than 400 million years.     

水蕨(Ceratopteris thalictroides)两条MADS-box基因的克隆与分析

MADS-box转录因子,作为一个大的基因家族,在植物生长发育过程中起重要作用,尤其是作为开花植物花器官形成的主要调控者.该基因家族在揭示进化方面也有着重大意义.为了探究MADS-box基因的进化,需要更多的非开花植物中MADS-box基因的信息.选取水蕨(Ceratopteris thalictroides)作为材料,用RACE方法对其MADS-box基因进行克隆与分析.在水蕨中克隆得到两条MADS-box基因,分别命名为CtMADS1和CtMADS2.分析显示:CtMADS1属于MIKC*分支,而CtMADS2属于MIKCc分支,水蕨的这2条MADS-box基因与开花植物的MADS-box基因有着很近的亲缘关系,现在维管植物最近的共同祖先中至少存在2条不同的花同源异形基因,即MADS-box基因.     

Functional characterization and mapping of two MADS box genes from peach (Prunus persica)

Previously an AGAMOUS gene homologue PpMADS4 and a FRUITFULL gene homologue PpMADS6 were isolated from peach (Prunus persica), and both genes were shown to express in the developing floral and fruits. To gain insight into their function, the two genes were constitutively expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana and their effects on plant growth and floral organ development were studied in this work. The transgenic plants all displayed early flowering and conversion of inflorescence to floral meristem. However, the two genes had different effects on the floral organ structures in A. thaliana. The transgenic plants overexpressing PpMADS4 displayed homeotic conversion of floral organs, and par- ticularly the perianth abscission was inhibited. The plants overexpressing PpMADS6 showed early flowering, produced higher number of carpels, petals, and stamens than nontransgenic plants, and pod shatter was prevented; significantly, the transgenic plants yielded more than one siliques from a single flower. A SSR molecular marker was developed for PpMADS4, and it was then assigned into the G5 linkage group of Prunus sp. Both PpMADS4 and PpMADS6 genes were located at the same region in the G5 linkage group. Our results showed the potential application of these two MADS box genes for crop and fruit tree improvement.     

Bypassing genomic imprinting allows seed development

In developing progeny of mammals the two parental genomes are differentially expressed according to imprinting marks, and embryos with only a uniparental genetic contribution die. Gene expression that is dependent on the parent of origin has also been observed in the offspring of flowering plants, and mutations in the imprinting machinery lead to embryonic lethality, primarily affecting the development of the endosperm-a structure in the seed that nourishes the embryo, analogous to the function of the mammalian placenta. Here we have generated Arabidopsis thaliana seeds in which the endosperm is of uniparental, that is, maternal, origin. We demonstrate that imprinting in developing seeds can be bypassed and viable albeit smaller seedlings can develop from seeds lacking a paternal contribution to the endosperm. Bypassing is only possible if the mother is mutant for any of the FIS-class genes, which encode Polycomb group chromatin-modifying factors. Thus, these data provide functional evidence that the action of the FIS complex balances the contribution of the paternal genome. As flowering plants have evolved a special reproduction system with a parallel fusion of two female with two male gametes, our findings support the hypothesis that only with the evolution of double fertilization did the action of the FIS genes become a requirement for seed development. Furthermore, our data argue for a gametophytic origin of endosperm in flowering plants, thereby supporting a hypothesis raised in 1900 by Eduard Strasburger.     

Integration of floral inductive signals in Arabidopsis

Flowering of Arabidopsis is regulated by a daylength-dependent pathway that accelerates flowering in long days and a daylength-independent pathway that ensures flowering in the absence of inductive conditions. These pathways are genetically separable, as there are mutations that delay flowering in long but not short days. Conversely, mutations that block synthesis of the hormone gibberellin abolish flowering in short days, but have on their own only a minor effect in long days. A third pathway, the autonomous pathway, probably acts by modulating the other two pathways. Understanding where and how these pathways are integrated is a prerequisite for understanding why similar environmental or endogenous cues can elicit opposite flowering responses in different plants. In Arabidopsis, floral induction leads ultimately to the upregulation of floral meristem-identity genes such as LEAFY, indicating that floral inductive signals are integrated upstream of LEAFY Here we show that gibberellins activate the LEAFY promoter through cis elements that are different from those that are sufficient for the daylength response, demonstrating that the LEAFY promoter integrates environmental and endogenous signals controlling flowering time.     

Nitrogen transfer in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis

Most land plants are symbiotic with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which take up mineral nutrients from the soil and exchange them with plants for photosynthetically fixed carbon. This exchange is a significant factor in global nutrient cycles as well as in the ecology, evolution and physiology of plants. Despite its importance as a nutrient, very little is known about how AMF take up nitrogen and transfer it to their host plants. Here we report the results of stable isotope labelling experiments showing that inorganic nitrogen taken up by the fungus outside the roots is incorporated into amino acids, translocated from the extraradical to the intraradical mycelium as arginine, but transferred to the plant without carbon. Consistent with this mechanism, the genes of primary nitrogen assimilation are preferentially expressed in the extraradical tissues, whereas genes associated with arginine breakdown are more highly expressed in the intraradical mycelium. Strong changes in the expression of these genes in response to nitrogen availability and form also support the operation of this novel metabolic pathway in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.     

SHATTERPROOF MADS-box genes control seed dispersal in Arabidopsis

The fruit, which mediates the maturation and dispersal of seeds, is a complex structure unique to flowering plants. Seed dispersal in plants such as Arabidopsis occurs by a process called fruit dehiscence, or pod shatter. Few studies have focused on identifying genes that regulate this process, in spite of the agronomic value of controlling seed dispersal in crop plants such as canola. Here we show that the closely related SHATTERPROOF (SHP1) and SHATTERPROOF2 (SHP2) MADS-box genes are required for fruit dehiscence in Arabidopsis. Moreover, SHP1 and SHP2 are functionally redundant, as neither single mutant displays a novel phenotype. Our studies of shp1 shp2 fruit, and of plants constitutively expressing SHP1 and SHP2, show that these two genes control dehiscence zone differentiation and promote the lignification of adjacent cells. Our results indicate that further analysis of the molecular events underlying fruit dehiscence may allow genetic manipulation of pod shatter in crop plants.     

雌雄异型异熟植物的开花机制研究进展

雌雄异型异熟是植物从雌雄同花向雌雄异株进化过程中的一种过渡类型,目前发现存在于13个科20个属植物中。其群体中包括雌先型和雄先型两种交配类型,两种交配类型植株的同步性和互不干扰性可有效地避免自交。一般认为雌雄异型异熟植株的交配类型是固定不变的,但也在一些植物中发现了彼此间的转化; 植株内雌雄花开放时间有的完全错开,有的部分重叠。经典遗传学认为交配类型受1对显/隐性的等位基因控制,且当群体达到平衡时两种交配类型的比例可达平衡状态(1:1),这在胡桃属和山核桃属上得到了验证,但在其他同类植物分子生物学方面的研究还是空白。雌雄异型异熟植物的性别决定为饰变型,其性别分化不仅受性别决定基因的遗传控制,而且还受植物激素的诱导调控,但不同植物上激素诱导性别分化的作用存在差异。解剖学研究表明同一交配类型上的雌雄花发育和成熟时间均存在差异。     

Functional characterization and mapping of two MADS box genes from peach （Prunus persica）

Previously an AGAMOUS gene homologue PpMADS4 and a FRUITFULL gene homologue PpMADS6 were isolated from peach （Prunus persica）, and both genes were shown to express in the developing floral and fruits. To gain insight into their function, the two genes were constitutively expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana and their effects on plant growth and floral organ development were studied in this work. The transgenic plants all displayed early flowering and conversion of inflorescence to floral meristem. However, the two genes had different effects on the floral organ structures in A. thaliana. The transgenic plants overexpressing PpMADS4 displayed homeotic conversion of floral organs, and particularly the perianth abscission was inhibited. The plants overexpressing PpMADS6 showed early flowering, produced higher number of carpels, petals, and stamens than nontransgenic plants, and pod shatter was prevented; significantly, the transgenic plants yielded more than one siliques from a single flower. A SSR molecular marker was developed for PpMADS4, and it was then assigned into the G5 linkage group of Prunus sp. Both PpMADS4 and PpMADS6 genes were located at the same region in the G5 linkage group. Our results showed the potential application of these two MADS box genes for crop and fruit tree improvement.     

SPL转录因子调控植物花发育及其分子机制研究进展

SPL(squamosa promoter-binding protein-like)转录因子是植物所特有的一类基因家族,广泛存在于绿色植物中,在植物生长发育中具有重要作用。花发育是植物生殖发育中最为重要的一个过程,涉及不同发育方式的转变,即开花决定、花的发端和花器官发生与发育。简要综述了SPL基因的结构与功能并着重阐述了SPL基因在植物花发育过程中的分子机制及生物学功能。最后总结出: SPL转录因子可直接或间接通过参与光周期途径,赤霉素途径及年龄途径来调控植物的开花时间; SPL基因可通过直接激活下游花分生组织特异基因,如LEAFY(LFY),从而调控植物的成花转变; SPL基因可通过与下游花器官特征基因相互作用来调控花器官及其育性的发育,如调控花序、花柄的长度与外形及花器官的大小; SPL基因可调控植物大小孢子发生及雌雄配子体发育。据拟南芥的相关研究结果,初步构绘出拟南芥开花调控中的分子机制。     

雌雄异型异熟青钱柳幼龄林开花习性及交配系统分析

青钱柳为典型的雌雄异型异熟树种,包括雌花先熟个体(雌先型,PG)和雄花先熟个体(雄先型, PA)两种交配型。同一交配型内雌雄花期错开而交配型间雌雄花同步的开花生物学特性可能对青钱柳种子产量和质量有重要影响。为了解青钱柳群体的交配系统,对江苏溧阳陶峰和安徽红琊山林场的7年生青钱柳人工林群体进行了连续2 a花期物候学观测,包括林分中交配型的比例、不同交配型的雌雄开花顺序、开花持续时间及花期相遇特点。结果表明:受环境条件的影响,青钱柳花期为4月下旬至5月下旬,有一定波动; 雌、雄花期持续时间分别为9～19 d(最长21 d)和2～9 d。在人工林幼龄群体中,开花植株有2类共5种表现型,其中两性植株包括雌先型(PG)、雄先型(PA)和同步型(SC),单性植株包括雌株(F)和雄株(M); 观察发现幼林群体中雌株居多,两性植株比例较小。2015年溧阳陶峰青钱柳人工林中开花率达到73.2%,两性植株占28.8%,PA和PG比例1:1.2; 而红琊山林场的开花率仅为38.6%,其中16.7%为两性植株,PG比例较高。连续2 a的定株观察还表明:开花表现型的变化主要为单性植株转变为两性植株; PA和PG表达稳定,极少发生逆转; 两性植株中,有52.2%的植株上雌、雄花期完全错开,而47.8%的植株上雌、雄花花期有部分(少量全部)重叠。相关分析表明,开花状况与母树胸高断面积显著相关,显著性大小顺序为雌先型﹥雄先型﹥雄株﹥雌株﹥未开花植株。多重比较表明:两性植株的平均胸高断面积与单性植株、未开花植株差异显著; 开花植株中雌先型、雄先型和雄株平均胸高断面积差异不显著,但三者与雌株存在显著差异。由此推测青钱柳开花与否和开花表现型明显受植株营养积累的影响。     

Vernalization requires epigenetic silencing of FLC by histone methylation

To ensure flowering in favourable conditions, many plants flower only after an extended period of cold, namely winter. In Arabidopsis, the acceleration of flowering by prolonged cold, a process called vernalization, involves downregulation of the protein FLC, which would otherwise prevent flowering. This lowered FLC expression is maintained through subsequent development by the activity of VERNALIZATION (VRN) genes. VRN1 encodes a DNA-binding protein whereas VRN2 encodes a homologue of one of the Polycomb group proteins, which maintain the silencing of genes during animal development. Here we show that vernalization causes changes in histone methylation in discrete domains within the FLC locus, increasing dimethylation of lysines 9 and 27 on histone H3. Such modifications identify silenced chromatin states in Drosophila and human cells. Dimethylation of H3 K27 was lost only in vrn2 mutants, but dimethylation of H3 K9 was absent from both vrn1 and vrn2, consistent with VRN1 functioning downstream of VRN2. The epigenetic memory of winter is thus mediated by a 'histone code' that specifies a silent chromatin state conserved between animals and plants.     

干旱胁迫下开花期玉米消减文库的构建及分析

分别以1d干旱和7d干旱处理的开花期玉米顶叶cDNA为tester，正常生长的玉米顸叶cDNA为driver，利用抑制性差减杂交技术构建了两个干旱胁迫下开花期玉米消减文库．两个文库的重组率均高于95％，插入片段集中在300—600bp之间．对两个文库部分克隆进行测序发现，文库中含有脱水素、蔗糖合成酶、甜菜碱醛脱氢酶。DRE结合因子等大量的抗旱相关基因，说明两个干旱胁迫下开花期玉米抑制性消减文库已经构建成功。且具有重要意义．     

类胡萝卜素介导的植物花色调控机制研究进展

花色是一种重要的花性状,对于有花植物的观赏园艺、生殖生态以及物种演化均具有非常关键的作用。有花植物花着色的关键决定因素是花色素的合成和沉积。类胡萝卜素作为一类重要的天然色素,不仅具有营养和药理特性,同时还是许多有花植物花着色的呈色色素。笔者对植物中的类胡萝卜素代谢途径及相关基因进行了梳理,并着重总结了类胡萝卜素代谢基因的表达及其转录调控对植物花着色的影响。当前,已知花中类胡萝卜素代谢基因的表达与类胡萝卜素积累及花着色紧密相关,但是关于这些基因在花中的转录调控机制研究还处于起步阶段。植物的花器官似乎采取了与叶、果实等其他器官完全不同的策略来精细调控类胡萝卜素的生物合成与积累,并且不同植物间尚未发现共通之处。笔者基于目前的研究进展,对未来类胡萝卜素介导的花着色调控机制研究进行了展望,认为随着高通量组学技术和现代分子生物学技术的迅猛发展,可尝试结合基因组、转录组、代谢组及最新的单细胞组学和空间组学等多组学技术和遗传转化及以CRISPR/Cas9为代表的基因组编辑技术,构建多种植物花着色过程中类胡萝卜素代谢的特异性分子调控网络,以期为进一步研究类胡萝卜素介导的花色变异与演化及花色育种提供有益参考。     

冻害天气对3种杜鹃花科植物物候期的影响

2008年年初,曲靖市遭受了30年来同期最严重的冻害天气,各种植物均受到不同程度的冻害．重点分析了3种杜鹃花科植物在2006—2008年的物候期情况．经研究表明：2008年,3种植物的发芽始期、芽膨大期、展叶始期、展叶盛期、花蕾期、开花始期、开花盛期和开花末期均晚于2006年和2007年,虽然物候期推迟了,但都能正常完成生活史,说明这3种植物对低温具有一定的抗性,是比较优良的园林绿化植物．     

The war of the whorls: genetic interactions controlling flower development.

The analysis of mutations affecting flower structure has led to the identification of some of the genes that direct flower development. Cloning of these genes has allowed the formulation of molecular models of how floral meristem and organ identity may be specified, and has shown that the distantly related flowering plants Arabidopsis thaliana and Antirrhinum majus use homologous mechanisms in floral pattern formation.     

Identification of diploid endosperm in an early angiosperm lineage

In flowering plants, the developmental and genetic basis for the establishment of an embryo-nourishing tissue differs from all other lineages of seed plants. Among extant nonflowering seed plants (conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, Gnetales), a maternally derived haploid tissue (female gametophyte) is responsible for the acquisition of nutrients from the maternal diploid plant, and the ultimate provisioning of the embryo. In flowering plants, a second fertilization event, contemporaneous with the fusion of sperm and egg to yield a zygote, initiates a genetically biparental and typically triploid embryo-nourishing tissue called endosperm. For over a century, triploid biparental endosperm has been viewed as the ancestral condition in extant flowering plants. Here we report diploid biparental endosperm in Nuphar polysepalum, a basal angiosperm. We show that diploid endosperms are common among early angiosperm lineages and may represent the ancestral condition among flowering plants. If diploid endosperm is plesiomorphic, the triploid endosperms of the vast majority of flowering plants must have evolved from a diploid condition through the developmental modification of the unique fertilization process that initiates endosperm.     

园林植物花果期与城市照明关系 ———基于重庆主城区园林照明植物花果期调查

针对城市照明会影响植物花果期物候的变化,提出园林植物与照明关系的研究;利用跟踪观测的方法,记录被照植物生长环境,计算被照射植物的花期及生长季,并与文献记载植物花果期进行比较,研究夜景照明与园林植物花期果期的关系;得出人工光照是影响绿化植物花期与果期的直接因素,园林植物花期可作为人工光照对植物物候影响指示器;受人工光源照射的园林植物花期变化相对明显,展叶期变化也相对明显,乔木花期对人工光照反应较为弱;落叶植物花期对人工光照敏感,夜间光照下落叶乔木果期提前,花期延长;园林植物花果期对 LED 白光、黄光光谱照射较为敏感;指出得出深入对城市光环境与绿化植物花果期影响的研究,可有效掌握受人工光照下的园林植物花果期的变化规律,对预测园林植物生长、保护生态环境、指导园林夜景建设有重要的意义。     

Adaptation of photoperiodic control pathways produces short-day flowering in rice

The photoperiodic control of flowering is one of the important developmental processes of plants because it is directly related to successful reproduction. Although the molecular genetic analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana, a long-day (LD) plant, has provided models to explain the control of flowering time in this species, very little is known about its molecular mechanisms for short-day (SD) plants. Here we show how the photoperiodic control of flowering is regulated in rice, a SD plant. Overexpression of OsGI, an orthologue of the Arabidopsis GIGANTEA (GI) gene in transgenic rice, caused late flowering under both SD and LD conditions. Expression of the rice orthologue of the Arabidopsis CONSTANS (CO) gene was increased in the transgenic rice, whereas expression of the rice orthologue of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) was suppressed. Our results indicate that three key regulatory genes for the photoperiodic control of flowering are conserved between Arabidopsis, a LD plant, and rice, a SD plant, but regulation of the FT gene by CO was reversed, resulting in the suppression of flowering in rice under LD conditions.