SUMMARYIn Arabidopsis thaliana, a family of four genes (HY1, HO2, HO3 and HO4) encode haem oxygenase (HO), and play a major role in phytochrome chromophore biosynthesis. To characterize the contribution of the various haem oxygenase isoforms involved in salt acclimation, the effects of NaCl on seed germination and primary root growth in Arabidopsis wild-type and four HO mutants (hy1-100, ho2, ho3 and ho4) were compared. Among the four HO mutants, hy1-100 displayed maximal sensitivity to salinity and showed no acclimation response, whereas plants over-expressing HY1 (35S:HY1) exhibited tolerance characteristics. Mild salt stress stimulated biphasic increases in RbohD transcripts and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (peaks I and II) in wild-type. ROS peak I-mediated HY1 induction and subsequent salt acclimation were observed, but only ROS peak I was seen in the hy1-100 mutant. A subsequent test confirmed the causal relationship of salt acclimation with haemin-induced HY1 expression and RbohD-derived ROS peak II formation. In atrbohD mutants, haemin pre-treatment resulted in induction of HY1 expression, but no similar response was seen in hy1-100, and no ROS peak II or subsequent salt acclimatory responses were observed. Together, the above findings suggest that HY1 plays an important role in salt acclimation signalling, and requires participation of RbohD-derived ROS peak II.

Salt stress induced an increase in endogenous carbon monoxide (CO) production and the activity of the CO synthetic enzyme haem oxygenase (HO) in wheat seedling roots. In addition, a 50% CO aqueous solution, applied daily, not only resulted in the enhancement of CO release, but led to a significant reversal in dry weight (DW) and water loss caused by 150 mM NaCl treatment, which was mimicked by the application of two nitric oxide (NO) donors sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and diethylenetriamine NO adduct (DETA/NO). Further analyses showed that CO, as well as SNP, apparently up-regulated H + -pump and antioxidant enzyme activities or related transcripts, thus resulting in the increase of K/Na ratio and the alleviation of oxidative damage. Whereas, the CO/NO scavenger haemoglobin (Hb), NO scavenger or synthetic inhibitor methylene blue (MB) or N G -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) differentially blocked these effects. Furthermore, CO was able to mimic the effect of SNP by strongly increasing NO release in the root tips, whereas the CO-induced NO signal was quenched by the addition of L-NAME or cPTIO, the specific scavenger of NO. The results suggested that CO might confer an increased tolerance to salinity stress by maintaining ion homeostasis and enhancing antioxidant system parameters in wheat seedling roots, both of which were partially mediated by NO signal.

Trichomes originate from the epidermal cells of nearly all terrestrial plants, which are specialized unicellular or multicellular structures. Although the molecular mechanism regulating unicellular trichome formation has been extensively characterized, most of the genes essential for multicellular trichome formation remain unknown. In this study, we identified an associated locus on the long arm of chromosome 10 using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on type-I trichomes of 180 diverse Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) accessions. Using map-based cloning we then cloned the key gene controlling the initiation of this type of trichome, named Hair (H), which encodes a single C2H2 zinc-finger protein. Transgenic experiments showed that hair-absent phenotype is caused by the deletion of the entire coding region of H. We identified three alleles of H containing several missense mutations and a nucleotide deletion, which result in amino acid substitutions and a reading frame shift, respectively. In addition, knockdown of H or Woolly (Wo) represses the formation of type-I trichomes, suggesting that both regulators may function as a heterodimer. Direct protein-protein interaction between them was further detected through pull-down and yeast two-hybrid assays. In addition, ectopic expression of H in Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) and expression of its homologs from Capsicum annuum (pepper) and tobacco in tomato can trigger trichome formation. Taken together, these findings suggest that the H gene may be functionally conserved in multicellular trichome formation in Solanaceae species.

Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) in the Brassicaceae family possesses many excellent agronomic traits. Here, the high-quality genome sequence of B. carinata is reported. Characterization revealed a genome anchored to 17 chromosomes with a total length of 1.087 Gb and an N50 scaffold length of 60 Mb. Repetitive sequences account for approximately 634 Mb or 58.34% of the B. carinata genome. Notably, 51.91% of 97,149 genes are confined to the terminal 20% of chromosomes as a result of the expansion of repeats in pericentromeric regions. Brassica carinata shares one whole-genome triplication event with the five other species in U’s triangle, a classic model of evolution and polyploidy in Brassica. Brassica carinata was deduced to have formed ∼0.047 Mya, which is slightly earlier than B. napus but later than B. juncea. Our analysis indicated that the relationship between the two subgenomes (BcaB and BcaC) is greater than that between other two tetraploid subgenomes (BjuB and BnaC) and their respective diploid parents. RNA-seq datasets and comparative genomic analysis were used to identify several key genes in pathways regulating disease resistance and glucosinolate metabolism. Further analyses revealed that genome triplication and tandem duplication played important roles in the expansion of those genes in Brassica species. With the genome sequencing of B. carinata completed, the genomes of all six Brassica species in U’s triangle are now resolved. The data obtained from genome sequencing, transcriptome analysis, and comparative genomic efforts in this study provide valuable insights into the genome evolution of the six Brassica species in U’s triangle.

The chloroplast genome originated from photosynthetic organisms and has retained the core genes that mainly encode components of photosynthesis. However, the causes of variations in chloroplast genome size in seed plants have only been thoroughly analyzed within small subsets of spermatophytes. In this study, we conducted the first comparative analysis on a large scale to examine the relationship between sequence characteristics and genome size in 272 seed plants based on cross-species and phylogenetic signal analysis. Our results showed that inverted repeat regions, large or small single copies, intergenic regions, and gene number can be attributed to the variations in chloroplast genome size among closely related species. However, chloroplast gene length underwent evolution affecting chloroplast genome size in seed plants irrespective of whether phylogenetic information was incorporated. Among chloroplast genes, atpA, accD and ycf1 account for 13% of the variation in genome size, and the average Ka/Ks values of homologous pairs of the three genes are larger than 1. The relationship between chloroplast genome size and gene length might be affected by selection during the evolution of spermatophytes. The variation in chloroplast genome size may influence energy generation and ecological strategy in seed plants.