The central vacuole in a plant cell occupies the majority of the cellular volume and plays a key role in turgor regulation. The vacuolar membrane (tonoplast) contains a large number of transporters that mediate fluxes of solutes and water, thereby adjusting cell turgor in response to developmental and environmental signals. We report that two tonoplast Detoxification efflux carrier (DTX)/Multidrug and Toxic Compound Extrusion (MATE) transporters, DTX33 and DTX35, function as chloride channels essential for turgor regulation in Arabidopsis. Ectopic expression of each transporter in Nicotiana benthamiana mesophyll cells elicited a large voltage-dependent inward chloride current across the tonoplast, showing that DTX33 and DTX35 each constitute a functional channel. Both channels are highly expressed in Arabidopsis tissues, including root hairs and guard cells that experience rapid turgor changes during root-hair elongation and stomatal movements. Disruption of these two genes, either in single or double mutants, resulted in shorter root hairs and smaller stomatal aperture, with double mutants showing more severe defects, suggesting that these two channels function additively to facilitate anion influx into the vacuole during cell expansion. In addition, dtx35 single mutant showed lower fertility as a result of a defect in pollen-tube growth. Indeed, patch-clamp recording of isolated vacuoles indicated that the inward chloride channel activity across the tonoplast was impaired in the double mutant. Because MATE proteins are widely known transporters of organic compounds, finding MATE members as chloride channels expands the functional definition of this large family of transporters.vacuole | root hair | stomata | drought

Primary testicular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PT-DLBCL) is a unique subtype of DLBCL. The impact of rituximab on survival and patterns of treatment failure in PT-DLBCL patient remain controversial. We analyzed the clinical and biological feature of 280 PT-DLBCL cases, 64% of which were treated with rituximab-containing regimens. Although most (95%) patients achieved complete remission, a continuous risk of relapse was observed. Rituximab significantly reduced the cumulative risk of relapse (P=0.022) and improved both progression-free survival (PFS, P=0.012) and overall survival (OS, P=0.027) of PT-DLBCL patients (5-year PFS, 56% vs 36%; 5-year OS, 68% vs 48%). Central nervous system and contralateral testis were the most common sites of relapse, but other extranodal and nodal sites of relapse were also observed. Most cases of PT-DLBCL had a non-germinal center B-cell like (84%) immunophenotype and an activated B-cell like (86%) gene expression profile (GEP) subtype. The distinctive GEP signature of primary testicular lymphoma was relevant to tumor cell proliferation, dysregulated expression of adhesion molecules and immune response, likely accounting for the poor outcome. Accordingly, forkhead box P1 transcription factor (FOXP1) and T-cell leukemia/lymphoma 1 (TCL1) oncogenic activation were confirmed and predicted a significant trend of poor survival. This study provides valuable observations for better understanding of both clinical and biological features in PT-DLBCL patients.

Drought stress is an important environmental factor limiting productivity of plants, especially fast growing species with high water consumption like poplar. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a phytohormone that positively regulates seed dormancy and drought resistance. The PYR1 (Pyrabactin Resistance 1)/ PYRL (PYR-Like)/ RCAR (Regulatory Component of ABA Receptor) (PYR/PYL/RCAR) ABA receptor family has been identified and widely characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana. However, their functions in poplars remain unknown. Here, we report that 2 of 14 PYR/PYL/RCAR orthologues in poplar (Populus trichocarpa) (PtPYRLs) function as a positive regulator of the ABA signal transduction pathway. The Arabidopsis transient expression and yeast two-hybrid assays showed the interaction among PtPYRL1 and PtPYRL5, a clade A protein phosphatase 2C, and a SnRK2, suggesting that a core signalling complex for ABA signaling pathway exists in poplars. Phenotypic analysis of PtPYRL1 and PtPYRL5 transgenic Arabidopsis showed that these two genes positively regulated the ABA responses during the seed germination. More importantly, the overexpression of PtPYRL1 and PtPYRL5 substantially improved ABA sensitivity and drought stress tolerance in transgenic plants. In summary, we comprehensively uncovered the properties of PtPYRL1 and PtPYRL5, which might be good target genes to genetically engineer drought-Resistant plants.

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