Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchoring provides an alternative to transmembrane domains for anchoring proteins to the cell surface in eukaryotes. GPI anchors are synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum via the sequential addition of monosaccharides, fatty acids, and phosphoethanolamines to phosphatidylinositol. Deficiencies in GPI biosynthesis lead to embryonic lethality in animals and to conditional lethality in eukaryotic microbes by blocking cell growth, cell division, or morphogenesis. We report the genetic and phenotypic analysis of insertional mutations disrupting SETH1 and SETH2 , which encode Arabidopsis homologs of two conserved proteins involved in the first step of the GPI biosynthetic pathway. seth1 and seth2 mutations specifically block male transmission and pollen function. This results from reduced pollen germination and tube growth, which are associated with abnormal callose deposition. This finding suggests an essential role for GPI anchor biosynthesis in pollen tube wall deposition or metabolism. Using transcriptomic and proteomic approaches, we identified 47 genes that encode potential GPI-anchored proteins that are expressed in pollen and demonstrated that at least 11 of these proteins are associated with pollen membranes by GPI anchoring. Many of the identified candidate proteins are homologous with proteins involved in cell wall synthesis and remodeling or intercellular signaling and adhesion, and they likely play important roles in the establishment and maintenance of polarized pollen tube growth.
The OsCPK4 gene is a member of the complex gene family of calcium-dependent protein kinases in rice (Oryza sativa). Here, we report that OsCPK4 expression is induced by high salinity, drought, and the phytohormone abscisic acid. Moreover, a plasma membrane localization of OsCPK4 was observed by transient expression assays of green fluorescent protein-tagged OsCPK4 in onion (Allium cepa) epidermal cells. Overexpression of OsCPK4 in rice plants significantly enhances tolerance to salt and drought stress. Knockdown rice plants, however, are severely impaired in growth and development. Compared with control plants, OsCPK4 overexpressor plants exhibit stronger water-holding capability and reduced levels of membrane lipid peroxidation and electrolyte leakage under drought or salt stress conditions. Also, salt-treated OsCPK4 seedlings accumulate less Na in their roots. We carried out microarray analysis of transgenic rice overexpressing OsCPK4 and found that overexpression of OsCPK4 has a low impact on the rice transcriptome. Moreover, no genes were found to be commonly regulated by OsCPK4 in roots and leaves of rice plants. A significant number of genes involved in lipid metabolism and protection against oxidative stress appear to be up-regulated by OsCPK4 in roots of overexpressor plants. Meanwhile, OsCPK4 overexpression has no effect on the expression of well-characterized abiotic stress-associated transcriptional regulatory networks (i.e. ORYZA SATIVA DEHYDRATION-RESPONSIVE ELEMENT BINDING PROTEIN1 and ORYZA SATIVA No Apical Meristem, Arabidopsis Transcription Activation Factor1-2, Cup-Shaped Cotyledon6 genes) and LATE EMBRYOGENESIS ABUNDANT genes in their roots. Taken together, our data show that OsCPK4 functions as a positive regulator of the salt and drought stress responses in rice via the protection of cellular membranes from stress-induced oxidative damage.
Rice (Oryza sativa) stands among the world's most important crop species. Rice is salt sensitive, and the undue accumulation of sodium ions (Na +) in shoots has the strongest negative correlation with rice productivity under long-term salinity. The plasma membrane Na + /H + exchanger protein Salt Overly Sensitive 1 (SOS1) is the sole Na + efflux transporter that has been genetically characterized to date. Here, the importance of SOS1-facilitated Na + flux in the salt tolerance of rice was analyzed in a reversegenetics approach. A sos1 loss-of-function mutant displayed exceptional salt sensitivity that was correlated with excessive Na + intake and impaired Na + loading into the xylem, thus indicating that SOS1 controls net root Na + uptake and long-distance Na + transport to shoots. The acute Na + sensitivity of sos1 plants at low NaCl concentrations allowed analysis of the transcriptional response to sodicity stress without effects of the osmotic stress intrinsic to high-salinity treatments. In contrast with that in the wild type, sos1 mutant roots displayed preferential down-regulation of stress-related genes in response to salt treatment, despite the greater intensity of stress experienced by the mutant. These results suggest there is impaired stress detection or an inability to mount a comprehensive response to salinity in sos1. In summary, the plasma membrane Na + /H + exchanger SOS1 plays a major role in the salt tolerance of rice by controlling Na + homeostasis and possibly contributing to the sensing of sodicity stress.
To identify genes with essential roles in male gametophytic development, including postpollination (progamic) events, we have undertaken a genetic screen based on segregation ratio distortion of a transposon-borne kanamycin-resistance marker. In a population of 3359 Arabidopsis Ds transposon insertion lines, we identified 20 mutants with stably reduced segregation ratios arising from reduced gametophytic transmission. All 20 mutants showed strict cosegregation of Ds and the reduced gametophytic transmission phenotype. Among these, 10 mutants affected both male and female transmission and 10 mutants showed male-specific transmission defects. Four male and female (ungud) mutants and 1 malespecific mutant showed cellular defects in microspores and/or in developing pollen. The 6 remaining ungud mutants and 9 male-specific (seth) mutants affected pollen functions during progamic development. In vitro and in vivo analyses are reported for 5 seth mutants. seth6 completely blocked pollen germination, while seth7 strongly reduced pollen germination efficiency and tube growth. In contrast, seth8, seth9, or seth10 pollen showed reduced competitive ability that was linked to slower rates of pollen tube growth. Gene sequences disrupted in seth insertions suggest essential functions for putative SETH proteins in diverse processes including protein anchoring, cell wall biosynthesis, signaling, and metabolism.
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