No abstract

Iron is one of the most important micronutrients in plants as it is involved in many cellular functions (e.g., photosynthesis and respiration). Any defect in iron availability will affect plant growth and development as well as crop yield and plant product quality. Thus, iron homeostasis must be tightly controlled in order to ensure optimal absorption of this mineral element. Understanding mechanisms governing iron homeostasis in plants has been the focus of several studies during the past 10 years. These studies have greatly improved our understanding of the mechanisms involved, revealing a sophisticated iron-dependent transcriptional regulatory network. Strikingly, these studies have also highlighted that this regulatory web relies on the activity of numerous transcriptional regulators that belong to the same group of transcription factors (TF), the bHLH (basic helix-loop-helix) family. This is best exemplified in Arabidopsis where, to date, 16 bHLH TF have been characterized as involved in this process and acting in a complex regulatory cascade. Interestingly, among these bHLH TF some form specific clades, indicating that peculiar function dedicated to the maintenance of iron homeostasis, have emerged during the course of the evolution of the green lineage. Within this mini review, we present new insights on the control of iron homeostasis and the involvement of bHLH TF in this metabolic process.

Summary Iron (Fe) homeostasis is crucial for all living organisms. In mammals, an integrated posttranscriptional mechanism couples the regulation of both Fe deficiency and Fe excess responses. Whether in plants an integrated control mechanism involving common players regulates responses both to deficiency and to excess is still to be determined. In this study, molecular, genetic and biochemical approaches were used to investigate transcriptional responses to both Fe deficiency and excess. A transcriptional activator of responses to Fe shortage in Arabidopsis, called bHLH105/ILR3, was found to also negatively regulate the expression of ferritin genes, which are markers of the plant's response to Fe excess. Further investigations revealed that ILR3 repressed the expression of several structural genes that function in the control of Fe homeostasis. ILR3 interacts directly with the promoter of its target genes, and repressive activity was conferred by its dimerisation with bHLH47/PYE. Last, this study highlighted that important facets of plant growth in response to Fe deficiency or excess rely on ILR3 activity. Altogether, the data presented herein support that ILR3 is at the centre of the transcriptional regulatory network that controls Fe homeostasis in Arabidopsis, in which it acts as both transcriptional activator and repressor.

BackgroundSalt stress usually causes crop growth inhibition and yield decrease. Epigenetic regulation is involved in plant responses to environmental stimuli. The epigenetic regulation of the cell wall related genes associated with the salt-induced cellular response is still little known. This study aimed to analyze cell morphological alterations in maize roots as a consequence of excess salinity in relation to the transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of the cell wall related protein genes.ResultsIn this study, maize seedling roots got shorter and displayed swelling after exposure to 200 mM NaCl for 48 h and 96 h. Cytological observation showed that the growth inhibition of maize roots was due to the reduction in meristematic zone cell division activity and elongation zone cell production. The enlargement of the stele tissue and cortex cells contributed to root swelling in the elongation zone. The cell wall is thought to be the major control point for cell enlargement. Cell wall related proteins include xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (XET), expansins (EXP), and the plasma membrane proton pump (MHA). RT-PCR results displayed an up-regulation of cell wall related ZmEXPA1, ZmEXPA3, ZmEXPA5, ZmEXPB1, ZmEXPB2 and ZmXET1 genes and the down-regulation of cell wall related ZmEXPB4 and ZmMHA genes as the duration of exposure was increased. Histone acetylation is regulated by HATs, which are often correlated with gene activation. The expression of histone acetyltransferase genes ZmHATB and ZmGCN5 was increased after 200 mM NaCl treatment, accompanied by an increase in the global acetylation levels of histones H3K9 and H4K5. ChIP experiment showed that the up-regulation of the ZmEXPB2 and ZmXET1 genes was associated with the elevated H3K9 acetylation levels on the promoter regions and coding regions of these two genes.ConclusionsThese data suggested that the up-regulation of some cell wall related genes mediated cell enlargement to possibly mitigate the salinity-induced ionic toxicity, and different genes had specific function in response to salt stress. Histone modification as a mediator may contribute to rapid regulation of cell wall related gene expression, which reduces the damage of excess salinity to plants.

Iron is one of the most important micronutrient for plant growth and development. It functions as the enzyme cofactor or component of electron transport chains in various vital metabolic processes, including photosynthesis, respiration and amino acid biosynthesis. For maintaining iron homeostasis, and therefore preventing any deficiency or excess that could be detrimental, plants have evolved complex transcriptional regulatory networks to tightly control iron uptake, translocation, assimilation and storage. Such regulatory networks are composed of various transcription factors among them members from the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family play an essential role. Here, we first review recent advances in understanding the roles of bHLH transcription factors involved in the regulatory cascade controlling iron homeostasis in the model plant Arabidopsis, extending it to rice and other plant species. The importance of other classes of transcription factors will also be discussed. Secondly, we elaborate on the posttranslational mechanisms involved in the regulation of these regulatory networks. Finally, we give some perspectives on future research that should be conducted in order to precisely depict how plants control the homeostasis of this micronutrient.

Our previous study demonstrated that 45S ribosomal DNA (45S rDNA) clusters were chromosome fragile sites expressed spontaneously in Lolium . In this study, fragile phenotypes of 45S rDNA were observed under aphidicolin (APH) incubation in several plant species. Further actinomycin D (ActD) treatment showed that transcriptional stress might interfere with chromatin packaging, resulting in 45S rDNA fragile expression. These data identified 45S rDNA sites as replication-dependent as well as transcription-dependent fragile sites in plants. In the presence of ActD, a dramatic switch to an open chromatin conformation and accumulated incomplete 5′ end of the external transcribed spacer (5′ETS) transcripts were observed, accompanied by decreased DNA methylation, decreased levels of histone H3, and increased histone acetylation and levels of H3K4me2, suggesting that these epigenetic alterations are associated with failure of 45S rDNA condensation. Furthermore, the finding that γ-H2AX was accumulated at 45S rDNA sites following ActD treatment suggested that the DNA damage signaling pathway was associated with the appearance of 45S rDNA fragile phenotypes. Our data provide a link between 45S rDNA transcription and chromatin-packaging defects and open the door for further identifying the molecular mechanism involved.

Iron (Fe) is a major micronutrient and is required for plant growth and development. Nongrass species have evolved a reduction-based strategy to solubilize and take up Fe. The secretion of Fe-mobilizing coumarins (e.g. fraxetin, esculetin and sideretin) by plant roots plays an important role in this process. Although the biochemical mechanisms leading to their biosynthesis have been well described, very little is known about their cellular and subcellular localization or their mobility within plant tissues. Spectral imaging was used to monitor, in Arabidopsis thaliana, the in planta localization of Fe-mobilizing coumarins and scopolin. Molecular, genetic and biochemical approaches were also used to investigate the dynamics of coumarin accumulation in roots. These approaches showed that root hairs play a major role in scopoletin secretion, whereas fraxetin and esculetin secretion occurs through all epidermis cells. The findings of this study also showed that the transport of coumarins from the cortex to the rhizosphere relies on the PDR9 transporter under Fe-deficient conditions. Additional experiments support the idea that coumarins move throughout the plant body via the xylem sap and that several plant species can take up coumarins present in the surrounding media. Altogether, the data presented here demonstrate that coumarin storage and accumulation in roots is a highly complex and dynamic process.

The histone modification level has been shown to be related with gene activation and repression in stress-responsive process, but there is little information on the relationship between histone modification and cell cycle gene expression responsive to environmental cues. In this study, the function of histone modifications in mediating the transcriptional regulation of cell cycle genes under various types of stress was investigated in maize (Zea mays L.). Abiotic stresses all inhibit the growth of maize seedlings, and induce total acetylation level increase compared with the control group in maize roots. The positive and negative regulation of the expression of some cell cycle genes leads to perturbation of cell cycle progression in response to abiotic stresses. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis reveals that dynamic histone acetylation change in the promoter region of cell cycle genes is involved in the control of gene expression in response to external stress and different cell cycle genes have their own characteristic patterns for histone acetylation. The data also showed that the combinations of hyperacetylation and hypoacetylation states of specific lysine sites on the H3 and H4 tails on the promoter regions of cell cycle genes regulate specific cell cycle gene expression under abiotic stress conditions, thus resulting in prolonged cell cycle duration and an inhibitory effect on growth and development in maize seedlings.