The functions of the minor phospholipid phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P 2 ] during vegetative plant growth remain obscure. Here, we targeted two related phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinases (PI4P 5-kinases) PIP5K1 and PIP5K2, which are expressed ubiquitously in Arabidopsis thaliana. A pip5k1 pip5k2 double mutant with reduced PtdIns(4,5)P 2 levels showed dwarf stature and phenotypes suggesting defects in auxin distribution. The roots of the pip5k1 pip5k2 double mutant had normal auxin levels but reduced auxin transport and altered distribution. Fluorescence-tagged auxin efflux carriers PIN-FORMED (PIN1)-green fluorescent protein (GFP) and PIN2-GFP displayed abnormal, partially apolar distribution. Furthermore, fewer brefeldin A-induced endosomal bodies decorated by PIN1-GFP or PIN2-GFP formed in pip5k1 pip5k2 mutants. Inducible overexpressor lines for PIP5K1 or PIP5K2 also exhibited phenotypes indicating misregulation of auxindependent processes, and immunolocalization showed reduced membrane association of PIN1 and PIN2. PIN cycling and polarization require clathrin-mediated endocytosis and labeled clathrin light chain also displayed altered localization patterns in the pip5k1 pip5k2 double mutant, consistent with a role for PtdIns(4,5)P 2 in the regulation of clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Further biochemical tests on subcellular fractions enriched for clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs) indicated that pip5k1 and pip5k2 mutants have reduced CCV-associated PI4P 5-kinase activity. Together, the data indicate an important role for PtdIns(4,5)P 2 in the control of clathrin dynamics and in auxin distribution in Arabidopsis.

With the increased availability of high-resolution sequence information, genome-wide association (GWA) studies have become feasible in a number of species. The vast majority of these studies are conducted in human populations, where it is difficult to provide strong evidence for the functional involvement of unknown genes that are identified using GWA. Here we used the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana to combine high-throughput confocal microscopy imaging of traits at the cellular level, GWA and expression analyses to identify genomic regions that are associated with developmental cell-type traits. We identify and characterize a new F-box gene, KUK, that regulates meristem and cell length. We further show that polymorphisms in the coding sequence are the major causes of KUK allele-dependent natural variation in root development. This work demonstrates the feasibility of GWA using cellular traits to identify causal genes for basic biological processes such as development.

Stress-induced plant cell reprogramming involves changes in global genome organization, being the epigenetic modifications key factors in the regulation of genome flexibility. DNA methylation, accomplished by DNA methyltransferases, constitutes a prominent epigenetic modification of the chromatin fibre which is locked in a transcriptionally inactive conformation. Changes in DNA methylation accompany the reorganization of the nuclear architecture during plant cell differentiation and proliferation. After a stress treatment, in vitro-cultured microspores are reprogrammed and change their gametophytic developmental pathway towards embryogenesis, the process constituting a useful system of reprogramming in isolated cells for applied and basic research. Gene expression driven by developmental and stress cues often depends on DNA methylation; however, global DNA methylation and genome-wide expression patterns relationship is still poorly understood. In this work, the dynamics of DNA methylation patterns in relation to nuclear architecture and the expression of BnMET1a-like DNA methyltransferase genes have been analysed during pollen development and pollen reprogramming to embryogenesis in Brassica napus L. by a multidisciplinary approach. Results showed an epigenetic reprogramming after microspore embryogenesis induction which involved a decrease of global DNA methylation and its nuclear redistribution with the change of developmental programme and the activation of cell proliferation, while DNA methylation increases with pollen and embryo differentiation in a cell-type-specific manner. Changes in the presence, abundance, and distribution of BnMET1a-like transcripts highly correlated with variations in DNA methylation. Mature zygotic and pollen embryos presented analogous patterns of DNA methylation and MET1a-like expression, providing new evidence of the similarities between both developmental embryogenic programmes.

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Pollen development in angiosperms is one of the most important processes controlling plant reproduction and thus productivity. At the same time, pollen development is highly sensitive to environmental fluctuations, including temperature, drought, and nutrition. Therefore, pollen biology is a major focus in applied studies and breeding approaches for improving plant productivity in a globally changing climate. The most accessible developmental stages of pollen are the mature pollen and the pollen tubes, and these are thus most frequently analyzed. To reveal a complete quantitative proteome map, we additionally addressed the very early stages, analyzing eight stages of tobacco pollen development: diploid microsporocytes, meiosis, tetrads, microspores, polarized microspores, bipolar pollen, desiccated pollen, and pollen tubes. A protocol for the isolation of the early stages was established. Proteins were extracted and analyzed by means of a new gel LC-MS fractionation protocol. In total, 3817 protein groups were identified. Quantitative analysis was performed based on peptide count. Exceedingly stage-specific differential protein regulation was observed during the conversion from the sporophytic to the gametophytic proteome. A map of highly specialized functionality for the different stages could be revealed from the metabolic activity and pronounced differentiation of proteasomal and ribosomal protein complex composition up to protective mechanisms such as high levels of heat shock proteins in the very early stages of development.

SUMMARYHere, we describe a method for the combined metabolomic, proteomic, transcriptomic and genomic analysis from one single sample as a major step for multilevel data integration strategies in systems biology. While extracting proteins and DNA, this protocol also allows the separation of metabolites into polar and lipid fractions, as well as RNA fractionation into long and small RNAs, thus allowing a broad range of transcriptional studies. The isolated biomolecules are suitable for analysis with different methods that range from electrophoresis and blotting to state-of-the-art procedures based on mass spectrometry (accurate metabolite profiling, shot-gun proteomics) or massive sequencing technologies (transcript analysis). The low amount of starting tissue, its cost-efficiency compared with the utilization of commercial kits, and its performance over a wide range of plant, microbial, and algal species such as Chlamydomonas, Arabidopsis, Populus, or Pinus, makes this method a universal alternative for multiple molecular isolation from plant tissues.

Despite great interest, not only from the economic point of view but also in terms of basic science, research on heat stress tolerance in conifers remains scarce. To fill this gap, a time-course experiment using expected temperature increase was performed aiming to identify physiological and biochemical traits that allow the characterization of heat-induced thermotolerance and recovery in Pinus radiata D. Don plants. Several physiological parameters were assessed during heat exposure and after recovery, and multiple phytohormones-abscisic acid (ABA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), cytokinins (CKs), gibberellins, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid (SA) and brassinosteroids-were quantified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry from unique sample. Furthermore, tissue specific stress-signaling was monitored by IAA and ABA immunolocalization. Multivariate statistical analysis of the data enabled clustering of the shorter- and longer-term effects of heat stress exposure. Two sequential physiological responses were identified: an immediate and a delayed response, essentially determined by specific phytohormones, proline, malondialdehyde and total soluble sugar patterns. Results showed that ABA and SA play a crucial role in the first stage of response to heat stress, probably due to the plant's urgent need to regulate stomatal closure and counteract the increase in oxidative membrane damage demonstrated in shorter-term exposures. However, in longer exposures and recovery, proline, total sugars, IAA and CKs seem to be more relevant. This integrated approach pinpointed some basic mechanisms of P. radiata physiological responses underlying thermotolerance processes and after recovery.