The glyoxalase pathway is ubiquitously found in all the organisms ranging from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. It acts as a major pathway for detoxification of methylglyoxal (MG), which deleteriously affects the biological system in stress conditions. The first important enzyme of this system is Glyoxalase I (GLYI). It is a metalloenzyme which requires divalent metal ions for its activity. This divalent metal ion can be either Zn2+ as found in most of eukaryotes or Ni2+ as seen in prokaryotes. In the present study, we have found three active GLYI enzymes (AtGLYI2, AtGLYI3 and AtGLYI6) belonging to different metal activation classes coexisting in Arabidopsis thaliana. These enzymes have been found to efficiently complement the GLYI yeast mutants. These three enzymes have been characterized in terms of their activity, metal dependency, kinetic parameters and their role in conferring tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses in E. coli and yeast. AtGLYI2 was found to be Zn2+ dependent whereas AtGLYI3 and AtGLYI6 were Ni2+ dependent. Enzyme activity of Zn2+ dependent enzyme, AtGLYI2, was observed to be exceptionally high (~250–670 fold) as compared to Ni2+ dependent enzymes, AtGLYI3 and AtGLYI6. The activity of these GLYI enzymes correlated well to their role in stress tolerance. Heterologous expression of these enzymes in E. coli led to better tolerance against various stress conditions. This is the first report of a higher eukaryotic species having multiple active GLYI enzymes belonging to different metal activation classes.

Methylglyoxal(MG) is a potent cytotoxin that is produced as a byproduct of various metabolic reactions in the cell. The major enzymes for MG detoxification are Glyoxalase I(GLYI), Glyoxalase II(GLYII) and D-lactate dehydrogenase(D-LDH). These three enzymes work together and convert MG into D-pyruvate, which directly goes to TCA cycle. Here, a comparative study of the ability of MG detoxification of these three enzymes has been done in both E. coli and yeast. Ectopic expression of these three genes from Arabidopsis in E. coli in presence of different abiotic stress revealed the contribution of each of these genes in detoxifying MG. Yeast mutants of MG detoxification enzymes were also grown in different stress conditions to record the effect of each gene. These mutants were also used for complementation assays using the respective MG detoxifying genes from Arabidopsis in presence of various stress conditions. The MG content and the corresponding growth of cells was measured in all the bacterial as well as yeast strains. This study reveals differential contribution of MG detoxification enzymes in mitigating MG levels and alleviating stress in both prokaryotes as well as eukaryotes. GLYI and D-LDH were found to be key enzymes in MG detoxification under various abiotic stresses.

Peptide signalling is an integral part of cell-to-cell communication which helps to relay the information responsible for coordinating cell proliferation and differentiation. Phytosulfokine Receptor (PSKR) is a transmembrane LRR-RLK family protein with a binding site for small signalling peptide, phytosulfokine (PSK). PSK signalling through PSKR promotes normal growth and development and also plays a role in defense responses. Like other RLKs, these PSKRs might have a role in signal transduction pathways related to abiotic stress responses. Genome-wide analysis of phytosulfokine receptor gene family has led to the identification of fifteen putative members in the Oryza sativa genome. The expression analysis of OsPSKR genes done using RNA-seq data, showed that these genes were differentially expressed in different tissues and responded specifically to heat, salt, drought and cold stress. Furthermore, the real-time quantitative PCR for fifteen OsPSKR genes revealed temporally and spatially regulated gene expression corresponding to salinity and drought stress. Our results provide useful information for a better understanding of OsPSKR genes and provide the foundation for additional functional exploration of the rice PSKR gene family in development and stress response.

D-lactate dehydrogenase (D-LDH) converts D-lactate (the end product of glyoxalase system) to pyruvate and thereby completes the detoxification process of methylglyoxal. D-LDH detoxifies and diverts the stress induced toxic metabolites, MG and D-lactate, towards energy production and thus, protects the cell from their deteriorating effects. In this study, a D-LDH enzyme from rice (OsD-LDH2, encoded by Os07g08950.1) was characterized for its role in abiotic stress tolerance. For this, a combination of in silico, molecular, genetic and biochemical approaches was used. The kinetic analysis revealed OsD-LDH2 to be the most efficient D-LDH enzyme in comparison to D-LDHs from other plant species. Heterologous overexpression of OsD-LDH2 provides tolerance against multiple abiotic stresses in E. coli, yeast and plant system. The analysis of D-LDH mutant and OsD-LDH2 overexpressing transgenic plants uncovered the crucial role of D-LDH in mitigation of abiotic stresses. OsD-LDH2 overexpressing plants maintained lower level of ROS and other toxic metabolites along with better functioning of antioxidant system. This is the first report on correlation of D-LDH with multiple abiotic stress tolerance. Overall, OsD-LDH2 emerged as a promising candidate which can open a new direction for engineering stress tolerant crop varieties by maintaining their growth and yield in unfavorable conditions. Abiotic stress is defined as the impact of non-living factors on the living organisms in a specific environment. Abiotic stress leads to a series of morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular changes and it has been predicted that environmental factors may limit crop production by approximately 70% 1. So, to overcome the toxic effects of abiotic stress, a network of events is triggered that starts with stress perception and ends with the expression of a large array of genes. To engineer stress tolerance, various stress responsive genes, proteins and transcription factors have been studied for their role in conferring stress tolerance 2-7. The present study is aimed at identifying the role of enzyme D-lactate dehydrogenase (D-LDH) in abiotic stress mitigation. D-lactate dehydrogenase (D-LDH) catalyzes the conversion of D-lactate to pyruvate. D-LDH belongs to the class of D-lactate ferricytochrome c oxidoreductase (EC 1.1.2.4) or D-lactate NAD oxidoreductase (EC 1.1.1.28) depending on the cofactor used, either cytochrome c or NAD. D-LDH enzymes have earlier been identified in prokaryotes and lower fungi where they are involved in anaerobic energy metabolism 8-16. In S. cerevisiae and K. lactis, D-lactate cytochrome c oxidoreductase was found important for utilization of D-lactate 13,17,18. But, extensive information about functioning of D-LDH in higher organisms or plants is yet to be explored. The major source of D-lactate accumulation in plants is the glyoxalase pathway for methylglyoxal (MG) detoxification. MG is a cytotoxic metabolite produced as a by-product of various metabolic reactions and is accumulated during stress cond...

Glyoxalase pathway is the major pathway of methylglyoxal detoxification and is ubiquitously present in all organisms ranging from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Glyoxalase I (GLYI) and Glyoxalase II (GLYII), the two core enzymes of this pathway work together to neutralize methylglyoxal (MG), a dicarbonyl molecule with detrimental cytotoxicity at higher concentrations. The first step towards the detoxification of MG is catalyzed by GLYI, a metalloenzyme that requires divalent metal ions (either Zn 2+ as seen in eukaryotes or Ni 2+ as in prokaryotes). However, both Zn 2+ and Ni 2+ dependent GLYIs have been shown to co-exist in a higher eukaryote i.e. Arabidopsis thaliana. In the present study, we determine the role of both Zn 2+ dependent (AtGLYI2) and Ni 2+ dependent (AtGLYI3, AtGLYI6) GLYIs from Arabidopsis in salinity stress tolerance. AtGLYI2 overexpressing Arabidopsis plants showed better growth rate while maintaining lower levels of MG under high saline conditions. They were taller with more number of silique formation with respect to their Ni 2+ dependent counterparts. Further, lack in germination of Arabidopsis AtGLYI2 mutants in presence of exogenous MG indicates the direct involvement of Zn 2+ dependent GLYI in MG detoxification, suggesting Zn 2+ dependent GLYI as the main enzyme responsible for MG detoxification and salinity stress tolerance.

Intracellular signaling is a critical determinant of the normal growth and development of plants. Signaling peptides, also known as peptide hormones, along with classical phytohormones, are the significant players of plant intracellular signaling. C-terminally encoded peptide (CEP), a 15-amino acid post-translationally peptide identified in Arabidopsis, plays a pivotal role in lateral root formation, nodulation, and act as long-distance root to shoot signaling molecule in N-starvation conditions. Expression of CEP gene members in Arabidopsis is perturbed by nitrogen starvation; however, not much is known regarding their role in other abiotic stress conditions. To gain a comprehensive insight into CEP biology, we identified CEP genes across diverse plant genera (Glycine max, Sorghum bicolor, Brassica rapa, Zea mays, and Oryza sativa) using bioinformatics tools. In silico promoter analysis revealed that CEP gene promoters show an abundance of abiotic stress-responsive elements suggesting a possible role of CEPs in abiotic stress signaling. Spatial and temporal expression patterns of CEP via RNA seq and microarray revealed that various CEP genes are transcriptionally regulated in response to abiotic stresses. Validation of rice CEP genes expression by qRT-PCR showed that OsCEP1, OsCEP8, OsCEP9, and OsCEP10 were highly upregulated in response to different abiotic stress conditions. Our findings suggest these CEP genes might be important mediators of the abiotic stress response and warrant further overexpression/knockout studies to delineate their precise role in abiotic stress response.

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