A NAC-EXPANSIN module enhances maize kernel size by controlling nucellus elimination

Sun, Qin; Li, Yunfu; Gong, Dianming; Hu, Aoqing; Zhong, Wanshun; Zhao, Hailiang; Ning, Qiang; Tan, Zengdong; Liang, Kun; Mu, Luyao; Jackson, David; Zhang, Zuxin; Yang, Fang; Qiu, Fazhan

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-33513-4

Cited by 21 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…In light of what presented here, we believe that this hypothesis should be revised in favor of a role of HG de-methylesterification in initiating cell wall degradation. Consistent with our results, Qin Sun et al showed that the maize EXPANSIN B15, a protein responsible for cell wall loosening, promotes the process of nucellus elimination ( 33 ). We speculate that expansins might facilitate the work of PME and PLL enzymes by relaxing the cell wall.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

A change in the cell wall status initiates the elimination of the nucellus in Arabidopsis

Xu,

Gomez-Paez,

Choinard

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The evolution of the seed habit coincides with a change in the cell fate of the nucellus, the sporophytic tissue responsible for female meiosis. Seeds arose when the nucellus retained the female spores instead of releasing them in the environment. As a consequence, the nucellus was partially eliminated to accommodate the growth of the female gametophyte inside the sporophyte. With the evolution of angiosperm seeds, the process of nucellus elimination was requisitioned to allow the growth of the endosperm, the second fertilization product devoted to store nutrients. Cell elimination differs from most known cell death programs as it leads to the apparent dismantling of the cell wall. Here, we show that nucellus elimination in Arabidopsis is initiated by the lysis of the pectic polysaccharides in the cell wall. This process exposes other cell wall components to possible further degradation and precedes a cell death program that leads to nuclear DNA fragmentation. Both pathways are regulated by TRANSPARENT TESTA 16, a MADS-domain transcription factor that evolved with seed plants. Finally, the causal effect of cell wall modification on nucellus development is demonstrated by inhibiting pectin degradation, thus suggesting that a change in the cell wall status might have driven seed evolution.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

A change in the cell wall status initiates the elimination of the nucellus in Arabidopsis

Xu,

Gomez-Paez,

Choinard

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…To determine the developmental defects, paraffin sections of the WT and mn7 immature kernels were observed at 13 and 24 days after pollination (DAP). At an early stage of maize kernel development, nucellus maternal tissue degenerates through programmed cell death (PCD), which allows the contents of the dying cells to remobilize and nourish the developing embryo and endosperm (Dominguez and Cejudo, 2014 ; Sun et al ., 2022 ). Compared with the nucellus in the WT, which was completely degraded at 13 DAP, we found a relatively large nucellus surrounding the endosperm in mn7 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

ZmELP1, an Elongator complex subunit, is required for the maintenance of histone acetylation and RNA Pol II phosphorylation in maize kernels

Li,

Gu,

Yang

et al. 2023

Plant Biotechnology Journal

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SummaryThe Elongator complex was originally identified as an interactor of hyperphosphorylated RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) in yeast and has histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity. However, the genome‐wide regulatory roles of Elongator on transcriptional elongation and histone acetylation remain unclear. We characterized a maize miniature seed mutant, mn7 and map‐based cloning revealed that Mn7 encodes one of the subunits of the Elongator complex, ZmELP1. ZmELP1 deficiency causes marked reductions in the kernel size and weight. Molecular analyses showed that ZmELP1 interacts with ZmELP3, which is required for H3K14 acetylation (H3K14ac), and Elongator complex subunits interact with RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) C‐terminal domain (CTD). Genome‐wide analyses indicated that loss of ZmELP1 leads to a significant decrease in the deposition of H3K14ac and the CTD of phosphorylated RNAPII on Ser2 (Ser2P). These chromatin changes positively correlate with global transcriptomic changes. ZmELP1 mutation alters the expression of genes involved in transcriptional regulation and kernel development. We also showed that the decrease of Ser2P depends on the deposition of Elongator complex‐mediated H3K14ac. Taken together, our results reveal an important role of ZmELP1 in the H3K14ac‐dependent transcriptional elongation, which is critical for kernel development.

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“…Furthermore, the transcription factor MaBSD1 regulates MaEXP1 and MaEXP2 expression in response to banana ripening ( Ba et al., 2014 ). ZmNAC11 and ZmNAC29, two NAC transcription factors in maize, can activate ZmEXPB15 expression, thereby improving grain size and weight by regulating nuclear elimination ( Sun et al., 2022 ). To elucidate the transcriptional regulatory mechanism of CmEXPB1 , we predicted its interacting transcription factors and identified 56 transcription factors that may regulate CmEXPB1 expression positively or negatively ( Figure 8A ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genome-wide identification of the expansin gene family in netted melon and their transcriptional responses to fruit peel cracking

Hu,

Li,

Zhu

et al. 2024

Front. Plant Sci.

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IntroductionFruit cracking not only affects the appearance of netted melons (Cucumis melo L. var. reticulatus Naud.) but also decreases their marketability.MethodsHerein, to comprehensively understand the role of expansin (EXP) proteins in netted melon, bioinformatics methods were employed to discover the EXP gene family in the melon genome and analyze its characteristic features. Furthermore, transcriptomics analysis was performed to determine the expression patterns of melon EXP (CmEXP) genes in crack-tolerant and crack-susceptible netted melon varieties.DiscussionThirty-three CmEXP genes were identified. Chromosomal location analysis revealed that CmEXP gene distribution was uneven on 12 chromosomes. In addition, phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that CmEXP genes could be categorized into four subgroups, among which the EXPA subgroup had the most members. The same subgroup members shared similar protein motifs and gene structures. Thirteen duplicate events were identified in the 33 CmEXP genes. Collinearity analysis revealed that the CmEXP genes had 50, 50, and 44 orthologous genes with EXP genes in cucumber, watermelon, and Arabidopsis, respectively. However, only nine orthologous EXP genes were observed in rice. Promoter cis-acting element analysis demonstrated that numerous cis-acting elements in the upstream promoter region of CmEXP genes participate in plant growth, development, and environmental stress responses. Transcriptomics analysis revealed 14 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the non-cracked fruit peels between the crack-tolerant variety ‘Xizhoumi 17’ (N17) and the crack-susceptible variety ‘Xizhoumi 25’ (N25). Among the 14 genes, 11 were upregulated, whereas the remaining three were downregulated in N17. In the non-cracked (N25) and cracked (C25) fruit peels of ‘Xizhoumi 25’, 24 DEGs were identified, and 4 of them were upregulated, whereas the remaining 20 were downregulated in N25. In the two datasets, only CmEXPB1 exhibited consistently upregulated expression, indicating its importance in the fruit peel crack resistance of netted melon. Transcription factor prediction revealed 56 potential transcription factors that regulate CmEXPB1 expression.ResultsOur study findings enrich the understanding of the CmEXP gene family and present candidate genes for the molecular breeding of fruit peel crack resistance of netted melon.

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A NAC-EXPANSIN module enhances maize kernel size by controlling nucellus elimination

Cited by 21 publications

References 44 publications

A change in the cell wall status initiates the elimination of the nucellus in Arabidopsis

A change in the cell wall status initiates the elimination of the nucellus in Arabidopsis

ZmELP1, an Elongator complex subunit, is required for the maintenance of histone acetylation and RNA Pol II phosphorylation in maize kernels

Genome-wide identification of the expansin gene family in netted melon and their transcriptional responses to fruit peel cracking

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