C-terminally encoded peptides (CEPs) are potential mediators of abiotic stress response in plants

Abstract

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.

SiCEP3, a C-terminally encoded peptides from Setaria italica, promotes ABA import and signaling pathway

“…2), indicating the important roles of SiCEP s in response to salt and drought stresses in foxtail millet seedlings. These results were in agreement with previous reports implicating CEPs in abiotic stress responses in other species (Aggarwal et al, 2020; Stuhrwohldt and Schaller, 2019). Together, these data indicated that CEPs play conserved roles in regulating plant responses to abiotic stresses.…”

C-terminally encoded peptide-like genes are associated with the development of primary root at qRL16.1 in soybean

“…This may be the reason why higher expression of CEP -like genes is a positive regulator of root length in soybean. The number of CEP genes in soybean is also higher than that reported in any other species ( Delay et al., 2013 ; Imin et al., 2013 ; Roberts et al., 2013 ; Yu et al., 2019 ; Aggarwal et al., 2020 ). There may be a distinct and important role for different CEPs in soybean.…”

Functional characterization of C-TERMINALLY ENCODED PEPTIDE (CEP) family in Brassica rapa L

“…Therefore, plants have evolved multiple strategies including activation of CEP peptide signaling cascade to adjust their adaptions to the changing environment. 5 , 16 , 21 The induction of BrCEP s expression by environmental stress further indicates their roles in Brassica rapa adaptions to adverse environments (Figure S7b, c, d). To discover more key participants and the precise mechanisms in BrCEP-mediated stress adaptions is one of fascinating topics in future investigations.…”

“… 19 , 20 In addition, CEP genes expression is significantly induced by various abiotic stress, indicating that they also play critical roles in multiple abiotic stress responses. 5 , 16 , 21 Indeed, Arabidopsis CEP5 peptide regulates osmotic and drought stress response via interfering with auxin signaling. 21 …”