Biomolecular condensates have emerged as one of the important focuses of recent research on plant biology.The study of these condensates often begins with evidence gathered from imaging or bioinformatics analyses.Comb...Biomolecular condensates have emerged as one of the important focuses of recent research on plant biology.The study of these condensates often begins with evidence gathered from imaging or bioinformatics analyses.Combined with genetic and biochemical approaches,researchers have begun to establish a link between the condensation of biomolecules andbiologicalfunctions.The challenge,however,is unambiguously demonstrating the necessity of condensation in a cellular process versus the macromolecule itself.This requires a combination of evidence from genetics,cell biology,biochemistry,and biophysical analysis.In this Opinion paper,we pinpoint the factors to be considered when studying the role of biomolecular condensates in plant biology.We also provide future directions for plant condensate biology.展开更多
Integration of mechanical properties with the biomolecular network is fundamental in understanding various developmental and resilience signaling in plants.The mechanical properties of the cell wall-plasma membrane-cy...Integration of mechanical properties with the biomolecular network is fundamental in understanding various developmental and resilience signaling in plants.The mechanical properties of the cell wall-plasma membrane-cytoskeleton continuum and interconnected endomembrane system can regulate plant growth signaling and plant-microbiome interactions that unlock new opportunities for enhancing crop yield and defense,thereby promoting sustainable agriculture and food security.展开更多
Delivery of proteins to the plasma membrane occurs via secretion,which requires tethering,docking,priming,and fusion of vesicles.In yeast and mammalian cells,an evolutionarily conserved RAB GTPase activation cascade f...Delivery of proteins to the plasma membrane occurs via secretion,which requires tethering,docking,priming,and fusion of vesicles.In yeast and mammalian cells,an evolutionarily conserved RAB GTPase activation cascade functions together with the exocyst and SNARE proteins to coordinate vesicle transport with fusion at the plasma membrane.However,it is unclear whether this is the case in plants.In this study,we show that the small GTPase RABA2a recruits and interacts with the VAMP721/722-SYP121-SNAP33 SNARE ternary complex for membrane fusion.Through immunoprecipitation coupled with mass spectrometry analysis followed by the validatation with a series of biochemical assays,we identified the SNARE proteins VAMP721 and SYP121 as the interactors and downstream effectors of RABA2a.Further expreiments showed that RABA2a interacts with all members of the SNARE complex in its GTP-bound form and modulates the assembly of the VAMP721/722-SYP121-SNAP33 SNARE ternary complex.Intriguingly,we did not observe the interaction of the exocyst subunits with either RABA2a or theSNARE proteins in several different experiments.Neither RABA2a inactivation affects the subcellular localization or assembly of the exocystnor the exocyst subunit mutant exo84b shows the disrupted RABA2a-SNARE association or SNARE assembly,suggesting that the RABA2a-SNARE-and exocyst-mediated secretory pathways are largely independent.Consistently,our live imaging experiments reveal that the two sets of proteins follow non-overlapping trafficking routes,and genetic and cell biologyanalyses indicate that the two pathways select different cargos.Finally,we demonstrate that the plant-specific RABA2a-SNARE pathway is essential for the maintenance of potassium homeostasis in Arabisopsis seedlings.Collectively,our findings imply that higher plants might have generated different endomembrane sorting pathways during evolution and may enable the highly conserved endomembrane proteins to participate in plant-specific trafficking mechanisms for adaptation to the changing environment.展开更多
Plants produce a rich diversity of biological forms,and the diversity of leaves is especially notable.Mechanisms of leaf morphogenesis have been studied in the past two decades,with a growing focus on the interactive ...Plants produce a rich diversity of biological forms,and the diversity of leaves is especially notable.Mechanisms of leaf morphogenesis have been studied in the past two decades,with a growing focus on the interactive roles of mechanics in recent years.Growth of plant organs involves feedback by mechanical stress:growth induces stress,and stress affects growth and morphogenesis.Although much attention has been given to potential stress-sensing mechanisms and cellular responses,the mechanical principles guiding morphogenesis have not been well understood.Here we synthesize the overarching roles of mechanics and mechanical stress in multilevel and multiple stages of leaf morphogenesis,encompassing leaf primordium initiation,phyllotaxis and venation patterning,and the establishment of complex mature leaf shapes.Moreover,the roles of mechanics at multiscale levels,from subcellular cytoskeletal molecules to single cells to tissues at the organ scale,are articulated.By highlighting the role of mechanical buckling in the formation of three-dimensional leaf shapes,this review integrates the perspectives of mechanics and biology to provide broader insights into the mechanobiology of leaf morphogenesis.展开更多
Prevacuolar compartments （PVCs） and endosomal compartments are membrane-bound organelles mediating protein traffic to vacuoles in the secretory and endocytic pathways of plant cells. Over the years, great progress h...Prevacuolar compartments （PVCs） and endosomal compartments are membrane-bound organelles mediating protein traffic to vacuoles in the secretory and endocytic pathways of plant cells. Over the years, great progress has been made towards our understanding in these two compartments in plant cells. In this review, we will summarize our contributions toward the identification and characterization of plant prevacuolar and endosomal compartments. Our studies will serve as important steps in future molecular characterization of PVC biogenesis and PVC-mediated protein traffickinq in plant cells.展开更多
基金support from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(2022YFA1303400)NSFC(32222015)to X.F.KAUST for the financial support to M.C.,and Singapore MOE-T2EP30121-0015,MOE-T2EP30122-0021,MOE2019-T3-1-012,and NRF-NRFI08-2022-0012 to Y.M.
文摘Biomolecular condensates have emerged as one of the important focuses of recent research on plant biology.The study of these condensates often begins with evidence gathered from imaging or bioinformatics analyses.Combined with genetic and biochemical approaches,researchers have begun to establish a link between the condensation of biomolecules andbiologicalfunctions.The challenge,however,is unambiguously demonstrating the necessity of condensation in a cellular process versus the macromolecule itself.This requires a combination of evidence from genetics,cell biology,biochemistry,and biophysical analysis.In this Opinion paper,we pinpoint the factors to be considered when studying the role of biomolecular condensates in plant biology.We also provide future directions for plant condensate biology.
基金the Zhejiang A&F University and School of Biological Sciences,Nanyang Technological University.J.S.was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32170342)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Provincial Universities of Zhejiang(2020KJ001)+1 种基金the Zhejiang A&F University Starting Fundings(2024LFR053).Y.M.was supportedby MOETier 2(MOET2EP30122-0021)Tier 3(MOE2019-T3-1-012)of the National Research Foundation,Singapore(NRF-NRFI08-2022-0012).
文摘Integration of mechanical properties with the biomolecular network is fundamental in understanding various developmental and resilience signaling in plants.The mechanical properties of the cell wall-plasma membrane-cytoskeleton continuum and interconnected endomembrane system can regulate plant growth signaling and plant-microbiome interactions that unlock new opportunities for enhancing crop yield and defense,thereby promoting sustainable agriculture and food security.
基金This work was supported by the Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes(2019KSYS006)was also financially supported by grants from the Natural Science Foundation of China(31770306)+7 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province(2020A1515010966)the Guangdong Innovation Research Team Fund(2016ZT06S172)the Shenzhen Sci-Tech Fund(KYTDPT20181011104005)Z.M.and Y.M.were supported financially by the Singapore Ministry of Education(MOE)Tier 1(RG32/20)and Tier 3(MOE2019-T3-1-012)X.Z.was supported financially by the National Science Foundation for Young Scientists of China(32000558)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(grant no.2019M660494)R.L.L.was supported financially by the Natural Science Foundation of China(31970182,31670182)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(2019ZY29).
文摘Delivery of proteins to the plasma membrane occurs via secretion,which requires tethering,docking,priming,and fusion of vesicles.In yeast and mammalian cells,an evolutionarily conserved RAB GTPase activation cascade functions together with the exocyst and SNARE proteins to coordinate vesicle transport with fusion at the plasma membrane.However,it is unclear whether this is the case in plants.In this study,we show that the small GTPase RABA2a recruits and interacts with the VAMP721/722-SYP121-SNAP33 SNARE ternary complex for membrane fusion.Through immunoprecipitation coupled with mass spectrometry analysis followed by the validatation with a series of biochemical assays,we identified the SNARE proteins VAMP721 and SYP121 as the interactors and downstream effectors of RABA2a.Further expreiments showed that RABA2a interacts with all members of the SNARE complex in its GTP-bound form and modulates the assembly of the VAMP721/722-SYP121-SNAP33 SNARE ternary complex.Intriguingly,we did not observe the interaction of the exocyst subunits with either RABA2a or theSNARE proteins in several different experiments.Neither RABA2a inactivation affects the subcellular localization or assembly of the exocystnor the exocyst subunit mutant exo84b shows the disrupted RABA2a-SNARE association or SNARE assembly,suggesting that the RABA2a-SNARE-and exocyst-mediated secretory pathways are largely independent.Consistently,our live imaging experiments reveal that the two sets of proteins follow non-overlapping trafficking routes,and genetic and cell biologyanalyses indicate that the two pathways select different cargos.Finally,we demonstrate that the plant-specific RABA2a-SNARE pathway is essential for the maintenance of potassium homeostasis in Arabisopsis seedlings.Collectively,our findings imply that higher plants might have generated different endomembrane sorting pathways during evolution and may enable the highly conserved endomembrane proteins to participate in plant-specific trafficking mechanisms for adaptation to the changing environment.
基金support from Nanyang Technological University(grant no.M4082428)K.J.H.and C.H.acknowledge support from Nanyang Technological University under its Accelerating Creativity and Excellence(ACE)grant(grant no.NTU-ACE2020-07)+2 种基金supported by the Center for Engineering Mechano Biology,an National Science Foundation(NSF)Science and Technology Center,under grant agreement No.CMMI:15-48571supported by the U.S.Department of Energy(grant no.DE-FG2-84ER13179)support from the Ministry of Education-Singapore,under its Academic Research Fund Tier 1(RT11/20 and RG32/20).
文摘Plants produce a rich diversity of biological forms,and the diversity of leaves is especially notable.Mechanisms of leaf morphogenesis have been studied in the past two decades,with a growing focus on the interactive roles of mechanics in recent years.Growth of plant organs involves feedback by mechanical stress:growth induces stress,and stress affects growth and morphogenesis.Although much attention has been given to potential stress-sensing mechanisms and cellular responses,the mechanical principles guiding morphogenesis have not been well understood.Here we synthesize the overarching roles of mechanics and mechanical stress in multilevel and multiple stages of leaf morphogenesis,encompassing leaf primordium initiation,phyllotaxis and venation patterning,and the establishment of complex mature leaf shapes.Moreover,the roles of mechanics at multiscale levels,from subcellular cytoskeletal molecules to single cells to tissues at the organ scale,are articulated.By highlighting the role of mechanical buckling in the formation of three-dimensional leaf shapes,this review integrates the perspectives of mechanics and biology to provide broader insights into the mechanobiology of leaf morphogenesis.
基金Supported by grants from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong(CUHK4156/01M,CUHK4260/02M,CUHK4307/03M,and CUHK4580/05M)National Science Foundation of China (30529001)+1 种基金CUHK Scheme C,UGCAoE(B-07/99)Germany/HK Joint Research Scheme to L.Jiang.
文摘Prevacuolar compartments （PVCs） and endosomal compartments are membrane-bound organelles mediating protein traffic to vacuoles in the secretory and endocytic pathways of plant cells. Over the years, great progress has been made towards our understanding in these two compartments in plant cells. In this review, we will summarize our contributions toward the identification and characterization of plant prevacuolar and endosomal compartments. Our studies will serve as important steps in future molecular characterization of PVC biogenesis and PVC-mediated protein traffickinq in plant cells.
