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Strigolactone (SL) is a plant hormone that can improve plant stress resistance by regulating physiological processes and gene expression. GR24 is a synthetic strigolactone, which can also be used as a plant growth regulator. In this paper, the effects of exogenous GR24 on the growth and development of rape (Brassica rapa L.) under low temperature (4 °C) were studied. The results showed that low temperature (4 °C) inhibited the growth of rape seedlings, and exogenous GR24 significantly alleviated the effect of low temperature stress on rape seedlings. Compared with 4 °C treatment, GR24 + 4 °C treatment can increase the cell viability, soluble protein and proline content, enhance antioxidant enzyme activity, inhibit the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), improve photosynthesis, and reduce the relative conductivity of rape seedlings. Further research shows that H 2 O 2 plays a central role in improving the cold resistance of rape seedlings by GR24. qRT-PCR results indicated that GR24 significantly increased the expression of genes. Mainly includes antioxidant enzyme genes, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase genes, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) genes and cold-regulated genes. These results indicate that GR24 improves the cold tolerance of plants by regulating the expression of related genes. RNA-seq analysis revealed that there were 152 differentially expressed genes (DGEs) in T (4 °C)_vs_ST (GR24 + 4 °C), including 100 up-regulated genes and 52 down-regulated genes. These DEGs play an important role in carbon metabolism pathway, oxidative phosphorylation pathway, antioxidant activity and photosynthesis pathways. We selected 11 differentially expressed genes for qRT-PCR verification, and the verification results were consistent with RNA-seq results., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs) are utilized in various industries and their release into the environment may lead to the pollution of agricultural areas. However, assessing the toxicity of NiO NPs in major food crops is difficult due to the limited information available on their toxicity. The present investigation was carried out to evaluate how NiO NPs affect plant growth, photosynthetic efficiency, and phytochemical content, as well as changes at the transcriptional level of these phytochemicals in Chinese cabbage seedlings. Chlorophyll, carotenoid, and sugar contents were reduced, while proline and the anthocyanins were significantly upregulated in NiO NPs-treated seedlings. The levels of malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and reactive oxygen species, as well as peroxidase (POD) enzyme activity, were all enhanced in seedlings exposed to NiO NPs. The levels of glucosinolates and phenolic compounds were also significantly increased in NiO NPs-treated seedlings compared to control seedlings. The expression of genes related to oxidative stress (CAT, POD, and GST), MYB transcription factors (BrMYB28, BrMYB29, BrMYB34, and BrMYB51), and phenolic compounds (ANS, PAP1, and PAL) were significantly upregulated. We suggest that NiO NPs application stimulates toxic effects and enhances the levels of phytochemicals (glucosinolates and phenolic compounds) in Chinese cabbage seedlings., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

MYB proteins comprise a large family of plant transcription factors that play regulatory roles in different biological processes such as plant development, metabolism, and defense responses. To gain insight into this gene superfamily and to elucidate its roles in stress resistance, we performed a comprehensive genome-wide identification, characterization, and expression analysis of MYB genes in Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis). We identified 475 Chinese cabbage MYB genes, among which most were from R2R3-MYB (256 genes) and MYB-related (202) subfamilies. Analysis of sequence characteristics, phylogenetic classification, and protein motif structures confirmed the existence of several categories (1R, 2R, 3R, 4R, and 5R) of Chinese cabbage MYB genes, which is comparable with MYB genes of other crops. An extensive in silico functional analysis, based on established functional properties of MYB genes from different crop species, revealed 11 and four functional clades within the Chinese cabbage R2R3-MYB and MYB-related subfamilies, respectively. In this study, we reported a MYB-like group within the MYB-related subfamily contains 77 MYB genes. Expression analysis using low temperature-treated whole-genome microarray data revealed variable transcript abundance of 1R/2R/3R/4R/5R-MYB genes in 11 clusters between two inbred lines of Chinese cabbage, Chiifu and Kenshin, which differ in cold tolerance. In further validation tests, we used qRT-PCR to examine the cold-responsive expression patterns of 27 BrMYB genes; surprisingly, the MYB-related genes were induced more highly than the R2R3-MYB genes. In addition, we identified 10 genes with corresponsive expression patterns from a set of salt-, drought-, ABA-, JA-, and SA-induced R2R3-MYB genes. We identified 11 R2R3-MYBs functioning in resistance against biotic stress, including 10 against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. conglutinans and one against Pectobacterium carotovoram subsp. caratovorum. Furthermore, based on organ-specific expression data, we identified nine R2R3-MYBs that were constitutively expressed in male reproductive tissue, which may provide an important key for studying male sterility in Chinese cabbage. The extensive annotation and transcriptome profiling reported in this study will be useful for understanding the involvement of MYB genes in stress resistance in addition to their growth regulatory functions, ultimately providing the basis for functional characterization and exploitation of the candidate MYB genes for genetic engineering of Chinese cabbage., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Although the functional roles of cold shock domain proteins (CSDPs) have been demonstrated during the growth, development, and stress adaptation of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), rice (Oryza sativa), and wheat (Triticum aestivum), the functions of CSDPs in other plants species, including cabbage (Brassica rapa), are largely unknown. To gain insight into the roles of CSDPs in cabbage under stress conditions, the genes encoding CSDPs in cabbage were isolated, and the functional roles of CSDPs in response to environmental stresses were analyzed. Real-time RT-PCR analysis revealed that the levels of BrCSDP transcripts increased during cold, salt, or drought stress, as well as upon ABA treatment. Among the five BrCSDP genes found in the cabbage genome, one CSDP (BRU12051), named BrCSDP3, was unique in that it is localized to the chloroplast as well as to the nucleus. Ectopic expression of BrCSDP3 in Arabidopsis resulted in accelerated seed germination and better seedling growth compared to the wild-type plants under high salt or dehydration stress conditions, and in response to ABA treatment. BrCSDP3 did not affect the splicing of intron-containing genes and processing of rRNAs in the chloroplast. BrCSDP3 had the ability to complement RNA chaperone-deficient Escherichia coli mutant cells under low temperatures as well as DNA- and RNA-melting abilities, suggesting that it possesses RNA chaperone activity. Taken together, these results suggest that BrCSDP3, harboring RNA chaperone activity, plays a role as a positive regulator in seed germination and seedling growth under stress conditions., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Disease induced effects on host survival are important to understand the evolution of parasitic virulence and host resistance/tolerance. Unfortunately, experiments evaluating such effects are in most cases logistically demanding justifying the measurement of survival proxies. For plant hosts commonly used proxies are leaf area and the nature and severity of visual qualitative disease symptoms. In this study we tested whether these traits are indeed correlated to the host mortality rate induced by viral infection. We infected Brassica rapa and Arabidopsis thaliana plants with different natural isolates of Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) and estimated over time the development of symptoms and the relative reduction of leaf area compared to healthy plants and followed plant mortality. We observed that the mortality of infected plants was correlated with the relative reduction of leaf area of both B. rapa and A. thaliana. Measures of mortality were also correlated with the severity of visual qualitative symptoms but the magnitude of the correlations and the time frame at which they were significant depended on the host plant: stronger and earlier correlations were observed on A. thaliana., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Higher plant responses to abiotic stresses are associated with physiological and biochemical changes triggering a number of metabolic adjustments. We focused on L-lysine catabolism, and have previously demonstrated that degradation of this amino acid is osmo-regulated at the level of lysine-ketoglutarate reductase (LKR, EC 1.5.1.8) and saccharopine dehydrogenase (SDH, EC 1.5.1.9) in Brassica napus. LKR and SDH activities are enhanced by decreasing osmotic potential and decrease when the upshock osmotic treatment is followed by a downshock osmotic one. Moreover we have shown that the B. napus LKR/SDH gene is up-regulated in osmotically-stressed tissues. The LKR/SDH activity produces alpha-aminoadipate semialdehyde which could be further converted into alpha-aminoadipate and acetyl CoA. Alternatively alpha-aminoadipate could behave as a precursor for pipecolic acid. Pipecolic acid is described as an osmoprotectant in bacteria and is co-accumulated with proline in halophytic plants. We suggest that osmo-induction of the LKR/SDH activity could be partly responsible for pipecolic acid accumulation. This proposal has been assessed in this study through pipecolic acid amounts determination in rape leaf discs subjected to various upshift and downshift osmotic treatments. Changes in pipecolic acid level actually behave as those observed for LKR and SDH activities, since it increases or decreases in rape leaf discs treated under hyper- or hypo-osmotic conditions, respectively. In addition we show that pipecolic acid level is positively correlated with the external osmotic potential as well as with the duration of the applied treatment. On the other hand pipecolic acid level is related to the availability of L-lysine and not to that of D-lysine. Collectively the results obtained demonstrate that lysine catabolism through LKR/SDH activity is involved in osmo-induced synthesis of pipecolic acid.

The chloroplast ATP synthase coupling factor CF1 complex contains five nonidentical subunits, alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon, with a stoichiometry of 3:3:1:1:1. The beta subunit contains the catalytic site for ATP synthesis during photooxidative phosphorylation in the chloroplast. In this study, we have identified two isoforms of the CF1-beta subunit at 56 and 54 kDa in the chloroplast of Brassica rapa, through isolation/purification, proteolytic digestion and internal peptide sequencing. Examining their accumulation pattern demonstrates that both isoforms coexist during chloroplast biogenesis and in mature thylakoid membranes, but the 54 kDa isoform is more apparently upregulated by light or under light stress. LiDS-PAGE shows that the 56 kDa is a major isoform of the CF1-beta subunit under normal light conditions, and its amount was not influenced during high light or other light stress treatments. The 54 kDa isoform is a minor band at normal conditions; however, it significantly increased under excess light stresses, such as high or low light with drought and/or high temperature. Particularly, a ninefold increase was observed after 8-10 h of high light treatment with drought and high temperature. The results suggest that light stress induction of the 54 kDa CF1-beta isoform may present a positive response during chloroplast photoacclimation.