Browsing by Author "Mannully, Chanchal Thomas"

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Comprehensive evolutionary and expression analysis of FCS-like zinc finger gene family yields insights into their origin, expansion and divergence
(PLOS, 2015) K, Muhammed Jamsheer; Mannully, Chanchal Thomas; Gopan, Nandu; Laxmi, Ashverya
Plant evolution is characterized by frequent genome duplication events. Expansion of habitat resulted in the origin of many novel genes and genome duplication events which in turn resulted in the expansion of many regulatory gene families. The plant-specific FCS-Like Zinc finger (FLZ) gene family is characterized by the presence of a FCS-Like Zinc finger (FLZ) domain which mediates the protein-protein interaction. In this study, we identified that the expansion of FLZ gene family size in different species is correlated with ancestral and lineage-specific whole genome duplication events. The subsequent gene loss found to have a greater role in determining the size of this gene family in many species. However, genomic block duplications played the significant role in the expansion of FLZ gene family in some species. Comparison of Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa FLZ gene family revealed monocot and dicot specific evolutionary trends. The FLZ genes were found to be under high purifying selection. The spatiotemporal expression analyses of Arabidopsis thaliana FLZ gene family revealed that majority of the members are highly expressed in reproductive organs. FLZ genes were also found to be highly expressed during vegetative-to-reproductive phase transition which is correlated with the proposed role of this gene family in sugar signaling. The comparison of sequence, structural and expression features of duplicated genes identified lineage-specific redundancy and divergence. This extensive evolutionary analysis and expression analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana FLZ genes will pave the way for further functional analysis of FLZ genes.
FCS-like zinc finger 6 and 10 repress SnRK1 signalling in Arabidopsis
(John Wiley & Sons, 2018) Jamsheer, Muhammed K.; Sharma, Manvi; Singh, Dhriti; Mannully, Chanchal Thomas; Jindal, Sunita; Shukla, Brihaspati Narayan; Laxmi, Ashverya
SNF1-Related Protein Kinase 1 (SnRK1) is a central regulator of plant growth during energy starvation. The FCS-Like Zinc finger (FLZ) proteins are recently identified adaptor proteins which facilitate the interaction of SnRK1 with other proteins. In this study, we identified that two starvation-induced FLZ genes, FLZ6 and FLZ10, work as repressors of SnRK1 signalling. The reduced expression of these genes resulted in an increase in the level of SnRK1α1, which is the major catalytic subunit of SnRK1. This resulted in a concomitant increase in the phosphorylated protein and SnRK1 activity in the flz6 and flz10 mutants. FLZ6 and FLZ10 specifically interact with SnRK1α subunits in the cytoplasmic foci which colocalized with the endoplasmic reticulum. In physiological assays, similar to SnRK1α1 overexpression line, flz mutants showed compromised growth. Further, the growth promotion in response to favourable growth conditions was found to be attenuated in the mutants. The enhanced SnRK1 activity in the mutants resulted in a reduction in the level of phosphorylated RIBOSOMAL S6 KINASE and the expression of E2Fa and its targets indicating that TARGET OF RAPAMYCIN-dependent promotion of protein synthesis and cell cycle progression is impaired. Taken together, this study uncovers a plant-specific modulation of SnRK1 signalling.
The FCS-like zinc finger scaffold of the kinase SnRK1 is formed by the coordinated actions of the FLZ domain and intrinsically disordered regions
(The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2018) Jamsheer, K Muhammed; Shukla, Brihaspati N.; Jindal, Sunita; Gopan, Nandu; Mannully, Chanchal Thomas; Laxmi, Ashverya
The SNF1-related protein kinase 1 (SnRK1) is a heterotrimeric eukaryotic kinase that interacts with diverse proteins and regulates their activity in response to starvation and stress signals. Recently, the FCS-like zinc finger (FLZ) proteins were identified as a potential scaffold for SnRK1 in plants. However, the evolutionary and mechanistic aspect of this complex formation is currently unknown. Here, in silico analyses predicted that FLZ proteins possess conserved intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) with a propensity for protein binding in the N and C termini across the plant lineage. We observed that the Arabidopsis FLZ proteins promiscuously interact with SnRK1 subunits, which formed different isoenzyme complexes. The FLZ domain was essential for mediating the interaction with SnRK1α subunits, whereas the IDRs in the N termini facilitated interactions with the β and βγ subunits of SnRK1. Furthermore, the IDRs in the N termini were important for mediating dimerization of different FLZ proteins. Of note, the interaction of FLZ with SnRK1 was confined to cytoplasmic foci, which colocalized with the endoplasmic reticulum. An evolutionary analysis revealed that in general, the IDR-rich regions are under more relaxed selection than the FLZ domain. In summary, the findings in our study reveal the structural details, origin, and evolution of a land plant–specific scaffold of SnRK1 formed by the coordinated actions of IDRs and structured regions in the FLZ proteins. We propose that the FLZ protein complex might be involved in providing flexibility, thus enhancing the binding repertoire of the SnRK1 hub in land plants.
A negative feedback loop of TOR signaling balances growth and stress-response trade-offs in plants
(Cell Press, 2022) Jamsheer, Muhammed K; Jindal, Sunita; Sharma, Mohan; Awasthi, Prakhar; S, Sreejath; Sharma, Manvi; Mannully, Chanchal Thomas; Laxmi, Ashverya
TOR kinase is a central coordinator of nutrient-dependent growth in eukaryotes. Maintaining optimal TOR signaling is critical for the normal development of organisms. In this study, we describe a negative feedback loop of TOR signaling helping in the adaptability of plants in changing environmental conditions. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we show that the plant-specific zinc finger protein FLZ8 acts as a regulator of TOR signaling in Arabidopsis. In sugar sufficiency, TOR-dependent and -independent histone modifications upregulate the expression of FLZ8. FLZ8 negatively regulates TOR signaling by promoting antagonistic SnRK1α1 signaling and bridging the interaction of SnRK1α1 with RAPTOR1B, a crucial accessory protein of TOR. This negative feedback loop moderates the TOR-growth signaling axis in the favorable condition and helps in the activation of stress signaling in unfavorable conditions, establishing its importance in the adaptability of plants.