Browsing by Author "Raghuram, Badmi"

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Agroinfiltration by cytokinin-producing Agrobacterium sp. strain GV3101 primes defense responses in Nicotiana tabacum
(American Phytopathological Society, 2014) Sheikh, Arsheed Hussain; Raghuram, Badmi; Eschen-Lippold, Lennart; Scheel, Dierk; Lee, Justin; Sinha, Alok Krishna
Transient infiltrations in tobacco are commonly used in plant studies, but the host response to different disarmed Agrobacterium strains is not fully understood. The present study shows that pretreatment with disarmed Agrobacterium tumefaciens GV3101 primes the defense response to subsequent infection by Pseudomonas syringae in Nicotiana tabacum. The presence of a trans-zeatin synthase (tzs) gene in strain GV3101 may be partly responsible for the priming response, as the tzs-deficient Agrobacterium sp. strain LBA4404 only weakly imparts such responses. Besides inducing the expression of defense-related genes like PR-1 and NHL10, GV3101 pretreatment increased the expression of tobacco mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway genes like MEK2, WIPK (wound-induced protein kinase), and SIPK (salicylic acid-induced protein kinase). Furthermore, the GV3101 strain showed a stronger effect than the LBA4404 strain in activating phosphorylation of the tobacco MAPK, WIPK and SIPK, which presumably prime the plant immune machinery. Lower doses of exogenously applied cytokinins increased the activation of MAPK, while higher doses decreased the activation, suggesting a balanced level of cytokinins is required to generate defense response in planta. The current study serves as a cautionary warning for plant researchers over the choice of Agrobacterium strains and their possible consequences on subsequent pathogen-related studies.
CrMPK3, a mitogen activated protein kinase from Catharanthus roseus and its possible role in stress induced biosynthesis of monoterpenoid indole alkaloids
(BMC, 2012) Raina, Susheel Kumar; Wankhede, Dhammaprakash Pandhari; Jaggi, Monika; Singh, Pallavi; Jalmi, Siddhi Kashinath; Raghuram, Badmi; Sheikh, Arsheed Hussain; Sinha, Alok Krishna
Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade is an important signaling cascade that operates in stress signal transduction in plants. The biologically active monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (MIA) produced in Catharanthus roseus are known to be induced under several abiotic stress conditions such as wounding, UV-B etc. However involvement of any signaling component in the accumulation of MIAs remains poorly investigated so far. Here we report isolation of a novel abiotic stress inducible Catharanthus roseus MAPK, CrMPK3 that may have role in accumulation of MIAs in response to abiotic stress.
In silico analysis reveals 75 members of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase gene family in rice
(Oxford University Press, 2010) Rao, Kudupudi Prabhakara; Richa, Tambi; Kumar, Kundan; Raghuram, Badmi; Sinha, Alok Krishna
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase Kinases (MAPKKKs) are important components of MAPK cascades, which are universal signal transduction modules and play important role in plant growth and development. In the sequenced Arabidopsis genome 80 MAPKKKs were identified and currently being analysed for its role in different stress. In rice, economically important monocot cereal crop only five MAPKKKs were identified so far. In this study using computational analysis of sequenced rice genome we have identified 75 MAPKKKs. EST hits and full-length cDNA sequences (from KOME or Genbank database) of 75 MAPKKKs supported their existence. Phylogenetic analyses of MAPKKKs from rice and Arabidopsis have classified them into three subgroups, which include Raf, ZIK and MEKK. Conserved motifs in the deduced amino acid sequences of rice MAPKKKs strongly supported their identity as members of Raf, ZIK and MEKK subfamilies. Further expression analysis of the MAPKKKs in MPSS database revealed that their transcripts were differentially regulated in various stress and tissue-specific libraries.
Interaction between two rice mitogen activated protein kinases and its possible role in plant defense
(BioMed Central Ltd, 2013) Sheikh, Arsheed H; Raghuram, Badmi; Jalmi, Siddhi K; Wankhede, Dhammaprakash P; Singh, Pallavi; Sinha, Alok Krishna
Background: The canonical mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway plays a vital role in carrying out the normal growth and development of the plant. The pathway, connecting the upstreams signal with the downstream target is considered to be linear, mostly starting with a MAPKKK and ending in a MAPK. Results: Here we report a novel interaction between two rice MAPKs, OsMPK20-4 and OsMPK3 suggesting the complex nature of the pathway rather than a linear one at individual steps. The interaction between OsMPK20-4 and OsMPK3 found by yeast two-hybrid analysis was confirmed in planta by co-immunoprecipitation and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assays. The interaction is specific and is phosphorylation independent. The results suggest a role of the interaction between OsMPK20-4 and OsMPK3 in basic plant defense. Conclusions: The current novel work showing the physical interaction between two plant MAPKs, OsMPK20-4 and OsMPK3 is the diversion from the dogma of a typical MAPK cascade thereby opening a new dimension to the MAPK signal transduction.
MicroRNA biogenesis factor DRB1 is a phosphorylation target of mitogen activated protein kinase, MPK3 in both rice and Arabidopsis
(John Wiley & Sons, 2015) Raghuram, Badmi; Sheikh, Arsheed H.; Rustagi, Yashika; Sinha, Alok Krishna
MicroRNA (miRNA) biogenesis requires AtDRB1 (double-stranded RNA binding protein)/HYL1 (Hyponastic Leaves1) protein for processing and maturation of miRNA precursors. The AtDRB1/HYL1 protein associates with AtDCL1 (Dicer-Like1) and accurately processes primary-miRNAs (pri-mRNAs) first to precursor-miRNAs (pre-miRNAs) and finally to mature miRNAs. The dephosphorylation of AtDRB1/HYL1 protein is very important for the precise processing of miRNA precursors. The monocot model crop plant Oryza sativa encodes four orthologues of AtDRB1/HYL1 protein, the only one encoded by Arabidopsis thaliana. The present study focuses on the functionality of the O. sativa DRBs as the orthologues of AtDRB1/HYL1 by using RNA binding assays and in planta protein–protein interaction analysis. Further, mitogen-activated protein kinase MPK3 is established as the kinase phosphorylating DRB1 protein in both the model plants, O. sativa and Arabidopsis. MicroRNA microarray analysis in atmpk3 and atmpk6 mutants indicate the importance of AtMPK3 in maintaining the level of miRNAs in the plant.
miRNA plays a role in the antagonistic effect of selenium on arsenic stress in rice seedlings
(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015) Pandey, Chandana; Raghuram, Badmi; Sinha, Alok Krishna; Gupta, Meetu
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), the small non-coding RNAs, have been implicated in various biological processes including adaptation during environmental stress. The present work explores the involvement of miRNA during arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) treatment in rice seedlings. Arsenic is a heavy metalloid causing severe adverse effects on the growth and development of plants while Se is another metalloid and an essential micro-nutrient when present in appropriate amounts. It was observed that the presence of Se along with As mitigated the adverse effects of As on seedling germination, root-shoot growth, total chlorophyll and protein contents. The measurement of stress indicators such as proline, cysteine and MDA also indicated similar effects. Analysis of the miRNA profile using microarrays under As, Se and As + Se treatments showed differential regulation of at least 46 miRNAs in rice seedlings compared to untreated control. 18 of these miRNAs showed differential regulation among different treatments. Furthermore the microarray data were validated using real time PCR. The target genes of a few of these miRNAs showed inverse transcript accumulation. The possible role of miR395 and miR398 in the antagonistic effect on the adverse response of As in the presence of Se in rice seedlings is discussed.
A mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade module, MKK3-MPK6 and MYC2, is involved in blue light-mediated seedling development in Arabidopsis
(American Society of Plant Biologists, 2014) Sethi, Vishmita; Raghuram, Badmi; Sinha, Alok Krishna; Chattopadhyay, Sudip
Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways are involved in several signal transduction processes in eukaryotes. Light signal transduction pathways have been extensively studied in plants; however, the connection between MAPK and light signaling pathways is currently unknown. Here, we show that MKK3-MPK6 is activated by blue light in a MYC2-dependent manner. MPK6 physically interacts with and phosphorylates a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, MYC2, and is phosphorylated by a MAPK kinase, MKK3. Furthermore, MYC2 binds to the MPK6 promoter and regulates its expression in a feedback regulatory mechanism in blue light signaling. We present mutational and physiological studies that illustrate the function of the MKK3-MPK6-MYC2 module in Arabidopsis thaliana seedling development and provide a revised mechanistic view of photomorphogenesis.
Mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling in plant under abiotic stress
(Landes Bioscience, 2011) Sinha, Alok Krishna; Jaggi, Monika; Raghuram, Badmi; Tuteja, Narendra
Mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade is evolutionarily conserved signal transduction module involved in transducing extracellular signals to the nucleus for appropriate cellular adjustment. This cascade consists essentially of three components, a MAPK kinase kinase (MAPKKK), a MAPK kinase (MAPKK) and a MAPK connected to each other by the event of phosphorylation. These kinases play various roles in intra- and extra-cellular signaling in plants by transferring the information from sensors to responses. Signaling through MAP kinase cascade can lead to cellular responses including cell division, differentiation as well as responses to various stresses. MAPK signaling has also been associated with hormonal responses. In plants, MAP kinases are represented by multigene families and are involved in efficient transmission of specific stimuli and also involved in the regulation of the antioxidant defense system in response to stress signaling. In the current review we summarize and investigate the participation of MAPKs as possible mediators of various abiotic stresses in plants.
Regulation of MAP kinase signaling cascade by microRNAs in Oryza sativa
(Taylor & Francis Group, 2014) Raghuram, Badmi; Sheikh, Arsheed Hussain; Sinha, Alok Krishna
Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is one of the most conserved signaling cascade in plants regulating a plethora of cellular processes including normal growth and development, abiotic and biotic stress responses. The perception of external cues triggers the phosphorylation of three tier MAPKKK-MAPKK-MAPK cascade which finally modifies a downstream substrate thereby regulating the cellular processes. Whereas, the transcription regulation by MAPKs, mediated through their substrates is well studied in plants, the transcription and post-transcriptional regulation of the MAPK genes are poorly understood. Previous studies from the animals systems suggested the miRNAs regulate the post-transcriptional regulation of MAPK transcripts. Here we attempt to unravel the post-transcriptional regulation of MAPKs by miRNAs in model crop plant Oryza sativa. Using in silico tools, we predict the miRNAs for 98 out of 99 MAPK transcripts. The predicted miRNAs were validated for the biological relevance of their function. The inverse correlation between relative transcript levels between the MAPKs and their predicted miRNAs validated the in silico prediction. Taken together, this report demonstrates the significance of miRNAs in regulation of the MAPK pathway in plants with a new direction to study the plant signaling molecules.