Institutional Publications
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Item The MIR169:NF-YA module enhances biomass and yield via ARGOS in Arabidopsis and tomato(John Wiley & Sons, 2025) Gupta, Apoorva; Rao, Sombir; Jha, Sarita; Ghosh, Debasish; Virmani, Richa; Shrivastava, Monika; Kumar, Adesh; Sahoo, Laxmipriaya; Das, Jaishri Rubina; Crespi, Martin; Mathur, SaloniMolecular links between miRNA: target modules regulating downstream genes for crop maturation/yield are poorly understood. Here, we report that elevated miR169d expression and concomitant reduced NF-YA2 (Nuclear Factor-Y subunit-A) target levels positively regulate vegetative growth and yield in Arabidopsis along with a shorter life cycle. In agreement, increased NF-YA2 levels in (1) NF-YA2-OE (overexpression) lines, (2) miR169d-target-mimicry lines (in which miR169d is chelated), and (3) miR169d-non-cleavable NF-YA2 resistant target lines show the opposite phenotype. Further, we find increased auxin levels in MIR169d-OE and nf-ya2 mutant lines, supporting the enrichment of ‘auxin terms’ in MIR169-OE transcriptome data. We show that ARGOS (auxin-regulated gene involved in organ size) is upregulated in MIR169d-OE due to reduced NF-YA2 repressor levels and that NF-YA2 directly binds the ARGOS promoter. Genetic screens of this module show that neither overexpressing miR169d in an argos mutant background nor the nf-ya2:argos double mutants rescue the argos mutant phenotype, suggesting a parallel pathway of ARGOS regulation via the MIR169:NF-YA2 node, independent of auxin. To assess the translational potential of this module in a crop, we show that Sly-MIR169-OE lines in tomato, having reduced target Sly-NF-YA10 levels, also regulate Sly-ARGOS resulting in early flowering, larger sized fruits, more fruit fresh weight, higher fruit set, early fruiting, and better shelf life than wild-type plants. In contrast, Sly-STTM169 plants inhibited for Sly-miR169 action and having increased levels of Sly-NF-YA10 have a longer life cycle with reduced biomass, decreased fruit set, and an overall reduction in yield. Thus, our findings show a conserved MIR169:NF-YA:ARGOS module which can be applied to crops for addressing future food demands.Item HSFA1a: the quarterback of heat stress response and 3D-chromatin organization(Elsevier B.V., 2023) Das, Jaishri Rubina; Mathur, SaloniIn eukaryotes, the highly complex chromatin exhibits structural dynamism to modulate cellular responses. Recently, Huang et al. have shown a novel role of the heat stress master regulator, HSFA1a, in transiently reorganizing the 3D chromatin to promote distal and proximal enhancer-promoter contacts to regulate stress-responsive genes in tomato.Item Novel and conserved functions of S-nitrosoglutathione reductase in tomato(Oxford University Press, 2019) Hussain, Adil; Yun, Byung-Wook; Kim, Ji Hyun; Gupta, Kapuganti Jagadis; Hyung, Nam-In; Loake, Gary J.Nitric oxide (NO) is emerging as a key signalling molecule in plants. The chief mechanism for the transfer of NO bioactivity is thought to be S-nitrosylation, the addition of an NO moiety to a protein cysteine thiol to form an S-nitrosothiol (SNO). The enzyme S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR) indirectly controls the total levels of cellular S-nitrosylation, by depleting S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), the major cellular NO donor. Here we show that depletion of GSNOR function impacts tomato (Solanum lycopersicum. L) fruit development. Thus, reduction of GSNOR expression through RNAi modulated both fruit formation and yield, establishing a novel function for GSNOR. Further, depletion of S. lycopersicum GSNOR (SlGSNOR) additionally impacted a number of other developmental processes, including seed development, which also has not been previously linked with GSNOR activity. In contrast to Arabidopsis, depletion of GSNOR function did not influence root development. Further, reduction of GSNOR transcript abundance compromised plant immunity. Surprisingly, this was in contrast to previous data in Arabidopsis that reported that reducing Arabidopsis thaliana GSNOR (AtGSNOR) expression by antisense technology increased disease resistance. We also show that increased SlGSNOR expression enhanced pathogen protection, uncovering a potential strategy to enhance disease resistance in crop plants. Collectively, our findings reveal, at the genetic level, that some but not all GSNOR activities are conserved outside the Arabidopsis reference system. Thus, manipulating the extent of GSNOR expression may control important agricultural traits in tomato and possibly other crop plants.Item A strong early acting wound-inducible promoter, RbPCD1pro, activates cryIAc expression within minutes of wounding to impart efficient protection against insects(John Wiley & Sons, 2019) Pandey, Saurabh Prakash; Singh, Amar Pal; Srivastava, Shruti; Chandrashekar, Krishnappa; Sane, Aniruddha P.The expression of insecticidal proteins under constitutive promoters in transgenic plants is fraught with problems like developmental abnormalities, yield drag, expression in unwanted tissues, and seasonal changes in expression. RbPCD1pro, a rapid, early acting wound-inducible promoter from rose that is activated within 5 min of wounding, was isolated and characterized. Wounding increased transcript levels up to 150 and 500 folds within 5 and 20 min coupled with high translation as seen by histochemical GUS enzyme activity within 5–20 min. RbPCD1pro was activated by both sucking and chewing insects and showed wound-inducible expression in various aerial tissues of plants representing commercially important dicot and monocot families. The promoter showed no expression in any vegetative tissue except upon wounding. Functionality of RbPCD1pro was tested by its ability to drive expression of the insecticidal protein gene cryIAc in transgenic Arabidopsis and tomato. Strong wound-inducible CryIAc expression was observed in both plants that increased 100–350 fold (Arabidopsis) and 280–600 fold (tomato) over the unwounded background within 5 min and over 1000–1600 fold within 20 min. The unwounded background level was just 3–6% of the CaMV35S promoter while wound-induced expression was 5–27 folds higher than the best CaMV35S line in just 5 min and 80-fold higher in 20 min. Transgenic plants showed strong resistance even to larger fourth instar larvae of H. armigera and no abnormalities in development and general plant growth. This is one of the earliest acting promoters with wide biotechnological application across monocot and dicot plants.Item Silencing of tomato CTR1 provides enhanced tolerance against Tomato leaf curl virus infection(Taylor & Francis Group, 2019) Chandan, Ravindra K.; Singh, Achuit K.; Patel, Sunita; Swain, Durga Madhab; Tuteja, Narendra; Jha, GopaljeeTomato leaf curl virus(ToLCV) belonging to Begomovirus family of Geminivirus is known to cause one of the most destructive diseases in tomato. Amongst variousToLCVs, a monopartite Tomato leaf curl Joydebpur virus (ToLCJoV) is most prevalent in eastern part of India. In the present study, we observed induced expression of one of the negative regulators of ethylene signaling pathway gene (LeCTR1)in ToLCJoVinfected plants. TheTobacco rattle virus(TRV) induced silencing of theLeCTR1gene provided enhanced tolerance toToLCJoVinfections. The leaf curling as well as ROS accumulation was significantly reduced in the viral infectedLeCTR1silenced plants. Induction of several defense marker genes (NPR1, PR1, PR5, AOS2, EIN2, EIN3and ERF5) reinforced enhanced tolerance againstToLCJoVinfection in the LeCTR1silenced tomato. Overall, the present study provides evidence that silencing ofLeCTR1can be deployed to protect tomato fromToLCJoVinfections.Item Virus-induced gene silencing database for phenomics and functional genomics in Nicotiana benthamiana(American Society of Plant Biologists, John Wiley & Sons, 2018) Senthil-Kumar, Muthappa; Wang, Mingyi; Chang, Junil; Ramegowda, Venkategowda; Pozo, Olga del; Liu, Yule; Doraiswamy, Vanthana; Lee, Hee-Kyung; Ryu, Choong-Min; Wang, Keri; Xu, Ping; Eck, Joyce Van; Chakravarthy, Suma; Dinesh-Kumar, Savithramma P.; Martin, Gregory B.; Mysore, Kirankumar S.Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is an important forward and reverse genetics method for the study of gene function in many plant species, especially Nicotiana benthamiana. However, despite the widespread use of VIGS, a searchable database compiling the phenotypes observed with this method is lacking. Such a database would allow researchers to know the phenotype associated with the silencing of a large number of individual genes without experimentation. We have developed a VIGS phenomics and functional genomics database (VPGD) that has DNA sequence information derived from over 4,000 N. benthamiana VIGS clones along with the associated silencing phenotype for approximately 1,300 genes. The VPGD has a built-in BLAST search feature that provides silencing phenotype information of specific genes. In addition, a keyword-based search function could be used to find a specific phenotype of interest with the corresponding gene, including its Gene Ontology descriptions. Query gene sequences from other plant species that have not been used for VIGS can also be searched for their homologs and silencing phenotype in N. benthamiana. VPGD is useful for identifying gene function not only in N. benthamiana but also in related Solanaceae plants such as tomato and potato. The database is accessible at http://vigs.noble.org.Item Impact of soil moisture regimes on wilt disease in tomato: current understanding(Elsevier B.V., Academic Press, 2018) Gupta, A; Kamalachandran, D; Longchar, B; Senthil-Kumar, MuthappaBiochemical, Physiological and Molecular Avenues for Combating Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants is a must-have reference for researchers and professionals in agronomy, plant science and horticulture. As abiotic stress tolerance is a constant challenge for researchers and professionals working on improving crop production, this book combines recent advances with foundational content, thus offering in-depth coverage on a variety of abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms that help us better understand and improve plant response and growth under stress conditions. The mechanisms explored in this book include stress perception, signal transduction and synthesis of stress-related proteins and other molecules.Item Expression of a fungal sterol desaturase improves tomato drought tolerance, pathogen resistance and nutritional quality(Nature Publishing Group, 2012) Kamthan, Ayushi; Kamthan, Mohan; Azam, Mohammad; Chakraborty, Niranjan; Chakraborty, Subhra; Datta, AsisCrop genetic engineering mostly aims at improving environmental stress (biotic and abiotic) tolerance as well as nutritional quality. Empowering a single crop with multiple traits is highly demanding and requires manipulation of more than one gene. However, we report improved drought tolerance and fungal resistance along with the increased iron and polyunsaturated fatty acid content in tomato by expressing a single gene encoding C-5 sterol desaturase (FvC5SD) from an edible fungus Flammulina velutipes. FvC5SD is an iron binding protein involved in ergosterol biosynthesis. Morphological and biochemical analyses indicated ≈23% more epicuticular wax deposition in leaves of transgenic plants that provides an effective waterproof barrier resulting in improved protection from drought and infection by phytopathogenic fungus Sclerotiniasclerotiorum. Furthermore, the transgenic fruits have improved nutritional value attributed to enhanced level of beneficial PUFA and 2-3 fold increase in total iron content. This strategy can be extended to other economically important crops.
