Publications of NIPGR Scientists

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Start date: 2020Subject: search.filters.subject.Arabidopsis

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    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, Saloni
    Molecular 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.
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    Insect herbivory simulation and insect bioassays to study plant stress memory response
    (Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2026) Meena, Mukesh Kumar
    Plant stress memory response is an emerging field in plant–insect interaction. Recent reports indicate phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA) triggers long-term effects on the defense phenotype, transcriptome, and DNA methylome of Arabidopsis. Long-term JA-mediated induced resistance required MYC2/3/4 transcription factors and epigenetic regulatory components that prepare plants for future insect herbivore threats. Three weeks after transient JA signaling, 5-week-old plants retained induced resistance against herbivory but showed increased susceptibility to pathogens. This mechanism is linked with long-term priming and/or upregulation of JA-dependent defense genes but repression of ethylene- and salicylic acid-dependent genes. Still more research is required to fully understand plant stress memory response in plant–insect interaction. Here, a detailed and reproducible protocol for simulated herbivory and sample collection for transcriptomic and metabolomic studies is described to investigate involved defense signaling pathways. Furthermore, the insect bioassay protocol is described to study insect performance on various plant genotypes. Both protocols are robust and could be useful to study plant stress memory response in plant defense mechanisms through simulated herbivory and direct insect performance and feeding behavior by insect bioassays.
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    Method for the measurement of ethylene during pathogen infection in arabidopsis
    (Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2025) Jaiswal, Rekha; Gupta, Kapuganti Jagadis; Praveen, Afsana
    Ethylene is a gaseous phytohormone that plays an important role as a signaling molecule during pathogen attack, influencing disease resistance and defense responses in plants. A precise measurement of ethylene production upon pathogen challenge is essential to elucidate its role in plant–pathogen interactions. Gas chromatography (GC) is among the most accurate and sensitive techniques for detecting and quantifying ethylene emissions due to its selectivity and effectiveness with gaseous molecules. In this chapter, we provide a detailed procedure employing GC specifically adapted for measuring ethylene levels during pathogen infection (Botrytis cinerea) in Arabidopsis leaflets. Arabidopsis leaflets infected by the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea exhibit increased ethylene emission, facilitating the activation of defense pathways and secondary metabolites such as camalexin. The present GC method captures ethylene dynamics at early infection stages, ensuring precise quantification critical for dissecting the molecular mechanisms of plant immunity.
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    Deep metabolomics revealed trajectories of jasmonate signaling-mediated primary metabolism in Arabidopsis upon Spodoptera litura herbivory
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2025) Kundu, Anish; Bera, Paramita; Mishra, Shruti; Vadassery, Jyothilakshmi
    Plants defend against chewing herbivores by up-regulating jasmonic acid (JA) signaling, which activates downstream signaling cascades and produces numerous secondary metabolites that act as defense molecules against the herbivores. Although secondary metabolism always remains a focus of research, primary metabolism is also reported to be realigned upon herbivory. However, JA signaling-mediated modulation of primary metabolites and their metabolic pathways in plants are mostly unexplored. Here, we applied gas chromatography–mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics aided with computational statistical frameworks on wild type Arabidopsis, mutants of active JA receptor (i.e., CORONATINE-INSENSITIVE 1, COI1-1) and downstream transcription factor (i.e., MYC2) to navigate the JA signaling-mediated primary metabolism alterations during herbivory. Pathway and metabolite's chemical class enrichment analysis revealed JA signaling is crucial for constitutive as well as herbivore-induced primary metabolism and topology of their interaction networks. JA signaling majorly modulated alterations of sugars, amino acids and related metabolites. Herbivory-mediated sugar depletion and induction of methionine for aliphatic glucosinolates are also dependent on JA signaling. Taken together, our results demonstrate trails of JA signaling-mediated primary metabolic alterations associated with herbivory.
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    Antisense transcription from stress-responsive transcription factors fine-tunes the cold response in Arabidopsis
    (Oxford University Press, 2024) Meena, Shiv Kumar; Quevedo, Marti; Nardeli, Sarah Muniz; Verez, Clément; Bhat, Susheel Sagar; Zacharaki, Vasiliki; Kindgren, Peter
    Transcription of antisense long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) occurs pervasively across eukaryotic genomes. Only a few antisense lncRNAs have been characterized and shown to control biological processes, albeit with idiosyncratic regulatory mechanisms. Thus, we largely lack knowledge about the general role of antisense transcription in eukaryotic organisms. Here, we characterized genes with antisense transcription initiating close to the Poly(A) signal (PAS genes) in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). We compared plant native elongation transcript sequencing (plaNET-seq) with RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) during short-term cold exposure and detected massive differences between the response in active transcription and steady-state levels of PAS gene-derived mRNAs. The cold-induced expression of transcription factors B-BOX DOMAIN PROTEIN28 (BBX28) and C2H2-TYPE ZINC FINGER FAMILY PROTEIN5 (ZAT5) was detected by plaNET-seq, while their steady-state level was only slightly altered due to high mRNA turnover. Knockdown of BBX28 and ZAT5 or of their respective antisense transcripts severely compromised plant freezing tolerance. Decreased antisense transcript expression levels resulted in a reduced cold response of BBX28 and ZAT5, revealing a positive regulatory role of both antisense transcripts. This study expands the known repertoire of noncoding transcripts. It highlights that native transcription approaches can complement steady state RNA techniques to identify biologically relevant players in stress responses.
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    The Arabidopsis F-box protein SKP1-INTERACTING PARTNER 31 modulates seed maturation and seed vigor by targeting JASMONATE ZIM DOMAIN proteins independently of jasmonic acid-isoleucine
    (Oxford University Press, 2023) Varshney, Vishal; Hazra, Abhijit; Rao, Venkateswara; Ghosh, Shraboni; Kamble, Nitin Uttam; Achary, Rakesh Kumar; Gautam, Shikha; Majee, Manoj
    F-box proteins have diverse functions in eukaryotic organisms, including plants, mainly targeting proteins for 26S proteasomal degradation. Here, we demonstrate the role of the F-box protein SKP1-INTERACTING PARTNER 31 (SKIP31) from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) in regulating late seed maturation events, seed vigor, and viability through biochemical and genetic studies using skip31 mutants and different transgenic lines. We show that SKIP31 is predominantly expressed in seeds and that SKIP31 interacts with JASMONATE ZIM DOMAIN (JAZ) proteins, key repressors in jasmonate (JA) signaling, directing their ubiquitination for proteasomal degradation independently of coronatine/jasmonic acid-isoleucine (JA-Ile), in contrast to CORONATINE INSENSITIVE 1, which sends JAZs for degradation in a coronatine/JA-Ile dependent manner. Moreover, JAZ proteins interact with the transcription factor ABSCISIC ACID-INSENSITIVE 5 (ABI5) and repress its transcriptional activity, which in turn directly or indirectly represses the expression of downstream genes involved in the accumulation of LATE EMBRYOGENESIS ABUNDANT proteins, protective metabolites, storage compounds, and abscisic acid biosynthesis. However, SKIP31 targets JAZ proteins, deregulates ABI5 activity, and positively regulates seed maturation and consequently seed vigor. Furthermore, ABI5 positively influences SKIP31 expression, while JAZ proteins repress ABI5-mediated transactivation of SKIP31 and exert feedback regulation. Taken together, our findings reveal the role of the SKIP31-JAZ-ABI5 module in seed maturation and consequently, establishment of seed vigor.
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    Phosphorylation of PIF3 by MPK6 is required for coordinated regulation of miRNA biogenesis and hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis
    (Elsevier B.V., 2023) Sharma, Deepika; Singh, Dhanraj; Singh, Kirti; Dwivedi, Aditi; Ranjan, Aashish; Sinha, Alok Krishna
    Light is one of the most important environmental factors that affect overall growth and development in plants. PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORs (PIFs) are negative regulators of photomorphogenesis. PIFs mediate light responses by interacting with downstream molecular partners and are essential regulators for hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis. Light induce activation of phytochromes (phys), promotes rapid phosphorylation, ubiquitination and degradation of PIFs. However the kinase responsible for the phosphorylation of PIFs and the signaling mechanism governing the adaptive changes leading to hypocotyl elongation to differential light intensities is not well understood. Here, we report interaction and phosphorylation of PIF3 by a mitogen-activated protein kinase 6 (MPK6) both in vitro and in vivo. Phosphorylation was significantly abolished when all the PIF3 putative phosphorylation sites were mutated to alanine. Further, we found that PIF3 directly binds to the bHLH binding domain in the promoter of RL responsive miRNA, miR163. Interestingly, phosphorylation status of PIF3 substantially affects the binding of PIF3 and mutated proteins to miR163 promoter. Further, overexpression of PIF3 affects the expression of red light (RL) responsive miRNAs and downstream genes involved in hypocotyl elongation and seedling development. These results suggest that MPK6-PIF3 module functions upstream of RL-responsive miRNAs and PIF3-regulated genes involved in photomorphogenesis, thus interconnecting these pathways together.
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    Seed germination variability: Why do genetically identical seeds not germinate at the same time?
    (Oxford University Press, 2023) Sharma, Eshan; Majee, Manoj
    For survival in the wild environment, plants prefer a bet-hedging strategy where individual variation is high and also produce a range of phenotypes. When faced with unpredictable environmental conditions, fluctuation in seed behaviour is a beneficial trait that allows the survival of plants, particularly if seedlings from early germinated seeds don't survive. However, this is not a desired trait when agriculture is concerned, where a set of uniformly grown seedlings are required. Even though variability in seed behaviour is unavoidable, over the centuries, humans might have selected seeds with minimum variability for agricultural use. In the model plant Arabidopsis, non-stratified seeds even in the same silique germinate variably. How this variability is manifested from genes to a physiological outcome and what molecular mechanism of bet-hedging facilitates this diversity remains elusive. Will the reintroduction of valuable wild alleles in domesticated crops contribute to this variability between individual seeds by promotion of bet-hedging? Recent advances have shed light on possible molecular pathways of germination that are impacted at the level of single seeds and single cells. Here, we review the hormonal, molecular and cellular mechanisms that may impact the germination outcome of individual genetically identical seeds.
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    MEDIATOR SUBUNIT17 is required for transcriptional optimization of root system architecture in Arabidopsis
    (Oxford University Press, 2023) Agrawal, Rekha; Singh, Amrita; Giri, Jitender; Magyar, Zoltan; Thakur, Jitendra K.
    Sucrose and auxin are well-known determinants of root system architecture (RSA). However, the factors that connect the signaling pathways evoked by these two critical factors during root development are poorly understood. In this study, we report the role of MEDIATOR SUBUNIT17 (MED17) in RSA and its involvement in the transcriptional integration of sugar and auxin signaling pathways in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Sucrose regulates root meristem activation through the TARGET OF RAPAMYCIN-E2 PROMOTER BINDING FACTOR A TOR-E2FA pathway, and auxin regulates lateral root (LR) development through AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR-LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES DOMAIN ARF-LBDs. Both sucrose and auxin play a vital role during primary and LR development. However, there is no clarity on how sucrose is involved in the ARF-dependent regulation of auxin-responsive genes. This study establishes MED17 as a nodal point to connect sucrose and auxin signaling. Transcription of MED17 was induced by sucrose in an E2FA/B-dependent manner. Moreover, E2FA/B interacted with MED17, which can aid in the recruitment of the Mediator complex on the target promoters. Interestingly, E2FA/B and MED17 also occupied the promoter of ARF7, but not ARF19, leading to ARF7 expression, which then activates auxin signaling and thus initiates LR development. MED17 also activated cell division in the root meristem by occupying the promoters of cell-cycle genes, thus regulating their transcription. Thus, MED17 plays an important role in relaying the transcriptional signal from sucrose to auxin-responsive and cell-cycle genes to regulate primary and lateral root development, highlighting the role of the Mediator as the transcriptional processor for optimal root system architecture in Arabidopsis.
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    Arabidopsis MPK3 and MPK6 regulates D-Glucose signaling and interacts with G-Protein, RGS1
    (Elsevier B.V., 2022) Bhagat, Prakash Kumar; Sharma, Deepika; Verma, Deepanjali; Singh, Kirti; Sinha, Alok Krishna
    Sugar as a signaling molecule has attracted lots of attention. Even though several kinases have been shown to play a crucial role in the sugar signaling and response to exogenous D-glucose (Glc), the information on the involvement of MAP kinase cascade in sugar signaling has remain largely unexplored. In this report we demonstrate that MAP kinase signaling is essential for sensitivity to higher concentrations of D-Glc in Arabidopsis. We found that D-Glc activates MAP kinases, MPK3 and MPK6 in a concentration and time-dependent manner. The mutants of mpk3 and mpk6 display hyposensitivity to 6% D-Glc during seed germination, cotyledon greening and root growth. Interestingly, the altered sensitivity to increased D-Glc is severely enhanced by addition of 1% Sucrose in the media. Our study also deciphered the role of one of the Glc sensor proteins, RGS1 that interacts and gets phosphorylated at its C-terminal domain by MPK3 and MPK6. Overall our study provides a new insight on the involvement of MAP kinases in association with G-proteins that might regulate sugar signaling and sugar responsive growth and development in Arabidopsis.