Biology subjects

Behl, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Behl, R..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

GSNOR-dependent nitric oxide homeostasis promotes recovery from repeated climate stress across generations in Arabidopsis thaliana

Climate change exposes plants to recurrent and interacting stresses, yet the extent to which these effects persist across generations, and the mechanisms involved, remain unclear. We propagated Arabidopsis thaliana wild type (WT, Col-0) and nitric oxide homeostasis mutant gsnor1-3 (hereafter, gsnor-ko) for five successive generations. Plants were grown under control, drought, elevated CO2, O3, warm temperature, and combined treatment scenarios for the first three generations (G1-G3), followed by two recovery generations under control conditions (G4-G5). We quantified rosette growth, photosynthetic traits, seed production, and transcriptome dynamics by RNA-seq. Across environments, gsnor-ko showed reduced vegetative growth and reproductive output relative to WT. Transcriptomic responses were strongly scenario- and generation-dependent, with the largest differential expression shifts observed under warm-climate and combined-treatment conditions. Compared with WT, gsnor-ko displayed broader gene overlap across generations and stronger retention or reconfiguration of stress-responsive states after stress withdrawal. Functional enrichment and candidate-gene analyses identified pathways/components linked to DNA methylation, heterochromatin maintenance, histone ubiquitination, m6A RNA regulation, and methyl-donor metabolism. Together, these results support a model in which GSNOR activity promotes transcriptomic recovery after repeated climate stress, whereas impaired GSNOR function shifts responses toward multi-generational persistence and epigenetically associated regulatory reconfiguration. HighlightGSNOR-dependent nitric oxide homeostasis promotes transcriptomic resetting after repeated climate stress, whereas impaired NO homeostasis favours multigenerational persistence and chromatin- and RNA-linked regulatory reconfiguration. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=118 SRC="FIGDIR/small/742973v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (31K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@6031c6org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@163be5borg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1665e9eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1cde833_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2025

DNA methylome responses to biotic and abiotic stress in Arabidopsis thaliana: A multi-study analysis

Plants have evolved complex physiological and morphological strategies to cope with biotic and abiotic stress. At the molecular level, these responses are partly mediated by epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation. In Arabidopsis thaliana, numerous studies have examined stress-induced changes in DNA methylation, aiming to elucidate their roles in stress acclimation. However, comparing these studies remains difficult due to variations in analytical methods and focus. To address this, we conducted an integrative analysis of 13 studies (16 datasets) using a unified bioinformatic pipeline to identify common and stress-specific methylation responses. Our results show that the number and distribution of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) vary by stress type and methylation context CG, CHG, and CHH. CG DMRs were primarily located in gene bodies, while CHG and CHH DMRs were enriched in transposable elements (TEs). Gene Ontology analysis revealed consistently enriched stress-related terms across conditions, indicating shared epigenetic regulation. As TEs have been proposed to act as stress sensors and regulators of nearby gene expression, we examined gene-proximal TEs in more detail. We found significant enrichment of stress-responsive methylation changes in LINE/L1, RathE1_ons, and DNA/HAT elements. While stress-induced methylation is often considered transient, many affected CG DMRs overlapped with loci known to accumulate stable epimutations over generations, suggesting that stress may contribute to long-term heritable epigenetic variation. These findings enhance our understanding of epigenetic regulation in plant stress responses, highlighting both shared and stress-specific methylation dynamics. Significance statementWe combined 16 Arabidopsis thaliana Whole-Genome Bisulfite Sequencing datasets to reveal common and stress-specific DNA methylation responses. Although global methylation levels remained stable, specific DMRs varied according to the type of stress and genomics context. Gene Ontology analysis revealed shared stress pathways. Gene-proximal transposable elements (TEs) (e.g. LINE/L1, RathE1_ons, DNA/HAT) were enriched for stress-responsive methylation changes. Notably, a subset of stress-induced CG DMRs overlap with epimutation-prone loci, suggesting an environmental route toward stable, heritable epigenetic variation.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Engineered Riboswitch Nano-carriers as a Possible Disease-Modifying Treatment for Metabolic Disorders

Both DNA- and RNA-based nanotechnologies are remarkably useful for in vitro molecular-scale device engineering and are applied in a vast array of applications. However, while the function of nucleic acid nanostructures is robust under in vitro settings, their implementation in real-world conditions requires overcoming their inherent degradation sensitivity and subsequent loss of function. Viruses are minimalistic yet sophisticated supramolecular assemblies, able to protect their nucleic acid content in inhospitable biological environments. Inspired by this natural ability, we engineered RNA-virus-like particles (VLPs) nanocarriers (NCs). We showed that the VLPs can serve as an excellent protective shell against nuclease-mediated degradation. We then harnessed biological recognition elements and demonstrated how engineered riboswitch NCs can act as a possible disease-modifying treatment for genetic metabolic disorders. The functional riboswitch is capable of selectively and specifically binding metabolites and preventing their self-assembly process and its downstream effects. When applying the riboswitch nano-carriers to an in vivo yeast model of adenine accumulation and self-assembly, significant inhibition of the sensitivity to adenine feeding was observed. In addition, using an amyloid-specific dye, we proved the riboswitch nano-carriers ability to reduce the level of intracellular amyloid-like cytotoxic structures. The potential of this RNA therapeutic technology does not stop at metabolic disorders, as it can be easily fine-tuned to be applied to other conditions and diseases.

bioengineering↗