Biology subjects

Vaattovaara, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Vaattovaara, A..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

BBX transcription factor evolution in the green plant lineage

BBX transcription factors play versatile roles in integrating environment cues and regulating plant development. The model plant Arabidopsis continues to be a primary tool for the molecular investigation of protein function, but comprehensive evolutionary studies across different plant species can support translational research. Here, we constructed robust maximum likelihood phylogenies of full-length BBX proteins, the B-box domain, and the CCT domains by using diverse plant species ranging from algae to eudicots and monocots. Our analysis resolved five major structural groups (I-V) with BBXs from algae at the root of major clades. Our results suggest that Group II emerged after the split between Chlorophytes and Streptophytes. Our results also highlight subgroupings in the different BBXs clades. The evolution of the B-box domains showed a dynamic domain losses and acquisitions overall correlating with the BBX phylogeny. While the CCT domain was overall highly conserved across all groups, we identified secondary loss of the CCT domain in select lineages. We also detected significant expansions and contractions among angiosperm BBX orthogroups. Overall, the BBX family demonstrates ancient origins, structural plasticity via domain gain, loss and duplication, and lineage-specific innovations that underpin their diverse roles in light signaling, development and stress responses.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2025

FvFT1-FvTFL1 epistasis drives flowering time adaptation in woodland strawberry

Floral transition and flower bud development during autumn and winter are common in plants inhabiting temperate and cold climates. However, our understanding of the natural variation and underlying molecular mechanisms of such life-history strategy remain largely limited to Brassicaceae model species. To address this gap, we investigated flowering time variation across a broad geographical and bioclimatic range in Fragaria vesca (woodland strawberry), a perennial herb from the Rosaceae family. We found that the timing of floral transition and subsequent flowering in F. vesca populations is primarily shaped by population structure, reflecting postglacial colonization patterns from distinct refugia, and is further modulated by adaptations to winter temperatures. The association of increasing expression of FvFT1, the strawberry ortholog of FLOWERING LOCUS T, with delayed flowering in accessions from diverse climatic and genetic backgrounds suggested FvFT1 as a major candidate gene regulating flowering time variation. We further demonstrated how distinct florigen and antiflorigen roles of FvFT1 are dependent on functional alleles of F. vesca TERMINAL FLOWER1 (FvTFL1) and how the epistatic relationship between FvFT1 and FvTFL1 controls adaptive flowering time variation by adjusting sensitivity to floral inductive photoperiod and vernalization. Our findings reveal a major molecular basis of how timing of floral transition has adapted to temperature in a Rosaceae model inhabiting multiple climatic zones and highlight lineage-specific adaptive mechanisms underlying convergent life-history strategy. Significance statementMolecular mechanisms underlying flowering time adaptation have been primarily investigated in annual plants that transit to flowering in spring. However, many perennial plant species in temperate climates form flower buds in autumn and winter to flower in the following spring. We uncover wide geographical and climatic patterns of flowering time adaptation in the perennial model species woodland strawberry. We report that natural variation in the expression of strawberry FLOWERING LOCUS T (FvFT1) gene originating ice ages ago and further driven by local temperature adaptations control flowering time variation in this species. Finally, we show how FvFT1 may function as both flowering promoter and repressor depending on the genetic background, thus revealing a novel mechanism of flowering time adaptation.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2025

A glycerol oxidase from Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) expands biochemical and structural attributes of the GMC oxidoreductase superfamily

O_LIInvestigations to uncover the versatility of carbohydrate active enzymes belonging to the auxiliary activity family 3 (AA3) have focused on microbial enzymes. Plant genomes also harbor AA3 encoding genes, and reverse genetics approaches have shown their importance in plant development. To date, however, detailed biochemical characterizations and structures of plant AA3 enzymes have not been reported. C_LIO_LIHere, we describe screening AA3 encoding genes from Norway spruce and the first in-depth biochemical and structural characterization of a plant AA3 oxidase, PaAOX1. PaAOX1 was crystallized, and the structure was solved by X-ray crystallography. C_LIO_LIPaAOX1 demonstrated highest oxidase activity against glycerol. It oxidized glycerol to glyceraldehyde, then further to glyceric acid, and showed preference for L-glyceraldehyde over D-glyceraldehyde. Despite the low sequence similarity with fungal alcohol oxidases, it had all the structural features of the typical AA3 enzyme. C_LIO_LIPaAOX1 has a novel activity among the characterized AA3s, and it showed a new structural arrangement of the region surrounding the catalytic center. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the structural and functional aspects of enzymes in the GMC superfamily, and especially of alcohol oxidases, expanding the knowledge from fungi to plants. C_LI

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2019

Golgi anti-apoptotic proteins are evolutionarily conserved ion channels that regulate cell death in plants

Programmed cell death regulates developmental and stress responses in eukaryotes. Golgi anti-apoptotic proteins (GAAPs) are evolutionarily conserved cell death regulators. Human and viral GAAPs inhibit apoptosis and modulate intracellular Ca2+ fluxes, and viral GAAPs form cation-selective channels. Although most mammalian cell death regulators are not conserved at the sequence level in plants, the GAAP gene family shows expansion, with five paralogues (AtGAAP1-5) in the Arabidopsis genome. We pursued molecular and physiological characterization of AtGAAPs making use of the advanced knowledge of their human and viral counterparts. Structural modeling of AtGAAPs predicted the presence of a channel-like pore, and electrophysiological recordings from purified AtGAAP3 reconstituted into lipid bilayers confirmed that plant GAAPs can function as ion channels. AtGAAP1 and AtGAAP4 localized exclusively to the Golgi within the plant cell, while AtGAAP2, AtGAAP3 and AtGAAP5 also showed tonoplastic localization. Gene expression analysis revealed differential spatial expression and abundance of transcript for AtGAAP paralogues in Arabidopsis tissues. We demonstrate that AtGAAP1-5 inhibit Bax-induced cell death in yeast. However, overexpression of AtGAAP1 induces cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves and lesion mimic phenotype in Arabidopsis. We propose that AtGAAPs function as Golgi-localized ion channels that regulate cell death by affecting ionic homeostasis within the cell. HighlightArabidopsis Golgi anti-apoptotic proteins (GAAPs) share functional conservation with their human and viral counterparts in cell death regulation and ion channel activity AbbreviationsAtGAAP, Arabidopsis thaliana GAAP; BI-1, Bax inhibitor-1; CFP, cyan fluorescent protein; CMLV, camelpox virus; ER, Endoplasmic reticulum; GAAP, Golgi anti-apoptotic protein; GFP, green fluorescent protein; hGAAP, human GAAP; LFG, Lifeguard; LMM, lesion mimic mutant; PCD, programmed cell death; TMBIM, transmembrane Bax inhibitor-1 motif-containing; TMDs, transmembrane domains; vGAAP, viral GAAP; YFP, yellow fluorescent protein

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2019

CRK2-mediated control of ROS production by phosphorylation of the RBOHD C-terminus in Arabidopsis

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important messengers in eukaryotic organisms and their production is tightly controlled. Active extracellular ROS production by NADPH oxidases in plants is triggered by receptor-like protein kinase (RLK)-dependent signaling networks. Here we show that the cysteine-rich RLK CRK2 kinase activity is required for plant growth and CRK2 exists in a preformed complex with the NADPH oxidase RBOHD in Arabidopsis. Functional CRK2 is required for the full elicitor-induced ROS burst and consequently the crk2 mutant is impaired in defense against the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000. Our work demonstrates that CRK2 regulates plant innate immunity. We identified in vitro CRK2-dependent phosphorylation sites in the C-terminal region of RBOHD. Phosphorylation of S703 RBOHD is enhanced upon flg22 treatment and substitution of S703 with alanine reduced ROS production in Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that phospho-sites in C-terminal region of RBOHD are conserved throughout the plant lineage and between animals and plants. We propose that regulation of NADPH oxidase activity by phosphorylation of the C-terminal region might be an ancient mechanism and that CRK2 is an important element in regulating MAMP-triggered ROS production. One-sentence summaryCRK2 associates with and activates RBOHD to trigger MAMP-induced ROS production and reveals a novel regulatory mechanism for plant NADPH oxidases through phosphorylation of the C-terminus.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Mechanistic insights into the evolution of DUF26-containing proteins in land plants

Large protein families are a prominent feature of plant genomes and their size variation is a key element for adaptation in plants. Here we infer the evolutionary history of a representative protein family, the DOMAIN OF UNKNOWN FUNCTION (DUF) 26-containing proteins. The DUF26 first appeared in secreted proteins. Domain duplications and rearrangements led to the emergence of CYSTEINE-RICH RECEPTOR-LIKE PROTEIN KINASES (CRKs) and PLASMODESMATA-LOCALIZED PROTEINS (PDLPs). While the DUF26 itself is specific to land plants, structural analyses of Arabidopsis PDLP5 and PDLP8 ectodomains revealed strong similarity to fungal lectins. Therefore, we propose that DUF26-containing proteins constitute a novel group of plant carbohydrate-binding proteins. Following their appearance, CRKs expanded both through tandem duplications and preferential retention of duplicates in whole genome duplication events, whereas PDLPs evolved according to the dosage balance hypothesis. Based on our findings, we suggest that the main mechanism of expansion in new gene families is small-scale duplication, whereas genome fractionation and genetic drift after whole genome multiplications drive families towards dosage balance.

plant biology↗