Biology subjects

Vergne, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Vergne, E..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Overexpression of an apple broad range agglutinating lectin does not promote in planta resistance to fire blight and bacterial wilt.

Lectins, a large group of proteins present in all kingdoms of life can bind reversibly to glycans. The roles of plant lectins are diverse and include resistance to biotic or abiotic stress, notably bacterial resistance. A gene family encoding amaranthin-like lectins termed MdAGGs in apple (Malus domestica) has been identified to be overexpressed upon treatment with the plant resistance inducer acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) which promotes enhanced resistance to the fire blight disease caused by Erwinia amylovora (Ea). In this study, we first screened the ability of purified MdAGG10 to agglutinate bacterial cells in vitro among a range of bacterial species. Several bacterial species, either Gram positive or negative, either plant- or human-pathogens were found to be agglutinated by MdAGG10 in acidic conditions. Apple and Arabidopsis lines constitutively overexpressing MdAGG10 were generated and evaluated for their resistance to, respectively, Ea and Ralstonia solanacearum, both plant pathogens that were found in our screening. Despite MdAGG10 protein accumulated in tissues of both apple and Arabidopsis lines, they remained susceptible to their respective pathogens. Interestingly, in vitro agglutination of Ea by MdAGG10 did not impair bacterial growth, suggesting that other plant molecules are involved in the resistance to fire blight triggered after an ASM treatment.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2022

The PROSCOOP10 gene encodes two extracellular hydroxylated peptides and impacts flowering time in Arabidopsis

AO_SCPLOWBSTRACTC_SCPLOWThe Arabidopsis PROSCOOP genes belong to a family predicted to encode secreted propeptides which undergo maturation steps to produce peptides named SCOOP. Some of them are involved in defence signalling through their perception by a receptor complex including MIK2, BAK1 and BKK1. Here, we focused on the PROSCOOP10 gene which is highly and constitutively expressed in the aerial organs. The MS/MS analyses of leaf apoplastic fluids allowed the identification of two distinct peptides, named SCOOP10#1 and SCOOP10#2, covering two different regions of PROSCOOP10. They both possess the canonical S-X-S family motif and have hydroxylated prolines. This identification in apoplastic fluids confirms for the first time the biological reality of SCOOP peptides. NMR and molecular dynamics studies showed that the SCOOP10 peptides, although largely unstructured in solution, tend to assume a hairpin-like fold exposing the two serine residues previously identified as essential for the peptide activity. Furthermore, PROSCOOP10 mutations led to an early flowering phenotype and an increased expression of the floral integrators SOC1 and LEAFY, consistent with the transcription of PROSCOOP10 in several mutants displaying an early or late flowering phenotype. These results suggest a role of PROSCOOP10 in flowering time, illustrating the functional complexity of the PROSCOOP family. HO_SCPLOWIGHLIGHTC_SCPLOWThe PROSCOOP10 gene encodes two post-translationally modified extracellular SCOOP10 peptides and acts upstream of SOC1 and LFY to delay flowering.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Divergent DNA methylation signatures of juvenile seedlings grafts and adult apple trees

Plants are continuously exposed to environmental perturbations. Outcrossing annual plants can adapt rapidly to these changes via sexual mating and DNA mutations. However, perennial and clonally reproducing plants may have developed particular mechanisms allowing them to adapt to these changes and transmit this information to their offspring. It has been proposed that the mechanisms allowing this plasticity of response could come in the form of epigenetic marks that would evolve throughout a plants lifetime and modulate gene expression. To study these mechanisms, we used apple (Malus domestica) as a model perennial and clonally propagated plant. First, we investigated the DNA methylation patterns of mature trees compared to juvenile seedlings. While we did not observe a drastic genome-wide change in DNA methylation levels, we found clear changes in DNA methylation patterns localized in regions enriched in genes involved in photosynthesis. Transcriptomic analysis showed that genes involved in this pathway were overexpressed in seedlings. Secondly, we compared global DNA methylation of a newly grafted plant to its mother tree to assess if acquired epigenomic marks were transmitted via grafting. We identified clear changes, albeit showing weaker DNA methylation differences. Our results show that a majority of DNA methylation patterns from the tree are transmitted to newly grafted plants albeit with specific local differences. Both the epigenomic and transcriptomic data indicate that grafted plants are at an intermediate phase between an adult tree and seedling and inherit part of the epigenomic history of their mother tree.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2019

An Erwinia amylovora inducible promoter for intragenic improvement of apple fire blight resistance

Intragenesis is an important alternative to transgenesis to produce modified plants containing native DNA only. A key point to develop such a strategy is the availability of regulatory sequences controlling the expression of the gene of interest. With the aim of finding apple gene promoters either inducible by the fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora (Ea) or moderately constitutive, we focused on polyphenoloxidase genes (PPO). These genes encode oxidative enzymes involved in many physiological processes and have been previously shown to be up-regulated during the Ea infection process. We found ten PPO and two PPO-like sequences in the apple genome and characterized the promoters of MdPPO16 (pPPO16) and MdKFDV02 PPO-like (pKFDV02) for their potential as Ea-inducible and low-constitutive regulatory sequences respectively. Expression levels of reporter genes fused to these promoters and transiently or stably expressed in apple were quantified after various treatments. Unlike pKFDV02 which displayed a variable activity, pPPO16 allowed a fast and strong expression of transgenes in apple following Ea infection in a Type 3 Secretion System dependent manner. Altogether our results indicate that pKFDV02 did not keep its promises as a constitutive and weak promoter whereas pPPO16, the first Ea-inducible promoter cloned from apple, can be a useful component of intragenic strategies to create fire blight resistant apple genotypes. Key messagepPPO16, the first Ea-inducible promoter cloned from apple, can be a useful component of intragenic strategies to create fire blight resistant apple genotypes.

bioengineering↗