TY - JOUR A1 - Apriyanto, Ardha A1 - Compart, Julia A1 - Zimmermann, Vincent A1 - Alseekh, Saleh A1 - Fernie, Alisdair A1 - Fettke, Jörg T1 - Indication that starch and sucrose are biomarkers for oil yield in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) JF - Food chemistry N2 - Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is the most productive oil-producing crop per hectare of land. The oil that accumulates in the mesocarp tissue of the fruit is the highest observed among fruit-producing plants. A comparative analysis between high-, medium-, and low-yielding oil palms, particularly during fruit development, revealed unique characteristics. Metabolomics analysis was able to distinguish accumulation patterns defining of the various developmental stages and oil yield. Interestingly, high- and medium-yielding oil palms exhibited substantially increased sucrose levels compared to low-yielding palms. In addition, parameters such as starch granule morphology, granule size, total starch content, and starch chain length distribution (CLD) differed significantly among the oil yield categories with a clear correlation between oil yield and various starch parameters. These results provide new insights into carbohydrate and starch metabolism for biosynthesis of oil palm fruits, indicating that starch and sucrose can be used as novel, easy-to-analyze, and reliable biomarker for oil yield. KW - carbohydrate KW - mesocarp KW - metabolites KW - oil palm KW - oil yield KW - sucrose; KW - starch Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.133361 SN - 0308-8146 SN - 1873-7072 VL - 393 PB - Elsevier CY - New York, NY [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shahnejat-Bushehri, Sara A1 - Allu, Annapurna Devi A1 - Mehterov, Nikolay A1 - Thirumalaikumar, Venkatesh P. A1 - Alseekh, Saleh A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. A1 - Mueller-Roeber, Bernd A1 - Balazadeh, Salma T1 - Arabidopsis NAC Transcription Factor JUNGBRUNNEN1 Exerts Conserved Control Over Gibberellin and Brassinosteroid Metabolism and Signaling Genes in Tomato JF - Frontiers in plant science N2 - The Arabidopsis thaliana NAC transcription factor JUNGBRUNNEN1 (AtJUB1) regulates growth by directly repressing GA3ox1 and DWF4, two key genes involved in gibberellin (GA) and brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis, respectively, leading to GA and BR deficiency phenotypes. AtJUB1 also reduces the expression of PIF4, a bHLH transcription factor that positively controls cell elongation, while it stimulates the expression of DELLA genes, which are important repressors of growth. Here, we extend our previous findings by demonstrating that AtJUB1 induces similar GA and BR deficiency phenotypes and changes in gene expression when overexpressed in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Importantly, and in accordance with the growth phenotypes observed, AtJUB1 inhibits the expression of growth-supporting genes, namely the tomato orthologs of GA3ox1, DWF4 and PIF4, but activates the expression of DELLA orthologs, by directly binding to their promoters. Overexpression of AtJUB1 in tomato delays fruit ripening, which is accompanied by reduced expression of several ripeningrelated genes, and leads to an increase in the levels of various amino acids (mostly proline, beta-alanine, and phenylalanine), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and major organic acids including glutamic acid and aspartic acid. The fact that AtJUB1 exerts an inhibitory effect on the GA/BR biosynthesis and PIF4 genes but acts as a direct activator of DELLA genes in both, Arabidopsis and tomato, strongly supports the model that the molecular constituents of the JUNGBRUNNEN1 growth control module are considerably conserved across species. KW - Arabidopsis KW - tomato KW - fruit KW - growth KW - transcription factor KW - gibberellic acid KW - brassinosteroid KW - DELLA proteins Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00214 SN - 1664-462X VL - 8 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nietzsche, Madlen A1 - Guerra, Tiziana A1 - Alseekh, Saleh A1 - Wiermer, Marcel A1 - Sonnewald, Sophia A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. A1 - Börnke, Frederik T1 - STOREKEEPER RELATED1/G-Element Binding Protein (STKR1) Interacts with Protein Kinase SnRK1 JF - Plant physiology : an international journal devoted to physiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, biophysics and environmental biology of plants N2 - Sucrose nonfermenting related kinase1 (SnRK1) is a conserved energy sensor kinase that regulates cellular adaptation to energy deficit in plants. Activation of SnRK1 leads to the down-regulation of ATP-consuming biosynthetic processes and the stimulation of energy-generating catabolic reactions by transcriptional reprogramming and posttranslational modifications. Although considerable progress has been made during the last years in understanding the SnRK1 signaling pathway, many of its components remain unidentified. Here, we show that the catalytic alpha-subunits KIN10 and KIN11 of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) SnRK1 complex interact with the STOREKEEPER RELATED1/G-Element Binding Protein (STKR1) inside the plant cell nucleus. Overexpression of STKR1 in transgenic Arabidopsis plants led to reduced growth, a delay in flowering, and strongly attenuated senescence. Metabolite profiling revealed that the transgenic lines exhausted their carbohydrates during the dark period to a greater extent than the wild type and accumulated a range of amino acids. At the global transcriptome level, genes affected by STKR1 overexpression were broadly associated with systemic acquired resistance, and transgenic plants showed enhanced resistance toward a virulent strain of the biotrophic oomycete pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis Noco2. We discuss a possible connection of STKR1 function, SnRK1 signaling, and plant immunity. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.17.01461 SN - 0032-0889 SN - 1532-2548 VL - 176 IS - 2 SP - 1773 EP - 1792 PB - American Society of Plant Physiologists CY - Rockville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Durgud, Meriem A1 - Gupta, Saurabh A1 - Ivanov, Ivan A1 - Omidbakhshfard, Mohammad Amin A1 - Benina, Maria A1 - Alseekh, Saleh A1 - Staykov, Nikola A1 - Hauenstein, Mareike A1 - Dijkwel, Paul P. A1 - Hortensteiner, Stefan A1 - Toneva, Valentina A1 - Brotman, Yariv A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd A1 - Gechev, Tsanko S. T1 - Molecular Mechanisms Preventing Senescence in Response to Prolonged Darkness in a Desiccation-Tolerant Plant JF - Plant physiology : an international journal devoted to physiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, biophysics and environmental biology of plants N2 - The desiccation-tolerant plant Haberlea rhodopensis can withstand months of darkness without any visible senescence. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanisms of this adaptation to prolonged (30 d) darkness and subsequent return to light. H. rhodopensis plants remained green and viable throughout the dark treatment. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that darkness regulated several transcription factor (TF) genes. Stress-and autophagy-related TFs such as ERF8, HSFA2b, RD26, TGA1, and WRKY33 were up-regulated, while chloroplast-and flowering-related TFs such as ATH1, COL2, COL4, RL1, and PTAC7 were repressed. PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR4, a negative regulator of photomorphogenesis and promoter of senescence, also was down-regulated. In response to darkness, most of the photosynthesis-and photorespiratory-related genes were strongly down-regulated, while genes related to autophagy were up-regulated. This occurred concomitant with the induction of SUCROSE NON-FERMENTING1-RELATED PROTEIN KINASES (SnRK1) signaling pathway genes, which regulate responses to stress-induced starvation and autophagy. Most of the genes associated with chlorophyll catabolism, which are induced by darkness in dark-senescing species, were either unregulated (PHEOPHORBIDE A OXYGENASE, PAO; RED CHLOROPHYLL CATABOLITE REDUCTASE, RCCR) or repressed (STAY GREEN-LIKE, PHEOPHYTINASE, and NON-YELLOW COLORING1). Metabolite profiling revealed increases in the levels of many amino acids in darkness, suggesting increased protein degradation. In darkness, levels of the chloroplastic lipids digalactosyldiacylglycerol, monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol decreased, while those of storage triacylglycerols increased, suggesting degradation of chloroplast membrane lipids and their conversion to triacylglycerols for use as energy and carbon sources. Collectively, these data show a coordinated response to darkness, including repression of photosynthetic, photorespiratory, flowering, and chlorophyll catabolic genes, induction of autophagy and SnRK1 pathways, and metabolic reconfigurations that enable survival under prolonged darkness. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.18.00055 SN - 0032-0889 SN - 1532-2548 VL - 177 IS - 3 SP - 1319 EP - 1338 PB - American Society of Plant Physiologists CY - Rockville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rodriguez Cubillos, Andres Eduardo A1 - Tong, Hao A1 - Alseekh, Saleh A1 - de Abreu e Lima, Francisco Anastacio A1 - Yu, Jing A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran A1 - Laitinen, Roosa A. E. T1 - Inheritance patterns in metabolism and growth in diallel crosses of Arabidopsis thaliana from a single growth habitat JF - Heredity N2 - Metabolism is a key determinant of plant growth and modulates plant adaptive responses. Increased metabolic variation due to heterozygosity may be beneficial for highly homozygous plants if their progeny is to respond to sudden changes in the habitat. Here, we investigate the extent to which heterozygosity contributes to the variation in metabolism and size of hybrids of Arabidopsis thaliana whose parents are from a single growth habitat. We created full diallel crosses among seven parents, originating from Southern Germany, and analysed the inheritance patterns in primary and secondary metabolism as well as in rosette size in situ. In comparison to primary metabolites, compounds from secondary metabolism were more variable and showed more pronounced non-additive inheritance patterns which could be attributed to epistasis. In addition, we showed that glucosinolates, among other secondary metabolites, were positively correlated with a proxy for plant size. Therefore, our study demonstrates that heterozygosity in local A. thaliana population generates metabolic variation and may impact several tasks directly linked to metabolism. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-017-0030-5 SN - 0018-067X SN - 1365-2540 VL - 120 IS - 5 SP - 463 EP - 473 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nunes-Nesi, Adriano A1 - Alseekh, Saleh A1 - de Oliveira Silva, Franklin Magnum A1 - Omranian, Nooshin A1 - Lichtenstein, Gabriel A1 - Mirnezhad, Mohammad A1 - Romero Gonzalez, Roman R. A1 - Sabio y Garcia, Julia A1 - Conte, Mariana A1 - Leiss, Kirsten A. A1 - Klinkhamer, Peter Gerardus Leonardus A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran A1 - Carrari, Fernando A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. T1 - Identification and characterization of metabolite quantitative trait loci in tomato leaves and comparison with those reported for fruits and seeds JF - Metabolomics N2 - IntroductionTo date, most studies of natural variation and metabolite quantitative trait loci (mQTL) in tomato have focused on fruit metabolism, leaving aside the identification of genomic regions involved in the regulation of leaf metabolism.ObjectiveThis study was conducted to identify leaf mQTL in tomato and to assess the association of leaf metabolites and physiological traits with the metabolite levels from other tissues.MethodsThe analysis of components of leaf metabolism was performed by phenotypying 76 tomato ILs with chromosome segments of the wild species Solanum pennellii in the genetic background of a cultivated tomato (S. lycopersicum) variety M82. The plants were cultivated in two different environments in independent years and samples were harvested from mature leaves of non-flowering plants at the middle of the light period. The non-targeted metabolite profiling was obtained by gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS). With the data set obtained in this study and already published metabolomics data from seed and fruit, we performed QTL mapping, heritability and correlation analyses.ResultsChanges in metabolite contents were evident in the ILs that are potentially important with respect to stress responses and plant physiology. By analyzing the obtained data, we identified 42 positive and 76 negative mQTL involved in carbon and nitrogen metabolism.ConclusionsOverall, these findings allowed the identification of S. lycopersicum genome regions involved in the regulation of leaf primary carbon and nitrogen metabolism, as well as the association of leaf metabolites with metabolites from seeds and fruits. KW - Metabolite QTL KW - Tomato KW - Leaf metabolism KW - Metabolite network Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11306-019-1503-8 SN - 1573-3882 SN - 1573-3890 VL - 15 IS - 46 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pandey, Prashant K. A1 - Yu, Jing A1 - Omranian, Nooshin A1 - Alseekh, Saleh A1 - Vaid, Neha A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran A1 - Laitinen, Roosa A. E. T1 - Plasticity in metabolism underpins local responses to nitrogen in Arabidopsis thaliana populations JF - Plant Direct N2 - Nitrogen (N) is central for plant growth, and metabolic plasticity can provide a strategy to respond to changing N availability. We showed that two local A. thaliana populations exhibited differential plasticity in the compounds of photorespiratory and starch degradation pathways in response to three N conditions. Association of metabolite levels with growth-related and fitness traits indicated that controlled plasticity in these pathways could contribute to local adaptation and play a role in plant evolution. KW - Arabidopsis thaliana KW - natural variation KW - nitrogen availability KW - photorespiration KW - plasticity Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/pld3.186 SN - 2475-4455 VL - 3 IS - 11 PB - John Wiley & sonst LTD CY - Chichester ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Malinova, Irina A1 - Alseekh, Saleh A1 - Feil, Regina A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. A1 - Baumann, Otto A1 - Schoettler, Mark Aurel A1 - Lunn, John Edward A1 - Fettke, Jörg T1 - Starch Synthase 4 and Plastidal Phosphorylase Differentially Affect Starch Granule Number and Morphology JF - Plant physiology : an international journal devoted to physiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, biophysics and environmental biology of plants N2 - The process of starch granule formation in leaves of Arabidopsis ( Arabidopsis thaliana) is obscure. Besides STARCH SYNTHASE4 (SS4), the PLASTIDIAL PHOSPHORYLASE (PHS1) also seems to be involved, since dpe2-1/phs1a double mutants lacking both PHS1 and the cytosolic DISPROPORTIONATING ENZYME2 (DPE2) displayed only one starch granule per chloroplast under normal growth conditions. For further studies, a dpe2-1/phs1a/ss4 triple mutant and various combinations of double mutants were generated and metabolically analyzed with a focus on starch metabolism. The dpe2-1/phs1a/ ss4 mutant revealed a massive starch excess phenotype. Furthermore, these plants grown under 12 h of light/12 h of dark harbored a single large and spherical starch granule per plastid. The number of starch granules was constant when the light/dark regime was altered, but this was not observed in the parental lines. With regard to growth, photosynthetic parameters, and metabolic analyses, the triple mutant additionally displayed alterations in comparison with ss4 and dpe21/phs1a. The results clearly illustrate that PHS1 and SS4 are differently involved in starch granule formation and do not act in series. However, SS4 appears to exert a stronger influence. In connection with the characterized double mutants, we discuss the generation of starch granules and the observed formation of spherical starch granules. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.16.01859 SN - 0032-0889 SN - 1532-2548 VL - 174 SP - 73 EP - 85 PB - American Society of Plant Physiologists CY - Rockville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Alseekh, Saleh A1 - Tohge, Takayuki A1 - Wendenberg, Regina A1 - Scossa, Federico A1 - Omranian, Nooshin A1 - Li, Jie A1 - Kleessen, Sabrina A1 - Giavalisco, Patrick A1 - Pleban, Tzili A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd A1 - Zamir, Dani A1 - Nikoloski, Zoran A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. T1 - Identification and Mode of Inheritance of Quantitative Trait Loci for Secondary Metabolite Abundance in Tomato JF - The plant cell N2 - A large-scale metabolic quantitative trait loci (mQTL) analysis was performed on the well-characterized Solanum pennellii introgression lines to investigate the genomic regions associated with secondary metabolism in tomato fruit pericarp. In total, 679 mQTLs were detected across the 76 introgression lines. Heritability analyses revealed that mQTLs of secondary metabolism were less affected by environment than mQTLs of primary metabolism. Network analysis allowed us to assess the interconnectivity of primary and secondary metabolism as well as to compare and contrast their respective associations with morphological traits. Additionally, we applied a recently established real-time quantitative PCR platform to gain insight into transcriptional control mechanisms of a subset of the mQTLs, including those for hydroxycinnamates, acyl-sugar, naringenin chalcone, and a range of glycoalkaloids. Intriguingly, many of these compounds displayed a dominant-negative mode of inheritance, which is contrary to the conventional wisdom that secondary metabolite contents decreased on domestication. We additionally performed an exemplary evaluation of two candidate genes for glycolalkaloid mQTLs via the use of virus-induced gene silencing. The combined data of this study were compared with previous results on primary metabolism obtained from the same material and to other studies of natural variance of secondary metabolism. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.114.132266 SN - 1040-4651 SN - 1532-298X VL - 27 IS - 3 SP - 485 EP - 512 PB - American Society of Plant Physiologists CY - Rockville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Malinova, Irina A1 - Mahlow, Sebastian A1 - Alseekh, Saleh A1 - Orawetz, Tom A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. A1 - Baumann, Otto A1 - Steup, Martin A1 - Fettke, Jörg T1 - Double knockout mutants of arabidopsis grown under normal conditions reveal that the plastidial phosphorylase isozyme participates in transitory starch metabolism JF - Plant physiology : an international journal devoted to physiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, biophysics and environmental biology of plants N2 - In leaves of two starch-related single-knockout lines lacking either the cytosolic transglucosidase (also designated as disproportionating enzyme 2, DPE2) or the maltose transporter (MEX1), the activity of the plastidial phosphorylase isozyme (PHS1) is increased. In both mutants, metabolism of starch-derived maltose is impaired but inhibition is effective at different subcellular sites. Two constitutive double knockout mutants were generated (designated as dpe2-1 x phs1a and mex1 x phs1b) both lacking functional PHS1. They reveal that in normally grown plants, the plastidial phosphorylase isozyme participates in transitory starch degradation and that the central carbon metabolism is closely integrated into the entire cell biology. All plants were grown either under continuous illumination or in a light-dark regime. Both double mutants were compromised in growth and, compared with the single knockout plants, possess less average leaf starch when grown in a light-dark regime. Starch and chlorophyll contents decline with leaf age. As revealed by transmission electron microscopy, mesophyll cells degrade chloroplasts, but degradation is not observed in plants grown under continuous illumination. The two double mutants possess similar but not identical phenotypes. When grown in a light-dark regime, mesophyll chloroplasts of dpe2-1 x phs1a contain a single starch granule but under continuous illumination more granules per chloroplast are formed. The other double mutant synthesizes more granules under either growth condition. In continuous light, growth of both double mutants is similar to that of the parental single knockout lines. Metabolite profiles and oligoglucan patterns differ largely in the two double mutants. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.113.227843 SN - 0032-0889 SN - 1532-2548 VL - 164 IS - 2 SP - 907 EP - 921 PB - American Society of Plant Physiologists CY - Rockville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Malinova, Irina A1 - Kunz, Hans-Henning A1 - Alseekh, Saleh A1 - Herbst, Karoline A1 - Fernie, Alisdair R. A1 - Gierth, Markus A1 - Fettke, Jörg T1 - Reduction of the cytosolic phosphoglucomutase in arabidopsis reveals impact on plant growth, seed and root development, and carbohydrate partitioning JF - PLoS one N2 - Phosphoglucomutase (PGM) catalyses the interconversion of glucose 1-phosphate (G1P) and glucose 6-phosphate (G6P) and exists as plastidial (pPGM) and cytosolic (cPGM) isoforms. The plastidial isoform is essential for transitory starch synthesis in chloroplasts of leaves, whereas the cytosolic counterpart is essential for glucose phosphate partitioning and, therefore, for syntheses of sucrose and cell wall components. In Arabidopsis two cytosolic isoforms (PGM2 and PGM3) exist. Both PGM2 and PGM3 are redundant in function as single mutants reveal only small or no alterations compared to wild type with respect to plant primary metabolism. So far, there are no reports of Arabidopsis plants lacking the entire cPGM or total PGM activity, respectively. Therefore, amiRNA transgenic plants were generated and used for analyses of various parameters such as growth, development, and starch metabolism. The lack of the entire cPGM activity resulted in a strongly reduced growth revealed by decreased rosette fresh weight, shorter roots, and reduced seed production compared to wild type. By contrast content of starch, sucrose, maltose and cell wall components were significantly increased. The lack of both cPGM and pPGM activities in Arabidopsis resulted in dwarf growth, prematurely die off, and inability to develop a functional inflorescence. The combined results are discussed in comparison to potato, the only described mutant with lack of total PGM activity. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0112468 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 9 IS - 11 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - THES A1 - Alseekh, Saleh T1 - Identification and mode of inheritance of quantitative trait loci (QTL) for metabolite abundance in tomato Y1 - 2015 ER -