renateal

• Bramsiepe, Jonathan; Krabberød, Anders Kristian; Bjerkan, Katrine Nergård; Alling, Renate; Nielsen, Ida & Hornslien, Karina Stensland [Show all 9 contributors for this article] (2023). Structural evidence for MADS-box type I family expansion seen in new assemblies of Arabidopsis arenosa and A. lyrata. The Plant Journal. ISSN 0960-7412. 116(3), p. 942–961. doi: 10.1111/tpj.16401. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  SUMMARY Arabidopsis thaliana diverged from A. arenosa and A. lyrata at least 6 million years ago. The three species differ by genome‐wide polymorphisms and morphological traits. The species are to a high degree reproductively isolated, but hybridization barriers are incomplete. A special type of hybridization barrier is based on the triploid endosperm of the seed, where embryo lethality is caused by endosperm failure to support the developing embryo. The MADS‐box type I family of transcription factors is specifically expressed in the endosperm and has been proposed to play a role in endosperm‐based hybridization barriers. The gene family is well known for its high evolutionary duplication rate, as well as being regulated by genomic imprinting. Here we address MADS‐box type I gene family evolution and the role of type I genes in the context of hybridization. Using two de‐novo assembled and annotated chromosome‐level genomes of A. arenosa and A. lyrata ssp. petraea we analyzed the MADS‐box type I gene family in Arabidopsis to predict orthologs, copy number, and structural genomic variation related to the type I loci. Our findings were compared to gene expression profiles sampled before and after the transition to endosperm cellularization in order to investigate the involvement of MADS‐box type I loci in endosperm‐based hybridization barriers. We observed substantial differences in type‐I expression in the endosperm of A. arenosa and A. lyrata ssp. petraea , suggesting a genetic cause for the endosperm‐based hybridization barrier between A. arenosa and A. lyrata ssp. petraea .

• Bjerkan, Katrine Nergård; Alling, Renate; Myking, Ida Velle; Brysting, Anne Krag & Grini, Paul (2023). Genetic and environmental manipulation of Arabidopsis hybridization barriers uncovers antagonistic functions in endosperm cellularization. Frontiers in Plant Science. 14, p. 1–16. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1229060. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Speciation involves reproductive isolation, which can occur by hybridization barriers acting in the endosperm of the developing seed. The nuclear endosperm is a nutrient sink, accumulating sugars from surrounding tissues, and undergoes coordinated cellularization, switching to serve as a nutrient source for the developing embryo. Tight regulation of cellularization is therefore vital for seed and embryonic development. Here we show that hybrid seeds from crosses between Arabidopsis thaliana as maternal contributor and A. arenosa or A. lyrata as pollen donors result in an endosperm based post-zygotic hybridization barrier that gives rise to a reduced seed germination rate. Hybrid seeds display opposite endosperm cellularization phenotypes, with late cellularization in crosses with A. arenosa and early cellularization in crosses with A. lyrata . Stage specific endosperm reporters display temporally ectopic expression in developing hybrid endosperm, in accordance with the early and late cellularization phenotypes, confirming a disturbance of the source-sink endosperm phase change. We demonstrate that the hybrid barrier is under the influence of abiotic factors, and show that a temperature gradient leads to diametrically opposed cellularization phenotype responses in hybrid endosperm with A. arenosa or A. lyrata as pollen donors. Furthermore, different A. thaliana accession genotypes also enhance or diminish seed viability in the two hybrid cross-types, emphasizing that both genetic and environmental cues control the hybridization barrier. We have identified an A. thaliana MADS-BOX type I family single locus that is required for diametrically opposed cellularization phenotype responses in hybrid endosperm. Loss of AGAMOUS-LIKE 35 significantly affects the germination rate of hybrid seeds in opposite directions when transmitted through the A. thaliana endosperm, and is suggested to be a locus that promotes cellularization as part of an endosperm based mechanism involved in post-zygotic hybrid barriers. The role of temperature in hybrid speciation and the identification of distinct loci in control of hybrid failure have great potential to aid the introduction of advantageous traits in breeding research and to support models to predict hybrid admixture in a changing global climate.

• Alling, Renate & Trigo, Sergio Galindo (2023). Reproductive defects in the abscission mutant ida-2 are caused by T-DNA-induced genomic rearrangements. Plant Physiology. ISSN 0032-0889. 193(4), p. 2292–2297. doi: 10.1093/plphys/kiad449. Full text in Research Archive
• Furumizu, Chihiro; Krabberød, Anders Kristian; Hammerstad, Marta; Alling, Renate; Wildhagen, Mari & Sawa, Shinichiro [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2021). The sequenced genomes of non-flowering land plants reveal the innovative evolutionary history of peptide signaling. The Plant Cell. ISSN 1040-4651. 33(9), p. 2915–2934. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koab173. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract An understanding of land plant evolution is a prerequisite for in-depth knowledge of plant biology. Here we extract and explore information hidden in the increasing number of sequenced plant genomes, from bryophytes to angiosperms, to elucidate a specific biological question—how peptide signaling evolved. To conquer land and cope with changing environmental conditions, plants have gone through transformations that must have required innovations in cell-to-cell communication. We discuss peptides mediating endogenous and exogenous changes by interaction with receptors activating intracellular molecular signaling. Signaling peptides were discovered in angiosperms and operate in tissues and organs such as flowers, seeds, vasculature, and 3D meristems that are not universally conserved across land plants. Nevertheless, orthologs of angiosperm peptides and receptors have been identified in nonangiosperms. These discoveries provoke questions regarding coevolution of ligands and their receptors, and whether de novo interactions in peptide signaling pathways may have contributed to generate novel traits in land plants. The answers to such questions will have profound implications for the understanding of the evolution of cell-to-cell communication and the wealth of diversified terrestrial plants. Under this perspective, we have generated, analyzed, and reviewed phylogenetic, genomic, structural, and functional data to elucidate the evolution of peptide signaling.

• Shi, Chunlin; Alling, Renate; Hammerstad, Marta & Aalen, Reidunn B. (2019). Control of organ abscission and other cell separation processes by evolutionary conserved peptide signaling. Plants. 8(7), p. 1–15. doi: 10.3390/plants8070225. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Plants both generate and shed organs throughout their lifetime. Cell separation is in function during opening of anthers to release pollen; floral organs are detached after pollination when they have served their purpose; unfertilized flowers are shed; fruits and seeds are abscised from the mother plant to secure the propagation of new generations. Organ abscission takes place in specialized abscission zone (AZ) cells where the middle lamella between adjacent cell files is broken down. The plant hormone ethylene has a well-documented promoting effect on abscission, but mutation in ethylene receptor genes in Arabidopsis thaliana only delays the abscission process. Microarray and RNA sequencing have identified a large number of genes differentially expressed in the AZs, especially genes encoding enzymes involved in cell wall remodelling and disassembly. Mutations in such genes rarely give a phenotype, most likely due to functional redundancy. In contrast, mutation in the INFLORESCENCE DEFICIENT IN ABSCISSION (IDA) blocks floral organ abscission in Arabidopsis. IDA encodes a small peptide that signals through the leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases HAESA (HAE) and HAE-LIKE2 (HSL2) to control floral organ abscission and facilitate lateral root emergence. Untimely abscission is a severe problem in many crops, and in a more applied perspective, it is of interest to investigate whether IDA-HAE/HSL2 is involved in other cell separation processes and other species. Genes encoding IDA and HSL2 orthologues have been identified in all orders of flowering plants. Angiosperms have had enormous success, with species adapted to all kinds of environments, adaptations which include variation with respect to which organs they shed. Here we review, from an evolutionary perspective, the properties of the IDA-HAE/HSL2 signaling module and the evidence for its hypothesized involvement in various cell separation processes in angiosperms.

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• Alling, Renate; Brysting, Anne Krag; Grini, Paul; Bjerkan, Katrine & Myking, Ida Velle (2022). Environmental and genetic factors affecting endosperm based post-zygotic hybridization barriers. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Proper development of the triploid endosperm is vital for seed viability. During the early stages of development, the endosperm works as a nutrient sink, accumulating sugars from the surrounding tissues. During this developmental phase, endosperm division is devoid of cytokinesis, resulting in a syncytium. After sufficient accumulation of nutrients, the endosperm nuclei undergo cellularization, switching to serve as a nutrient source for the embryo. Tight regulation of cellularization is therefore vital for embryo development. Crosses between Arabidopsis thaliana as maternal contributor and A. arenosa as pollen donor cause late cellularization and reduced germination rate in hybrid seeds. Here we show the opposite cellularization phenotype in hybrid seeds when using A. lyrata as pollen donor also resulting in low germination rate. Stage specific endosperm reporters display ectopic expression in developing hybrid endosperm confirming disturbance of the source-sink endosperm phase change. We also observe accession genotype as well as single loci effects on the severity of the barrier. Interestingly, we found that temperature can alleviate this hybridization barrier in opposite directions depending on whether the hybrid seed exhibit early or late endosperm cellularization. We postulate that temperature dependency might be a general mechanism affecting endosperm-based hybridization barriers.

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