- Agripolis, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro (Padova), Italy
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... yet. 2.5. 2 How do Rops control cell polarity? The ... Development. Genetics, Epigenetics and Environmental Regulation (eds. Russo, VEA, Cove, DJ, Edgar, LG, Jaenisch, R. & Salamini, F.), Springer-Verlag: Berlin, pp.... more
... yet. 2.5. 2 How do Rops control cell polarity? The ... Development. Genetics, Epigenetics and Environmental Regulation (eds. Russo, VEA, Cove, DJ, Edgar, LG, Jaenisch, R. & Salamini, F.), Springer-Verlag: Berlin, pp. 507±524. Deeks ...
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VviAGL11, the Arabidopsis SEEDSTICK homolog, has been proposed to have a causative role in grapevine stenospermocarpy. An association between a mutation in the coding sequence (CDS) and the seedless phenotype was reported, however, no... more
VviAGL11, the Arabidopsis SEEDSTICK homolog, has been proposed to have a causative role in grapevine stenospermocarpy. An association between a mutation in the coding sequence (CDS) and the seedless phenotype was reported, however, no working mechanisms have been demonstrated yet. We performed a deep investigation of the full VviAGL11 gene sequence in a collection of grapevine varieties belonging to several seedlessness classes that revealed three different promoter-CDS combinations. By investigating the expression of the three VviAGL11 alleles, and by evaluating their ability to activate the promoter region, we observed that VviAGL11 self-activates in a specific promoter-CDS combination manner. Furthermore, by transcriptomic analyses on ovule and developing seeds in seeded and seedless varieties and co-expression approaches, candidate VviAGL11 targets were identified and further validated through luciferase assay and in situ hybridization. We demonstrated that VviAGL11 Wild Type CD...
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Additional file 1. Agilent microarray slides suitable for immunolocalization.
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The plant hormone, ethylene, plays a major role in postharvest handling of fruits and vegetables by hastening ripening, senescence, abscission, and physiological disorders. Technologies to limit ethylene biosynthesis, to efficiently... more
The plant hormone, ethylene, plays a major role in postharvest handling of fruits and vegetables by hastening ripening, senescence, abscission, and physiological disorders. Technologies to limit ethylene biosynthesis, to efficiently remove it from storage rooms, and to inhibit its action are utilized widely in commercial practice. The determination of ethylene concentration is the first step for the optimization of handling, storage, and transportation. The inhibition of ethylene synthesis by reducing temperature, decreasing oxygen, and increasing carbon dioxide concentrations (controlled atmosphere), alone or in combination, are widely used approaches to delay postharvest senescence. The deciphering of ethylene’s perception has opened a new era by providing its antagonist 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), currently used to counteract ethylene action in commercial storage facilities for a number of crops. New perspectives for better control of postharvest life are envisaged from a deepe...
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In plants as well as other organisms, protein localization alone is insufficient to provide a mechanistic link between stimulus and process regulation. This is because protein-protein interactions are central to the regulation of... more
In plants as well as other organisms, protein localization alone is insufficient to provide a mechanistic link between stimulus and process regulation. This is because protein-protein interactions are central to the regulation of biological processes. However, they remain very difficult to detect in situ, with the choice of tools for the detection of protein-protein interaction in situ still in need of expansion. Here, we provide a protocol for the detection and accurate localization of protein interactions based on the combination of a whole-mount proximity ligation assay and iRoCS, a coordinate system able to standardize subtle differences between the architecture of individual Arabidopsis roots.
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ABSTRACTBackgroundArabidopsis research relies extensively on the use of in vitro growth for phenotypic analysis of the seedlings and characterization of plant responses to intrinsic and extrinsic cues. For this purpose, stress-free... more
ABSTRACTBackgroundArabidopsis research relies extensively on the use of in vitro growth for phenotypic analysis of the seedlings and characterization of plant responses to intrinsic and extrinsic cues. For this purpose, stress-free optimal growth conditions should be set up and used as a reference especially in studies aimed at characterizing the plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. Currently used standard in vitro protocols for growth and characterization of Arabidopsis thaliana plants often suffer from sub-optimal composition due to an excessively high nutritional content which represents a stress per se and an experimental bias.ResultsWe describe a simple protocol for in vitro growth of Arabidopsis plants in which the phenotypic analysis is based on an optimized and nutritionally balanced culture medium. We show that the protocol is robustly applicable for growth of several Arabidopsis mutants, including mutants lacking the root system. This protocol enables rapid high...
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The MOB family includes a group of cell cycle-associated proteins highly conserved throughout eukaryotes, whose founding members are implicated in mitotic exit and co-ordination of cell cycle progression with cell polarity and... more
The MOB family includes a group of cell cycle-associated proteins highly conserved throughout eukaryotes, whose founding members are implicated in mitotic exit and co-ordination of cell cycle progression with cell polarity and morphogenesis. Here we report the characterization and evolution of the MOB domain-containing proteins as inferred from the 43 eukaryotic genomes so far sequenced. We show that genes for Mob-like proteins are present in at least 41 of these genomes, confirming the universal distribution of this protein family and suggesting its prominent biological function. The phylogenetic analysis reveals five distinct MOB domain classes, showing a progressive expansion of this family from unicellular to multicellular organisms, reaching the highest number in mammals. Plant Mob genes appear to have evolved from a single ancestor, most likely after the loss of one or more genes during the early stage of Viridiplantae evolutionary history. Three of the Mob classes are widespr...
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The rate of ethylene biosynthesis was monitored throughout the four stages (S1, S2, S3, and S4) of peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch `Springcrest') fruit development. The highest values of ethylene production were detected during the... more
The rate of ethylene biosynthesis was monitored throughout the four stages (S1, S2, S3, and S4) of peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch `Springcrest') fruit development. The highest values of ethylene production were detected during the early S1 and at ripening. During S1, the increase in the evolution of ethylene was accompanied by high activity of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase (ACO). A weak accumulation of ACO mRNA was detected in developing fruitlets, indicating that ACO may play a specific role in modulating the rate of ethylene biosynthesis during the early growth stage. When fruitlets harvested at S1 were flushed with propylene (500 mL·L-1) for 48 h, a two-fold increase of ethylene biosynthesis and a dramatic induction of ACO activity were observed. Treatment with the ethylene analogue greatly stimulated the expression of ACO gene(s). During ripening, the climacteric occurred when fruit had softened to ≈20 N. This process was preceded by an increase in ACC conte...
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Nitrogen availability seriously affects crop productivity and environment. The knowledge of post-transcriptional regulation of plant response to nutrients is important to improve nitrogen use efficiency of crop. This research was aimed at... more
Nitrogen availability seriously affects crop productivity and environment. The knowledge of post-transcriptional regulation of plant response to nutrients is important to improve nitrogen use efficiency of crop. This research was aimed at understanding the role of miRNAs in the molecular control of plant response to nitrate. The expression profiles of six mature miRNAs were deeply studied by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization (ISH). To this aim, a novel optimized protocol was set up for the use of digoxygenin-labelled Zip Nucleic Acid-modified oligonucleotides as probes for ISH. Significant differences in miRNAs' transcripts accumulation were evidenced between nitrate-supplied and nitrate-depleted roots. Real-time PCR analyses and in situ detection of miRNA confirmed the array data and allowed us to evidence distinct miRNAs spatio-temporal expression patterns in maize roots. Our results suggest that a prolonged nitrate depletion may induce post-transcriptionally the expression of target genes by repressing the transcription of specific miRNAs. In particular, the repression of the transcription of miR528a/b, miR528a*/b*, miR169i/j/k, miR169i*/j*/k*, miR166j/k/n and miR408/b upon nitrate shortage could represent a crucial step integrating nitrate signals into developmental changes in maize roots.
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Apple (Malus × domestica) represents an interesting model tree crop for studying fruit abscission. The physiological fruitlet drop occurring in this species can be easily magnified by using thinning chemicals, such as benzyladenine (BA),... more
Apple (Malus × domestica) represents an interesting model tree crop for studying fruit abscission. The physiological fruitlet drop occurring in this species can be easily magnified by using thinning chemicals, such as benzyladenine (BA), to obtain fruits with improved quality and marketability. Despite the economic importance of this process, the molecular determinants of apple fruitlet abscission are still unknown. In this research, BA was used to obtain fruitlet populations with different abscission potentials to be analyzed by means of a newly released 30K oligonucleotide microarray. RNAs were extracted from cortex and seed of apple fruitlets sampled over a 4-d time course, during which BA triggers fruit drop, and used for microarray hybridization. Transcriptomic profiles of persisting and abscising fruitlets were tested for statistical association with abscission potential, allowing us to identify molecular signatures strictly related to fruit destiny. A hypothetical model for a...
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Research Interests: Plant Biology, Biology, Medicine, Gene expression, Plant Genome Project, and 14 moreAbscission, Experimental Botany, Homology, Gene, Arabidopsis, Gen, Prunus, Base Sequence, Prunus Persica, Ripening, PLANT PROTEINS, Fruit Development, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, and quantitative RT-PCR
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Gravity plays a fundamental role in plant growth and development. Up to now, little is known about the molecular organisation of the signal transduction cascades and networks which co-ordinate gravity perception and response. By using an... more
Gravity plays a fundamental role in plant growth and development. Up to now, little is known about the molecular organisation of the signal transduction cascades and networks which co-ordinate gravity perception and response. By using an integrated systems biological approach, a systems analysis of gravity perception and the subsequent tightly-regulated growth response is planned in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. This approach will address questions such as:(i) what are the components of gravity signal ...
Research Interests: Biology, System Biology, Signal Transduction, Arabidopsis thaliana, System Analysis, and 14 morePlant growth, Cellular Network, Signal Transduction Pathway Models, Transcription Factor, Regulatory Network, Protein Function, High Resolution, Multiscale Analysis, Protein Degradation, Root System, Cell communication, Vesicle trafficking, Interaction Network, and Root growth
Superficial scald is a post-harvest chilling storage injury leading to browning of the surface of the susceptible cv Granny Smith apples. Wounding of skins has been reported to play a preventive role on scald development however its... more
Superficial scald is a post-harvest chilling storage injury leading to browning of the surface of the susceptible cv Granny Smith apples. Wounding of skins has been reported to play a preventive role on scald development however its underlying molecular factors are unknown. We have artificially wounded the epidermal and sub-epidermal layers of apple skins consistently obtaining the prevention of superficial scald in the surroundings of the wounds during two independent vintages. Time course RNA-Seq analyses of the transcriptional changes in wounded versus unwounded skins revealed that two transcriptional waves occurred. An early wave included genes up-regulated by wounding already after 6 h, highlighting a specific transcriptional rearrangement of genes connected to the biosynthesis and signalling of JA, ethylene and ABA. A later transcriptional wave, occurring after three months of cold storage, included genes up-regulated exclusively in unwounded skins and was prevented from its o...
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Plants ability to orient their growth with respect to external stimuli such as gravity. In plant roots, gravity sensing cells called statocytes, contain starch-filled plastids (statoliths). These organelles which sediment following... more
Plants ability to orient their growth with respect to external stimuli such as gravity. In plant roots, gravity sensing cells called statocytes, contain starch-filled plastids (statoliths). These organelles which sediment following gravity vector change, are involved in gravity sensing as position sensor. At the end of the signaling pathway, the localization of PIN auxin efflux carrier proteins (e.g. PIN3), become repolarized leading to redirected auxin flux to the lower side of the root columella. However, the mechanisms how statoliths displacement triggers the relocalisation of PIN has not yet been elucidated. Recently, we performed an experiment using the FLUMIAS spinning disc microscope and its unique spatial and timely resolution. It enabled us to study for the first time the gravity sensing phase during parabolic flights. Namely the simultaneous in vivo monitoring of (1) the dynamics of statoliths mouvement and of (2) fluorescent markers of cell organelles such as the actin cy...
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In the last decade climate change has impacted viticulture and water deficit has become a major concern in fruit production. Many studies have been carried out to determine the grapevine response to environmental changes and to identify... more
In the last decade climate change has impacted viticulture and water deficit has become a major concern in fruit production. Many studies have been carried out to determine the grapevine response to environmental changes and to identify key genetic traits to be used in grapevine breeding. However, in order to better manage climate-related risks, novel viticultural practices are urgently needed. A promising solution for a more sustainable model of viticulture involves the use of biostimulants. In this study, the effectiveness of a novel biostimulant (APR®) belonging to the group of protein thermal hydrolysates was tested on grapevine plants subjected to progressive water deficit conditions. Our results showed that this compound applied to roots before imposing water deprivation mitigates the consequences of stress by sustaining the growth of the younger vegetative organs and limiting the extent of cell dehydration; this positive impact on the plant’s physiological state persisted dur...
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In maize, nitrate regulates root development thanks to the coordinated action of many players. In this study, the involvement of SLs and auxin as putative components of the nitrate regulation of lateral root was investigated. To this aim,... more
In maize, nitrate regulates root development thanks to the coordinated action of many players. In this study, the involvement of SLs and auxin as putative components of the nitrate regulation of lateral root was investigated. To this aim, the endogenous SL content of maize root in response to nitrate was assessed by LC-MS/MS and measurements of lateral root density in the presence of analogues or inhibitors of auxin and strigolactones were performed. Furthermore, an untargeted RNA-seq based approach was used to better characterize the participation of auxin and strigolactones to the transcriptional signature of maize root response to nitrate. Our results suggested that N deprivation induces zealactone and carlactonoic acid biosynthesis in root, to a higher extent if compared to P-deprived roots. Moreover, data on lateral root density led to hypothesise that the induction of LR development early occurring upon nitrate supply involves the inhibition of SL biosynthesis, but that the do...
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In plants as well as other organisms, protein localization alone is insufficient to provide a mechanistic link between stimulus and process regulation. This is because protein–protein interactions are central to the regulation of... more
In plants as well as other organisms, protein localization alone is insufficient to provide a mechanistic link between stimulus and process regulation. This is because protein–protein interactions are central to the regulation of biological processes. However, they remain very difficult to detect in situ, with the choice of tools for the detection of protein–protein interaction in situ still in need of expansion. Here, we provide a protocol for the detection and accurate localization of protein interactions based on the combination of a whole-mount proximity ligation assay and iRoCS, a coordinate system able to standardize subtle differences between the architecture of individual Arabidopsis roots.
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Here we report an optimized protocol for optimal growth of Arabidopsis thaliana plants to avoid biases in phenotypic observation of abiotic/biotic stress experiments. The protocol also enables the completion of the whole life cycle in... more
Here we report an optimized protocol for optimal growth of Arabidopsis thaliana plants to avoid biases in phenotypic observation of abiotic/biotic stress experiments. The protocol also enables the completion of the whole life cycle in vitro within 40-45 days and a satisfactory seed set for further propagation with no need for facilities for plant growth in soil and seed sterilisation.
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The accumulation of secondary metabolites and the regulation of tissue acidity contribute to important traits of grape berry and influence plant performance in response to abiotic and biotic factors. In several plant species a highly... more
The accumulation of secondary metabolites and the regulation of tissue acidity contribute to important traits of grape berry and influence plant performance in response to abiotic and biotic factors. In several plant species a highly conserved MYB-bHLH-WD (MBW) transcriptional regulatory complex controls flavonoid pigment synthesis and transport, and vacuolar acidification in epidermal cells. An additional component, represented by a WRKY-type transcription factor, physically interacts with the complex increasing the expression of some target genes and adding specificity for other targets. Here we investigated the function of MBW(W) complexes involving two MYBs (VvMYB5a and VvMYB5b) and the WRKY factor VvWRKY26 in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.). Using transgenic grapevine plants we show that these complexes affect different aspects of morphology, plant development, pH regulation and pigment accumulation. Transcriptomic analysis identified a core set of putative target genes controlled by VvMYB5a, VvMYB5b and VvWRKY26 in different tissues. Our data indicate that VvWRKY26 enhances the expression of selected target genes induced by VvMYB5a/b. Among these targets are genes involved in vacuolar hyper-acidification, such as the P-type ATPases VvPH5 and VvPH1, and trafficking, and genes involved in the biosynthesis of flavonoids. In addition, VvWRKY26 is recruited specifically by VvMYB5a, reflecting the functional diversification of VvMYB5a and VvMYB5b. The expression of MBWW complexes in vegetative organs, such as leaves, indicates a possible function of vacuolar hyper-acidification in repulsion of herbivores and/or in developmental processes as shown by defects in transgenic grape plants where the complex is inactivated. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Abscission has significant implications in agriculture and several efforts have been addressed by researchers to understand its regulatory steps in both model and crop species. Among the main players in abscission, ethylene has exhibited... more
Abscission has significant implications in agriculture and several efforts have been addressed by researchers to understand its regulatory steps in both model and crop species. Among the main players in abscission, ethylene has exhibited some fascinating features, in that it was shown to be involved at different stages of abscission induction and, in some cases, with interesting roles also within the abscising organ at the very early stages of the process. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the role of ethylene both at the level of the abscission zone and within the shedding organ, pointing out the missing pieces of the very complicated puzzle of the abscission process in the different species.
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Fruits stored at low temperature can exhibit different types of chilling injury. In apple, one of the most serious physiological disorders is superficial scald, which is characterized by discoloration and brown necrotic patches on the... more
Fruits stored at low temperature can exhibit different types of chilling injury. In apple, one of the most serious physiological disorders is superficial scald, which is characterized by discoloration and brown necrotic patches on the fruit exocarp. Although this phenomenon is widely ascribed to the oxidation of α-farnesene, its physiology is not yet fully understood. To elucidate the mechanism of superficial scald development and possible means of prevention, we performed an integrated metabolite screen, including an analysis of volatiles, phenols and lipids, together with a large-scale transcriptome study. We also determined that prevention of superficial scald, through the use of an ethylene action inhibitor, is associated with the triggering of cold acclimation-related processes. Specifically, the inhibition of ethylene perception stimulated the production of antioxidant compounds to scavenge reactive oxygen species, the synthesis of fatty acids to stabilize plastid and vacuole ...
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It has been shown that an increase in ethylene biosynthesis is associated with specific stages of peach fruit development [11]. Besides accelerating ripening, exogenous ethylene induces the activation of the fruitlet abscission zone (AZ3)... more
It has been shown that an increase in ethylene biosynthesis is associated with specific stages of peach fruit development [11]. Besides accelerating ripening, exogenous ethylene induces the activation of the fruitlet abscission zone (AZ3) located between the pericarp and the receptacle, leading to fruitlet shedding, both under field and laboratory conditions [1, 8]. As far as fruit development is concerned, the highest rates of ethylene evolution are detectable during early peach fruit development and when fruit have softened to about 20 N [4, 1]. At ripening, the appearance of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (ACO) mRNA precedes the ethylene burst [2] and the highest transcript accumulation is coincident with the climacteric [3]. No information on ACO gene expression pattern during early fruit growth exist.
ACC oxidase (ACO) catalyzes the last step of ethylene biosynthesis, converting 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate to ethylene. Previous work described the isolation and characterization of an ACO peach cDNA clone (pch313) [1]. Southern... more
ACC oxidase (ACO) catalyzes the last step of ethylene biosynthesis, converting 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate to ethylene. Previous work described the isolation and characterization of an ACO peach cDNA clone (pch313) [1]. Southern analysis indicated that also in peach ACO is encoded by a multigene family in which at least three members are present [4]. Herein the isolation and characterization of two (PP-ACO1 and PP-ACO2) of these members is reported.