The Roles of OVATE and Other Elongation Genes in Regulating Proximal-Distal Patterning of Tomato Fruit

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Roles of OVATE and Other Elongation Genes in Regulating Proximal-Distal Patterning of Tomato Fruit The roles of OVATE and other elongation genes in regulating proximal-distal patterning of tomato fruit Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Shan Wu, M.S. Graduate Program in Horticulture and Crop Science The Ohio State University 2015 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Esther van der Knaap, Advisor Dr. Jyan-chyun Jang Dr. Michelle Jones Dr. Tea Meulia Dr. Eric Stockinger Copyright by Shan Wu 2015 Abstract Domestication of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) has resulted in a variety of fruit shapes from flat to very elongated. The elongated shape is a common feature that distinguishes many cultivated tomatoes from the undomesticated types, and it is mainly controlled by three loci, ovate, sun and fs8.1. We performed detailed morphological analyses of the reproductive and vegetative organs, which demonstrated that ovate, sun and fs8.1 regulate unique aspects of ovary and fruit elongation and in different temporal manners. The synergistic interaction between sun and ovate or fs8.1 suggested that the pathways involving SUN, OVATE and the gene(s) underlying fs8.1 may converge at a common node. We also conducted a transcriptome comparison analysis between the triple mutant sun/ovate/fs8.1 and wild type by RNA-seq using reproductive meristems and young flower buds. This study revealed changes in the transcription profile possibly caused by the combined effects of the three mutations. To gain insights into the role of OVATE in regulating fruit shape, we searched for its genetic and protein interactors. A synergistic interaction was found between ovate and suppressor of ovate 1 (sov1) in controlling ovary and fruit elongation. Tomato OVATE family protein 20 (SlOFP20) was identified as a candidate gene underlying the sov1 locus. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) experiments showed that OVATE interacted with Tonneau1 Recruiting Motif (TRM) proteins, which are a part of a protein complex regulating the formation of preprophase band and organization of cortical microtubule (MT) array. Transient co-expression of OVATE or SlOFP20 with putative MT-associated SlTRMs in N. benthamiana resulted in relocalizations of SlOFPs and SlTRMs. Our findings have shed new light on the roles of OFPs in proximal-distal fruit patterning and provided insights into fundamental aspects of plant organ growth. ii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my family. iii Acknowledgments I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Esther van der Knaap, for her mentoring, motivation and patience. Her guidance and encouragement helped me all the time in my research and writing of this dissertation. She sets a good example for me of how to be a scientist with strict standards and great enthusiasm. I would like to thank my study committee members, Dr. JC Jang, Dr. Michelle Jones, Dr. Rebecca Lamb, Dr. Tea Meulia and Dr. Eric Stockinger for providing valuable suggestions and resources to my project and helping me in all the exams. I am also grateful to Dr. Carmen Catala and Dr. Giovannoni for offering me the opportunity to learn RNA-seq library construction, Dr. Martine Pastuglia and Dr. David Bouchez for helpful discussions on the TRMs, and Dr. Sophien Kamoun, Dr. Feng Qu and Dr. Iris Meier for the advices on transient expression assays in tobacco and plasmid construction. I would like to thank all the current and previous lab members for their help and friendship. My special thanks go to Josh Clevenger, Dr. Liang Sun and Dr. Neda Keyhaninejad for their collaboration and insight. I would also like to acknowledge Jason Van Houten, Dr. Hyun Jung Kim, Dr. Manohar Chakrabarti, Dr. Eudald Illa and Dr. Zejun Huang for offering help on this project. My sincere thanks also go to Meghan Fisher, Jiheun Cho and Brenda Sanchez Montejo for taking care of my plants in the greenhouse and field. I also thank my fellow graduate student labmates: Qi Mu, Yi- Hsuan Chu, Yanping Wang, Xiaoxi Liu and Nathan Taitano for the stimulating discussions and for working together late before deadlines. Finally, I thank my family. Words cannot express how grateful I am to my parents and parents-in-law, my beloved husband, Xing, and daughter, Audrey, for always supporting me. iv Vita 2003………………….High School Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China 2007……………………………….B.S. Agonomy, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China 2009……................M.S. Horticulture and Crop Science, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 2010 to present ………………………....................... Graduate Reserach Associate, Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, The Ohio State University Publications Wu S, Xiao H, Cabrera A, Meulia T, van der Knaap E. 2011. SUN regulates vegetative and reproductive organ shape by changing cell division patterns. Plant Physiol 157(3):1175-86. Jiang N, Visa S, Wu S and van der Knaap. 2012 Rider transposon insertion and phenotypic change in tomato. Topics in Current Genetics 24: 297–312 Liu N, Wu S, Van Houten J, Wang Y, Ding B, Fei Z, Clarke TH, Reed JW, van der Knaap E. 2014. Down-regulation of AUXIN RESPONSE FACTORS 6 and 8 by microRNA 167 leads to floral development defects and female sterility in tomato. J Exp Bot 65(9): 2507-20. van der Knaap E, Chakrabarti M, Chu YH, Clevenger JP, Illa-Berenguer E, Huang Z, Keyhaninejad N, Mu Q, Sun L, Wang Y, and Wu S. 2014. What lies beyond the eye: The molecular mechanisms regulating tomato fruit weight and shape. Front Plant Sci 5:227. Wu S, Clevenger JP, Sun L, Visa S, Kamiya Y, Jikumaru Y, Blakeslee J and van der Knaap E. 2015. The control of tomato fruit elongation orchestrated by sun, ovate and fs8.1 in a wild relative of tomato. Plant Sci 238:95-104. Fields of Study Major Field: Horticulture and Crop Science v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ ii Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... iv Vita................................................................................................................................................... v List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. ix List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1: The making of an elongated tomato fruit ...................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: The control of tomato fruit elongation orchestrated by sun, ovate and fs8.1 in a wild relative of tomato ............................................................................................................................. 9 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 10 Materials and Methods ............................................................................................................... 11 Results ........................................................................................................................................ 14 Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 21 Chapter 3: RNA-seq transcriptome analysis of the sun/ovate/fs8.1 NILs during tomato early flower development ....................................................................................................................... 43 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 43 vi Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 44 Materials and Methods ............................................................................................................... 46 Results ........................................................................................................................................ 49 Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 55 Chapter 4: The roles of OVATE family proteins in organ patterning and their interaction with TRMs, a group of microtubule modulating proteins ...................................................................... 72 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 72 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 73 Materials and Methods ............................................................................................................... 75 Results ........................................................................................................................................ 81 Discussion
Recommended publications
  • Analysis of the Chromosomal Clustering of Fusarium-Responsive
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Analysis of the chromosomal clustering of Fusarium‑responsive wheat genes uncovers new players in the defence against head blight disease Alexandre Perochon1,2, Harriet R. Benbow1,2, Katarzyna Ślęczka‑Brady1, Keshav B. Malla1 & Fiona M. Doohan1* There is increasing evidence that some functionally related, co‑expressed genes cluster within eukaryotic genomes. We present a novel pipeline that delineates such eukaryotic gene clusters. Using this tool for bread wheat, we uncovered 44 clusters of genes that are responsive to the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum. As expected, these Fusarium‑responsive gene clusters (FRGCs) included metabolic gene clusters, many of which are associated with disease resistance, but hitherto not described for wheat. However, the majority of the FRGCs are non‑metabolic, many of which contain clusters of paralogues, including those implicated in plant disease responses, such as glutathione transferases, MAP kinases, and germin‑like proteins. 20 of the FRGCs encode nonhomologous, non‑metabolic genes (including defence‑related genes). One of these clusters includes the characterised Fusarium resistance orphan gene, TaFROG. Eight of the FRGCs map within 6 FHB resistance loci. One small QTL on chromosome 7D (4.7 Mb) encodes eight Fusarium‑ responsive genes, fve of which are within a FRGC. This study provides a new tool to identify genomic regions enriched in genes responsive to specifc traits of interest and applied herein it highlighted gene families, genetic loci and biological pathways of importance in the response of wheat to disease. Prokaryote genomes encode co-transcribed genes with related functions that cluster together within operons. Clusters of functionally related genes also exist in eukaryote genomes, including fungi, nematodes, mammals and plants1.
    [Show full text]
  • Next-Generation Sequencing of Representational Difference Analysis
    Planta DOI 10.1007/s00425-017-2657-0 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Next-generation sequencing of representational difference analysis products for identification of genes involved in diosgenin biosynthesis in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) 1 1 1 1 Joanna Ciura • Magdalena Szeliga • Michalina Grzesik • Mirosław Tyrka Received: 19 August 2016 / Accepted: 30 January 2017 Ó The Author(s) 2017. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract Within the transcripts related to sterol and steroidal Main conclusion Representational difference analysis saponin biosynthesis, we discovered novel candidate of cDNA was performed and differential products were genes of diosgenin biosynthesis and validated their sequenced and annotated. Candidate genes involved in expression using quantitative RT-PCR analysis. Based on biosynthesis of diosgenin in fenugreek were identified. these findings, we supported the idea that diosgenin is Detailed mechanism of diosgenin synthesis was biosynthesized from cycloartenol via cholesterol. This is proposed. the first report on the next-generation sequencing of cDNA-RDA products. Analysis of the transcriptomes Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) is a valuable enriched in low copy sequences contributed substantially medicinal and crop plant. It belongs to Fabaceae family to our understanding of the biochemical pathways of and has a unique potential to synthesize valuable steroidal steroid synthesis in fenugreek. saponins, e.g., diosgenin. Elicitation (methyl jasmonate) and precursor feeding (cholesterol and squalene) were Keywords Diosgenin Á Next-generation sequencing Á used to enhance the content of sterols and steroidal Phytosterols Á Representational difference analysis of sapogenins in in vitro grown plants for representational cDNA Á Steroidal saponins Á Transcriptome user-friendly difference analysis of cDNA (cDNA-RDA).
    [Show full text]
  • Characterization of the Ergosterol Biosynthesis Pathway in Ceratocystidaceae
    Journal of Fungi Article Characterization of the Ergosterol Biosynthesis Pathway in Ceratocystidaceae Mohammad Sayari 1,2,*, Magrieta A. van der Nest 1,3, Emma T. Steenkamp 1, Saleh Rahimlou 4 , Almuth Hammerbacher 1 and Brenda D. Wingfield 1 1 Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; [email protected] (M.A.v.d.N.); [email protected] (E.T.S.); [email protected] (A.H.); brenda.wingfi[email protected] (B.D.W.) 2 Department of Plant Science, University of Manitoba, 222 Agriculture Building, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada 3 Biotechnology Platform, Agricultural Research Council (ARC), Onderstepoort Campus, Pretoria 0110, South Africa 4 Department of Mycology and Microbiology, University of Tartu, 14A Ravila, 50411 Tartu, Estonia; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Fax: +1-204-474-7528 Abstract: Terpenes represent the biggest group of natural compounds on earth. This large class of organic hydrocarbons is distributed among all cellular organisms, including fungi. The different classes of terpenes produced by fungi are mono, sesqui, di- and triterpenes, although triterpene ergosterol is the main sterol identified in cell membranes of these organisms. The availability of genomic data from members in the Ceratocystidaceae enabled the detection and characterization of the genes encoding the enzymes in the mevalonate and ergosterol biosynthetic pathways. Using Citation: Sayari, M.; van der Nest, a bioinformatics approach, fungal orthologs of sterol biosynthesis genes in nine different species M.A.; Steenkamp, E.T.; Rahimlou, S.; of the Ceratocystidaceae were identified.
    [Show full text]
  • NCBI Database on Cycloartenol Synthase
    NCBI Database on Cycloartenol Synthase Mohammad Basyuni1,2, Rahmah Hayati1, Yuntha Bimantara1, Rizka Amelia1, Sumaiyah3, Era Yusraini4, and Hirosuke Oku5 1Department of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Jl. Tri Dharma Ujung No. 1 Medan, North Sumatera 20155, Indonesia 2Mangrove and Bio-Resources Group, Center of Excellence for Natural Resources Based Technology, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan North Sumatera 20155, Indonesia. 3Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan 20155, Indonesia 4Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan 20155, Indonesia 3Molecular Biotechnology Group, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan Keywords: Abiotic stress, cycloartenol, isoprenoid, oxidosqualene Abstract: Cycloartenol synthase (EC 5.4.99.8) is a cycloartenol-converting enzyme. The current research describes the search of cycloartenol synthase databases from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). A amount of precious information was generated by NCBI database search (https:/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). Results discovered in 22 cycloartenol synthase databases. All literature, genes, genetics, protein, genomes, and chemical features of cycloartenol synthase databases. Bookshelf, MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) and PubMed Central were discussed in the literature. Gene was made up of profiles from Gene, Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), HomoloGene, PopSet, and UniGene. Data on genetics such as MedGen was available for cycloartenol
    [Show full text]
  • Catalase: Bioinformatics Analyses of One of the Key Enzymes in Hydrogen Peroxide Metabolism
    6–71RYHPEHU 2019, Brno, Czech Republic Catalase: Bioinformatics analyses of one of the key enzymes in hydrogen peroxide metabolism Michaela Kameniarova, Romana Kopecka Department of Molecular Biology and Radiobiology Mendel University in Brno Zemedelska 1, 613 00 Brno CZECH REPUBLIC [email protected] Abstract: Catalases (CAT) are family of important antioxidant enzymes present in different isoforms and responsible for scavenging of hydrogen peroxide in almost all aerobically living organisms. In plants, they were found both in unicellular and multicellular species. Here, we performed bioinformatics analysis and analysed catalase evolutionary relationship and expression patterns. By comparing expression profiles of CATs and expression profiles of genes related to abiotic stimuli we found that almost 50% of light signalling genes were co-expressed with CATs. Further, by datamining in available resources and structural modelling we pinpointed candidate amino acid residues responsible for CAT thermostability. Key Words: catalase, H2O2, phylogenetics, abiotic stress, stability INTRODUCTION Plants contain several types of enzymes involved in H2O2 metabolism. These include catalases, ascorbate peroxidases, peroxiredoxins, glutathione/thioredoxin peroxidases, and glutathione S- transferases, but only catalases do not require additional cellular reductants (Mhamdi et al. 2010). Catalases are present almost in all aerobically respiring organisms. Within the cell environment, catalases are localized in all major sites of H2O2 production, mostly at peroxisomes, but they were detected in cytosol, mitochondria, and chloroplasts as well (Sharma and Ahmad 2014). Catalases (CAT, 1.11.1.6) are antioxidant enzymes that catalyse decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to water and molecular oxygen (2H2O2 → 2H2O + O2), an important process in defending cells against oxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS; Alfonso-Prieto et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Allelic Mutant Series Reveal Distinct Functions for Arabidopsis Cycloartenol Synthase 1 in Cell Viability and Plastid Biogenesis
    Allelic mutant series reveal distinct functions for Arabidopsis cycloartenol synthase 1 in cell viability and plastid biogenesis Elena Babiychuk*†, Pierrette Bouvier-Nave´ ‡, Vincent Compagnon‡, Masashi Suzuki§, Toshiya Muranaka§, Marc Van Montagu*†¶, Sergei Kushnir*†, and Hubert Schaller‡¶ *Department of Plant Systems Biology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Technologiepark 927, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; †Department of Molecular Genetics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; ‡Institut de Biologie Mole´culaire des Plantes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique–Unite´ Propre de Recherche 2357, Universite´Louis Pasteur, 28 rue Goethe, 67083 Strasbourg, France; and §RIKEN Plant Science Center, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan Contributed by Marc Van Montagu, December 24, 2007 (sent for review August 31, 2007) Sterols have multiple functions in all eukaryotes. In plants, sterol biosynthesis is initiated by the enzymatic conversion of 2,3-oxido- squalene to cycloartenol. This reaction is catalyzed by cycloartenol synthase 1 (CAS1), which belongs to a family of 13 2,3-oxidosqua- lene cyclases in Arabidopsis thaliana. To understand the full scope of sterol biological functions in plants, we characterized allelic series of cas1 mutations. Plants carrying the weak mutant allele cas1–1 were viable but developed albino inflorescence shoots because of photooxidation of plastids in stems that contained low amounts of carotenoids and chlorophylls. Consistent with the CAS1 catalyzed reaction, mutant tissues accumulated 2,3-oxidosqualene. This triterpenoid precursor did not increase at the expense of the pathway end products. Two strong mutations, cas1–2 and cas1–3, were not transmissible through the male gametes, suggesting a role for CAS1 in male gametophyte function. To validate these findings, we analyzed a conditional CRE/loxP recombination- dependent cas1–2 mutant allele.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of LC and FAS in Regulating Floral Meristem and Fruit Locule Number in Tomato
    The role of LC and FAS in regulating floral meristem and fruit locule number in tomato Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Yi-Hsuan Chu, B.S. Graduate Program in Horticulture and Crop Science The Ohio State University 2017 Dissertation Committee Dr. Jyan-Chyun Jang, Dr. Esther van der Knaap, Advisor Dr. Anna Dobritsa Dr. David Mackey Dr. Leah McHale 1 Copyrighted by Yi-Hsuan Chu 2017 2 Abstract In tomato, lc and fas control the variation between the small and bilocular fruits from the wild ancestor (S. pimpinellifolium) and large fruit cultivars (S. lycopersicum var. lycopersicum) with up to ten locules. SlWUS and SlCLV3 are the candidates of lc and fas, respectively. The regulatory balance between these two genes plays a pivotal role in meristem maintenance in Arabidopsis. However, the genetic and molecular mechanisms of SlWUS and SlCLV3 have not been functionally characterized in tomato. Here, we performed a detailed phenotypic analysis of the reproductive organs in tomato near-isogenic lines. The results showed that lc and fas synergistically controlled floral organ and locule number. In addition, results from targeted RNA interference (RNAi) and transgenic complementation of fas clearly demonstrated that SlCLV3 was the gene underlying fas. By using mRNA in situ hybridization and transcriptome profiling, we observed temporal and spatial changes in the expression patterns of these two genes during floral development. Our results indicated that lc was a gain-of-function mutation of SlWUS while fas was a loss-of-function mutation of SlCLV3.
    [Show full text]
  • BRENDA Tutorial
    BRENDA Tutorial Introduction to the Enzyme Information System Facts about BRENDA (BRaunschweig ENzyme DAtabase) • one of the most comprehensive enzyme information repositories • BRENDA is a member of de.NBI (German Network for Bioinformatics Structure, since 2015) • BRENDA is an ELIXIR Core Data Resource (since 2018) • all enzymes, classified by the Enzyme Nomenclature (IUBMB) • data of molecular biology, biochemistry, medical research, and biotechnology • furthermore BRENDA includes data from interconnected databases containing results from text mining methods and bioinformatic approaches • BRENDA is freely available to the scientific community • more than 80,000 visits of the BRENDA website each month • major updates of the data in BRENDA are performed twice a year History and major developments of BRENDA • BRENDA was created at the former German National Research Center for Biotechnology (GBF, now HZI, Helmholtz Zentrum für Infektionsforschung, Braunschweig, Germany) in 1987 • BRENDA was originally published as a series of book o 1st Edition 1990-1997 (Enzyme Handbook) o 2nd Edition 2001-2013 (Handbook of Enzymes) • BRENDA moved to the University of Cologne, Germany • First online version in 1998 via the SRS system at the EBI • First website of BRENDA in Cologne • Transfer of BRENDA into a fully relational database system • BRENDA moved back to Braunschweig in 2007 • BRENDA is now maintained and further developed at the BRICS - TU Braunschweig Facts about BRENDA The main categories are based on the Enzymes and the Metabolites / Ligands Enzyme-related data encompasses information on: • Enzyme and ligand nomenclature • Organism • Reaction and specificity • Kinetic properties • Structure and role of the ligands • Stability information • Ligand-enzyme information • Enzyme sequence and structure • Mutants and disease • Occurrence, isolation, and preparation • Pathways BRENDA is the most comprehensive information system on: • 7862 EC Numbers (July 2019) • more than 2 Mill.
    [Show full text]
  • Friedelin Synthase from Maytenus Ilicifolia
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Friedelin Synthase from Maytenus ilicifolia: Leucine 482 Plays an Essential Role in the Production of Received: 09 May 2016 Accepted: 20 October 2016 the Most Rearranged Pentacyclic Published: 22 November 2016 Triterpene Tatiana M. Souza-Moreira1, Thaís B. Alves1, Karina A. Pinheiro1, Lidiane G. Felippe1, Gustavo M. A. De Lima2, Tatiana F. Watanabe1, Cristina C. Barbosa3, Vânia A. F. F. M. Santos1, Norberto P. Lopes4, Sandro R. Valentini3, Rafael V. C. Guido2, Maysa Furlan1 & Cleslei F. Zanelli3 Among the biologically active triterpenes, friedelin has the most-rearranged structure produced by the oxidosqualene cyclases and is the only one containing a cetonic group. In this study, we cloned and functionally characterized friedelin synthase and one cycloartenol synthase from Maytenus ilicifolia (Celastraceae). The complete coding sequences of these 2 genes were cloned from leaf mRNA, and their functions were characterized by heterologous expression in yeast. The cycloartenol synthase sequence is very similar to other known OSCs of this type (approximately 80% identity), although the M. ilicifolia friedelin synthase amino acid sequence is more related to β-amyrin synthases (65–74% identity), which is similar to the friedelin synthase cloned from Kalanchoe daigremontiana. Multiple sequence alignments demonstrated the presence of a leucine residue two positions upstream of the friedelin synthase Asp-Cys-Thr-Ala-Glu (DCTAE) active site motif, while the vast majority of OSCs identified so far have a valine or isoleucine residue at the same position. The substitution of the leucine residue with valine, threonine or isoleucine in M. ilicifolia friedelin synthase interfered with substrate recognition and lead to the production of different pentacyclic triterpenes.
    [Show full text]
  • Biological Role of Conceptus Derived Factors During Early Pregnancy In
    Biological Role of Conceptus Derived Factors During Early Pregnancy in Ruminants A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ANIMAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI- COLUMBIA Division of Animal Science By KELSEY BROOKS Dr. Thomas Spencer, Dissertation Supervisor August 2016 The undersigned have examined the dissertation entitled, BIOLOGICAL ROLE OF CONCEPTUS DERIVED FACTORS DURING EARLY PREGNANCY IN RUMINANTS presented by Kelsey Brooks, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. __________________________________ Chair, Dr. Thomas Spencer ___________________________________ Dr. Rodney Geisert ___________________________________ Dr. Randall Prather ___________________________________ Dr. Laura Schulz ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge all the students, faculty and staff at Washington State University and the University of Missouri for their help and support throughout my doctoral program. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Dr. Thomas Spencer, and thank him for his input and guidance not only in planning experiments and completing projects but for helping me turn my love of science into a career in research. I would also like to acknowledge the members of my graduate committee at Washington State University for their help and input during the first 3 years of my studies. A special thanks to Dr. Jim Pru and Cindy Pru for providing unlimited entertainment, and the occasional missing reagent. Thank you to my committee members at the University of Missouri for adopting me late in my program and helping shape my future as an independent scientist. Thanks are also extended to members of the Prather lab and Wells lab for letting me in on the secrets of success using the CRISPR/Cas9 system.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparative Characterization of the Leaf Tissue of Physalis Alkekengi and Physalis Peruviana Using RNA-Seq and Metabolite Profiling
    fpls-07-01883 December 17, 2016 Time: 17:38 # 1 ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 20 December 2016 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.01883 Comparative Characterization of the Leaf Tissue of Physalis alkekengi and Physalis peruviana Using RNA-seq and Metabolite Profiling Atsushi Fukushima1*, Michimi Nakamura2, Hideyuki Suzuki3, Mami Yamazaki2, Eva Knoch1, Tetsuya Mori1, Naoyuki Umemoto1, Masaki Morita4, Go Hirai4,5, Mikiko Sodeoka4,5 and Kazuki Saito1,2* 1 RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama, Japan, 2 Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan, 3 Department of Biotechnology Research, Kazusa DNA Research Institute, Chiba, Japan, 4 Synthetic Organic Chemistry Laboratory, RIKEN, Saitama, Japan, 5 RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Saitama, Japan Edited by: Xiaowu Wang, Chinese Academy of Agricultural The genus Physalis in the Solanaceae family contains several species of benefit to Sciences, China humans. Examples include P. alkekengi (Chinese-lantern plant, hôzuki in Japanese) Reviewed by: Erli Pang, used for medicinal and for decorative purposes, and P. peruviana, also known as Beijing Normal University, China Cape gooseberry, which bears an edible, vitamin-rich fruit. Members of the Physalis Zhonghua Zhang, genus are a valuable resource for phytochemicals needed for the development of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China medicines and functional foods. To fully utilize the potential of these phytochemicals we *Correspondence: need to understand their biosynthesis, and for this we need genomic data, especially Atsushi Fukushima comprehensive transcriptome datasets for gene discovery. We report the de novo [email protected] Kazuki Saito assembly of the transcriptome from leaves of P. alkekengi and P. peruviana using [email protected] Illumina RNA-seq technologies.
    [Show full text]
  • The Estimation of Kinetic Parameters in Systems Biology by Comparing Molecular Interaction Fields of Enzymes
    237 Beilstein-Institut ESCEC, March 19th –23rd, 2006, Rdesheim/Rhein, Germany The Estimation of Kinetic Parameters in Systems Biology by Comparing Molecular Interaction Fields of Enzymes Matthias Stein, Razif R. Gabdoulline, Bruno Besson, Rebecca C. Wade EML Research gGmbH, Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 33, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] Received: 16th June 2006 / Published: 31st August 2007 Abstract The kinetic modelling of biochemical pathways requires a consistent set of enzymatic kinetic parameters. We report results from software development to assist the user in systems biology, allowing the retrie- val of heterogeneous protein sequence, structural and kinetic data. For the simulation of biological networks, missing enzymatic kinetic para- meters can be calculated using a similarity analysis of the enzymes’ molecular interaction fields. The quantitative PIPSA (qPIPSA) meth- odology relates changes in the molecular interaction fields of the enzymes with variations in the enzymatic rate constants or binding affinities. As an illustrative example, this approach is used to predict kinetic parameters for glucokinases from Escherichia coli based on experimental values for a test set of enzymes. The best correlation of the electrostatic potentials with kinetic parameters is found for the open form of the glucokinases. The similarity analysis was extended to a large set of glucokinases from various organisms. http://www.beilstein-institut.de/escec2006/proceedings/Stein/Stein.pdf 238 Stein, M. et al. Introduction One of the aims of systems biology is to provide a mathematical description of metabolic or signalling protein networks. This can be achieved by constructing a set of differential equations describing changes in concentrations of compounds with time [1].
    [Show full text]