Biology subjects

De Vos, D.

Publications and source records attributed to De Vos, D..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Elevated temperature drives the biosynthesis of novel acylated glucosinolates in Arabidopsis thaliana seeds

Glucosinolates (GSLs) are major defensive compounds massively accumulated in Brassicaceae seeds, including that of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. While most studies have focused on the role of GSL in responses to biotic stress, the potential regulation and function of GSLs in responses to abiotic stresses have been neglected, particularly in seeds. In this study, multi-omic analyses revealed a previously uncharacterized GSL modification pathway induced by elevated temperature (ET) during A. thaliana seed development. Activation of this pathway leads to the production of several novel thioglucose-acylated GSLs, including sinapoylated and benzoylated derivatives. A reverse genetics approach demonstrated that the SERINE CARBOXYPEPTIDASE-LIKE 17 (SCPL17) and BENZOYLOXYGLUCOSINOLATE 1 (BZO1) enzymes are required for the acylation of GSL thioglucose moieties. Furthermore, the accumulation of acylated GSLs in seeds of 85 A. thaliana accessions grown under standard condition was shown to correlate with the average annual temperature of their origin site, suggesting that thioglucose-acylated GSLs production may reflect long-term thermal adaptation across natural populations. Taken together, these results demonstrate that thioglucose acylation by SCPL17 and BZO1 represents a new layer of GSL diversification in A. thaliana seeds that contributes to both ET response and long-term environmental adaptation.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2024

Multi-omic analyses unveil temporal and spatial distribution of specialized metabolites in seeds of Camelina sativa

Seeds of Brassicaceae produce a large diversity of beneficial and antinutritional specialized metabolites (SMs) that influence their quality and provide resistance to stresses. While the distribution of these compounds has been described in leaves and roots tissues, limited information is available about their spatio-temporal accumulation in seeds. Camelina sativa (camelina) is an oilseed Brassicaceae cultivated for human and animal nutrition, and for industrial uses. While we previously explored SM diversity and plasticity, no information is available about SM distribution and expression of related proteins and genes in camelina seeds. In this study, we used a multi-omic approach, integrating untargeted metabolomics, data-independent acquisition proteomics, and transcriptomics to investigate the synthesis, modifications and degradations of SMs accumulated in the different seed tissues (i.e. seed coat, endosperm, and embryo) at 6 developmental and 2 germination stages. Our results showed distinct patterns of SMs and their related pathways, highlighting significant contrasts in seed composition and spatial distribution for the defence-related and antinutritional glucosinolate (GSL) compounds among camelina, Arabidopsis thaliana, and Brassica napus, three closely-related Brassicaceae species. Notably, the variation in GSL spatial distributions was primarily driven by differences in their structure and transport mechanisms. Long chain C8-C11 methylsulfinylalkyl GSLs were predominantly accumulated in the seed coat and endosperm, while mid- and short-chain C3-C7 methylsulfinylalkyl GSLs were accumulated in the embryo. Characterizing the spatial dynamics of seed SMs provides valuable insights that can guide the development of crops with optimized distribution of beneficial and toxic metabolites, improving seed nutritional profiles for feed and food.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Parallel evolution of phage resistance - virulence trade - offs during in vitro and nasal Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage treatment

With rising antibiotic resistance, there has been increasing interest in treating pathogenic bacteria with bacteriophages (phage therapy). One limitation of phage therapy is the ease at which bacteria can evolve resistance. Negative effects of resistance may be mitigated when resistance results in reduced bacterial growth and virulence, or when phage coevolve to overcome resistance. Resistance evolution and its consequences are contingent on the bacteria-phage combination and their environmental context, making therapeutic outcomes hard to predict. One solution might be to conduct "in vitro evolutionary simulations" using bacteria-phage combinations from the therapeutic context. Overall, our aim was to investigate parallels between in vitro experiments and in vivo dynamics in a human participant. Evolutionary dynamics were similar, with high levels of resistance evolving quickly with limited evidence of phage evolution. Resistant bacteria - evolved in vitro and in vivo - had lower virulence. In vivo, this was linked to lower growth rates of resistant isolates, whereas in vitro phage resistant isolates evolved greater biofilm production. Population sequencing suggests resistance resulted from selection on de novo mutations rather than sorting of existing variants. These results highlight the speed at which phage resistance can evolve in vivo, and in vitro experiments may give useful insights for clinical evolutionary outcomes.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2019

GPI-anchored SKU5/SKS are maternally required for integument development in Arabidopsis

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) play crucial roles in various processes in eukaryotes. In Arabidopsis, SKS1, SKS2, SKS3 and SKU5 from SKU5/SKS gene family could encode GPI-anchored proteins, and they were recently reported to regulate cell polar expansion and cell wall synthesis redundantly in roots. Here, we report that, they are also redundantly crucial for seed production and seed morphogenesis in Arabidopsis through regulating maternal integument development. Their loss-of-functions resulted in disrupted development of integuments that failed to protect embryo sacs from exposure to external space due to physical restriction, and lead to female gametophytic abortion. Interestingly, those less defective ovules could be fertilized and develop into seeds normally, however, their seed morphogenesis was largely affected.\n\nOur research made SKS1, SKS2, SKS3 an SKU5 be not only the first class of GPI-anchored proteins that could regulate maternal integument development, but also the first class of proteins that could regulate cell polar expansion in both root and integument cells besides several MAPK cascade components. Our study also underlined the regulation by integument development in reproductive processes.

plant biology↗