Biology subjects

Sederoff, H.

Publications and source records attributed to Sederoff, H..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

Diversity, Phylogenetic Relationships, And Expression Profiles Of Invertase Inhibitor Genes In Sweetpotato

Invertases and their inhibitor proteins are key regulators of carbon allocation in plants. Manipulation of invertase inhibitor (ITI) activity can potentially increase crop yield. The aim of this study was to determine the sequence diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and expression profiles of ITI genes in sweetpotato(Ipomoea batatas).. The coding sequences of two ITI paralogs (SPITI1 and SPITI2) were cloned from two sweetpotato varieties (Beauregard and Jewel) and sequenced. The DNA sequences were used to deduce amino acids sequences and predicted protein properties. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was carried out to study the expression profiles of the genes at different developmental stages. The results show that introns are absent in both SPITI paralogs. SNPs, Indels, and variable simple sequence repeats (SSR) were present in the SPITI1 paralog, however, only SNPs were identified in the SPITI2 paralog. The predicted SPITI1 protein had 168, 172, or 174 amino acid residues, and molecular weights ranging from 17.88 to 18.38 kDa. In contrast, SPITI2 coded for a protein with 192 amino acid residues, with molecular weight ranging from 20.59 to 20.65 kDa. All conserved domains of ITI proteins were present in both protein isoforms. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that SPITI genes were more closely related to I.trifida and I.triloba than I.nil, thus, suggesting their evolutionary relationship and conservation. A qPCR study indicated that both SPITI genes were expressed in all the sample tissues, though relative expression values differed across tissues at different developmental stages. This is the first study reporting diversity of SPITI genes and of an ~18 kDA isoform in sweetpotato. The findings may enable design of genetic engineering strategies for SPITI genes, including CRISPR/Cas gene editing in sweetpotato.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Beyond energy balance in agrivoltaic food production: Emergent crop traits from color selective solar cells

The integration of semi-transparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) in greenhouses offers new agrivoltaic opportunities to meet the growing demands for sustainable food production. The tailored absorption/transmission spectra of ST-OSCs impacts the power generated as well as crop growth, development and responses to the biotic and abiotic environments. We grew lettuce and tomato, traditional greenhouse crops, under three ST-OSC filters that create different light spectra. Lettuce yield and early tomato development are not negatively affected by the modified light environment. Our genomic analysis reveals that lettuce production exhibits beneficial traits involving nutrient content and nitrogen utilization while select ST-OSCs impact regulation of flowering initiation in tomato. ST-OSCs integrated into greenhouses are not only a promising technology for energy-neutral, sustainable and climate-change protected crop production, but can deliver benefits beyond energy considerations.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Introduction of a condensed, reverse tricarboxylic acid cycle for additional CO2 fixation in plants

Plants employ the Calvin-Benson cycle (CBC) to fix atmospheric CO2 for the production of biomass. The flux of carbon through the CBC is limited by the activity and selectivity of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO). Alternative pathways that do not use RuBisCO to fix CO2 exist but occur only in anaerobic microorganisms. Rather than modifying existing routes of carbon metabolism in plants, we have developed a synthetic carbon fixation cycle that does not exist in nature, but is inspired by metabolisms of bacterial autotrophs. This synthetic cycle uses endogenous plant metabolites to fix CO2 and yield glyoxylate as a product. In this work, we build and characterize a condensed, reverse tricarboxylic acid (crTCA) cycle in vitro and in planta. We demonstrate that a simple, synthetic cycle can be used to fix carbon in vitro under aerobic and mesophilic conditions and that these enzymes retain activity when expressed transiently in planta. We then evaluate stable transgenic lines of Camelina sativa that have both phenotypic and physiologic changes. Transgenic C. sativa are shorter than controls with increased rates of photosynthetic CO2 assimilation and changes in photorespiratory metabolism. This first iteration of a build-test-learn phase of the crTCA cycle provides promising evidence that this pathway can be used to increase photosynthetic capacity in plants.

plant biology↗