Hiroshi Sano

Bio: Hiroshi Sano is an academic researcher from Nara Institute of Science and Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Gene & Nicotiana tabacum. The author has an hindex of 50, co-authored 187 publications receiving 8304 citations. Previous affiliations of Hiroshi Sano include Meijo University & Stockholm University.

Abiotic-stress induces demethylation and transcriptional activation of a gene encoding a glycerophosphodiesterase-like protein in tobacco plants

Abstract: To examine the relationship between gene expression and DNA methylation, transcriptionally activated genes were screened in hypomethylated transgenic tobacco plants expressing an anti-DNA methyltransferase sequence. Among 16 genes initially identified, one clone was found to encode a glycerophosphodiesterase-like protein (NtGPDL), earlier reported to be responsive to aluminium stress. When detached leaves from wild type tobacco plants were treated with aluminium, NtGPDL transcripts were induced within 6 h, and corresponding genomic loci were demethylated at CCGG sites within 1 h. Direct bisulfite methylation mapping revealed that CG sites in coding regions were selectively demethylated, and that promoter regions were totally unmethylated regardless of the stress. Salt and low temperature treatments also induced similar demethylation patterns. Such effects could be attributable to oxidative stress, since reactive oxygen species generated by paraquat efficiently induced the same pattern of demethylation at coding regions. Pathogen infection induced neither transcripts nor genomic demethylation. These results suggested a close correlation between methylation and expression of NtGPDL upon abiotic stresses with a cause–effect relationship. Since DNA methylation is linked to histone modification, it is conceivable that demethylation at coding regions might induce alteration of chromatin structure, thereby enhancing transcription. We propose that environmental responses of plants are partly mediated through active alteration of the DNA methylation status.

Jasmonate-Based Wound Signal Transduction Requires Activation of WIPK, a Tobacco Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase

Abstract: A gene encoding a tobacco mitogen-activated protein kinase (WIPK) is transcriptionally activated in response to wounding. Transgenic tobacco plants, in which expression of endogenous wipk was suppressed, did not accumulate jasmonic acid or its methyl ester when wounded, suggesting that WIPK is involved in jasmonate-mediated wound signal transduction. Here, we demonstrate that activation of WIPK is required for triggering the jasmonate-mediated signal transduction cascade that occurs when wild-type tobacco plants are wounded. We also show that when plants are wounded, WIPK is rapidly and transiently activated, whereas the quantity of WIPK protein is maintained at a constant level. A transgenic tobacco plant in which the wipk gene was constitutively expressed at a high level showed constitutive enzymatic activation of WIPK and exhibited three- to fourfold higher levels of jasmonate than did its wild-type counterpart. This plant also showed constitutive accumulation of jasmonate-inducible proteinase inhibitor II transcripts. These results show that WIPK is activated in response to wounding, which subsequently causes an increase in jasmonate synthesis.

Drought and Salt Tolerance in Plants

Abstract: Agricultural productivity worldwide is subject to increasing environmental constraints, particularly to drought and salinity due to their high magnitude of impact and wide distribution. Traditional breeding programs trying to improve abiotic stress tolerance have had some success, but are limited by the multigenic nature of the trait. Tolerant plants such as Craterostigma plantagenium, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, Thellungiella halophila and other hardy plants could be valuable tools to dissect the extreme tolerance nature. In the last decade, Arabidopsis thaliana, a genetic model plant, has been extensively used for unravelling the molecular basis of stress tolerance. Arabidopsis also proved to be extremely important for assessing functions for individual stress-associated genes due to the availability of knock-out mutants and its amenability for genetic transformation. In this review, the responses of plants to salt and water stress are described, the regulatory circuits which allow plants to cope wit...