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Matilde Paino D'Urzo

Bio: Matilde Paino D'Urzo is an academic researcher from Purdue University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Arabidopsis & Gene. The author has an hindex of 15, co-authored 19 publications receiving 1519 citations. Previous affiliations of Matilde Paino D'Urzo include King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Using three reporter genes regulated by two Pi transporter promoters, an extensive analysis of transcriptional and spatial regulation of gene expression suggests that members of the Pi transporter family may have similar but nonredundant functions in plants.
Abstract: Phosphorus deficiency is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting plant growth. Plants respond to the persistent deficiency of phosphate (Pi) by coordinating the expression of genes involved in alleviation of the stress. The high-affinity Pi transporters are among the major molecular determinants that are activated during Pi stress. In this study, using three reporter genes (green fluorescent protein, luciferase, and β-glucuronidase) regulated by two Pi transporter promoters, we have carried out an extensive analysis of transcriptional and spatial regulation of gene expression. Activation of the genes was rapid, repressible, and specific in response to changes in Pi availability. The phytohormones auxin and cytokinin suppressed the expression of the reporter gene driven by the AtPT1 promoter, and that of the native gene, suggesting that hormones may be involved in regulation of some component(s) of Pi starvation response pathway. These studies also provide molecular evidence for a potential role of high-affinity Pi transporters in mobilizing Pi into reproductive organs. The results suggest that members of the Pi transporter family may have similar but nonredundant functions in plants.

280 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Osmotin either induced spore lysis, inhibited spore germination or reduced germling viability in seven fungal species that exhibited some degree of sensitivity in hyphal growth inhibition tests, suggesting that the cell wall may be a component of the mechanism by which osmotin permeabilizes the plasma membrane and kills fungal cells.

259 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Reduction in SOS1 expression changed Thellungiella that normally can grow in seawater-strength sodium chloride solutions into a plant as sensitive to Na+ as Arabidopsis.
Abstract: The contribution of SOS1 (for Salt Overly Sensitive 1), encoding a sodium/proton antiporter, to plant salinity tolerance was analyzed in wild-type and RNA interference (RNAi) lines of the halophytic Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana)-relative Thellungiella salsuginea. Under all conditions, SOS1 mRNA abundance was higher in Thellungiella than in Arabidopsis. Ectopic expression of the Thellungiella homolog ThSOS1 suppressed the salt-sensitive phenotype of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain lacking sodium ion (Na(+)) efflux transporters and increased salt tolerance of wild-type Arabidopsis. thsos1-RNAi lines of Thellungiella were highly salt sensitive. A representative line, thsos1-4, showed faster Na(+) accumulation, more severe water loss in shoots under salt stress, and slower removal of Na(+) from the root after removal of stress compared with the wild type. thsos1-4 showed drastically higher sodium-specific fluorescence visualized by CoroNa-Green, a sodium-specific fluorophore, than the wild type, inhibition of endocytosis in root tip cells, and cell death in the adjacent elongation zone. After prolonged stress, Na(+) accumulated inside the pericycle in thsos1-4, while sodium was confined in vacuoles of epidermis and cortex cells in the wild type. RNAi-based interference of SOS1 caused cell death in the root elongation zone, accompanied by fragmentation of vacuoles, inhibition of endocytosis, and apoplastic sodium influx into the stele and hence the shoot. Reduction in SOS1 expression changed Thellungiella that normally can grow in seawater-strength sodium chloride solutions into a plant as sensitive to Na(+) as Arabidopsis.

250 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that fungal cell wall proteins are determinants of resistance to antifungal PR-5 proteins, indicating that the cell membrane interacts specifically with osmotin and facilitates its action.
Abstract: Strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae differ in their sensitivities to tobacco osmotin, an antifungal protein of the PR-5 family However, cells sensitive to tobacco osmotin showed resistance to osmotin-like proteins purified from the plant Atriplex nummularia, indicating a strict specificity between the antifungal protein and its target cell A member of a gene family encoding stress proteins induced by heat and nitrogen limitation, collectively called Pir proteins, was isolated among the genes that conveyed resistance to tobacco osmotin to a susceptible strain We show that overexpression of Pir proteins increased resistance to osmotin, whereas simultaneous deletion of all PIR genes in a tolerant strain resulted in sensitivity Pir proteins have been immunolocalized to the cell wall The enzymatic digestion of the cell wall of sensitive and resistant cells rendered spheroplasts equally susceptible to the cytotoxic action of tobacco osmotin but not to other osmotin-like proteins, indicating that the cell membrane interacts specifically with osmotin and facilitates its action Our results demonstrate that fungal cell wall proteins are determinants of resistance to antifungal PR-5 proteins

151 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Major differences in growth, water transport properties, and ion accumulation are observed and discussed to describe the distinctive traits and physiological responses that can now be studied genetically in salt stress research.
Abstract: Salinity is an abiotic stress that limits both yield and the expansion of agricultural crops to new areas. In the last 20 years our basic understanding of the mechanisms underlying plant tolerance and adaptation to saline environments has greatly improved owing to active development of advanced tools in molecular, genomics, and bioinformatics analyses. However, the full potential of investigative power has not been fully exploited, because the use of halophytes as model systems in plant salt tolerance research is largely neglected. The recent introduction of halophytic Arabidopsis-Relative Model Species (ARMS) has begun to compare and relate several unique genetic resources to the well-developed Arabidopsis model. In a search for candidates to begin to understand, through genetic analyses, the biological bases of salt tolerance, 11 wild relatives of Arabidopsis thaliana were compared: Barbarea verna, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Hirschfeldia incana, Lepidium densiflorum, Malcolmia triloba, Lepidium virginicum, Descurainia pinnata, Sisymbrium officinale, Thellungiella parvula, Thellungiella salsuginea (previously T. halophila), and Thlaspi arvense. Among these species, highly salt-tolerant (L. densiflorum and L. virginicum) and moderately salt-tolerant (M. triloba and H. incana) species were identified. Only T. parvula revealed a true halophytic habitus, comparable to the better studied Thellungiella salsuginea. Major differences in growth, water transport properties, and ion accumulation are observed and discussed to describe the distinctive traits and physiological responses that can now be studied genetically in salt stress research.

126 citations


Cited by
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TL;DR: C crop heat tolerance can be enhanced by preconditioning of plants under different environmental stresses or exogenous application of osmoprotectants such as glycinebetaine and proline, and by traditional and contemporary molecular breeding protocols and transgenic approaches.

3,037 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The evolutionary conservation of similar defense-related proteins in monocots and dicots, but also their divergent occurrence in other conditions, suggest that these proteins serve essential functions in plant life, whether in defense or not.
Abstract: Inducible defense-related proteins have been described in many plant species upon infection with oomycetes, fungi, bacteria, or viruses, or insect attack. Several types of proteins are common and have been classified into 17 families of pathogenesis-related proteins (PRs). Others have so far been found to occur more specifically in some plant species. Most PRs and related proteins are induced through the action of the signaling compounds salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, or ethylene, and possess antimicrobial activities in vitro through hydrolytic activities on cell walls, contact toxicity, and perhaps an involvement in defense signaling. However, when expressed in transgenic plants, they reduce only a limited number of diseases, depending on the nature of the protein, plant species, and pathogen involved. As exemplified by the PR-1 proteins in Arabidopsis and rice, many homologous proteins belonging to the same family are regulated developmentally and may serve different functions in specific organs or tissues. Several defense-related proteins are induced during senescence, wounding or cold stress, and some possess antifreeze activity. Many defense-related proteins are present constitutively in floral tissues and a substantial number of PR-like proteins in pollen, fruits, and vegetables can provoke allergy in humans. The evolutionary conservation of similar defense-related proteins in monocots and dicots, but also their divergent occurrence in other conditions, suggest that these proteins serve essential functions in plant life, whether in defense or not.

2,747 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jul 2005
TL;DR: In this paper, molecular, biochemical and physiological factors associated with phosphate acquisition by plants are described. But the authors do not consider the effect of mycorrhizal symbiosis on the ability of plants to acquire Pi.
Abstract: Phosphate (Pi) is considered to be one of the least available plant nutrients in the soil. High-affinity Pi transporters are generally accepted as entry points for Pi in the roots. The physiological, genetic, molecular and biochemical analysis of phosphate starvation response mechanisms highlight the ability of plants to adapt and thrive under phosphate limiting conditions. These responses help them enhance the availability of Pi, increase its uptake and improve the use-efficiency of Pi within a plant. Enhanced ability to acquire Pi appears to be regulated at the level of transcription of high-affinity phosphate transporters. These transporters are encoded by a family of small number of genes having characteristic tissue and organ associated expression patterns. Many of them are strongly induced during phosphate deficiency thus providing plants with enhanced ability to acquire and transfer phosphate. In addition, plants also activate biochemical mechanisms that could lead to increased acquisition of phosphate from both inorganic and organic phosphorus sources in the soil. Furthermore, altered root morphology and mycorrhizal symbiosis further enhance the ability of plants to acquire Pi. Interestingly most of these responses appear to be coordinated by changes in cellular phosphate levels. It is becoming apparent that phosphate acquisition and utilization are associated with activation or inactivation of a host of genes in plants. In this article we describe molecular, biochemical and physiological factors associated with phosphate acquisition by plants.

1,575 citations

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TL;DR: It has been difficult to resolve the functions of many drought-induced genes against the background of other stress-induced changes, and thus it is now important to integrate information about cellular and whole plant responses.

1,570 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A new series of binary vectors useful for Gateway cloning to facilitate transgenic experiments in plant biotechnology realized efficient cloning, constitutive expression using the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter and the construction of fusion genes by simple clonase reaction with an entry clone.

1,542 citations