Gene regulatory pathways converge at the level of transcription, where interactions among regulatory genes and between regulators and target genes result in the establishment of spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression. The growing identification of direct target genes for key transcription factors (TFs) through traditional and high-throughput experimental approaches has facilitated the elucidation of regulatory networks at the genome level. To integrate this information into a Web-based knowledgebase, we have developed the Arabidopsis Gene Regulatory Information Server (AGRIS). AGRIS, which contains all Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) promoter sequences, TFs, and their target genes and functions, provides the scientific community with a platform to establish regulatory networks. AGRIS currently houses three linked databases: AtcisDB (Arabidopsis thaliana cis-regulatory database), AtTFDB (Arabidopsis thaliana transcription factor database), and AtRegNet (Arabidopsis thaliana regulatory network). AtTFDB contains 1,690 Arabidopsis TFs and their sequences (protein and DNA) grouped into 50 (October 2005) families with information on available mutants in the corresponding genes. AtcisDB consists of 25,806 (September 2005) promoter sequences of annotated Arabidopsis genes with a description of putative cis-regulatory elements. AtRegNet links, in direct interactions, several hundred genes with the TFs that control their expression. The current release of AtRegNet contains a total of 187 (September 2005) direct targets for 66 TFs. AGRIS can be accessed at http://Arabidopsis.med.ohio-state.edu.

Mechanisms of genome evolution are poorly understood although recent genome sequencing is providing the tools to begin to illuminate such mechanisms. Using high-resolution molecular cytogenetic tools, we examined the structural evolution of 790 kb surrounding the evolutionarily important FLC locus of Arabidopsis thaliana in three of its relatives, Arabidopsis halleri, Arabidopsis neglecta and Arabidopsis arenosa. Sequenced BACs from A. thaliana were used as heterologous probes across these species and genome expansion was found in all three species relative to A. thaliana, ranging from 16 to 27%. Expansion was seen along the length of the entire region but molecular analyses revealed no characteristic pattern of either intra- or intergenic expansion among these species. Mapping of BACs on DNA fibers from A. thaliana revealed one possible error, ~14 kb missing from the reported sequence, indicating that for comparative studies it is important to confirm the reference sequence to which comparison will be made.

We sequenced 2.2 Mb representing triplicated genome segments of Brassica oleracea, which are each paralogous with one another and homologous with a segmentally duplicated region of the Arabidopsis thaliana genome. Sequence annotation identified 177 conserved collinear genes in the B. oleracea genome segments. Analysis of synonymous base substitution rates indicated that the triplicated Brassica genome segments diverged from a common ancestor soon after divergence of the Arabidopsis and Brassica lineages. This conclusion was corroborated by phylogenetic analysis of protein families. Using A. thaliana as an outgroup, 35% of the genes inferred to be present when genome triplication occurred in the Brassica lineage have been lost, most likely via a deletion mechanism, in an interspersed pattern. Genes encoding proteins involved in signal transduction or transcription were not found to be significantly more extensively retained than those encoding proteins classified with other functions, but putative proteins predicted in the A. thaliana genome were underrepresented in B. oleracea. We identified one example of gene loss from the Arabidopsis lineage. We found evidence for the frequent insertion of gene fragments of nuclear genomic origin and identified four apparently intact genes in noncollinear positions in the B. oleracea and A. thaliana genomes.

The formation of flowers, a tightly controlled process, is modulated by developmental as well as environmental cues. Among the environmental factors that influence flowering, our knowledge of the effects of growth temperature is relatively less. In the July issue of PLoS Genetics, we have shown that higher temperatures can induce flowering by passing the requirement for long photoperiods for floral transition in Arabidopsis thaliana. By exploiting natural variation in combination with mutant analysis and genome wide expression profiling, we have shown that this floral induction has a novel genetic basis and is possibly associated with genome wide alterations in splicing patterns of several transcripts including FLOWERING LOCUS M, which we have shown to be a major effect QTL for thermo-sensitivity. Our study nicely demonstrates the power of a combinatorial approach to understand the molecular genetic basis of complex traits. In this addendum, we propose a testable hypothesis for FLM function in regulation of temperature mediated floral transition as well as the function of FLM in flowering time regulation.

The biosynthesis of coumarins in plants is not well understood, although these metabolic pathways are often found in the plant kingdom. We report here the occurrence of coumarins in Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Columbia. Considerably high levels of scopoletin and its β-d-glucopyranoside, scopolin, were found in the wild-type roots. The scopolin level in the roots was approximately 1200 nmol/gFW, which was approximately 180-fold of that in the aerial parts. Calli accumulated scopolin at a level of 70 nmol/gFW. Scopoletin and scopolin formation were induced in shoots after treatment with either 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (at 100 μM) or a bud-cell suspension of Fusarium oxysporum. In order to gain insight into the biosynthetic pathway of coumarins in A. thaliana, we analyzed coumarins in the mutants obtained from the SALK Institute collection that carried a T-DNA insertion within the gene encoding the cytochrome P450, CYP98A3, which catalyzes 3'-hydroxylation of p-coumarate units in the phenylpropanoid pathway. The content of scopoletin and scopolin in the mutant roots greatly decreased to approximately 3% of that in the wild-type roots. This observation suggests that scopoletin and scopolin biosynthesis in A. thaliana are strongly dependent on the 3'-hydroxylation of p-coumarate units catalyzed by CYP98A3. We also found that the level of skimmin, a β-d-glucopyranoside of umbelliferone, was slightly increased in the mutant roots.

In contrast to the situation described for mammals and Drosophila, chromosome territory (CT) arrangement and somatic homologous pairing in interphase nuclei of Arabidopsis thaliana (n = 5) are predominantly random except for a more frequent association of the chromosomes bearing a homologous nucleolus organizer region. To find out whether this chromosome arrangement is also characteristic for other species of the genus Arabidopsis, we investigated Arabidopsis lyrata ssp. lyrata (n = 8), one of the closest relatives of A. thaliana. First, we determined the size of each chromosome and chromosome arm, the sequence type of centromeric repeats and their distribution between individual centromeres and the position of the 5S/45S rDNA arrays in A. lyrata. Then we demonstrated that CT arrangement, homologous pairing and sister chromatid alignment of distinct euchromatic and/or heterochromatic regions within A. lyrata interphase nuclei are similar to that in A. thaliana nuclei. Thus, the arrangement of interphase chromosomes appears to be conserved between both taxa that diverged about 5 million years ago. Since the chromosomes of A. lyrata resemble those of the presumed ancestral karyotype, a similar arrangement of interphase chromosomes is also to be expected for other closely related diploid species of the Brassicaceae family.

The centromeric histone H3 (CENH3) substitutes histone H3 within the nucleosomes of active centromeres in all eukaryotes. CENH3 deposition at centromeres is needed to assemble the kinetochore, a complex of conserved proteins responsible for correct chromosome segregation during nuclear division. Histones of regular nucleosomes are loaded during replication in S phase, while CENH3 deposition deviates from this pattern in yeast, human, and Drosophila melanogaster cells. Little is known about when and how CENH3 targets centromeric loci. Therefore, we determined the location and quantity of recombinant enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP)-CENH3 in mitotic root and endopolyploid leaf nuclei of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana cells. Our data indicate significant loading of A. thaliana CENH3 during G2 (before splitting into sister kinetochores) rather than during the S or M phase of the cell cycle. The histone fold domain of the C-terminal part of CENH3 is sufficient to target A. thaliana centromeres. A. thaliana EYFP-CENH3 can recognize and target three different centromeric repeats of Arabidopsis lyrata but not field bean (Vicia faba) centromeres.

The role of the Arabidopsis thaliana genes SNRK2s, which are similar to the sulfur-regulatory gene SAC3 of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, in the response of plants to sulfur was studied. The Arabidopsis genome contains 10 genes (SNRK2.1 to SNRK2.10) similar to SAC3. Among these genes, transcript accumulation of several genes including SNRK2.3 was induced in response to sulfur starvation. Independently isolated transgenic A. thaliana lines carrying T-DNA insertions in SNRK2.3 exhibited reduced sulfur-starvation induction of the transcript of the sulfate transporter SULTR2;2 gene, whereas the accumulation of O-acetyl-L-serine under sulfur deficiency conditions increased. These results suggest that SNRK2.3 plays a beneficial role in the regulation of gene expression and metabolism in response to sulfur starvation.

One of the fungal pathogens that causes more agriculture damage is Botrytis cinerea. Botrytis is a constant threat to crops because the fungus infects a wide range of host species, both native and cultivated. Furthermore, Botrytis persists on plant debris in and on the soil. Some of the most serious diseases caused by Botrytis include gray mold on vegetables and fruits, such as grapes and strawberries. Botrytis also causes secondary soft rot of fruits and vegetables during storage, transit and at the market. In many plant-pathogen interactions, resistance often is associated with the deposition of callose, accumulation of autofluorescent compounds, the synthesis and accumulation of salicylic acid as well as pathogenesis-related proteins. Arabidopsis thaliana has been used as a plant model to study plant-pathogen interaction. The genome of Arabidopsis has been completely sequenced and this plant serves as a good genetic and molecular model. In this study, we demonstrate that Chilean field isolates infect Arabidopsis thaliana and that Arabidopsis subsequently activates several defense response mechanisms associated with a hypersensitive response. Furthermore, we propose that Arabidopsis may be used as a model host species to analyze the diversity associated with infectivity among populations of Botrytis cinerea field isolates

Protein [smallcapital l]-isoaspartyl ( [smallcapital d]-aspartyl) O-methyltransferases (Enzyme Commission (EC) 2.1.1.77; PIMT or PCMT) are enzymes that initiate the full or partial repair of damaged [smallcapital l]-aspartyl and [smallcapital l]-asparaginyl residues, respectively. These enzymes are found in most organisms and maintain a high degree of sequence conservation. Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis L. Heynh.) is unique among eukaryotes in that it contains two genes, rather than one, that encode PIMT isozymes. We describe a novel A. thaliana PIMT isozyme, designated AtPIMT2αω, encoded by the PIMT2 gene (At5g50240). We characterized the enzymatic activity of the recombinant AtPIMT2αω in comparison to the other AtPIMT2 isozymes, AtPIMT1, and to the human PCMT1 ortholog, to better understand its role in Arabidopsis. All Arabidopsis PIMT isozymes are active over a relatively wide pH range. For AtPIMT2αω maximal activity is observed at 50°C (a lethal temperature for Arabidopsis); this activity is almost 10 times greater than the activity at the growth temperature of 25°C. Interestingly, enzyme activity decreases after pre-incubation at temperatures above 30°C. A similar situation is found for the recombinant AtPIMT2ψ and the AtPIMT2ω isozymes, as well as for the AtPIMT1 and human PCMT1 enzymes. These results suggest that the short-term ability of these methyltransferases to initiate repair under extreme temperature conditions may be a common feature of both the plant and animal species.