BoMyrosinase plays an essential role in sulforaphane accumulation in response to selenite treatment in broccoli

Sulforaphane, a naturally specialized metabolite, plays significant roles in human disease prevention and plant defense. Myrosinase(MY) is a key gene responsible for the catalysis of sulforaphane formation, but the molecular mechanisms through which MY regulates sulforaphane biosynthesis in plants remains largely unknown. Here, we discovered that the change of sulforaphane content in broccoli sprouts caused by exogenous selenite treatments is positively related to BoMY expression. BoMY overexpression in the Arabidopsis thaliana tgg1 mutants could dramatically increase myrosinase activity and sulforaphane content in the rosette leaves of 35S::BoMY/tgg1 and rescue its phenotypes.Moreover, an obvious increase of myrosinase activity and sulforaphane content was displayed in transgenic BoMY-overexpressed broccoli lines.In addition, a 2 033 bp promoter fragment of BoMY was isolated. Yeast one-hybrid(Y1H) library screening experiment uncovered that one bHLH transcription factor, BoFAMA, could directly bind to BoMY promoter to activate its expression, which was further evidenced by Y1H assay and dual-luciferase reporter assay. BoFAMA is a selenite-responsive transcription factor that is highly expressed in broccoli leaves;its protein is solely localized to nucleus. Additionally, genetic evidence suggested that the knockdown of FAMA gene in Arabidopsis thaliana could significantly decrease sulforaphane yield by inhibiting the expression of myrosinase genes. Interestingly, exogenous selenite supply could partially restore the low level of sulforaphane content in transgenic Arabidopsis FAMA-silencing plants. Our findings uncover a novel function of FAMAMY module in the regulation of selenite-mediated sulforaphane synthesis and provide a new insights into the molecular mechanism by which selenite regulates the accumulation of sulforaphane in plants.

Characterization of a myrosinase cDNA from Brassica parachinensis and its defense role against Plutella xylostella after suppression

In Brassicaceae, myrosinase catalyzes the hydrolysis of glucosinolate and plays an important role in anti-herbivore defense. We have cloned and characterized the full- length complementary DNA of myrosinase gene from Brassicaparachinensis that exhibits high sequence identity with myrosinase genes from other Brassica species. To investigate the role of this myrosinase in defense against the diamondback moth （Plutella xylostella）, we constructed an RNA-interference （RNAi） cassette expressing a double-stranded RNA that targeted myrosinase and transfected it into B. parachinensis. Myrosinase was sup- pressed in the resulting transgenic plants. Diamondback moth larvae feeding on transgenic plants had lower larval and pupal weights, longer pupal duration, and lower fecundity than those feeding on non-transgenic plants, suggesting that the diamondback moth has adapted to the glucosinolate-myrosinase defensive system. Therefore, the suppression of myrosinase is a potential approach for controlling the diamondback moth.

Specialized endoplasmic reticulum-derived vesicles in plants:Functional diversity,evolution,and biotechnological exploitation

A central role of the endoplasmic reticulum(ER)is the synthesis,folding and quality control of secretory proteins.Secretory proteins usually exit the ER to enter the Golgi apparatus in coat protein complex II(COPII)-coated vesicles before transport to different subcellular destinations.However,in plants there are specialized ER-derived vesicles(ERDVs)that carry specific proteins but,unlike COPII vesicles,can exist as independent organelles or travel to the vacuole in a Golgi-independent manner.These specialized ERDVs include protein bodies and precursor-accumulating vesicles that accumulate storage proteins in the endosperm during seed development.Specialized ERDVs also include precursor protease vesicles that accumulate amino acid sequence KDEL-tailed cysteine proteases and ER bodies in Brassicales plants that accumulate myrosinases that hydrolyzes glucosinolates.These functionally specialized ERDVs act not only as storage organelles but also as platforms for signal-triggered processing,activation and deployment of specific proteins with important roles in plant growth,development and adaptive responses.Some specialized ERDVs have also been exploited to increase production of recombinant proteins and metabolites.Here we discuss our current understanding of the functional diversity,evolutionary mechanisms and biotechnological application of specialized ERDVs,which are associated with some of the highly remarkable characteristics important to plants.