High-quality assembled and annotated genomes of Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana benthamiana reveal chromosome evolution and changes in defense arsenals

Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana benthamiana are widely used models in plant biology research.However,genomic studies of these species have lagged.Here we report the chromosome-level reference genome assemblies for N.benthamiana and N.tabacum with an estimated 99.5%and 99.8%completeness,respec-tively.Sensitive transcription start and termination site sequencing methods were developed and used for accurate gene annotation in N.tabacum.Comparative analyses revealed evidence for the parental origins and chromosome structural changes,leading to hybrid genome formation of each species.Interestingly,theantiviral silencinggenesRDR1,RDR6,DCL2,DCL3,andAGO2were lost from one or both subgenomes in N.benthamiana,while both homeologs were kept in N.tabacum.Furthermore,the N.benthamiana genome encodes fewer immune receptors and signaling components than that of N.tabacum.These find-ings uncover possible reasons underlying the hypersusceptible nature of N.benthamiana.We developed the user-friendly Nicomics(http:/lifenglab.hzau.edu.cn/Nicomics/)web server to facilitate better use of Nicotiana genomic resources as well as gene structure and expression analyses.

iPlant Systems Biology (iPSB): An International Network Hub in the Plant Community

sequenced genome of a multicellular organism (Arabidopsis Genome, 2000) completed just after those of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans Sequencing Consortium, 1998) and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster (Adams et al., 2000). Availability of a full whole-genome sequence for the reference plant opened to plant biologists what is commonly called the post-genomic era.

Proxitome profiling reveals a conserved SGT1-NSL1 signaling module that activates NLR-mediated immunity

Suppressor of G2 allele of skp1(SGT1)is a highly conserved eukaryotic protein that plays a vital role in growth,development,and immunity in both animals and plants.Although some SGT1 interactors have been identified,the molecular regulatory network of SGT1 remains unclear.SGT1 serves as a co-chaperone to stabilize protein complexes such as the nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat(NLR)class of immune receptors,thereby positively regulating plant immunity.SGT1 has also been found to be asso-ciated with the SKP1-Cullin-F-box(SCF)E3 ubiquitin ligase complex.However,whether SGT1 targets im-mune repressors to coordinate plant immune activation remains elusive.In this study,we constructed a toolbox for TurbolD-and split-TurbolD-based proximity labeling(PL)assays in Nicotiana benthamiana and used the PL toolbox to explore the SGT1 interactome during pre-and post-immune activation.The comprehensive SGT1 interactome network we identified highlights a dynamic shift from proteins associ-ated with plant development to those linked with plant immune responses.We found that SGT1 interacts with Necrotic Spotted Lesion1(NSL1),which negatively regulates salicylic acid-mediated defenseby inter-fering with the nucleocytoplasmic trafficking of non-expressor of pathogenesis-related genes 1(NPR1)during N NLR-mediated response to tobacco mosaic virus.SGT1 promotes the SCF-dependent degrada-tion of NSL1 to facilitate immune activation,while salicylate-induced protein kinase-mediated phosphory-lation of SGT1further potentiates this process.Besides NNLR,NSL1also functions in several other NLR-mediated immunity.Collectively,our study unveils the regulatory landscape of SGT1 and reveals a novel SGT1-NSL1 signaling module that orchestrates plant innate immunity.

A Plant Immune Receptor Adopts a Two-Step Recognition Mechanism to Enhance Viral Effector Perception

Plant intracellular nucleotide binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) immune receptors play critical roles in pathoge n surveillance. Most plant NLRs characterized so far were found to use a single domain/sensor to recognize pathogen effectors. Here we report that the Sw-5b NLR immune receptor uses two distinct domains to detect the viral movement protein NSm encoded by tospovirus. In addition to its leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain that has been previously reported, the N-terminal Solanaceae domain (SD) of Sw- 5b also interacts with NSm and a conserved 21-amino-acid region of NSm (NSm^21). The specific interaction between Sw-5b SD and NSm is required for releasing the inhibitory effect of coiled-coil domain on the NBARC- LRR region. Furthermore, we found that the binding of NSm affects the nucleotide binding activity of the NB-ARC-LRR in vitro, while Sw-5b NB-ARC-LRR is activated only when NSm and NSm^21 levels are high. Interestingly, Sw-5b SD could significantly enhanee the ability of the NB-ARC-LRR to detect low levels of NSm effector and facilitate its activation and induction of defense response. An Sw-5b SD mutant that is disrupted in NSm recognition failed to enhance the ability of the NB-ARC-LRR to sense low levels of NSm and NSm^21 . Taken together, our results suggest that Sw-5b SD functions as an extra sensor and the NB-ARC-LRR as an activator, and that Sw-5b NLR adopts a two-step recog nition mechanism to enhance viral effector perception.

Proximity labeling: an emerging tool for probing in planta molecular interactions

Protein–protein interaction(PPI)networks are key to nearly all aspects of cellular activity.Therefore,the identification of PPIs is important for understanding a specific biological process in an organism.Compared with conventional methods for probing PPIs,the recently described proximity labeling(PL)approach combined with mass spectrometry(MS)-based quantitative proteomics hasemerged as apowerful approach for characterizing PPIs.However,the application of PL in planta remains in its infancy.Here,we summarize recent progress in PL and its potential utilization in plant biology.We specifically summarize advances in PL,including the development and comparison of different PL enzymes and the application of PL for deciphering various molecular interactions in different organisms with an emphasis on plant systems.

AtGGM2014, an Arabidopsis gene co-expression network for functional studies

Gene co-expression networks provide an important tool for systems biology studies. Using microarray data from the Array Express database, we constructed an Arabidopsis gene co-expression network, termed At GGM2014, based on the graphical Gaussian model, which contains 102,644 co-expression gene pairs among 18,068 genes. The network was grouped into 622 gene co-expression modules. These modules function in diverse house-keeping, cell cycle, development, hormone response, metabolism, and stress response pathways. We developed a tool to facilitate easy visualization of the expression patterns of these modules either in a tissue context or their regulation under different treatment conditions. The results indicate that at least six modules with tissue-specific expression pattern failed to record modular regulation under various stress conditions. This discrepancy could be best explained by the fact that experiments to study plant stress responses focused mainly on leaves and less on roots, and thus failed to recover specific regulation pattern in other tissues. Overall, the modular structures revealed by our network provide extensive information to generate testable hypotheses about diverse plant signaling pathways. At GGM2014 offers a constructive tool for plant systems biology studies.