Lysine acetylation is a dynamic post-translational modification of proteins. Extensive studies have revealed that the acetylation modulated by histone acetyltransferases and histone deacetylases (HDACs) plays a crucial role in regulating protein function. However, there has been limited focus on how HDACs regulate jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis in plants. Here, we uncover that the protein stability of OsLOX14, a critical enzyme involved in JA biosynthesis, is regulated by a histone deacetylase, OsHDA706, and is hindered by a viral protein. Our results show that OsHDA706 deacetylates OsLOX14 and enhances the stability of OsLOX14, leading to JA accumulation and an improved broad-spectrum rice antiviral defense. Furthermore, we found that the viral protein P2, encoded by the destructive rice stripe virus, disrupts the association of OsHDA706-OsLOX14, promoting viral infection. Overall, our findings reveal how HDAC manipulates the interplay of deacetylation and protein stability of a JA biosynthetic enzyme to enhance plant antiviral responses.
8 April 2024 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Communication between insects and plants relies on the exchange of bioactive molecules that traverse the species interface. Although proteinic effectors have been extensively studied, our knowledge of other molecules involved in this process remains limited. In this study, we investigate the role of salivary microRNAs (miRNAs) from the rice planthopper Nilaparvata lugens in suppressing plant immunity. A total of three miRNAs were confirmed to be secreted into host plants during insect feeding. Notably, the sequence-conserved miR-7-5P is specifically expressed in the salivary glands of N. lugens and is secreted into saliva, distinguishing it significantly from homologues found in other insects. Silencing miR-7-5P negatively affects N. lugens feeding on rice plants, but not on artificial diets. The impaired feeding performance of miR-7-5P-silenced insects can be rescued by transgenic plants overexpressing miR-7-5P. Through target prediction and experimental testing, we demonstrate that miR-7-5P targets multiple plant genes, including the immune-associated bZIP transcription factor 43 (OsbZIP43). Infestation of rice plants by miR-7-5P-silenced insects leads to the increased expression of OsbZIP43 , while the presence of miR-7-5P counteracts this upregulation effect. Furthermore, overexpressing OsbZIP43 confers plant resistance against insects which can be subverted by miR-7-5P. Our findings suggest a mechanism by which herbivorous insects have evolved salivary miRNAs to suppress plant immunity, expanding our understanding of cross-kingdom RNA interference between interacting organisms.
Biomedical research data visualization faces several challenges, including insufficient expertise and fragmented methodologies, which severely limit research efficiency and result quality. FigureYa is a standardized visualization framework composed of 317 modular R/python scripts, rather than a standalone software or desktop application. It covers key domains such as expression profiling, immune analysis, survival analysis, and single‐cell data visualization. Based on the concept of “replace data and use,” FigureYa significantly lowers the technical threshold, allowing researchers to generate high‐quality charts without requiring an extensive programming background. Compared to generic online R code snippets, FigureYa offers rigorously developed, thoroughly validated, and biologically contextualized visualization modules originally written by the author team. Each script includes version‐matched environments, example datasets, and detailed annotations, providing clear advantages in automation, reproducibility, and scientific professionalism, thereby providing a standardized visualization solution for complex biomedical data. This innovative tool optimizes research time allocation, promotes interdisciplinary collaboration, accelerates scientific discovery and clinical translation, and provides robust data visualization support for biomedical research.
Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is the causative agent of rice bacterial blight (RBB), resulting in substantial harvest losses and posing a challenge to maintaining a stable global supply. In this study, Xoo strains isolated from Shaoxing, Quzhou, and Taizhou, where RBB occurred most frequently in Zhejiang Province in 2019, were selected as the subjects of research. Three isolated pathogenic bacteria of ZXooS (from Shaoxing), ZXooQ (from Quzhou), and ZXooT (from Taizhou) were all identified as novel Xoo strains. These novel strains demonstrate greater virulence compared to Zhe173, the previous epidemic Xoo strain from Zhejiang Province. Subsequent genomic sequencing and analysis revealed that there existed significant differences in the genome sequence, especially in effector genes corresponding to some known rice resistance (R) genes between the novel strains and Zhe173. The sequence alignment of avirulent genes (effector genes) indicated that nucleic and amino acid sequences of AvrXa5, AvrXa7, AvrXa10, and AvrXa23 in the novel strains varied prominently from those in Zhe173. Interestingly, it seemed that only the genome of ZXooQ might contain the AvrXa3 gene. In addition, the phylogenetic analysis of 61 Xoo strains revealed that the novel strains were situated in a distinct evolutionary clade separate from Zhe173. These results here suggest that the emergence of novel Xoo strains may lead to resistance loss of some R genes used in commercial rice varieties, potentially serving as one of the factors leading to RBB resurgence in Zhejiang Province, China.