Background: Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapassp.pekinensis) is a member of one of the most important leaf vegetables grown worldwide, which has experienced thousands of years in cultivation and artificial selection. The entire Chinese cabbage genome sequence, and more than forty thousand proteins have been obtained to date. The genome has undergone triplication events since its divergence fromArabidopsis thaliana(13 to 17 Mya), however a high degree of sequence similarity and conserved genome structure remain between the two species.Arabidopsisis therefore a viable reference species for comparative genomics studies. Variation in the number of members in gene families due to genome triplication may contribute to the broad range of phenotypic plasticity, and increased tolerance to environmental extremes observed inBrassicaspecies. Transcription factors are important regulators involved in plant developmental and physiological processes. The AP2/ERF proteins, one of the most important families of transcriptional regulators, play a crucial role in plant growth, and in response to biotic and abiotic stressors. Our analysis will provide resources for understanding the tolerance mechanisms inBrassica rapassp.pekinensis.Results: In the present study, 291 putative AP2/ERF transcription factor proteins were identified from the Chinese cabbage genome database, and compared with proteins from 15 additional species. The Chinese cabbage AP2/ERF superfamily was classified into four families, including AP2, ERF, RAV, and Soloist. The ERF family was further divided into DREB and ERF subfamilies. The AP2/ERF superfamily was subsequently divided into 15 groups. The identification, classification, phylogenetic reconstruction, conserved motifs, chromosome distribution, functional annotation, expression patterns, and interaction networks of the AP2/ERF transcription factor superfamily were predicted and analyzed. Distribution mapping results showed AP2/ERF superfamily genes were localized on the 10 Chinese cabbage chromosomes. AP2/ERF transcription factor expression levels exhibited differences among six tissue types based on expressed sequence tags (ESTs). In the AP2/ERF superfamily, 214 orthologous genes were identified between Chinese cabbage andArabidopsis. Orthologous gene interaction networks were constructed, and included seven CBF and four AP2 genes, primarily involved in cold regulatory pathways and ovule development, respectively.Conclusions: The evolution of the AP2/ERF transcription factor superfamily in Chinese cabbage resulted from genome triplication and tandem duplications. A comprehensive analysis of the physiological functions and biological roles of AP2/ERF superfamily genes in Chinese cabbage is required to fully elucidate AP2/ERF, which provides us with rich resources and opportunities to understand crop stress tolerance mechanisms.

Autophagy emerges as an essential immunity defense against intracellular pathogens. Here we report that turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) infection activates autophagy in plants and that Beclin1 (ATG6), a core component of autophagy, inhibits virus replication. Beclin1 interacts with NIb, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of TuMV, via the highly conserved GDD motif and the interaction complex is targeted for autophagic degradation likely through the adaptor protein ATG8a. Beclin1-mediated NIb degradation is inhibited by autophagy inhibitors. Deficiency of Beclin1 or ATG8a enhances NIb accumulation and promotes viral infection and vice versa. These data suggest that Beclin1 may be a selective autophagy receptor. Overexpression of a Beclin1 truncation mutant that binds to NIb but lacks the ability to mediate NIb degradation also inhibits virus replication. The Beclin1–RdRp interaction further extends to several RNA viruses. Thus Beclin1 restricts viral infection through suppression and also likely autophagic degradation of the viral RdRp.

Epigenetic modifications are implicated in plant adaptations to abiotic stresses. Exposure of plants to one stress can induce resistance to other stresses, a process termed cross-adaptation, which is not well understood. In this study, we aimed to unravel the epigenetic basis of elevated heat-tolerance in cold-acclimated Brassica rapa by conducting a genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of leaves from control (CK) and cold-acclimated (CA) plants. We found that both methylation and demethylation occurred during cold acclimation. Two significantly altered pathways, malate dehydrogenase activity and carbon fixation, and 1562 differentially methylated genes, including BramMDH1, BraKAT2, BraSHM4, and Bra4CL2, were identified in CA plants. Genetic validation and treatment of B. rapa with 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine (Aza) suggested that promoter demethylation of four candidate genes increased their transcriptional activities. Physiological analysis suggested that elevated heat-tolerance and high growth rate were closely related to increases in organic acids and photosynthesis, respectively. Functional analyses demonstrated that the candidate gene BramMDH1 (mMDH: mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase) directly enhances organic acids and photosynthesis to increase heat-tolerance and growth rate in Arabidopsis. However, Aza-treated B. rapa, which also has elevated BramMDH1 levels, did not exhibit enhanced heat-tolerance. We therefore suggest that DNA demethylation alone is not sufficient to increase heat-tolerance. This study demonstrates that altered DNA methylation contributes to cross-adaptation.