Papers by Frantisek Baluska
Plastid senescence 3. Changes of chloroplast structure induced by antibiotics
Integrated G Proteins Signaling in Plants
Signaling and communication in plants, 2010
This volume focuses on structure, function and regulation of plant signaling G proteins and their... more This volume focuses on structure, function and regulation of plant signaling G proteins and their function in hormonal pathways, polarity, differentiation, morphogenesis and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Plants are sessile organisms that need to continuously coordinate between external and internal cues. This coordination requires the existence of hubs to allow cross-talk between different signaling pathways. A single family of Rho GTPases termed either ROPS or RACs and heterotrimeric G proteins have emerged as the major molecular switches in multitude of signal transduction pathway in plants.
copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher, except for brief exce... more copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher, except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in the publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks and similar terms even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. While the authors, editors and publisher believe that drug selection and dosj^e and the specifications and usage of equipment and devices, as set forth in this book, are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication, they make no warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to material described in this book. In view of the ongoing research, equipment development, changes in ^vernmental regulations and the rapid accumulation of information relating to the biomedical sciences, the reader is urged to carefully review and evaluate the information provided herein.
Data for: Slime mould: the fundamental mechanisms of biological cognition
Latex Package with all data
Emergence, Complexity and Computation, Oct 27, 2017
Plants are highly intelligent organisms. They continuously make distributed processing of sensory... more Plants are highly intelligent organisms. They continuously make distributed processing of sensory information, concurrent decision making and parallel actuation. The plants are efficient green computers per se. Outside in nature, the plants are programmed and hardwired to perform a narrow range of tasks aimed to maximize the plants' ecological distribution, survival and reproduction. To 'persuade' plants to solve tasks outside their usual range of activities, we must either choose problem domains which homomorphic to the plants natural domains or modify biophysical properties of plants to make them organic electronic devices. We discuss possible designs and prototypes of computing systems that could be based on morphological development of roots, interaction of roots, and analog electrical computation with plants, and plant-derived electronic components. In morphological plant processors data are represented by initial configuration of roots and configurations of sources of attractants and repellents; results of computation are represented by topology of the roots' network. Computation is implemented by the roots following gradients of attractants and repellents, as well as interacting with each
Boron supply restores aluminum‐blocked auxin transport by the modulation of <scp>PIN2</scp> trafficking in the root apical transition zone
Plant Journal, Feb 23, 2023
SUMMARYThe supply of boron (B) alleviates the toxic effects of aluminum (Al) on root growth; howe... more SUMMARYThe supply of boron (B) alleviates the toxic effects of aluminum (Al) on root growth; however, the mechanistic basis of this process remains elusive. This study filled this knowledge gap, demonstrating that boron modifies auxin distribution and transport in Al‐exposed Arabidopsis roots. In B‐deprived roots, treatment with Al induced an increase in auxin content in the root apical meristem zone (MZ) and transition zone (TZ), whereas in the elongation zone (EZ) the auxin content was decreased beyond the level required for adequate growth. These distribution patterns are explained by the fact that basipetal auxin transport from the TZ to the EZ was disrupted by Al‐inhibited PIN‐FORMED 2 (PIN2) endocytosis. Experiments involving the modulation of protein biosynthesis by cycloheximide (CHX) and transcriptional regulation by cordycepin (COR) demonstrated that the Al‐induced increase of PIN2 membrane proteins was dependent upon the inhibition of PIN2 endocytosis, rather than on the transcriptional regulation of the PIN2 gene. Experiments reporting on the profiling of Al3+ and PIN2 proteins revealed that the inhibition of endocytosis of PIN2 proteins was the result of Al‐induced limitation of the fluidity of the plasma membrane. The supply of B mediated the turnover of PIN2 endosomes conjugated with indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA), and thus restored the Al‐induced inhibition of IAA transport through the TZ to the EZ. Overall, the reported results demonstrate that boron supply mediates PIN2 endosome‐based auxin transport to alleviate Al toxicity in plant roots.
Trends in Plant Science, 2019
General anesthesia, its nature, and how exactly it works are still poorly understood. Plants can ... more General anesthesia, its nature, and how exactly it works are still poorly understood. Plants can also be anesthetized and lose their responses to external stimuli. Interestingly, plants are known to produce endogenous anesthetic compounds to deal with stress. Plants offer an excellent model object for studies on anesthetics and anesthesia.
Trends in Plant Science, Aug 1, 2020
Proton (H +) fluxes in plant roots play critical roles in maintaining root growth and facilitatin... more Proton (H +) fluxes in plant roots play critical roles in maintaining root growth and facilitating plant responses to multiple soil stresses, including fluctuations in nutrient supply, salt infiltration, and water stress. Soil mining for nutrients and water, rates of nutrient uptake, and the modulation of cell expansion all depend on the regulation of root H + fluxes, particularly at the root apex, mediated primarily by the activity of plasma membrane (PM) H +-ATPases. Here, we summarize recent findings on the regulatory mechanisms of H + fluxes at the root apex under three abiotic stress conditionsphosphate deficiency, salinity stress, and water deficiencyand present an integrated physiomolecular view of the functions of H + fluxes in maintaining root growth in the acclimation to soil stress. The Central Role of Root-Apex H + Fluxes Plant roots growing in soil or other media, in their search for water and nutrients, encounter numerous unfavorable environmental situations, such as drought, salinity, pH challenges, flooding, hypoxia, and mineral nutrient deficiency. Since such abiotic stress factors often hinder the growth of plant roots, the mechanisms that allow roots to either 'weather' such conditions or keep growing towards less stress-challenged pockets of soil are a matter of survival. Proton (H +) fluxes at the root apex (i.e., the meristem, transition, elongation, and differentiation zones of primary roots [1-4]; Figure 1) have long been known to constitute an important component of the plant arsenal of mechanisms to mine the soil environment for nutrient resources and as an adaptive strategy to counter multiple stresses [5-9]. Along the root-apex longitudinal axis, the elongation zone, which varies significantly in size and distance from the root tip across species {e.g., ca 0.45-1 mm in arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) [1,2], 1.5-9 mm in maize (Zea mays) [10,11], and 0.5-3 mm in rice (Oryza sativa) [12-14]}, and which also varies according to stress-response signals, particularly reactive oxygen species (ROS)] [15,16], is the most active site for cell growth and where a shift to high rates of net H + efflux generally begins, driven mainly by members of the family of PM H +-ATPases [2,6,17-19]. PM H +-ATPases actively lower the pH in the extracellular matrix (the apoplast) and the rhizosphere and establish a H + gradient across the root PM (typically referred to as the 'proton motive force') to facilitate mineral nutrient uptake, given that most nutrient transport events in the roots of higher plants are coupled to, and driven by, H + gradients [17,20]. This in turn promotes water uptake to provide the turgor pressure to drive cell expansion. The extent to which 'strong ions' (e.g., K + , Na + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Cl −), such as described in the 'Stewart model', can also affect compartmental pH should also be considered [21], although difficulties in quantifying apoplastic pool sizes and buffer capacities may limit its utility. H + fluxes are furthermore integral to the so-called 'acid growth theory', which links auxin, apoplastic pH, and cell elongation in a mechanistic framework (see below). Closely related are the tropic responses of roots either towards (positive tropism) or away from (negative tropism) external stimuli (e.g., gravitropism, hydrotropism, halotropism). Although there have been many recent high-profile reviews on the molecular mechanisms underlying H +-ATPase function and regulation [19,22] and root system architecture (RSA) and tropic Highlights Modulation of proton fluxes at the root apex plays roles in nutrient and water acquisition to overcome several types of abiotic stress conditions. Enhanced plasma membrane (PM) H +-ATPase activity in different root apex zones helps to maintain cell elongation, root hair formation, lateral root development, and the secretion of organic acids under phosphate-deficient conditions. Auxin and blue-light signaling pathways are involved in the low-phosphate responses in roots that are tightly linked with regulation of the proton fluxes at the root apex. PKS5-and PIN2-regulated PM H +-ATPase activity at the root apex is essential for salt tolerance and the salt avoidance response. Several signaling components that attribute to drought resistance and hydrotropic response control the proton fluxes at the root apex via ABA-and brassinosteroid-mediated pathways.
Vesicular membrane recycling: basic mechanism for gravisensing?
Biological Letters, 2005
The Biomolecular Basis for Plant and Animal Sentience: Senomic and Ephaptic Principles of Cellular Consciousness
Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2021
Environment control in biology, 2016
In many root tropic behaviors, auxin is the essential phytohormone to regulate a cell growth dire... more In many root tropic behaviors, auxin is the essential phytohormone to regulate a cell growth directing root development. It was reported that light promotes the translocation of auxin carrier proteins such as PINs (PIN-FORMED) providing a polarity for roots to complete negative phototropism. These PIN proteins are known to be translocated via endocytic vesicle recycling in root cells. However, an direct influence of light conditions on endocytic vesicle recycling mechanism controlling tropic behaviors in Arabidopsis root cells are not well assessed. In this study, we compared the activity of endocytic vesicle recycling and PIN2 localization in root cells at root transition zone grown under (1) light regime (16 h light / 8 h dark) for 5 d, (2) light regime for initial 4 d followed by 24-h of dark, and (3) continuous dark for 5 d. In the result, darkgrown seedlings showed lower rate of endocytotic activities in root transition zones, compared to the light-grown roots. Interestingly, light-promoted endocytic recycling activity was attenuated to the level equivalent to dark-grown roots after 24h of dark treatment. PIN2-GFP was shown to accumulate in vacuoles both in dark-grown and 24-h dark treatment seedlings. Moreover, the PIN2-GFP signal found in 24-h dark-treated roots was stronger than in the dark-grown sample. Here we propose a model for dynamic regulation of PIN2 localization regulated by endocytic vesicle recycling in the transition of light circumstances, which might be important for roots to prepare for upcoming unfavorable light.
Physiological Responses of Higher Plants
Cellular sentience as the primary source of biological order and evolution
BioSystems, Aug 1, 2022
A unifying new model of cytokinesis for the dividing plant and animal cells
BioEssays, 2007
Cytokinesis ensures proper partitioning of the nucleocytoplasmic contents into two daughter cells... more Cytokinesis ensures proper partitioning of the nucleocytoplasmic contents into two daughter cells. It has generally been thought that cytokinesis is accomplished differently in animals and plants because of the differences in the preparatory phases, into the centrosomal or acentrosomal nature of the process, the presence or absence of rigid cell walls, and on the basis of ‘outside‐in’ or ‘inside‐out’ mechanism. However, this long‐standing paradigm needs further reevaluation based on new findings. Recent advances reveal that plant cells, similarly to animal cells, possess astral microtubules that regulate the cell division plane. Furthermore, endocytosis has been found to be important for cytokinesis in animal and plant cells: vesicles containing endocytosed cargo provide material for the cell plate formation in plants and for closure of the midbody channel in animals. Thus, although the preparatory phases of the cell division process differ between plant and animal cells, the later phases show similarities. We unify these findings in a model that suggests a conserved mode of cytokinesis. BioEssays 29:371–381, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effect of GABA-Transaminase Inhibitor 3-MPA on Arabidopsis thaliana Grown Under Different Light Conditions
The adaptation of plants to biotic and abiotic stress depends on their abilities to sense their s... more The adaptation of plants to biotic and abiotic stress depends on their abilities to sense their surroundings and to generate and transmit corresponding signals to different parts of their body that can evoke changes necessary for optimizing growth and defense. Light has been shown to be one of the key environmental factors that modulate the physiology of both plants and animals via the diverse photoreceptors found in them. Both plants and animals contain a large repertoire of intra- and intercellular signals molecules that include organic and inorganic. One such molecule is a neurotransmitter, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a non-protein amino acid, that rapidly accumulates in plant tissues in response to biotic and abiotic stress and regulates plant growth. Lots of research has been done on GABA in plants for slightly more than half a century now: Its discovery in plant tissues was immediately followed by physiological and biochemical studies. Thereafter molecular-genetics era of cloning the genes encoding the GABA shunt enzymes and transporters, and recombinant expression and purification of the enzymes in vitro to elucidate their regulatory properties and substrate specificity was established. Recently the discovery of the first bona fide GABA target proteins in plants, the ALMTs suggest that GABA indeed could be one of the signaling molecules in plants. All this research did not address in detail the relationship between light and GABA. To better understand the role of GABA in relation to light we set up six light conditions to investigate the changes in the hypocotyl and root growth in Arabidopsis thaliana under different light conditions, including total light, total dark, light blocker, gradient light, shoot dark, shoot dark with blocker. We treated the seedlings with 3-MPA, a GABA inhibitor, using different concentrations grown under different light conditions between 24 to 96 h. Our results show that both the root and hypocotyl are modulated by GABA when grown under different light conditions. These results clearly suggest a link in the signaling pathway of GABA with photoreceptor signaling pathways.
Consciousness: unicellular organisms know the secret
Nature, Aug 1, 2023
EMBO Reports, Mar 3, 2012
Actomyosin and exocytosis inhibitors alter root hair morphology in Poa annua
Mycological Progress, Sep 1, 2019
Sporisorium scitamineum teliospores possess an organized cytoskeleton involved in important devel... more Sporisorium scitamineum teliospores possess an organized cytoskeleton involved in important developmental and physiological processes. It has been described that microtubules appear to be fundamental for nucleus translocation during germination and hyphal growth, whereas actin polymerization is necessary for the formation of invaginations during teliospore displacement. Here, a global vision of the actin cytoskeleton organization throughout the life cycle of S. scitamineum cells is shown, providing evidence that a perfectly structured F-actin network is necessary to trigger smut pathogenicity. Moreover, although myosin presence in teliospores had been previously described, herein actin and myosin co-locations are demonstrated by confocal microscopy during both invaginations formation and germination. In turn, F-actin and microtubules (MTs) interact, jointly participating in the establishment of cell polarity. The resistant sugarcane cultivar Mayari 55-14 produces high molecular mass glycoproteins (HMMG) that differently affect F-actin organization at different stages of fungal development. HMMG first supported F-actin to induce the movement of teliospores towards the cytoagglutination points. At later stages of fungal development, HMMG disorganized F-actin which prevented the protrusion of germinative tube. A continuous exposure to HMMG provoked apoptosis in pathogenic, diploid cells and a delay in sporidia conjugation that could be crucial for plant resistance.
Environmental Control in Biology, 2016
In many root tropic behaviors, auxin is the essential phytohormone to regulate a cell growth dire... more In many root tropic behaviors, auxin is the essential phytohormone to regulate a cell growth directing root development. It was reported that light promotes the translocation of auxin carrier proteins such as PINs (PIN-FORMED) providing a polarity for roots to complete negative phototropism. These PIN proteins are known to be translocated via endocytic vesicle recycling in root cells. However, an direct influence of light conditions on endocytic vesicle recycling mechanism controlling tropic behaviors in Arabidopsis root cells are not well assessed. In this study, we compared the activity of endocytic vesicle recycling and PIN2 localization in root cells at root transition zone grown under (1) light regime (16 h light / 8 h dark) for 5 d, (2) light regime for initial 4 d followed by 24-h of dark, and (3) continuous dark for 5 d. In the result, darkgrown seedlings showed lower rate of endocytotic activities in root transition zones, compared to the light-grown roots. Interestingly, light-promoted endocytic recycling activity was attenuated to the level equivalent to dark-grown roots after 24h of dark treatment. PIN2-GFP was shown to accumulate in vacuoles both in dark-grown and 24-h dark treatment seedlings. Moreover, the PIN2-GFP signal found in 24-h dark-treated roots was stronger than in the dark-grown sample. Here we propose a model for dynamic regulation of PIN2 localization regulated by endocytic vesicle recycling in the transition of light circumstances, which might be important for roots to prepare for upcoming unfavorable light.
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Papers by Frantisek Baluska