Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 13, 2025
08:58
Visualization of Germinosomes and the Inner Membrane in Bacillus subtilis Spores
Published on: April 15, 2019
10.0K
DELLA proteins regulate spore germination and reproductive development in Physcomitrium patens
Alexandros Phokas1, Rabea Meyberg2, Asier Briones-Moreno3
1School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbastin, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
The New Phytologist
|January 23, 2023
Summary
DELLA proteins regulate plant growth. In mosses, these proteins function differently than in flowering plants, showing independent evolution of DELLA regulation and roles in reproduction and spore germination.
Area of Science:
- Plant Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Molecular Genetics
Background:
- DELLA proteins are key regulators of plant growth and development, integrating environmental signals.
- The 'Green Revolution' utilized non-degradable DELLA proteins to develop dwarf, high-yielding crops.
- In vascular plants, DELLA proteins are primarily regulated by gibberellin hormones.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the function and regulation of DELLA proteins in the moss Physcomitrium patens, a representative of Bryophytes (sister group to vascular plants).
- To understand how DELLA protein function and regulation have evolved across land plant lineages.
- To compare DELLA protein behavior in mosses with that in flowering plants.
Main Methods:
- Functional analysis of DELLA proteins in Physcomitrium patens.
- Interaction studies with gibberellin receptors and photoreceptors.
- Assessment of responses to abiotic stress and reproductive development.
Main Results:
- Physcomitrium patens DELLA proteins (PpDELLAs) are not degraded by diterpenes or interact with gibberellin receptors.
- PpDELLAs do not mediate responses to abiotic stress but are involved in reproductive development and spore germination.
- PpDELLAs interact with moss-specific photoreceptors, though light response functions were not identified.
Conclusions:
- DELLA protein regulation and specific functions have evolved independently in vascular plants and bryophytes.
- PpDELLAs share some conserved roles with vascular plant DELLAs, particularly in reproductive development.
- PpDELLAs likely function as transcriptional regulatory hubs, a conserved role across the plant kingdom.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Gene Regulation During Sporulation
56
Sporulation is a complex developmental process that allows certain Gram-positive bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis and Clostridium species, to survive extreme environmental conditions. This process is tightly regulated by a series of signaling cascades and transcriptional controls, ensuring the formation of a highly resistant endospore.Sporulation is triggered by unfavorable conditions, such as nutrient depletion, and is governed by a phosphorelay system. One of the sensor kinases, such as...
56
01:20Endospores and Sporulation
139
Endospores are specialized, dormant cells primarily formed by Gram-positive bacteria, including Bacillus and Clostridium, enabling survival under extreme environmental conditions. Due to their unique composition and formation process, these structures are highly resistant to physical and chemical insults, such as extreme heat, ultraviolet and ionizing radiation, desiccation, and toxic chemicals. Rare instances of endospore-like structures have also been observed in some Gram-negative bacteria,...
139
01:27Diversity of Protists IV
75
Amoebozoa represent a diverse group of terrestrial and aquatic protists that utilize lobe-shaped pseudopodia for locomotion and feeding. This characteristic differentiates them from the Rhizaria, which possess threadlike pseudopodia. The primary classifications within Amoebozoa include gymnamoebas, entamoebas, and the plasmodial and cellular slime molds. Phylogenetic evidence indicates that Amoebozoa diverged from a lineage that ultimately gave rise to fungi and animals.Gymnamoebas and...
75
02:32Plasmodesmata
32.9K
The organs in a multicellular organism’s body are made up of tissues formed by cells. To work together cohesively, cells must communicate. One way that cells communicate is through direct contact with other cells. The points of contact that connect adjacent cells are called intercellular junctions.
32.9K
01:23Stringent Response in E. coli
37
Bacterial growth is closely tied to nutrient availability, with cells proliferating exponentially under favorable conditions and entering a stationary phase when resources become scarce. This transition is mediated by a regulatory mechanism known as the stringent response, which allows bacteria to adapt to nutrient deprivation by modulating gene expression and metabolic activity.During nutrient scarcity, intracellular amino acid levels decline. It results in the accumulation of uncharged tRNAs...
37
01:59The Phragmoplast
5.2K
Cell division is essential for organismal growth and development. In animal cells, the central spindle and its associated proteins form the midbody, a structure that has an essential role in cytokinesis. In plants, the central spindle, along with the microtubules, actin, and other cell components, matures into the phragmoplast, which is necessary for cytokinesis. Unlike the stationary midbody, the phragmoplast expands centrifugally, eventually leading to the formation of the new cell wall.
The...
The...
5.2K