Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 16, 2026
05:38
Using Ustilago maydis as a Trojan Horse for In Situ Delivery of Maize Proteins
Published on: February 8, 2019
11.8K
Deubiquitinase ZmUBP5 is essential for maize kernel development.
Haixiao Dong1, Li Zhang2, Hao Chen1
1Jilin Province Engineering Research Center for Crop Biotechnology Breeding, College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, 130062, China.
The Plant Journal : for Cell and Molecular Biology
|October 3, 2025
Summary
A novel maize mutant reveals that the deubiquitinase ZmUBP5 is crucial for kernel development. It interacts with ZmEMB140, impacting embryo and endosperm size and plant viability.
Area of Science:
- Plant Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Ubiquitination and deubiquitination are vital post-translational modifications regulating eukaryotic growth and development.
- Their specific roles in maize kernel development are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the function of deubiquitinating enzymes in maize kernel development.
- To characterize a novel maize mutant exhibiting developmental defects.
Main Methods:
- Ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis to create mutants.
- Bulked segregant analysis and CRISPR/Cas9 for gene identification.
- Subcellular localization, protein interaction, and degradation assays.
Main Results:
- A stop-gained mutation in ZmUBP5 caused smaller kernels, arrested embryos, and pigment deficiencies.
- ZmUBP5, a nuclear deubiquitinase (DUB), interacts with ZmEMB140.
- ZmEMB140 mutations led to smaller kernels, reduced embryo/endosperm size, and lethal seedlings.
Conclusions:
- The DUB ZmUBP5 and its substrate ZmEMB140 are essential for maize kernel development.
- ZmUBP5 regulates kernel size and embryo/endosperm development through deubiquitination.
- ZmEMB140 is implicated in pre-mRNA processing and spliceosome function.
Related Concept Videos
01:02Role of Microtubules in Cell Wall Deposition
3.0K
Microtubules are small hollow tubes in eukaryotic cells. The cell wall microtubules are polymerized dimers of two globular proteins, α-tubulin and β-tubulin, two globular proteins. With a diameter of about 25 nm, microtubules are the widest components of the cytoskeleton. They help the cell resist compression and provide a track along which vesicles move through the cell or pull replicated chromosomes to opposite ends of a dividing cell. Microtubules go through quick cycles of...
3.0K
02:19The Spindle Assembly Checkpoint
3.7K
The spindle assembly checkpoint is a molecular surveillance mechanism ensuring the fidelity of chromosome segregation during anaphase. The checkpoint monitors the completion of all the prerequisite steps before chromosome segregation to determine whether the segregation process should proceed or be delayed.
Many proteins function together to control the spindle assembly checkpoint. Mutations affecting these proteins may allow cells to proceed into anaphase prematurely, resulting in the...
Many proteins function together to control the spindle assembly checkpoint. Mutations affecting these proteins may allow cells to proceed into anaphase prematurely, resulting in the...
3.7K