Balaguer Zamora, Begoña
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- PublicationLOL2 and LOL5 loci control latex production by laticifer cells in Euphorbia lathyris(Blackwell Publishing, 2018-09) Castelblanque Soriano, Mª Lourdes; Balaguer Zamora, Begoña; Marti, C.; Orozco, M.; Vera Vera, Pablo; Instituto Universitario Mixto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas; Generalitat Valenciana; Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad[EN] Laticifers are specialized plant cells capable of indefinite elongation that ramify extensively and are responsible for latex biosynthesis and accumulation. However, the mechanisms underlying laticifer cell differentiation, growth and production of latex remain largely unknown. In a search for mutants showing enhanced accumulation of latex we identified two LOT OF LATEX (LOL) loci in Euphorbia lathyris. lol2 and lol5 mutants show enhanced production of latex contained within laticifer cells. The recessive lol2 mutant carries increased biosynthesis of the plant hormone jasmonoyl-isoleucine (JA-Ile) and therefore establishes a genetic link between jasmonic acid (JA) signaling and latex production in laticifers. Instead, heightened production of latex in lol5 plants obeys to enhanced proliferation of laticifer cells. Phylogenetic analysis of laticifer-expressed genes in E. lathyris and in two other latex-bearing species, Euphorbia corallioides and Euphorbia palustris, allowed the identification of canonical JA responsive elements present in the gene promoter regions of laticifer marker genes. Moreover, we identified that the hormone JA functions not as a morphogen for laticifer differentiation but as a trigger for the fill out of laticifers with latex and the associated triterpenoids. The identification of LOL loci represents a further step towards the understanding of mechanisms controlling latex production in laticifer cells.
- PublicationMultiple facets of laticifer cells(Landes Bioscience, 2017) Castelblanque Soriano, Mª Lourdes; Balaguer Zamora, Begoña; Marti, C.; Rodríguez-Blasco, Juan José; Orozco, M.; Vera Vera, Pablo; Instituto Universitario Mixto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas; Generalitat Valenciana; Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad[EN] In the latex-bearing plants, the laticiferous system is the tubing structure that contains the latex and is constituted of living cells (laticifers). While laticifers are present only in a small percentage of the flowering plant species, they represent a type of specialized tissue within the plant where a myriad of metabolites are synthesized, some of them of considerable commercial importance. In this mini-review we synopsize the present knowledge about laticifer cells and discuss about their particular features as well as some evolutionary and ecophysiological cues and the potential exploitation of the knowledge generated around this peculiar type of plant cell. We illustrate some of these questions with the experience in Euphorbia lathyris laticifers and latex.
- PublicationPlant Triterpenoid Saponins Function as Susceptibility Factors to Promote the Pathogenicity of Botrytis cinerea(Elsevier, 2024-07-01) Escaray, F.J.; Felipo-Benavent, Amelia; Antonelli, Cristian J.; Balaguer Zamora, Begoña; López Gresa, María Pilar; Vera Vera, Pablo; Instituto Universitario Mixto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas; Departamento de Biotecnología; Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica y del Medio Natural; Agencia Estatal de Investigación[EN] The gray mold fungus Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic pathogen that causes diseases in hundreds of plant species, including high-value crops. Its polyxenous nature and pathogenic success are due to its ability to perceive host signals in its favor. In this study, we found that laticifer cells of Euphorbia lathyris are a source of susceptibility factors required by B. cinerea to cause disease. Consequently, poor-in-latex (pil) mutants, which lack laticifer cells, show full resistance to this pathogen, whereas lot-of-latex mutants, which produce more laticifer cells, are hypersusceptible. These S factors are triterpenoid saponins, which are widely distributed natural products of vast structural diversity. The downregulation of laticifer-specific oxydosqualene cyclase genes, which encode the first committed step enzymes for triterpene and, therefore, saponin biosynthesis, conferred disease resistance to B. cinerea. Likewise, the Medicago truncatula lha-1 mutant, compromised in triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis, showed enhanced resistance. Interestingly, the application of different purified triterpenoid saponins pharmacologically complemented the disease-resistant phenotype of pil and hla-1 mutants and enhanced disease susceptibility in different plant species. We found that triterpenoid saponins function as plant cues that signal transcriptional reprogramming in B. cinerea, leading to a change in its growth habit and infection strategy, culminating in the abundant formation of infection cushions, the multicellular appressoria apparatus dedicated to plant penetration and biomass destruction in B. cinerea. Taken together, these results provide an explanation for how plant triterpenoid saponins function as disease susceptibility factors to promote B. cinerea pathogenicity.