Published Papers - Seo Mitsunori

Inhibition of malformed incurved flowers in the cut rose cultivar 'Yves Piaget' by methyl jasomonate spray treatment of flower buds before harvest

Rei Kaneeda, Yuri Kanno, Mitsunori Seo, Keith Hardie, Takashi Handa

The Horticulture Journal   93 ( 3 ) 216 - 223   2024.07 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

Complete loss of RelA and SpoT homologs in Arabidopsis reveals the importance of the plastidial stringent response in the interplay between chloroplast metabolism and plant defense response

Masataka Inazu, Takanari Nemoto, Yuto Omata, Sae Suzuki, Sumire Ono, Yuri Kanno, Mitsunori Seo, Akira Oikawa, Shinji Masuda

Plant and Cell Physiology   65 ( 4 ) 631 - 643   2024.04 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

Guanosine-specific single-strand ribonuclease effectors of a phytopathogenic fungus potentiate host immune responses

Naoyoshi Kumakura, Suthitar Singkaravanit-Ogawa, Pamela Gan, Ayako Tsushima, Nobuaki Ishihama, Shunsuke Watanabe, Mitsunori Seo, Shintaro Iwasaki, Mari Narusaka, Yoshihiro Narusaka, Yoshitaka Takano, Ken Shirasu

New Phytologist   242   170 - 191   2024.04 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

Autoactivation of mycorrhizal symbiosis signaling through gibberellin deactivation in orchid seed germination

Chihiro Miura, Yuki Furui, Tatsuki Yamamoto, Yuri Kanno, Masaya Honjo, Katsushi Yamaguchi, Kenji Suetsugu, Takahiro Yagame, Mitsunori Seo, Shuji Shigenobu, Masahide Yamato, Hironori Kaminaka

Plant Physiology   194 ( 1 ) 546 - 563   2024.01 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

Jasmonate inhibits plant growth and reduces gibberellin levels via microRNA5998 and transcription factor MYC2

Jutarou Fukazawa, Kazuya Mori, Hiroki Ando, Ryota Mori, Yuri Kanno, Mitsunori Seo, Yohsuke Takahashi

Plant Physiology   193 ( 3 ) 2197 - 2214   2023.11 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

The HKT Na+ transporter protects plant fertility by decreasing Na+ content in stamen filaments

Takeshi Uchiyama, Shunya Saito, Taro Yamanashi, Megumi Kato, Kosuke Takebayashi, Shin Hamamoto, Masaru Tsujii, Tomoko Takagi, Noriko Nagata, Hayato Ikeda, Hidetoshi Kikunaga, Toshimi Suda, Sho Toyama, Misako Miwa, Shigeo Matsuyama, Mitsunori Seo, Tomoaki Horie, Takashi Kuromori, Mutsumi Yamagami, Yasuhiro Ishimaru, Nobuyuki Uozumi

Science Advances     eadg5495   2023.06 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

Seed dormancy loss from dry after-ripening is associated with increasing gibberellin hormone levels in Arabidopsis thaliana

Sven K Nelson, Yuri Kanno, Mitsunori Seo, Camille M Steber

Frontiers in Plant Science   14   1145414   2023.05 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

Biological Activity of Anti-bolting Compound, alpha-(7Z,10Z,13Z)-hexadeca-7,10,13-trienoic Acid Monoglyceride to Reduce the Endogenous Amount of Gibberellins

Tsuyoshi Ogihara, Shunpei Shikama, Akihisa Ishii, Syotaro Hirota, Junichi Kashiwagi, Kaien Fujino, Yuki Mitsui, Takafumi Shimizu, Mitsunori Seo, Naoki Kitaoka, Yasunori Koda, Hideyuki Matsuura

JOURNAL OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATION     2023.04 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

Modulation of wheat grain dormancy by introducing the recombinant abscisic acid-stimulated abscisic acid biosynthesis gene

Lipeng Zheng, Fumitaka Abe, Mariko Nonogaki, Yuri Kanno, Mitsunori Seo, Hiroyuki Nonogaki, Naoto Kawakami

PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY ( JAPANESE SOC PLANT CELL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY )  40 ( 1 ) 31 - 41   2023.03 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Pre-harvest sprouting of cereals greatly reduces yield and quality of the grains. Abscisic acid (ABA) is an essential phytohormone for the induction and maintenance of seed dormancy. In this study, the ABA responsive promoter-driven ABA biosynthesis gene system was introduced to common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to enhance ABA production in the embryos and pre-harvest sprouting tolerance of the grains. This system consists of a wheat ABA responsive element containing Early-Methionine-labelled (EM) promoter and a sorghum 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (SbNCED) gene which encodes an ABA biosynthesis rate-limiting enzyme. Twenty-three independent single-insertion lines were obtained, from which five homozygous lines showing various SbNCED expression levels were selected. Correlations were observed between SbNCED expression, ABA accumulation in the embryos and enhanced dormancy levels of the grains. The engineered wheat grains exhibited a few day-delay in germination, which should be effective in reducing pre-harvest sprouting damage. However, the increase in ABA levels in the recombinant grains was moderate, which explains why germination was not completely suppressed. Further analysis indicated a concomitant increase in the expression of the ABA catabolic enzyme gene TaABA8 ' OH1 and in the levels of isoleucine-conjugated jasmonic acid, implying the presence of possible negative feedback regulation in the innate system, which should be overcome for future technology development. These findings advance an understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of hormone metabolism in seeds and facilitate the development of pre-harvest sprouting tolerance in cereal grains.

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Arabidopsis NPF5.1 regulates ABA homeostasis and seed germination by mediating ABA uptake into the seed coat.

Takafumi Shimizu, Yuri Kanno, Shunsuke Watanabe, Mitsunori Seo

Plant signaling & behavior   17 ( 1 ) 2095488 - 2095488   2022.12 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Abscisic acid (ABA) is a plant hormone that induces seed dormancy during seed development and inhibits seed germination after imbibition. Although ABA is synthesized in the seed coat (testa), endosperm, and embryo, the physiological roles of the hormone derived from each tissue are not fully understood. We found that the gene encoding an Arabidopsis ABA importer, NPF5.1, was expressed in the seed coat during seed development. Dry seeds of loss-of-function npf5.1 mutants contained significantly higher levels of dihydrophaseic acid (DPA), an inactive ABA metabolite, than the wild type. The npf5.1 mutant also had a slight increase in ABA content. An increase in DPA was prominent in the fraction containing the seed coat and endosperm. Seed germination of the npf5.1 mutant was similar to the wild type in the presence of ABA or the gibberellin biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol. However, a mutation in NPF5.1 suppressed the paclobutrazol-resistant germination of npf4.6, a mutant impaired in an ABA importer expressed in the embryo. These results suggest that ABA uptake into the seed coat mediated by NPF5.1 is important for ABA homeostasis during seed development and for regulating seed germination.

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Local auxin synthesis mediated by YUCCA4 induced during root-knot nematode infection positively regulates gall growth and nematode development

Reira Suzuki, Yuri Kanno, Patricia Abril-Urias, Mitsunori Seo, Carolina Escobar, Allen Yi-Lun Tsai, Shinichiro Sawa

Frontiers in Plant Science ( Frontiers Media SA )  13   2022.11 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Parasites and pathogens are known to manipulate the host's endogenous signaling pathways to facilitate the infection process. In particular, plant-parasitic root-knot nematodes (RKN) are known to elicit auxin response at the infection sites, to aid the development of root galls as feeding sites for the parasites. Here we describe the role of local auxin synthesis induced during RKN infection. Exogenous application of auxin synthesis inhibitors decreased RKN gall formation rates, gall size and auxin response in galls, while auxin and auxin analogues produced the opposite effects, re-enforcing the notion that auxin positively regulates RKN gall formation. Among the auxin biosynthesis enzymes, YUCCA4 (YUC4) was found to be dramatically up-regulated during RKN infection, suggesting it may be a major contributor to the auxin accumulation during gall formation. However, yuc4-1 showed only very transient decrease in gall auxin levels and did not show significant changes in RKN infection rates, implying the loss of YUC4 is likely compensated by other auxin sources. Nevertheless, yuc4-1 plants produced significantly smaller galls with fewer mature females and egg masses, confirming that auxin synthesized by YUC4 is required for proper gall formation and RKN development within. Interestingly, YUC4 promoter was also activated during cyst nematode infection. These lines of evidence imply auxin biosynthesis from multiple sources, one of them being YUC4, is induced upon plant endoparasitic nematode invasion and likely contribute to their infections. The coordination of these different auxins adds another layer of complexity of hormonal regulations during plant parasitic nematode interaction.

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<i>Seed dormancy 4 like1</i> ( <scp> <i>SFL1</i> </scp> ) of Arabidopsis is a key regulator of phase transition from embryo to vegetative development

Lipeng Zheng, Masahiko Otani, Yuri Kanno, Mitsunori Seo, Yushi Yoshitake, Kohki Yoshimoto, Kazuhiko Sugimoto, Naoto Kawakami

The Plant Journal ( Wiley )  112 ( 2 ) 460 - 475   2022.08 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Ethanol-Mediated Novel Survival Strategy against Drought Stress in Plants

Khurram Bashir, Daisuke Todaka, Sultana Rasheed, Akihiro Matsui, Zarnab Ahmad, Kaori Sako, Yoshinori Utsumi, Anh Thu Vu, Maho Tanaka, Satoshi Takahashi, Junko Ishida, Yuuri Tsuboi, Shunsuke Watanabe, Yuri Kanno, Eigo Ando, Kwang-Chul Shin, Makoto Seito, Hinata Motegi, Muneo Sato, Rui Li, Saya Kikuchi, Miki Fujita, Miyako Kusano, Makoto Kobayashi, Yoshiki Habu, Atsushi J Nagano, Kanako Kawaura, Jun Kikuchi, Kazuki Saito, Masami Yokota Hirai, Mitsunori Seo, Kazuo Shinozaki, Toshinori Kinoshita, Motoaki Seki

Plant and Cell Physiology ( Oxford University Press (OUP) )  63 ( 9 ) 1181 - 1192   2022.08 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Abstract Water scarcity is a serious agricultural problem causing significant losses to crop yield and product quality. The development of technologies to mitigate the damage caused by drought stress is essential for ensuring a sustainable food supply for the increasing global population. We herein report that the exogenous application of ethanol, an inexpensive and environmentally friendly chemical, significantly enhances drought tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana, rice and wheat. The transcriptomic analyses of ethanol-treated plants revealed the upregulation of genes related to sucrose and starch metabolism, phenylpropanoids and glucosinolate biosynthesis, while metabolomic analysis showed an increased accumulation of sugars, glucosinolates and drought-tolerance-related amino acids. The phenotyping analysis indicated that drought-induced water loss was delayed in the ethanol-treated plants. Furthermore, ethanol treatment induced stomatal closure, resulting in decreased transpiration rate and increased leaf water contents under drought stress conditions. The ethanol treatment did not enhance drought tolerance in the mutant of ABI1, a negative regulator of abscisic acid (ABA) signaling in Arabidopsis, indicating that ABA signaling contributes to ethanol-mediated drought tolerance. The nuclear magnetic resonance analysis using 13C-labeled ethanol indicated that gluconeogenesis is involved in the accumulation of sugars. The ethanol treatment did not enhance the drought tolerance in the aldehyde dehydrogenase (aldh) triple mutant (aldh2b4/aldh2b7/aldh2c4). These results show that ABA signaling and acetic acid biosynthesis are involved in ethanol-mediated drought tolerance and that chemical priming through ethanol application regulates sugar accumulation and gluconeogenesis, leading to enhanced drought tolerance and sustained plant growth. These findings highlight a new survival strategy for increasing crop production under water-limited conditions.

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Ethanol treatment enhances drought stress avoidance in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz)

Anh Thu Vu, Yoshinori Utsumi, Chikako Utsumi, Maho Tanaka, Satoshi Takahashi, Daisuke Todaka, Yuri Kanno, Mitsunori Seo, Eigo Ando, Kaori Sako, Khurram Bashir, Toshinori Kinoshita, Xuan Hoi Pham, Motoaki Seki

Plant Molecular Biology ( Springer Science and Business Media LLC )    2022.08 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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4-Phenylbutyric acid promotes plant regeneration as an auxin by being converted to phenylacetic acid via an IBR3-independent pathway.

Akira Iwase, Arika Takebayashi, Yuki Aoi, David S Favero, Shunsuke Watanabe, Mitsunori Seo, Hiroyuki Kasahara, Keiko Sugimoto

Plant biotechnology (Tokyo, Japan)   39 ( 1 ) 51 - 58   2022.03 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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4-Phenylbutyric acid (4PBA) is utilized as a drug to treat urea cycle disorders and is also being studied as a potential anticancer drug that acts via its histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor activity. During a search to find small molecules that affect plant regeneration in Arabidopsis, we found that 4PBA treatment promotes this process by mimicking the effect of exogenous auxin. Specifically, plant tissue culture experiments revealed that a medium containing 4PBA enhances callus formation and subsequent shoot regeneration. Analyses with auxin-responsive or cytokinin-responsive marker lines demonstrated that 4PBA specifically enhances AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR (ARF)-dependent auxin responses. Our western blot analyses showed that 4PBA treatment does not enhance histone acetylation in Arabidopsis, in contrast to butyric acid and trichostatin A, other chemicals often used as HDAC inhibitors, suggesting this mechanism of action does not explain the observed effect of 4PBA on regeneration. Finally, mass spectroscopic analysis and genetic approaches uncovered that 4PBA in Arabidopsis plants is converted to phenylacetic acid (PAA), a known natural auxin, in a manner independent of peroxisomal IBR3-related β-oxidation. This study demonstrates that 4PBA application promotes regeneration in explants via its auxin activity and has potential applications to not only plant tissue culture engineering but also research on the plant β-oxidation pathway.

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AtGH3.10 is another jasmonic acid-amido synthetase in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Jay C Delfin, Yuri Kanno, Mitsunori Seo, Naoki Kitaoka, Hideyuki Matsuura, Takayuki Tohge, Takafumi Shimizu

The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology   110 ( 4 ) 1082 - 1096   2022.03 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Jasmonoyl-isoleucine (JA-Ile) is a key signaling molecule that activates jasmonate-regulated flower development and wound stress response. For years, the JASMONATE RESISTANT1 (JAR1) has been the sole jasmonoyl-amino acid synthetase known to conjugate jasmonic acid (JA) to isoleucine and the source of persisting JA-Ile in jar1 knockout mutants has remained elusive until now. Here we demonstrate, through recombinant enzyme assays and loss-of-function mutant analyses, that AtGH3.10 functions as a JA-amido synthetase. Recombinant AtGH3.10 could conjugate JA to isoleucine, alanine, leucine, methionine, and valine. The JA-Ile accumulation in gh3.10-2 jar1-11 double mutant was nearly eliminated in the leaves and flower buds while its catabolism derivative, 12OH-JA-Ile, was undetected in the flower buds and unwounded leaves. Residual levels of JA-Ile, JA-Ala, and JA-Val were nonetheless detected in gh3.10-2 jar1-11 suggesting the activities of similar promiscuous enzymes. Upon wounding, the accumulation of JA-Ile and 12OH-JA-Ile and the expression of JA-responsive genes OXOPHYTODIENOIC ACID REDUCTASE3 and JASMONATE ZIM-DOMAIN1 observed in WT, gh3.10-1, and jar1-11 leaves were effectively abolished in gh3.10-2 jar1-11. Additionally, increased proportion of undeveloped siliques associated with retarded stamen development was observed in gh3.10-2 jar1-11. These findings conclusively show that AtGH3.10 contributes to JA-amino acid biosynthesis and functions partially redundant with AtJAR1 in sustaining the flower development and wound stress response in Arabidopsis.

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Chitin-induced systemic disease resistance in rice requires both OsCERK1 and OsCEBiP and is mediated via perturbation of cell-wall biogenesis in leaves

Momoko Takagi, Kei Hotamori, Keigo Naito, Sumire Matsukawa, Mayumi Egusa, Yoko Nishizawa, Yuri Kanno, Mitsunori Seo, Shinsuke Ifuku, Akira Mine, Hironori Kaminaka

( Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory )    2021.12

Type of publication: Research paper (other science council materials etc.)

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<title>Summary</title><list list-type="bullet"><list-item>Chitin is a well-known elicitor of disease resistance whose recognition by plants is crucial to perceive fungal infections. Chitin can induce both a local immune response and a systemic disease resistance when provided as a supplement in soils. Unlike local immune responses, how chitin-induced systemic disease resistance is deployed has not been studied in detail. </list-item><list-item>In this study, we evaluated systemic disease resistance against the fungal pathogen <italic>Bipolaris oryzae</italic> by performing a transcriptome analysis and monitoring cell-wall composition in rice plants grown in chitin-supplemented soils. We also examined the local immune response to chitin by measuring the production of reactive oxygen species in leaves. </list-item><list-item>Chitins induced both local immune response and systemic disease resistance with differing requirements for the receptors OsCERK1 and OsCEBiP. Transcriptome analysis suggested that a perturbation in cell-wall biogenesis is involved in the induction of systemic disease resistance, an idea which was supported by the induction of disease resistance by treatment with a cellulose biosynthesis inhibitor and alterations of cell-wall composition. </list-item><list-item>These findings suggest that chitin-induced systemic disease resistance in rice is caused by a perturbation of cell-wall biogenesis in leaves through long-distance signalling after recognition of chitins by OsCERK1 and OsCEBiP. </list-item></list>

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An auxin signaling network translates low-sugar-state input into compensated cell enlargement in the fugu5 cotyledon.

Hiromitsu Tabeta, Shunsuke Watanabe, Keita Fukuda, Shizuka Gunji, Mariko Asaoka, Masami Yokota Hirai, Mitsunori Seo, Hirokazu Tsukaya, Ali Ferjani

PLoS genetics   17 ( 8 ) e1009674   2021.08 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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In plants, the effective mobilization of seed nutrient reserves is crucial during germination and for seedling establishment. The Arabidopsis H+-PPase-loss-of-function fugu5 mutants exhibit a reduced number of cells in the cotyledons. This leads to enhanced post-mitotic cell expansion, also known as compensated cell enlargement (CCE). While decreased cell numbers have been ascribed to reduced gluconeogenesis from triacylglycerol, the molecular mechanisms underlying CCE remain ill-known. Given the role of indole 3-butyric acid (IBA) in cotyledon development, and because CCE in fugu5 is specifically and completely cancelled by ech2, which shows defective IBA-to-indoleacetic acid (IAA) conversion, IBA has emerged as a potential regulator of CCE. Here, to further illuminate the regulatory role of IBA in CCE, we used a series of high-order mutants that harbored a specific defect in IBA-to-IAA conversion, IBA efflux, IAA signaling, or vacuolar type H+-ATPase (V-ATPase) activity and analyzed the genetic interaction with fugu5-1. We found that while CCE in fugu5 was promoted by IBA, defects in IBA-to-IAA conversion, IAA response, or the V-ATPase activity alone cancelled CCE. Consistently, endogenous IAA in fugu5 reached a level 2.2-fold higher than the WT in 1-week-old seedlings. Finally, the above findings were validated in icl-2, mls-2, pck1-2 and ibr10 mutants, in which CCE was triggered by low sugar contents. This provides a scenario in which following seed germination, the low-sugar-state triggers IAA synthesis, leading to CCE through the activation of the V-ATPase. These findings illustrate how fine-tuning cell and organ size regulation depend on interplays between metabolism and IAA levels in plants.

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Arabidopsis NPF4.6 and NPF5.1 Control Leaf Stomatal Aperture by Regulating Abscisic Acid Transport.

Takafumi Shimizu, Yuri Kanno, Hiromi Suzuki, Shunsuke Watanabe, Mitsunori Seo

Genes   12 ( 6 )   2021.06 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is actively synthesized in vascular tissues and transported to guard cells to promote stomatal closure. Although several transmembrane ABA transporters have been identified, how the movement of ABA within plants is regulated is not fully understood. In this study, we determined that Arabidopsis NPF4.6, previously identified as an ABA transporter expressed in vascular tissues, is also present in guard cells and positively regulates stomatal closure in leaves. We also found that mutants defective in NPF5.1 had a higher leaf surface temperature compared to the wild type. Additionally, NPF5.1 mediated cellular ABA uptake when expressed in a heterologous yeast system. Promoter activities of NPF5.1 were detected in several leaf cell types. Taken together, these observations indicate that NPF5.1 negatively regulates stomatal closure by regulating the amount of ABA that can be transported from vascular tissues to guard cells.

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Ageing beautifully: can the benefits of seed priming be separated from a reduced lifespan trade-off?

Isabelle Fabrissin, Naoto Sano, Mitsunori Seo, Helen M North

Journal of experimental botany   72 ( 7 ) 2312 - 2333   2021.03 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Germination performance is affected following seed exposure to a combination of temperature fluctuations and cycles of hydration and dehydration. This has long been exploited in a seed technology termed priming, which increases germination speed and seedling vigour, but these benefits have often been associated with effects on seed lifespan, or longevity, with conflicting evidence for positive and negative effects. Seed longevity is a key seed trait influencing not only the storage of commercial stocks but also in situ and ex situ seed conservation. In the context of increasingly variable environmental conditions faced by both crops and wild species, this has led to renewed interest in understanding the molecular factors that underlie priming. Here, we provide an overview of the literature relating to the effect of priming on seed lifespan, and catalogue the different parameters used for priming treatments and their consequences on longevity for a range of species. Our current limited understanding of the molecular basis for priming effects is also outlined, with an emphasis on recent advances and promising approaches that should lead towards the application and monitoring of the priming process in a less empirical manner.

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