bims-plasge 2025-03-09 papers

Issue of 2025–03–09
three papers selected by
Vera S. Bogdanova, ИЦиГ СО РАН

Mitochondrion. 2025 Feb 28. pii: S1567-7249(25)00016-9. [Epub ahead of print]82 102019

Research progress on paternal mitochondrial inheritance: An overview.

Wen Hu, Jiting Zhang, Zhaoqi Wu, Yi Wu, Yuhui Hu, Xiaohui Hu, Jinguo Cao.

Mitochondria are self-replicating organelles with their own DNA. They play a crucial role in biological, cellular and functional processes, such as energy production, metabolism, and signal transduction. Abnormal mitochondrial function can cause various diseases such as diabetes, tumour, Parkinson's disease, hereditary optic neuropathy, and others. Although mitochondrial functions have been extensively and widely explored, studies on mitochondrial inheritance have been limited. Mitochondrial inheritance is traditionally thought to be maternal although small amounts of paternally transmitted mitochondria have been discovered on rare occasions, and the role of paternal mitochondria transmission to offspring has been largely ignored. This review highlights the present knowledge on mitochondrial inheritance, especially the controversy and the difficulties in investigating paternal mitochondrial inheritance. More significantly, we present a comprehensive description of the physiological functions of paternal mitochondria in children and discuss the animal model to explore the mechanism of paternal mitochondrial inheritance. This review may provide a theoretical and experimental basis for improving our understanding of paternal mitochondrial inheritance, and also provide new ideas for treating mitochondrial diseases.

Keywords: Drosophila; Mitochondria; Mitochondrial inheritance; Paternal mitochondrial inheritance

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mito.2025.102019

Plant Cell Environ. 2025 Mar 04.

Spatial Variation and Adaptive Responses of Tall-Type Field Peas (Pisum sativum L.) Across Indian Subcontinent.

Understanding crop performance across diverse agro-ecologies is crucial for developing region-specific breeding strategies. This multi-location study examined the impact of diverse environments on crop eco-phenology and genotype-by-environment interactions (GEI) of tall-type field pea breeding lines. Empirical methods were employed to identify strategic locations that support higher yields and unique genotypic traits. The results revealed significant variations across locations, with coefficients of variation for key traits as follows: days to flowering (31%), days to maturity (20%), reproductive period (19%), yield (35%), and seed weight (31%). Environmental component accounted for the largest yield variation (78%), followed by GEI (13%). Correlation analysis indicated a significant influence of both temperature extremes, particularly maximum temperature during flowering, on crop yields. Higher minimum temperatures during flowering and reproductive period were associated with reduced yields, while extended crop duration in cooler regions also negatively impacted yields. A significant quadratic relationship between seed weight and yield underscored the importance of seed weight as a yield-stabilising trait. GGE-biplot analysis identified four mega-environments, and designated Faizabad, Pantnagar, Varanasi, and Kota as ideal testing sites for selecting genotypes with broader adaptability. These findings provide valuable insights for redesigning field pea breeding programmes at the national level.

Keywords: GGE biplot; Pisum sativum L; desirability index; genotype–by–environment interaction (GEI); grain yield; mega–environment; phenological development

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.15450

Plant Divers. 2025 Jan;47(1): 127-135

The evolutionarily diverged single-stranded DNA-binding proteins SSB1/SSB2 differentially affect the replication, recombination and mutation of organellar genomes in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Weidong Zhu, Jie Qian, Yingke Hou, Luke R Tembrock, Liyun Nie, Yi-Feng Hsu, Yong Xiang, Yi Zou, Zhiqiang Wu.

Single-stranded DNA-binding proteins (SSBs) play essential roles in the replication, recombination and repair processes of organellar DNA molecules. In Arabidopsis thaliana, SSBs are encoded by a small family of two genes (SSB1 and SSB2). However, the functional divergence of these two SSB copies in plants remains largely unknown, and detailed studies regarding their roles in the replication and recombination of organellar genomes are still incomplete. In this study, phylogenetic, gene structure and protein motif analyses all suggested that SSB1 and SSB2 probably diverged during the early evolution of seed plants. Based on accurate long-read sequencing results, ssb1 and ssb2 mutants had decreased copy numbers for both mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and plastid DNA (ptDNA), accompanied by a slight increase in structural rearrangements mediated by intermediate-sized repeats in mt genome and small-scale variants in both genomes. Our findings provide an important foundation for further investigating the effects of DNA dosage in the regulation of mutation frequencies in plant organellar genomes.

Keywords: Mutation; Organellar genomes; Recombination; Replication; SSB

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pld.2024.11.001