0000000000146528
AUTHOR
Delphine Aimé
A holistic overview of the impact of sulfur deficiency in pea facing water deficit
We report on the interplay between water deficit and sulfur deficiency, two constraints that are increasingly faced by crops due to climate change and low-input agricultural practices. In particular, we aim at better understanding the role of sulfur nutrition in the trade-off between seed quality establishment and plant stress tolerance in pea (Pisum sativum L.), a grain legume crop which has a pivotal role to play in both agroecological and food transitions. Like other legumes, pea is able to accumulate large amounts of seed proteins even in the absence of nitrogen fertilizers thanks to its symbiosis with N2-fixing soil bacteria. In this study, we deprived pea plants (cv. Caméor) of sulfur…
Role of vacuolar sulfate in nutritional quality of pea seeds
Grain legumes have a key role to play in both agroecological and food transitions. Indeed, these plants are able to accumulate large amounts of proteins in their seeds even in the absence of nitrogen fertilization thanks to symbiotic N2 fixation in the root nodules. However, legumes are exposed to abiotic stresses, including nutrient deficiencies, making it important to optimize nutrient use efficiency for maintaining seed protein content and quality. Seed protein quality refers to the ability of the seed proteins to meet the body’s requirements for essential amino acids. It strongly depends on the amino acid balance, which determines protein digestibility. In pea (Pisum sativum) seeds, met…
Importance du sulfate vacuolaire pour l’établissement du rendement et de la qualité des graines de pois
Les graines de pois constituent un aliment sain et nourrissant, notamment de par leur forte teneur en protéines (environ 25%). La qualité nutritionnelle de ces protéines est néanmoins limitée par leur faible proportion en acides aminés soufrés (AAS) : cystéine et méthionine. L’objectif était d’étudier la contribution du stock de sulfate contenu dans les vacuoles à l’élaboration du rendement et de la qualité des graines, notamment la synthèse des AAS. Nous avons ciblé l’unique gène SULTR4 de pois qui code un transporteur permettant l’efflux de sulfate de la vacuole vers le cytosol. Après avoir confirmé sa localisation à la membrane vacuolaire, nous avons recherché des mutants de pois pour ce…
Genetic determinants of seed protein plasticity in response to the environment in Medicago truncatula
As the frequency of extreme environmental events is expected to increase with climate change, identifying candidate genes for stabilizing the protein composition of legume seeds or optimizing this in a given environment is increasingly important. To elucidate the genetic determinants of seed protein plasticity, major seed proteins from 200 ecotypes of Medicago truncatula grown in four contrasting environments were quantified after one-dimensional electrophoresis. The plasticity index of these proteins was recorded for each genotype as the slope of Finlay and Wilkinson's regression and then used for genome-wide association studies (GWASs), enabling the identification of candidate genes for d…
The pea sulfate transporter, PsSULTR4, contributes to seed yield and quality
To investigate the role of vacuolar sulfate in seed yield and quality, we have targeted the single pea SULTR4 gene (PsSULTR4), which encodes a transporter homologous to Arabidopsis SULTR4;1 and 4;2 that allow sulfate efflux from the vacuole to the cytosol. By simulating the 3D structure of PsSULTR4, we observed that it is similar to that of SULTR4;1 in Arabidopsis. Furthermore, a phylogenetic analysis revealed a high level of conservation of SULTR4 protein motifs across land species. A fluorescent protein fusion experiment confirmed that PsSULTR4 localizes to the vacuolar membrane.Five sultr4 mutants were identified by TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes), two of which showe…
Role of vacuolar sulfate in the nutritional quality of pea seeds
Legumes have a key role to play in both agroecological and food transitions due to their ability to accumulate large amountsof seed proteins without nitrogen fertilization thanks to symbiotic N2 fixation in the root nodules. However, in agroecologicalsystems, legumes are more exposed to nutrient deficiencies, including sulfur deficiency, than in conventional systems, makingit important to optimize nutrient use efficiency for maintain seed protein quality, in particular the level of (semi) essentialamino acids like methionine and cysteine. These sulfur-containing amino acids are synthetized through the sulfur metabolicpathway starting from sulfate reduction. Sulfate is taken up from the soil…