In the presented work the relationship between transcription factors and male gametophyte development was studied. The Ph.D. Thesis covers selection of candidate genes, wide-scale screening of T-DNA mutant lines and detailed analysis of a selected transcription factor on pollen development.

(anglicky) Alba-family proteins were identified in Archaea and Eucarya and are classified among the oldest and the most conserved nucleic acid-binding proteins. The binding preferences and roles differ among certain evolution clades. In Crenarchaea they represent chromatin-binding proteins, while their role in RNA metabolism is suggested in Euryarchaea and Eukaryotes. ALBA proteins are well characterized in human, where they play a role in the RNAse P/MRP complex and in unicellular parasites, such as Plasmodium and Trypanosoma, where an involvement in the life cycle regulation is confirmed. In plants, their role is not yet well understood. The aim of this thesis is to increase a knowledge about the Alba-family proteins in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Based on a minimal changes to development and reproduction in single mutants and high sequence similarity, a functional redundancy of the proteins was assumed. For better understanding of the ALBA proteins function, three smaller members of the family were edited by the same metod. The obtained triple mutant showed delay in flowering. ALBA dimer formation was confirmed in many organisms. BiFC method was used to determine Arabidopsis ALBA homodimerization. The data analysis showed potential homodimerization in most of them.

Anandamide (NAE 20:4) or arachidonlyethanolamine (AEA) is the most widely studied N-acylethanolamine (NAE) because it mediates several physiological functions in mammals. In vascular plants, 12-18C NAEs inhibit growth in an abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent and -independent manner. Anandamide, which is unique to bryophyte Physcomitrella patens, inhibited gametophyte growth and reduced chlorophyll content when applied exogenously. It is hypothesized that anandamide mediates its responses through morphological and cellular changes. Following growth inhibition by short-term anandamide-treatment, microscopic analyses revealed relocated chloroplasts and depolymerized F-actin in protonemal tips. Long-term treatment showed partially bleached gametophyte cells with degraded and browning chloroplasts. These anandamide-mediated responses have physiological implications as AEA may function as a signal for gametophytes to activate secondary dormancy as seen with ABA. Future studies will investigate the role of AEA in mediating stress responses and possible interaction with ABA.

v angličtině (English abstract) Tobacco male gametophyte has a strongly dehydrated cytoplasm and represents a metabolically inactive stage. Upon cytoplasm rehydration, pollen grain becomes metabolically active and after the activation is finished, the pollen tube growth through a selected pollen aperture starts. The rehydration together with metabolic activation are accompanied by the regulation of translation and post-translational modifications (mainly phosphorylation) of the existing proteins. In this Ph.D. thesis, there were identified phosphopeptides from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) mature pollen, pollen activated in vitro 5 min and pollen activated in vitro 30 min. The total proteins from the above male gametophyte stages were extracted. The protein extract was trypsinized and the acquired peptide mixture was enriched by MOAC (metal oxide/hydroxide affinity chromatography) with titanium dioxide matrix. The enriched fraction was subjected to liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC- MS/MS). Totally, there were identified 471 phosphopeptides, carrying 432 exactly localized phosphorylation sites. The acquired peptide identifications were mapped to 301 phosphoproteins that were placed into 13 functional categories, dominant of which were transcription, protein synthesis,...

Chez les angiospermes, la reproduction passe par la double fécondation. Le tube pollinique délivre deux cellules spermatiques au sein du gamétophyte femelle. Une cellule féconde la cellule œuf pour produire un zygote; l’autre féconde la cellule centrale pour produire l’endosperme. Pour assurer un succès reproductif, le développement du gamétophyte femelle au sein de l’ovule doit établir un patron cellulaire qui favorise les interactions avec le tube pollinique et les cellules spermatiques. Pour ce faire, un dialogue doit s’établir entre les différentes cellules de l’ovule lors de son développement, de même que lors de la fécondation. D’ailleurs, plusieurs types de communications intercellulaires sont supposées suite à la caractérisation de plusieurs mutants développementaux. De même, ces communications semblent persister au sein du zygote et de l’endosperme pour permettre la formation d’un embryon viable au sein de la graine. Malgré les développements récents qui ont permis de trouver des molécules de signalisation supportant les modèles d’interactions cellulaires avancés par la communauté scientifique, les voies de signalisation sont de loin très incomplètes. Dans le but de caractériser des gènes encodant des protéines de signalisation potentiellement impliqués dans la reproduction chez Solanum chacoense, l’analyse d’expression des gènes de type RALF présents dans une banque d’ESTs (Expressed Sequence Tags) spécifiques à l’ovule après fécondation a été entreprise. RALF, Rapid Alcalinization Factor, est un peptide de 5 kDa qui fait partie de la superfamille des «protéines riches en cystéines (CRPs)», dont les rôles physiologiques au sein de la plante sont multiples. Cette analyse d’expression a conduit à une analyse approfondie de ScRALF3, dont l’expression au sein de la plante se limite essentiellement à l’ovule. L’analyse de plantes transgéniques d’interférence pour le gène ScRALF3 a révélé un rôle particulier lors de la mégagamétogénèse. Les plantes transgéniques présentent des divisions mitotiques anormales qui empêchent le développement complet du sac embryonnaire. Le positionnement des noyaux, de même que la synchronisation des divisions au sein du syncytium, semblent responsables de cette perte de progression lors de la mégagamétogénèse. L’isolement du promoteur de même que l’analyse plus précise d’expression au sein de l’ovule révèle une localisation sporophytique du transcrit. La voie de signalisation de l’auxine régule également la transcription de ScRALF3. De surcroît, ScRALF3 est un peptide empruntant la voie de sécrétion médiée par le réticulum endoplasmique et l’appareil de Golgi. En somme, ScRALF3 est un important facteur facilitant la communication entre le sporophyte et le gamétophyte pour amener à maturité le sac embryonnaire. L’identification d’un orthologue potentiel chez Arabidopsis thaliana a conduit à la caractérisation de AtRALF34. L’absence de phénotype lors du développement du sac embryonnaire suggère, cependant, de la redondance génétique au sein de la grande famille des gènes de type RALF. Néanmoins, les peptides RALFs apparaissent comme d’importants régulateurs lors de la reproduction chez Solanum chacoense et Arabidopsis thaliana. / In angiosperms, reproduction occurs through double fertilization. The pollen tube delivers two sperm cells into the female gametophyte. A first sperm cell fertilizes the egg cell to produce a zygote, while the other fertilizes the central cell to produce the endosperm. To ensure reproductive success, the development of the female gametophyte within the ovule must establish a cellular pattern allowing interaction with the pollen tube and sperm cells. To this end, a dialogue must be established amongst the various cells of the ovule during its development, as well as during fertilization. Several types of communication are suggested by the analysis of developmental mutants. These communications must persist in the zygote and endosperm to allow the formation of a viable embryo within the seed. Recent developments have helped to find signaling molecules that support cell interaction models developed by the scientific community, but the signaling pathways are far from complete. In order to characterise genes encoding signaling proteins which are potentially active during reproduction in Solanum chacoense, I undertook the expression analysis of the RALF-like genes present in a bank of ESTs (Expressed Sequence Tags) specific to the ovule after fertilization. RALF, Rapid Alcalinization Factor, is a 5 kDa peptide that is part of the superfamily of Cysteine Rich Proteins (CRPs), which play a wide variety physiological roles within the plant. This expression analysis led to a detailed analysis of ScRALF3, whose expression in the plant is largely restricted to the ovule. The analysis of ScRALF3 RNAi transgenic plants revealed a function during megagametogenesis. The transgenic plants exhibit abnormal mitotic divisions that prevent the maturity of the embryo sac. The positioning of the nuclei, as well as the timing of divisions in the syncytium, appear to be responsible for the arrest of development during megagametogenesis. Isolation of the promoter as well as more accurate analysis of transcript expression reveals localisation within the ovule sporophytic tissue. The auxin signaling pathway is also involved in the regulation of ScRALF3 expression. ScRALF3 is a secreted peptide passing via the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus. In summary, ScRALF3 may be an important factor facilitating communication between the gametophyte and the sporophyte to allow maturation of the embryo sac. The identification of a potential orthologue in Arabidopsis thaliana led to the characterisation of AtRALF34. The lack of a phenotype during embryo sac development, however, suggests that genetic redundancy within the family of RALF-like genes is very complex. Nevertheless, the RALF peptides appear to be important regulators during reproduction in Solanum chacoense and Arabidopsis thaliana.

No description available.

<p>  </p> <p>The growth of land plants depends on a group of pluripotent stem cells in a tissue called the meristem. Seed plants initiate and maintain different types of meristems at the asexual sporophyte stage, and they generate sexual gametophytes, which are dependent on their sporophytes and are devoid of a meristem. In contrast, aside from forming indeterminate meristems at the sporophyte stage, seedless vascular plants, including ferns, also develop meristems in their gametophytes to drive gametophyte development and formation of sexual organs. To date, compared to the well-characterized cell behaviors and regulatory pathways in the meristems of seed plants, the molecular and cellular basis of meristem development in seedless ferns is still poorly understood. </p> <p>In several seed plants, the HAIRY MERISTEM (HAM) family transcription factors play important roles in maintaining the indeterminacy of shoot apical meristems and promoting the <em>de novo</em> formation of axillary meristems. In the first part of this dissertation, through constructing a comprehensive phylogeny, I found that HAM family members are widely present in land plants and duplicated in a common ancestor of flowering plants, leading to the formation of two distinct groups: type I and type II. In addition, HAM members from different seed plants and seedless plants are able to replace the roles of the Arabidopsis type-II <em>HAM</em> genes, maintaining established shoot apical meristems and promoting the initiation of new stem cell niches in Arabidopsis. Furthermore, preliminary functional studies of the <em>HAM </em>homolog (<em>CrHAM</em>) in the model fern<em> Ceratopteris richardii</em> suggest that CrHAM is required for maintaining the indeterminacy of multicellular meristems in Ceratopteris gametophytes. Collectively, these results indicate that HAM family members may serve as common regulators in control of meristem development in both seed plants and seedless vascular plants. </p> <p>In the remaining chapter of this dissertation, long-term time-lapse confocal imaging was performed using Ceratopteris stable transgenic plants, in which each individual cell (nucleus) was labelled with a fluorescent marker. Real-time lineage, identity, and division activity of each single cell from meristem initiation to establishment in Ceratopteris gametophytes were then determined. Additionally, cell fate and lineage alterations during <em>de novo</em> formation of new meristems were examined by mechanical perturbations. These quantitative analyses lead to the conclusion that in Ceratopteris gametophytes, initiation and proliferation of multicellular meristems relies on a few marginal cell lineages. Once established, the meristem maintains an actively dividing zone during gametophyte development. Within the meristem, cell division is independent of cell lineages and marginal cells are more actively dividing than inner cells. The meristem also triggers differentiation of adjacent cells into egg-producing archegonia in a position-dependent manner. </p> <p>In summary, this work provides insight into the evolution of key stem-cell regulators and advances the understanding of diversified meristem development in land plants. </p>

ALBA proteins were discovered in Archaea more than 30 years ago. They were gradually identified to be well conserved in Eucaryotes as well. A functional dimeric form of these proteins with DNA and RNA-binding capability was claimed in both mentioned domains of organisms. However, their roles diversified during evolution and vary in between organisms. In Archaea, ALBAs are involved in the genome organization and RNA-protein interactions. In Eukaryotes, there are presented two different subfamilies of ALBA proteins - Rpp20 and Rpp25 subfamily. A sole protein from each subfamily was identified in some organisms though they were multiplied in plants, respectively. These proteins can interact with each other and participate in ontogenetic development and stress responses. According to several studies, ALBA proteins were found to be involved in DNA stability maintenance or pre-rRNA splicing in the nucleus of Arabidopsis thaliana. However, they have been shown to play a role in the cellular metabolism and stress responses in cytoplasm. Six ALBA proteins were identified in the genome of A. thaliana, three from each subfamily. In this study, all heterodimeric protein- protein interactions were investigated by the bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assay which revealed positive results in...

No description available.

La coordination du développement par les communications intercellulaires est essentielle pour assurer la reproduction chez les plantes. Plusieurs études démontrent qu’une communication entre le sac embryonnaire et le tissu maternel, le sporophyte, est essentielle au bon développement des gamètes. Les molécules, peptides ou autres protagonistes impliqués dans ces voies de signalisation ainsi que leur mode d’action restent toutefois nébuleux. Les gènes de type RALF codent pour des petits peptides sécrétés retrouvés de manière spécifique ou ubiquitaire dans la plante. Leur structure en font de parfaits candidats pour permettre ces communications cellule-cellule entre les différents tissus. Treize gènes de type RALF ont été isolés actuellement chez la pomme de terre sauvage Solanum chacoense. Maintenant, nous montrons qu’un de ceux-ci, ScRALF3, est impliqué dans la polarisation du sac embryonnaire et dans la synchronicité des divisions mitotiques assurant la formation d’un gamétophyte femelle mature fonctionnel. Étant exprimé de manière spécifique au niveau des téguments de l’ovule, ScRALF3 est un candidat idéal pour réguler les communications cellule-cellule entre le sporophyte et le sac embryonnaire. / Development coordination through intercellular communication is essential for plant reproduction. Several studies show that communication between embryo sac and maternal tissue, the sporophyte, is essential to the development of gametes. These molecules, peptides or other actors involved in these signaling pathways and their mode of action remains unclear. Genes encoding small secreted RALF peptides specifically or ubiquitously expressed throughout the plant are good candidates to allow these cell-cell communications. Thirteen RALF-like genes have been isolated at present from the wild potato Solanum chacoense. Now, we show that one of these, ScRALF3, is involved in the polarization of the embryo sac and the synchronicity of mitotic divisions to ensure the formation of a functional mature female gametophyte. Since it is specifically expressed in the integument of the ovule, ScRALF3 is an ideal candidate to regulate cell-cell communication between the sporophyte and the gametophyte, e.g., the embryo sac.