Examining previously unknown molecular mechanisms for environmental adaptation in plants
Researchers from the University of Konstanz have discovered unknown molecular mechanisms by which plants adapt to their environment.
Plants are exposed to environmental changes all the time, so they have to be able to sense and respond to those changes. They will die if they can't respond to changing circumstances.
The research team at the University of Konstanz has identified two deubiquitinating enzymes that are involved in the plant adaptation mechanism.
The inside of the cell is separated from the outside world by the transporters and receptors located on the cell membranes. As well as being degraded in the cell, they are also produced.
The small signal ubiquitin hooks on other proteins and ensures that they are degraded. There are deubiquitylating enzymes that remove ubiquitins.
Two enzymes, Otu11 and Otu12, were found to be localized at the cell membrane and actually involved in regulating the amount of cell membrane proteins.
This influences the degradation of the modified proteins. " Previously, we discovered how they attach to the negatively charged lipids on the cell membrane.
Adaptive mechanisms have been described in many organisms; however, the one reported here is a undescribed form of adaptive behavior.
Ubiquitin-specific proteases are very important, as their deubiquitylating enzymes can have major consequences for the function of the cell.
we found that the deubiquitylating enzymes do not become active until they reach the membrane, where the lipids are located.
This enzyme would work best in intracellular applications.
Model plants are used in basic biological research to investigate fundamental biochemical and molecular biological mechanisms.
The long-term goal is to improve agricultural yields to maximize agricultural productivity, a critical need in times of climate change.
It’s important to understand how plants are controlled by the environment at the molecular level. It’s probably related to this Ubiquitin-dependent signaling pathway.