Hecate Research Articles

A transcriptional complex of NGATHA and bHLH transcription factors directs stigma development in Arabidopsis.

The stigma is an angiosperm-specific tissue that is essential for pollination. In the last two decades, several transcription factors with key roles in stigma development in Arabidopsis thaliana have been identified. However, genetic analyses have thus far been unable to unravel the precise regulatory interactions among these transcription factors or the molecular basis for their selective roles in different spatial and temporal domains. Here, we show that the NGATHA (NGA) and HECATE (HEC) transcription factors, which are involved in different developmental processes but are both essential for stigma development, require each other to perform this function. This relationship is likely mediated by their physical interaction in the apical gynoecium. NGA/HEC transcription factors subsequently upregulate INDEHISCENT (IND) and SPATULA and are indispensable for the binding of IND to some of its targets to allow stigma differentiation. Our findings support a nonhierarchical regulatory scenario in which the combinatorial action of different transcription factors provides exquisite temporal and spatial specificity of their developmental outputs.

Coordination of biradial-to-radial symmetry and tissue polarity by HD-ZIP II proteins

Symmetry establishment is a critical process in the development of multicellular organs and requires careful coordination of polarity axes while cells actively divide within tissues. Formation of the apical style in the Arabidopsis gynoecium involves a bilateral-to-radial symmetry transition, a stepwise process underpinned by the dynamic distribution of the plant morphogen auxin. Here we show that SPATULA (SPT) and the HECATE (HEC) bHLH proteins mediate the final step in the style radialisation process and synergistically control the expression of adaxial-identity genes, HOMEOBOX ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA 3 (HAT3) and ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA HOMEOBOX 4 (ATHB4). HAT3/ATHB4 module drives radialisation of the apical style by promoting basal-to-apical auxin flow and via a negative feedback mechanism that finetune auxin distribution through repression of SPT expression and cytokinin sensitivity. Thus, this work reveals the molecular basis of axes-coordination and hormonal cross-talk during the sequential steps of symmetry transition in the Arabidopsis style.

Anticancer effect of the traditional Chinese medicine herb Maytenus compound via the EGFR/PI3K/AKT/GSK3β pathway

Background: Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide; folk anticancer medicinal plants have applied for cancer treatment. The Maytenus compound tablet as traditional Chinese compound medicine has been approved for alleviating hyperplasia of mammary glands, whether it can inhibit cancer still unknown. The study was to evaluate the anticancer activity of the Maytenus compound tablet. Methods: MTS assay evaluated the anti-proliferation effect of the Maytenus compound on H226, A2058, 786O and HeLa cancer cells and two normal epithelial cell lines, namely, 16HBE and Hecate. Nude mouse xenograft tumor model using H226 and HeLa cells examined the drug’s anticancer effect in vivo. Western blot assay studied the possible mechanism. Results: The Maytenus compound indicated obvious ability to against proliferation in four strains of cancer cells, particularly against H226 cells by an IC50 of 85.47±10.06 µg/mL and against HeLa cells by an IC50 of 128.74±17.46 µg/mL. However, it had a low cytotoxicity in human normal epithelial cell lines 16HBE with an IC50 of 4,555.86±25.21 µg/mL and Hecate with an IC50 of 833.56±181.88 µg/mL. The Maytenus compound at the 2.45 g/kg oral dosages inhibited the proliferation of H226 cells and HeLa cells in nude mouse with inhibitory rates of 36.06% and 26.45%, respectively, and no organ toxicity. The Maytenus compound could significantly downregulate the expression of pEGFR, pPI3K, pAKT, pGSK3β, β-catenin, and c-MYC and upregulate the protein expression of GSK3β. Conclusions: The Maytenus compound has significant anticancer activities against human cancer H226 and HeLa cells both in vitro and in vivo, highlighting it may be an anticancer medicine.

A molecular network for functional versatility of HECATE transcription factors.

During the plant life cycle, diverse signaling inputs are continuously integrated and engage specific genetic programs depending on the cellular or developmental context. Consistent with an important role in this process, HECATE (HEC) basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors display diverse functions, from photomorphogenesis to the control of shoot meristem dynamics and gynoecium patterning. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying their functional versatility and the deployment of specific HEC subprograms remain elusive. To address this issue, we systematically identified proteins with the capacity to interact with HEC1, the best-characterized member of the family, and integrated this information with our data set of direct HEC1 target genes. The resulting core genetic modules were consistent with specific developmental functions of HEC1, including its described activities in light signaling, gynoecium development and auxin homeostasis. Importantly, we found that HEC genes also play a role in the modulation of flowering time, and uncovered that their role in gynoecium development may involve the direct transcriptional regulation of NGATHA1 (NGA1) and NGA2 genes. NGA factors were previously shown to contribute to fruit development, but our data now show that they also modulate stem cell homeostasis in the shoot apical meristem. Taken together, our results delineate a molecular network underlying the functional versatility of HEC transcription factors. Our analyses have not only allowed us to identify relevant target genes controlling shoot stem cell activity and a so far undescribed biological function of HEC1, but also provide a rich resource for the mechanistic elucidation of further context-dependent HEC activities.

Control of plant cell fate transitions by transcriptional and hormonal signals.

Plant meristems carry pools of continuously active stem cells, whose activity is controlled by developmental and environmental signals. After stem cell division, daughter cells that exit the stem cell domain acquire transit amplifying cell identity before they are incorporated into organs and differentiate. In this study, we used an integrated approach to elucidate the role of HECATE (HEC) genes in regulating developmental trajectories of shoot stem cells in Arabidopsis thaliana. Our work reveals that HEC function stabilizes cell fate in distinct zones of the shoot meristem thereby controlling the spatio-temporal dynamics of stem cell differentiation. Importantly, this activity is concomitant with the local modulation of cellular responses to cytokinin and auxin, two key phytohormones regulating cell behaviour. Mechanistically, we show that HEC factors transcriptionally control and physically interact with MONOPTEROS (MP), a key regulator of auxin signalling, and modulate the autocatalytic stabilization of auxin signalling output.

Transcriptome Analysis of a Female-sterile Mutant (fsm) in Chinese Cabbage (Brassica campestris ssp. pekinensis).

Female-sterile mutants are ideal materials for studying pistil development in plants. Here, we identified a female-sterile mutant fsm in Chinese cabbage. This mutant, which exhibited stable inheritance, was derived from Chinese cabbage DH line ‘FT’ using a combination of isolated microspore culture and ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis. Compared with the wild-type line ‘FT,’ the fsm plants exhibited pistil abortion, and floral organs were also relatively smaller. Genetic analysis indicated that the phenotype of fsm is controlled by a single recessive nuclear gene. Morphological observations revealed that the presence of abnormal ovules in fsm likely influenced normal fertilization process, ultimately leading to female sterility. Comparative transcriptome analysis on the flower buds of ‘FT’ and fsm using RNA-Seq revealed a total of 1,872 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Of these, a number of genes involved in pistil development were identified, such as PRETTY FEW SEEDS 2 (PFS2), temperature-induced lipocalin (TIL), AGAMOUS-LIKE (AGL), and HECATE (HEC). Furthermore, GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses of the DEGs suggested that a variety of biological processes and metabolic pathways are significantly enriched during pistil development. In addition, the expression patterns of 16 DEGs, including four pistil development-related genes and 12 floral organ development-related genes, were analyzed using qRT-PCR. A total of 31,272 single nucleotide polymorphisms were specifically detected in fsm. These results contribute to shed light on the regulatory mechanisms underlying pistil development in Chinese cabbage.

Seed Plant-Specific Gene Lineages Involved in Carpel Development.

Evolutionary innovations are important drivers of speciation and some are the defining characters of entire phyla. One such major innovation is the carpel, the unifying character and most complex plant organ, composed of many clearly distinct tissue types to ensure reproductive success. The origin of the carpel is unknown, but many components of the gene regulatory network (GRN) governing carpel development and their genetic interactions are known from the core eudicot Arabidopsis thaliana. To unravel the evolution of the carpel GRN and to discriminate between "early" and "late" steps in carpel evolution, we calculated thorough phylogeny reconstructions based on sequenced genomes. The A. thaliana carpel GRN members ALCATRAZ (ALC), CRABS CLAW (CRC), HALF FILLED (HAF), HECATE (HEC), INDEHISCENT (IND), NGATHA (NGA), and SPATULA (SPT) were analyzed in their phylogenetic context. We find that the carpel GRN components are of various ages, but interestingly, we identify especially high retention rates for carpel development genes in Brassicaceae. Our data suggest that genes whose A. thaliana homologs are involved in processes already present in the most recent common ancestor of seed plants, such as reproductive meristem termination or adaxial/abaxial polarity specification, are not retained in duplicates after whole genome duplications (WGD). In contrast, genes involved in processes associated with derived carpel characters in Arabidopsis, such as the transmitting tract or style development show a higher gene retention rate after WGD. This work provides a starting point for analyses of carpel genes in early diverging angiosperms which would be very informative for evolutionary studies.

A Negative Feedback Loop between PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORs and HECATE Proteins Fine-Tunes Photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis.

The phytochrome interacting factors (PIFs), a small group of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors, repress photomorphogenesis both in the dark and light. Light signals perceived by the phytochrome family of photoreceptors induce rapid degradation of PIFs to promote photomorphogenesis. Here, we show that HECATE (HEC) proteins, another small group of HLH proteins, antagonistically regulate PIFs to promote photomorphogenesis. HEC1 and HEC2 heterodimerize with PIF family members. PIF1, HEC1, and HEC2 genes are spatially and temporally coexpressed, and HEC2 is localized in the nucleus. hec1, hec2, and hec3 single mutants and the hec1 hec2 double mutant showed hyposensitivity to light-induced seed germination and accumulation of chlorophyll and carotenoids, hallmark processes oppositely regulated by PIF1. HEC2 inhibits PIF1 target gene expression by directly heterodimerizing with PIF1 and preventing DNA binding and transcriptional activation activity of PIF1. Conversely, PIFs directly activate the expression of HEC1 and HEC2 in the dark, and light reduces the expression of these HECs possibly by degrading PIFs. HEC2 is partially degraded in the dark through the ubiquitin/26S-proteasome pathway and is stabilized by light. HEC2 overexpression also reduces the light-induced degradation of PIF1. Taken together, these data suggest that PIFs and HECs constitute a negative feedback loop to fine-tune photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Daughters of Hecate, by K.B. Stratton & D.S. Kalleres, eds. (Book review)

Daughters of Hecate, by K.B. Stratton & D.S. Kalleres, eds. (Book review)

BETWEEN SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS: Metaphor for a “Platonic” Dialogue

Odysseus, returning from Troy to Greece under the protection of Athene, sailed the Argo between the cave of Scylla, devourer of wayward mariners, and the whirlpool of Charybdis. Scylla, the daughter of Phorcys and Hecate, and loved by Poseidon, was turned into a monster by her rival Amphitrite using magic herbs. Odysseus was chastened by his experience, able to duck and weave from other imperilment as the journey continued.

Hecate: A Transfunctional Goddess in the Theogony?

Hecate: A Transfunctional Goddess in the Theogony?

Hob, Nob, and Hecate: The problem of quantifying out

Hob, Nob, and Hecate: The problem of quantifying out

A Portrait of Hecate

A Portrait of Hecate

Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth.

Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth.

Unusual Contamination of Groundfish Caught in Northern Hecate Strait

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Pale Hecate's Team.

Pale Hecate's Team.

Hesiod's Hymns to the Muses, Aphrodite, Styx and Hecate

Hesiod's Hymns to the Muses, Aphrodite, Styx and Hecate

Hecate in Egypt

Hecate in Egypt