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Review
. 2020 Aug 30;9(9):1122.
doi: 10.3390/plants9091122.

Dynamics and Functions of Stress Granules and Processing Bodies in Plants

Geng-Jen Jang  1 , Jyan-Chyun Jang  2 , Shu-Hsing Wu  1
Affiliations
Review

Dynamics and Functions of Stress Granules and Processing Bodies in Plants

Geng-Jen Jang et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

RNA granules, such as stress granules and processing bodies, can balance the storage, degradation, and translation of mRNAs in diverse eukaryotic organisms. The sessile nature of plants demands highly versatile strategies to respond to environmental fluctuations. In this review, we discuss recent findings of the dynamics and functions of these RNA granules in plants undergoing developmental reprogramming or responding to environmental stresses. Special foci include the dynamic assembly, disassembly, and regulatory roles of these RNA granules in determining the fate of mRNAs.

Keywords: mRNA decay; processing bodies; stress granules; translation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Stress granule dynamics and functions in translation repression in response to abiotic stresses. (a) Stress granules marked with eIF4E formed after 30 min of heat stress in tomato cells [17]. (b) Stress granules marked with RFP-PABP2 that accumulated after 1-h heat treatment and decreased after a 2-h recovery at 22 °C from heat stress in Arabidopsis roots [20]. (c) UBP1C-containing stress granules assembled in response to hypoxia stress in Arabidopsis leaves [16]. Note that the UBP1C-GFP subcellular localization pattern changed from the diffused distribution in the nucleus and cytoplasm to stress granules under hypoxia. For each subfigure, the upper panels illustrate the localizations of SGs within respective cells/tissues under mock (control), stress (heat, hypoxia), or recovery conditions. The lower panels are graphical representations of mRNA destinies correlating with the functions of SGs. 4E: eIF4E foci; R: ribosome; TR: translating mRNA; NTR: non-translating mRNA associated with the stress granule (SG); PABP2: RFP-PABP2 foci; N: nucleus; U: UBP1C-GFP focus.
Figure 2
Figure 2
P-body dynamics and functions in mRNA decay and translation repression in response to abiotic or biotic environmental cues. (a) P-bodies and associated global translation repression in Arabidopsis cotyledons decreased during transition from dark to 4-h light treatment [37]. (b) Low temperature induced formation of p-bodies and specific mRNA decay in Arabidopsis root tips was dependent on LSM1A and LSM1B [40]. (c) Yu et al. (2019) demonstrated that the treatment of flg22 triggered the disassembly of DCP1-associated p-bodies and differential mRNA decay in Arabidopsis protoplasts [42]. (d) The treatment of flg22 led to the decrease of TZF9-containing granules and the release of translation repression in Arabidopsis protoplasts [43]. The spherical dark-shade clusters in the background of the upper panel of (d) are chloroplasts (Ch). Note that the TZF9 fluorescence signal changed from distinct granules to a diffusive cytoplasmic pattern. (e) In contrast to (c), the treatment of flg22 induced the formation of PAT1-associated p-bodies in Arabidopsis root epidermal cells [44]. For each subfigure, the upper panel illustrates the localization of SGs within the respective cells/tissues under mock (control) or treatment (light, flg22) conditions. The lower panels are graphical representations of mRNA destinies correlating with the functions of p-bodies. DCP2: DCP2-YFP focus; DCP2/VCS: GFP-DCP2 or GFP-VCS focus; DCP1/DCP5/XRN4: DCP1-GFP, DCP5-GFP, or XRN4-GFP focus; TZF9: TZF9-GFP focus; VCS/PAT1: VCS-GFP or PAT1-GFP focus; PB: p-body; NTR: non-translating mRNA associated with PB; R: ribosome; TR: translating mRNA; TD: target of decapping machinery; P: phosphate; PD: phosphorylated DCP1.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The dynamics and functions of p-bodies and SGs are regulated by RNA helicases. The numbers of p-bodies (marked by DCP2 or VCS) and SGs (marked by UBP1C) increased in response to coverslip-induced hypoxia in Arabidopsis root epidermal cells, a process requiring specific RNA helicases (RHs) [48]. Note the reduction of cytoplasmic granules in rh6812 triple mutant under coverslip-induced hypoxia. The induction of these RNA granules was correlated with selective mRNA decay and translation repression. For each subfigure, the upper panel illustrates the localization of SGs within wild-type cells/tissues under mock (control) or hypoxia conditions and the rh6812 mutant under hypoxia condition. The lower panels are graphical representations of mRNA destinies in the corresponding cells/tissues. WT: wild-type Arabidopsis; DCP2/VCS/UBP1C: DCP2-GFP, VCS-GFP, or UBP1C-GFP focus. PB: p-body; SG: stress granule; R: ribosome.
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