Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41873905›Full record

ArticlePlant biotechnology journal2026

A Bioluminescent Reporter System for Real-Time Monitoring of the Unfolded Protein Response in Plants.

Yao Liu, Yue Niu, Yunxi Zhao, Wenwen Zhang, Yonglun Lv, Minqing Liu, Qian Zhang, Jiaojiao Wang, Xin Zhang, Yanjie Li and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Plant biotechnology journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Yao LiuShanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Agri-Seeds, Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Yue NiuShanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Agri-Seeds, Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Yunxi ZhaoShanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Agri-Seeds, Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Wenwen ZhangShanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Agri-Seeds, Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Yonglun LvShanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Agri-Seeds, Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Minqing LiuShanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Agri-Seeds, Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Qian ZhangShanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Agri-Seeds, Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Jiaojiao WangShanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Agri-Seeds, Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Xin ZhangShanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Agri-Seeds, Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Yanjie LiShanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Agri-Seeds, Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Hui ZhangShanghai Key Laboratory of Protected Horticulture Technology, The Protected Horticulture Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Yingying ZhangShanghai Key Laboratory of Protected Horticulture Technology, The Protected Horticulture Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Yan BaoShanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Agri-Seeds, Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9870-5943

Funding

Shanghai Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program K2023009Shanghai Key Laboratory of Protected Horticulture Technology KF202504
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a critical mechanism for maintaining endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis under stress. Here, we developed a bioluminescent reporter system, AtbZIP60-LUC, in Arabidopsis to dynamically monitor ER stress by coupling IRE1-mediated splicing of bZIP60 mRNA to firefly luciferase (LUC) expression. Under ER stress, IRE1 removes a 23-bp sequence from bZIP60u, producing a spliced bZIP60s transcript in-frame with LUC, enabling luciferin-dependent luminescence. Transgenic AtbZIP60-LUC lines exhibited specificity for canonical ER stressors (heat, DTT, tunicamycin) but not osmotic stressors (NaCl, mannitol), confirmed by bioluminescence, qPCR, and immunoblotting. Time-course assays revealed rapid LUC induction by DTT (peak at 1 h) and delayed activation by tunicamycin (peak at 1-2 h), followed by signal decline, reflecting adaptive UPR dynamics. Heat stress optimization identified 38°C as optimal, inducing robust LUC expression after 2-3 h without compromising viability, while 42°C caused irreversible damage. Genetic validation in ire1a ire1b mutants abolished LUC induction, confirming IRE1 dependency, whereas constitutive UPR activation via maize 16-kDa γ-zein (16γz) overexpression triggered LUC expression without stress. Extending this system to tobacco and tomato, we engineered NbbZIP60-LUC and SlbZIP60-LUC, which similarly responded to heat (38°C), DTT, tunicamycin, and ER-localized protein aggregation (16γz, zeolin) in transient and stable assays. This work establishes bZIP60-LUC as versatile, non-invasive tools for real-time UPR monitoring in plants, offering insights into ER stress dynamics and enabling cross-species studies of stress adaptation mechanisms.

Indexed as

ArabidopsisLuminescent MeasurementsUnfolded Protein ResponseArabidopsis ProteinsBasic-Leucine Zipper Transcription FactorsEndoplasmic Reticulum StressGene Expression Regulation, PlantGenes, ReporterLuciferases, FireflyPlants, Genetically ModifiedArabidopsis ProteinsBasic-Leucine Zipper Transcription FactorsbZIP60 protein, ArabidopsisLuciferases, Fireflybioluminescent reporterER stressheatunfolded protein response

Identifiers

PMID41873905
PMCPMC13278540

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.