5 research outputs found

    Regulation of WRKY46 Transcription Factor Function by Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases in Arabidopsis thaliana

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    Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are central signaling pathways activated in plants after sensing internal developmental and external stress cues. Knowledge about the downstream substrate proteins of MAPKs is still limited in plants. We screened Arabidopsis WRKY transcription factors as potential targets downstream of MAPKs, and concentrated on characterizing WRKY46 as a substrate of the MAPK, MPK3. Mass spectrometry revealed in vitro phosphorylation of WRKY46 at amino acid position S168 by MPK3. However, mutagenesis studies showed that a second phosphosite, S250, can also be phosphorylated. Elicitation with pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), such as the bacterial flagellin-derived flg22 peptide led to in vivo destabilization of WRKY46 in Arabidopsis protoplasts. Mutation of either phosphorylation site reduced the PAMP-induced degradation of WRKY46. Furthermore, the protein for the double phosphosite mutant is expressed at higher levels compared to wild-type proteins or single phosphosite mutants. In line with its nuclear localization and predicted function as a transcriptional activator, overexpression of WRKY46 in protoplasts raised basal plant defense as reflected by the increase in promoter activity of the PAMP-responsive gene, NHL10, in a MAPK-dependent manner. Thus, MAPK-mediated regulation of WRKY46 is a mechanism to control plant defense

    Stress induced β subunit of heterotrimeric G-proteins from Pisum sativum interacts with mitogen activated protein kinase

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    We here report in Pisum sativum system a novel protein-protein interaction of β-subunit of heterotrimeric G-proteins (PsGβ) with a Mitogen activated protein kinase (PsMPK3) during cDNA library screening by yeast-two-hybrid assay. The transcript of these two genes also showed co-regulation under abscisic acid (ABA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatments. The protein-protein interaction was further validated by performing one-to-one interaction and β-galactosidase assay in yeast system. β-subunit of G-proteins from a heterologous system Oryzae sativa also showed interaction with PsMPK3. The interaction between PsGβ and PsMPK3 was further confirmed by in vitro protein-protein interaction. This suggested that MPK3 function as effector molecule for Gβ, which may helps in the regulation of stomatal functioning. These findings also provide an evidence for a possible cross-talk between MPK3 and G-protein-mediated signaling pathways in plants

    Regulation of MAP kinase signaling cascade by microRNAs in <i>Oryza sativa</i>

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    <div><p>Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is one of the most conserved signaling cascade in plants regulating a plethora of cellular processes including normal growth and development, abiotic and biotic stress responses. The perception of external cues triggers the phosphorylation of three tier MAPKKK-MAPKK-MAPK cascade which finally modifies a downstream substrate thereby regulating the cellular processes. Whereas, the transcription regulation by MAPKs, mediated through their substrates is well studied in plants, the transcription and post-transcriptional regulation of the MAPK genes are poorly understood. Previous studies from the animals systems suggested the miRNAs regulate the post-transcriptional regulation of MAPK transcripts. Here we attempt to unravel the post-transcriptional regulation of MAPKs by miRNAs in model crop plant <i>Oryza sativa</i>. Using <i>in silico</i> tools, we predict the miRNAs for 98 out of 99 MAPK transcripts. The predicted miRNAs were validated for the biological relevance of their function. The inverse correlation between relative transcript levels between the MAPKs and their predicted miRNAs validated the <i>in silico</i> prediction. Taken together, this report demonstrates the significance of miRNAs in regulation of the MAPK pathway in plants with a new direction to study the plant signaling molecules.</p></div

    Arabidopsis WRKY50 and TGA transcription factors synergistically activate expression of PR1

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    Arabidopsis PR1 is a salicylic acid (SA) inducible marker gene for systemic acquired resistance (SAR). However, the regulation of PR1 in plants is poorly understood. In this study, we showed that AtWRKY50 transcription factor binds to two promoter elements of PR1 via its DNA binding domain. Interestingly, the DNA-binding sites for AtWRKY50 deviate significantly from the consensus WRKY binding W-box. The binding sites are located in close proximity to the binding sites for TGA transcription factors. Transactivation experiments in Arabidopsis protoplasts derived from wild type, npr1-1 and tga256 mutant plants indicated that AtWRKY50 alone was able to induce expression of a PR1::β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene, independent of TGAs or NPR1. However, co-expression of TGA2 or TGA5 with AtWRKY50 synergistically enhanced expression to high levels. Yeast-2-hybrid assays and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) experiments revealed that AtWRKY50 could interact with TGA2 and TGA5. Using electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) it was established that AtWRKY50 and TGA2 or TGA5 simultaneously bind to the PR1 promoter. Taken together, these results support a role of AtWRKY50 in SA-induced expression of PR1. Highlights: AtWRKY50 specifically binds to LS10 region of PR1 promoter and interacts with TGAs to synergistically activate PR1 expression
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