MAP3Kinase-dependent SnRK2-kinase activation is required for abscisic acid signal transduction and rapid osmotic stress response.

Abiotic stresses, including drought and salinity, trigger a complex osmotic-stress and abscisic acid (ABA) signal transduction network. The core ABA signalling components are snf1-related protein kinase2s (SnRK2s), which are activated by ABA-triggered inhibition of type-2C protein-phosphatases (PP2Cs). SnRK2 kinases are also activated by a rapid, largely unknown, ABA-independent osmotic-stress signalling pathway. Here, through a combination of a redundancy-circumventing genetic screen and biochemical analyses, we have identified functionally-redundant MAPKK-kinases (M3Ks) that are necessary for activation of SnRK2 kinases. These M3Ks phosphorylate a specific SnRK2/OST1 site, which is indispensable for ABA-induced reactivation of PP2C-dephosphorylated SnRK2 kinases. ABA-triggered SnRK2 activation, transcription factor phosphorylation and SLAC1 activation require these M3Ks in vitro and in plants. M3K triple knock-out plants show reduced ABA sensitivity and strongly impaired rapid osmotic-stress-induced SnRK2 activation. These findings demonstrate that this M3K clade is required for ABA- and osmotic-stress-activation of SnRK2 kinases, enabling robust ABA and osmotic stress signal transduction

Molecular mechanisms driving the ubiquitination and endocytosis of the Arabidopsis iron transporter IRON-REGULATED TRANSPORTER 1

L’ubiquitination est une modification post-traductionnelle qui joue un rôle majeur chez les organismes vivants. Chez Arabidopsis thaliana, le transporteur de fer racinaire IRT1 est endocyté à la suite de la monoubiquitination de deux résidus lysine situés au niveau de sa grande boucle cytosolique. Cependant, les mécanismes régissant l’endocytose médiée par l’ubiquitine ainsi que son rôle biologique restent flous. Au cours de ma Thèse, j’ai mis en évidence que la dynamique d’IRT1 était contrôlée par les métaux substrats secondaires du transporteur (à savoir le zinc, le manganèse et le cobalt). En l’absence de ces métaux, IRT1 est localisé à la membrane plasmique avec une polarité latérale le positionnant sur la face externe des cellules de l’épiderme racinaire. La présence de ces mêmes métaux à un niveau physiologique entraîne la monoubiquitination d’IRT1 et son internalisation vers les endosomes précoces. J’ai démontré que lorsque les métaux substrats secondaires d’IRT1 sont présents en excès, les modifications monoubiquitine sont alors allongées en chaînes de polyubiquitines liées par le résidu lysine-63, entrainant ainsi son adressage vers la vacuole et sa dégradation. Mes travaux ont par ailleurs permis d’élucider les mécanismes moléculaires impliquées dans la réponse des plantes à l’excès de métaux substrats d’IRT1. J’ai notamment montré que l’endocytose d’IRT1 était dépendante i) d’un motif riche en résidus histidine dans la séquence d’IRT1 qui est capable de fixer ces métaux autres que le fer, ii) de la phosphorylation d’IRT1 au niveau d’un résidu thréonine par une protéine kinase en cours d’investigation, et iii) de l’E3 ligase à domaine RING IDF1. D’un point de vue physiologique, l’endocytose d’IRT1 médiée par l’ubiquitine et dépendante des métaux protège la plante d’une suraccumulation de ces métaux autres que le fer qui sont hautement réactifs.Ubiquitination is a post-translational modification playing a major role in living organisms. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the root iron transporter IRT1 is endocytosed following the monoubiquitination of two lysine residues located in its large cytosolic loop. However, the mechanisms driving IRT1 ubiquitin-mediated endocytosis and its biological relevance remains unclear. During my PhD, I uncovered that IRT1 dynamics is controlled by its secondary metal substrates (i.e. zinc, manganese and cobalt). In the absence of these non-iron metals, IRT1 is found at the cell-surface of root epidermal cells with an outer lateral polarity, while their presence at physiological levels triggers IRT1 monoubiquitination, internalization and accumulation in early endosomes. However, upon non-iron metal excess, monoubiquitin modifications are extended into K63 polyubiquitin chains to promote the vacuolar targeting of IRT1 and its degradation. I investigated further the molecular mechanisms driving plant responses to non-iron metal excess. I notably showed that this regulation by non-iron metals is dependent on i) a histidine-rich stretch in IRT1 that is able to directly bind to non-iron metals, ii) the subsequent recruitment of a kinase currently under investigation which phosphorylates IRT1 at a threonine residue, and iii) the RING E3 ligase IDF1. Altogether, the metal-dependent ubiquitin-mediated endocytosis of IRT1 protects the plant from overaccumulation of highly reactive non-iron metals

Zooming into plant ubiquitin-mediated endocytosis

Endocytosis in plants plays an essential role, not only for basic cellular functions but also for growth, development, and environmental responses. Over the past few years, ubiquitin emerged as a major signal triggering the removal of plasma membrane proteins from the cell surface and promoting their vacuolar targeting. Detailed genetic, biochemical and imaging studies have provided initial insights into the precise mechanisms and roles of ubiquitin-mediated endocytosis in plants. Here, we summarize the present state of knowledge about the machinery involved in plant ubiquitin-mediated endocytosis and how this is coordinated in time and space to control the internalization and the endosomal sorting of endocytosed proteins

Getting to the root of plant iron uptake and cell-cell transport: Polarity matters!

International audiencePlasma membrane proteins play pivotal roles in mediating responses to endogenous and environmental cues. Regulation of membrane protein levels and establishment of polarity are fundamental for many cellular processes. In plants, IRON-REGULATED TRANSPORTER 1 (IRT1) is the major root iron transporter but is also responsible for the absorption of other divalent metals such as manganese, zinc and cobalt. We recently uncovered that IRT1 is polarly localized to the outer plasma membrane domain of plant root epidermal cells upon depletion of its secondary metal substrates. The endosome-recruited FYVE1 protein interacts with IRT1 in the endocytic pathway and plays a crucial role in the establishment of IRT1 polarity, likely through its recycling to the cell surface. Our work sheds light on the mechanisms of radial transport of nutrients across the different cell types of plant roots toward the vascular tissues and raises interesting parallel with iron transport in mammals

Metal Sensing by the IRT1 Transporter-Receptor Orchestrates Its Own Degradation and Plant Metal Nutrition

Plant roots forage the soil for iron, the concentration of which can be dramatically lower than those needed for growth. Soil iron uptake uses the broad metal spectrum IRT1 transporter that also transports zinc, manganese, cobalt, and cadmium. Sophisticated iron-dependent transcriptional regulatory mechanisms allow plants to tightly control the abundance of IRT1, ensuring optimal absorption of iron. Here, we uncover that IRT1 acts as a transporter and receptor (transceptor), directly sensing excess of its non-iron metal substrates in the cytoplasm, to regulate its own degradation. Direct metal binding to a histidine-rich stretch in IRT1 triggers its phosphorylation by the CIPK23 kinase and facilitates the subsequent recruitment of the IDF1 E3 ligase. CIPK23-driven phosphorylation and IDF1-mediated lysine-63 polyubiquitination are jointly required for efficient endosomal sorting and vacuolar degradation of IRT1. Thus, IRT1 directly senses elevated non-iron metal concentrations and integrates multiple substrate-dependent regulations to optimize iron uptake and protect plants from highly reactive metals

Dynamic control of the high-affinity iron uptake complex in root epidermal cells

International audienceIn plants, iron uptake from the soil is tightly regulated to ensure optimal growth and development. Iron absorption in Arabidopsis root epidermal cells requires the IRT1 transporter that also allows the entry of certain non-iron metals, such as Zn, Mn, and Co. Recent work demonstrated that IRT1 endocytosis and degradation are controlled by IRT1 non-iron metal substrates in an ubiquitin-dependent manner. To better understand how metal uptake is regulated, we identified IRT1-interacting proteins in Arabidopsis roots by mass spectrometry and established an interactome of IRT1. Interestingly, the AHA2 proton pump and the FRO2 reductase, both of which work in concert with IRT1 in the acidification-reduction-transport strategy of iron uptake, were part of this interactome. We confirmed that IRT1, FRO2, and AHA2 associate through co-immunopurification and split-ubiquitin analyses, and uncovered that they form tripartite direct interactions. We characterized the dynamics of the iron uptake complex and showed that FRO2 and AHA2 ubiquitination is independent of the non-iron metal substrates transported by IRT1. In addition, FRO2 and AHA2 are not largely endocytosed in response to non-iron metal excess, unlike IRT1. Indeed, we provide evidence that the phosphorylation of IRT1 in response to high levels of non-iron metals likely triggers dissociation of the complex. Overall, we propose that a dedicated iron-acquisition protein complex exists at the cell surface of Arabidopsis root epidermal cells to optimize iron uptake

Polarization of IRON-REGULATED TRANSPORTER 1 (IRT1) to the plant-soil interface plays crucial role in metal homeostasis

In plants, the controlled absorption of soil nutrients by root epidermal cells is critical for growth and development. IRON-REGULATED TRANSPORTER 1 (IRT1) is the main root transporter taking up iron from the soil and is also the main entry route in plants for potentially toxic metals such as manganese, zinc, cobalt, and cadmium. Previous work demonstrated that the IRT1 protein localizes to early endosomes/trans-Golgi network (EE/TGN) and is constitutively endocytosed through a monoubiquitin- and clathrin-dependent mechanism. Here, we show that the availability of secondary non-iron metal substrates of IRT1 (Zn, Mn, and Co) controls the localization of IRT1 between the outer polar domain of the plasma membrane and EE/TGN in root epidermal cells. We also identify FYVE1, a phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate-binding protein recruited to late endosomes, as an important regulator of IRT1-dependent metal transport and metal homeostasis in plants. FYVE1 controls IRT1 recycling to the plasma membrane and impacts the polar delivery of this transporter to the outer plasma membrane domain. This work establishes a functional link between the dynamics and the lateral polarity of IRT1 and the transport of its substrates, and identifies a molecular mechanism driving polar localization of a cell surface protein in plants.publishe

MAP3Kinase-dependent SnRK2-kinase activation is required for abscisic acid signal transduction and rapid osmotic stress response.

Abiotic stresses, including drought and salinity, trigger a complex osmotic-stress and abscisic acid (ABA) signal transduction network. The core ABA signalling components are snf1-related protein kinase2s (SnRK2s), which are activated by ABA-triggered inhibition of type-2C protein-phosphatases (PP2Cs). SnRK2 kinases are also activated by a rapid, largely unknown, ABA-independent osmotic-stress signalling pathway. Here, through a combination of a redundancy-circumventing genetic screen and biochemical analyses, we have identified functionally-redundant MAPKK-kinases (M3Ks) that are necessary for activation of SnRK2 kinases. These M3Ks phosphorylate a specific SnRK2/OST1 site, which is indispensable for ABA-induced reactivation of PP2C-dephosphorylated SnRK2 kinases. ABA-triggered SnRK2 activation, transcription factor phosphorylation and SLAC1 activation require these M3Ks in vitro and in plants. M3K triple knock-out plants show reduced ABA sensitivity and strongly impaired rapid osmotic-stress-induced SnRK2 activation. These findings demonstrate that this M3K clade is required for ABA- and osmotic-stress-activation of SnRK2 kinases, enabling robust ABA and osmotic stress signal transduction