Ultraviolet-B Radiation-Mediated Responses in Plants. Balancing Damage and Protection

Frohnmeyer H, Staiger D. Ultraviolet-B radiation-mediated responses in plants. Balancing damage and protection. Plant Physiology. 2003;133(4):1420-1428

CPRF4a, a novel plant bZIP protein of the CPRF family: comparative analyses of light-dependent expression, post-transcriptional regulation, nuclear import and heterodimerisation

Kircher S, Ledger S, Hayashi H, Weisshaar B, Schafer E, Frohnmeyer H. CPRF4a, a novel plant bZIP protein of the CPRF family: comparative analyses of light-dependent expression, post-transcriptional regulation, nuclear import and heterodimerisation. Molecular & General Genetics. 1998;257(6):595-605.Several DNA-binding proteins with conserved basic region/leucine zipper domains (bZIP) have been isolated from parsley. They all recognise defined ACGT-containing elements (ACEs), including ACE(PcCHSII) in the Light Regulatory Unit LRU1 of the CHS promoter which confers light responsiveness. A new member of this Common Plant Regulatory Factor (CPRF) family, designated CPRF4a, has been cloned, which displays sequence similarity to HBP-1a from wheat, as well as to other plant bZIP proteins. CPRF4a specifically binds as a homodimer to ACE(PcCHSII) and forms heterodimers with CPRF1 but not with CPRF2. In adult parsley plants, CPRF2 and CPRF4a mRNAs are found in all tissues and organs in which the chalcone synthase gene CHS is expressed. In protoplasts from suspension cultured cells, UV irradiation (290-350 nm) did not cause an increase in levels of CPRF1, CPRF2, or CPRF4a mRNA, whereas the corresponding CPRF proteins accumulated within 15 min of light treatment. Furthermore, the rapid light-mediated increase of CPRF proteins was insensitive to transcriptional inhibitors, suggesting that a post-transcriptional mechanism controls CPRF accumulation. CPRFs as well as Arabidopsis thaliana G-box binding factors (GBFs) are selectively transported from the cytosol into the nucleus, as shown in an in vitro nuclear transport system prepared from evacuolated parsley protoplasts, indicating that cytosolic compounds are involved in regulated nuclear targeting of plant bZIP factors

Light-regulated modification and nuclear translocation of cytosolic G-box binding factors in parsley.

Functional cell-free systems may be excellent tools with which to investigate light-dependent signal transduction mechanisms in plants. By evacuolation of parsley protoplasts and subsequent silicon oil gradient centrifugation of lysed evacuolated protoplasts, we obtained a highly pure and concentrated plasma membrane-containing cytosol. Using GT- and G-box DNA elements, we were able to demonstrate a specific localization of a pool of G-box binding activity and factors (GBFs) but not one of GT-box binding activity in this cytosolic fraction. The DNA binding activity of the cytosolic GBFs is modulated in vivo as well as in vitro by light and phosphorylation/dephosphorylation activities. The regulation of cytosolic G-box binding activity by irradiation with continuous white light and phosphorylation correlates with a light-modulated transport of GBFs to the nucleus. This was shown by a GBF-antibody cotranslocation assay in permeabilized, cell-free evacuolated parsley protoplasts. We propose that a light-regulated subcellular displacement of cytosolic GBFs to the nucleus may be an important step in the signal transduction pathway coupling photoreception to light-dependent gene expression

Analysis of the parsley chalcone-synthase promoter in response to different light qualities

Merkle T, Frohnmeyer HJ, Schulze-Lefert P, Dangl JL, Hahlbrock K, Schafer E. Analysis of the parsley chalcone-synthase promoter in response to different light qualities. Planta. 1994;193(2):275-282.We examined the chalcone synthase (chs) promoter from parsley [Petroselinum crispum Miller (A.W. Hill)] for the existence of separate promoter elements responsible for transcriptional activation of the chs gene by UV-B and by blue light. A combination of in-vivo foot-printing in parsley cells and light-induced transient expression assays with different chs promoter constructs in parsley protoplasts was used. Dark controls and blue-light-irradiated cells gave identical in-vivo footprints on the chs promoter. Pre-irradiation with blue light prior to a UV-B-light pulse is known to cause a shift in the timing of UV-B-light-induced increase in chs transcription rates. This shift was also manifested on the DNA template, since UV-B-light-induced in-vivo footprints in cells pretreated with blue light were detected earlier than in cells which had been irradiated with a UV-B-light pulse only. Although there was a clear shift in the timing of footprint appearance, the patterns of footprinting did not change. Light-induced transient-expression assays revealed that the shortest tested chs promoter which retained any light responsiveness, was sufficient for mediating both induction by UV light and the blue-light-mediated kinetic shift. These findings argue against a spatial separation of UV-B- and blue-light-responsive elements on the chs promoter. We interpret these data by postulating that the signal transduction pathways originating from the excitation of UV-B- and blue-light receptors merge at the chs promoter, or somewhere between light perception and protein-DNA interaction