Pinja Jaspers

Reactive oxygen species in abiotic stress signaling.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are known to accumulate during abiotic stresses, and different cellular compartments respond to them by distinctive profiles of ROS formation. In contrast to earlier views, it is becoming increasingly evident that even during stress, ROS production is not necessarily a symptom of cellular dysfunction but might represent a necessary signal in adjusting the cellular machinery to the altered conditions. ROS can modulate many signal transduction pathways, such as mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades, and ultimately influence the activity of transcription factors. However, the picture of ROS-mediated signaling is still fragmentary and the issues of ROS perception as well as the signaling specificity remain open. Here, we review some of the recent advances in plant abiotic stress signaling with emphasis on processes known to be affected heavily by ROS.

Arabidopsis RADICAL-INDUCED CELL DEATH1 Belongs to the WWE Protein–Protein Interaction Domain Protein Family and Modulates Abscisic Acid, Ethylene, and Methyl Jasmonate Responses

Experiments with several Arabidopsis thaliana mutants have revealed a web of interactions between hormonal signaling. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis mutant radical-induced cell death1 (rcd1), although hypersensitive to apoplastic superoxide and ozone, is more resistant to chloroplastic superoxide formation, exhibits reduced sensitivity to abscisic acid, ethylene, and methyl jasmonate, and has altered expression of several hormonally regulated genes. Furthermore, rcd1 has higher stomatal conductance than the wild type. The rcd1-1 mutation was mapped to the gene At1g32230 where it disrupts an intron splice site resulting in a truncated protein. RCD1 belongs to the (ADP-ribosyl)transferase domain–containing subfamily of the WWE protein–protein interaction domain protein family. The results suggest that RCD1 could act as an integrative node in hormonal signaling and in the regulation of several stress-responsive genes.

The Membrane-Bound NAC Transcription Factor ANAC013 Functions in Mitochondrial Retrograde Regulation of the Oxidative Stress Response in Arabidopsis

This work reports the discovery of a cis-regulatory motif in the promoters of genes that are subject to mitochondrial retrograde regulation and the identification of transcription factors that bind to this element, thereby steering mitochondrial retrograde-induced gene expression. Upon disturbance of their function by stress, mitochondria can signal to the nucleus to steer the expression of responsive genes. This mitochondria-to-nucleus communication is often referred to as mitochondrial retrograde regulation (MRR). Although reactive oxygen species and calcium are likely candidate signaling molecules for MRR, the protein signaling components in plants remain largely unknown. Through meta-analysis of transcriptome data, we detected a set of genes that are common and robust targets of MRR and used them as a bait to identify its transcriptional regulators. In the upstream regions of these mitochondrial dysfunction stimulon (MDS) genes, we found a cis-regulatory element, the mitochondrial dysfunction motif (MDM), which is necessary and sufficient for gene expression under various mitochondrial perturbation conditions. Yeast one-hybrid analysis and electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that the transmembrane domain–containing NO APICAL MERISTEM/ARABIDOPSIS TRANSCRIPTION ACTIVATION FACTOR/CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON transcription factors (ANAC013, ANAC016, ANAC017, ANAC053, and ANAC078) bound to the MDM cis-regulatory element. We demonstrate that ANAC013 mediates MRR-induced expression of the MDS genes by direct interaction with the MDM cis-regulatory element and triggers increased oxidative stress tolerance. In conclusion, we characterized ANAC013 as a regulator of MRR upon stress in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Unequally redundant RCD1 and SRO1 mediate stress and developmental responses and interact with transcription factors.

RADICAL-INDUCED CELL DEATH1 (RCD1) is an important regulator of stress and hormonal and developmental responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. Together with its closest homolog, SIMILAR TO RCD-ONE1 (SRO1), it is the only Arabidopsis protein containing the WWE domain, which is known to mediate protein-protein interactions in other organisms. Additionally, these two proteins contain the core catalytic region of poly-ADP-ribose transferases and a conserved C-terminal domain. Tissue and subcellular localization data indicate that RCD1 and SRO1 have partially overlapping functions in plant development. In contrast mutant data indicate that rcd1 has defects in plant development, whereas sro1 displays normal development. However, the rcd1 sro1 double mutant has severe growth defects, indicating that RCD1 and SRO1 exemplify an important genetic principle - unequal genetic redundancy. A large pair-wise interaction test against the REGIA transcription factor collection revealed that RCD1 interacts with a large number of transcription factors belonging to several protein families, such as AP2/ERF, NAC and basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH), and that SRO1 interacts with a smaller subset of these. Full genome array analysis indicated that in many cases targets of these transcription factors have altered expression in the rcd1 but not the sro1 mutant. Taken together RCD1 and SRO1 are required for proper plant development.

RCD1-DREB2A interaction in leaf senescence and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Transcriptional regulation of gene expression is one major determinant of developmental control and stress adaptation in virtually all living organisms. In recent years numerous transcription factors controlling various aspects of plant life have been identified. The activity of transcription factors needs to be regulated to prevent unspecific, prolonged or inappropriate responses. The transcription factor DREB2A (DEHYDRATION-RESPONSIVE ELEMENT BINDING 2A) has been identified as one of the main regulators of drought and heat responses, and it is regulated through protein stability. In the present paper we describe evidence that the interaction with RCD1 (RADICAL-INDUCED CELL DEATH 1) contributes to the control of DREB2A under a range of conditions. The interaction is mediated by a novel protein motif in DREB2A and a splice variant of DREB2A which lacks the interaction domain accumulates during heat stress and senescence. In addition RCD1 is rapidly degraded during heat stress, thus our results suggest that removal of RCD1 protein or the loss of the interaction domain in DREB2A appears to be required for proper DREB2A function under stress conditions.

The RST and PARP-like domain containing SRO protein family: analysis of protein structure, function and conservation in land plants

BackgroundThe SROs (SIMILAR TO RCD-ONE) are a group of plant-specific proteins which have important functions in stress adaptation and development. They contain the catalytic core of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) domain and a C-terminal RST (RCD-SRO-TAF4) domain. In addition to these domains, several, but not all, SROs contain an N-terminal WWE domain.ResultsSROs are present in all analyzed land plants and sequence analysis differentiates between two structurally distinct groups; cryptogams and monocots possess only group I SROs whereas eudicots also contain group II. Group I SROs possess an N-terminal WWE domain (PS50918) but the WWE domain is lacking in group II SROs. Group I domain structure is widely represented in organisms as distant as humans (for example, HsPARP11). We propose a unified nomenclature for the SRO family. The SROs are able to interact with transcription factors through the C-terminal RST domain but themselves are generally not regulated at the transcriptional level. The most conserved feature of the SROs is the catalytic core of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PS51059) domain. However, bioinformatic analysis of the SRO PARP domain fold-structure and biochemical assays of AtRCD1 suggested that SROs do not possess ADP-ribosyl transferase activity.ConclusionsThe SROs are a highly conserved family of plant specific proteins. Sequence analysis of the RST domain implicates a highly preserved protein structure in that region. This might have implications for functional conservation. We suggest that, despite the presence of the catalytic core of the PARP domain, the SROs do not possess ADP-ribosyl transferase activity. Nevertheless, the function of SROs is critical for plants and might be related to transcription factor regulation and complex formation.

The transcription factor interacting protein RCD1 contains a novel conserved domain.

The RCD1 protein is a regulator of both developmental and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana and it interacts with several transcription factors. Its closest homolog, SRO1, seems to be dispensable for proper plant responses but the hardly viable phenotype of the rcd1 sro1 double mutant reveals that it encodes a functional protein that can partially compensate for the loss of RCD1 in the single rcd1 mutant. Both RCD1 and SRO1 contain a WWE domain, the catalytic core of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases and a novel conserved domain termed RST which is also found in the transcription initiation complex component TAF4.

Arabidopsis downy mildew effector HaRxL106 suppresses plant immunity by binding to RADICAL‐INDUCED CELL DEATH1

Summary The oomycete pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa) causes downy mildew disease on Arabidopsis. To colonize its host, Hpa translocates effector proteins that suppress plant immunity into infected host cells. Here, we investigate the relevance of the interaction between one of these effectors, HaRxL106, and Arabidopsis RADICAL‐INDUCED CELL DEATH1 (RCD1). We use pathogen infection assays as well as molecular and biochemical analyses to test the hypothesis that HaRxL106 manipulates RCD1 to attenuate transcriptional activation of defense genes. We report that HaRxL106 suppresses transcriptional activation of salicylic acid (SA)‐induced defense genes and alters plant growth responses to light. HaRxL106‐mediated suppression of immunity is abolished in RCD1 loss‐of‐function mutants. We report that RCD1‐type proteins are phosphorylated, and we identified Mut9‐like kinases (MLKs), which function as phosphoregulatory nodes at the level of photoreceptors, as RCD1‐interacting proteins. An mlk1,3,4 triple mutant exhibits stronger SA‐induced defense marker gene expression compared with wild‐type plants, suggesting that MLKs also affect transcriptional regulation of SA signaling. Based on the combined evidence, we hypothesize that nuclear RCD1/MLK complexes act as signaling nodes that integrate information from environmental cues and pathogen sensors, and that the Arabidopsis downy mildew pathogen targets RCD1 to prevent activation of plant immunity.

An Oomycete Effector Protein Induces Shade Avoidance In Arabidopsis And Attenuates Salicylate Signaling By Binding To Host Proteins Of The RADICAL-INDUCED CELL DEATH1 Family

The oomycete pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa) causes downy mildew disease on Arabidopsis. During infection, Hpa like other biotrophic pathogens, suppresses activation of plant innate immunity by translocating effector proteins into host cells. Some of these effectors localize to the host cell nucleus where they may manipulate transcriptional reprogramming of plant defense genes. Here we report that the nuclear-localized Hpa effector HaRxL106, when expressed in Arabidopsis, induces shade avoidance and attenuates the transcriptional response to the defense signaling molecule salicylic acid. HaRxL106 interacts with RADICAL-INDUCED CELL DEATH1 (RCD1) and loss of RCD1 function renders Arabidopsis resilient against HaRxL106-mediated suppression of immunity. To further characterize the molecular functions of RCD1 we solved a crystal structure of RCD1’s Poly-(ADP-ribose)-Polymerase (PARP) domain and, based on non-conservation of amino acids constituting the active site of canonical PARPs, conclude that RCD1 has no PARP activity. We report that RCD1-type proteins are phosphorylated and identified histone-modifying Mut9-like kinases (MLKs) as RCD1-interacting proteins. A mlk1,3,4 triple mutant exhibits stronger SA-induced defense marker gene expression compared to wild-type plants. Our data suggest that HaRxL106 suppresses Arabidopsis innate immunity by manipulating the function(s) of RCD1 in the host cell nucleus and point towards a role of RCD1 as a transcriptional co-regulator that integrates signals from light and pathogen sensors.