Synergistic control of auxin mediated transcription by ARF and C/S1 bZIP transcription factors
Final Report Abstract
Plants adjust their energy-metabolism to continuous environmental fluctuations resulting in a tremendous plasticity in their architecture. The regulatory circuits involved, however, remain largely unresolved. In Arabidopsis, moderate perturbations in photosynthetic activity, administered by short-term low light exposure or unexpected darkness, lead to increased lateral root (LR) density. Consistent with expression of low-energy markers, these treatments alter energy homeostasis and reduce sugar availability in roots. Here, we demonstrate that the LR response requires the metabolic stress sensor kinase SnRK1 (Snf1-RELATED-KINASE1), which phosphorylates the transcription factor bZIP63 (BASIC LEUCINE ZIPPER63) to directly bind and activate the promoter of ARF19 (AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR19), a key regulator of LR initiation. Consistently, starvation-induced ARF19 transcription is impaired in bzip63 mutants. This study highlights a positive developmental function of SnRK1. During energy limitation, LRs are initiated and primed for outgrowth upon recovery. Hence, this study provides mechanistic insights how energy shapes the agronomically important root system.
Publications
- (2011) Heterodimers of the Arabidopsis transcription factors bZIP1 and bZIP53 reprogram amino acid metabolism during low energy stress. Plant Cell 23: 381-395
Dietrich, K, Weltmeier, F, Ehlert, A, Weiste, C, Stahl, M, Harter, K, Dröge-Laser, W
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.110.075390) - (2012) Bioinformatic cis-element analyses performed in Arabidopsis and rice disclose bZIP- and MYB-related binding sites as potential AuxRE-coupling elements in auxin-mediated transcription. BMC Plant Biology 12:125
Berendzen, KW, Weiste, C, Wanke, D, Kilian, J, Harter, K, Dröge-Laser, W
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2229-12-125) - (2014) The Arabidopsis transcription factor bZIP11 activates auxin-mediated transcription by recruiting the histone acetylation machinery. NATURE Communication 5:3883
Weiste, C, and Dröge-Laser, W
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4883) - (2017) High-throughput protoplast transactivation (PTA) screening to define transcription factors in auxin-mediated gene regulation. Methods Mol Biol 1569:187-202
Wehner, N, Herfert, J, Dröge-Laser, W, Weiste, C
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6831-2_16) - (2017). The Arabidopsis bZIP11 transcription factor links low-energy signalling to auxin-mediated control of primary root growth. PLoS Genet. 13: e1006607
Weiste, C., Pedrotti, L., Selvanayagam, J., Muralidhara, P., Fröschel, C., Novák, O., Ljung, K., Hanson, J., Dröge-Laser, W.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1006607) - (2018) The Arabidopsis bZIP transcription factor family - an update. Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 31:36-49
Dröge-Laser, W, Snoek, BL, Snel, B, Weiste, C
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2018.05.001) - (2018) The C/S1-bZIP-network: a regulatory hub orchestrating plant energy homeostasis. Trends Plant Sci. 5:422-433
Dröge-Laser, W, Weiste, C
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2018.02.003)
