Publication Information
Wang et al., 2018
Abstract
Mol Cell. 2018 Jan 4;69(1):100-112.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2017.12.002. Epub
2017 Dec 28.
Reciprocal Regulation of the TOR Kinase and ABA Receptor Balances Plant Growth
and Stress Response.
Wang P(1), Zhao Y(2), Li Z(2), Hsu CC(3), Liu X(2), Fu L(2), Hou YJ(4), Du Y(2),
Xie S(4), Zhang C(4), Gao J(4), Cao M(2), Huang X(4), Zhu Y(1), Tang K(1), Wang
X(4), Tao WA(3), Xiong Y(5), Zhu JK(6).
Author information:
(1)Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center of Excellence in
Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China;
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
(2)Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center of Excellence in
Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
(3)Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
(4)Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University,
West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
(5)Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center of Excellence in
Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
Electronic address: yanxiong@sibs.ac.cn.
(6)Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center of Excellence in
Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China;
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. Electronic address: jkzhu@sibs.ac.cn.
Comment in
Mol Cell. 2018 Jan 4;69(1):3-4.
As sessile organisms, plants must adapt to variations in the environment.
Environmental stress triggers various responses, including growth inhibition,
mediated by the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA). The mechanisms that integrate
stress responses with growth are poorly understood. Here, we discovered that the
Target of Rapamycin (TOR) kinase phosphorylates PYL ABA receptors at a conserved
serine residue to prevent activation of the stress response in unstressed
plants. This phosphorylation disrupts PYL association with ABA and with PP2C
phosphatase effectors, leading to inactivation of SnRK2 kinases. Under stress,
ABA-activated SnRK2s phosphorylate Raptor, a component of the TOR complex,
triggering TOR complex dissociation and inhibition. Thus, TOR signaling
represses ABA signaling and stress responses in unstressed conditions, whereas
ABA signaling represses TOR signaling and growth during times of stress. Plants
utilize this conserved phospho-regulatory feedback mechanism to optimize the
balance of growth and stress responses.
Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2017.12.002
PMCID: PMC5772982
PMID: 29290610 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
