scholarly journals Inositol pyrophosphates promote the interaction of SPX domains with the coiled-coil motif of PHR transcription factors to regulate plant phosphate homeostasis

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina K. Ried ◽  
Rebekka Wild ◽  
Jinsheng Zhu ◽  
Joka Pipercevic ◽  
Kristina Sturm ◽  
...  

AbstractPhosphorus is an essential nutrient taken up by organisms in the form of inorganic phosphate (Pi). Eukaryotes have evolved sophisticated Pi sensing and signaling cascades, enabling them to stably maintain cellular Pi concentrations. Pi homeostasis is regulated by inositol pyrophosphate signaling molecules (PP-InsPs), which are sensed by SPX domain-containing proteins. In plants, PP-InsP-bound SPX receptors inactivate Myb coiled-coil (MYB-CC) Pi starvation response transcription factors (PHRs) by an unknown mechanism. Here we report that a InsP8–SPX complex targets the plant-unique CC domain of PHRs. Crystal structures of the CC domain reveal an unusual four-stranded anti-parallel arrangement. Interface mutations in the CC domain yield monomeric PHR1, which is no longer able to bind DNA with high affinity. Mutation of conserved basic residues located at the surface of the CC domain disrupt interaction with the SPX receptor in vitro and in planta, resulting in constitutive Pi starvation responses. Together, our findings suggest that InsP8 regulates plant Pi homeostasis by controlling the oligomeric state and hence the promoter binding capability of PHRs via their SPX receptors.

Author(s):  
Martina K. Ried ◽  
Rebekka Wild ◽  
Jinsheng Zhu ◽  
Larissa Broger ◽  
Robert K. Harmel ◽  
...  

AbstractPhosphorus is an essential nutrient taken up by organisms in the form of inorganic phosphate (Pi). Eukaryotes have evolved sophisticated Pi sensing and signalling cascades, enabling them to maintain cellular Pi concentrations. Pi homeostasis is regulated by inositol pyrophosphate signalling molecules (PP-InsPs), which are sensed by SPX-domain containing proteins. In plants, PP-InsP bound SPX receptors inactivate Myb coiled-coil (MYB-CC) Pi starvation response transcription factors (PHRs) by an unknown mechanism. Here we report that a InsP8 – SPX complex targets the plant-unique CC domain of PHRs. Crystal structures of the CC domain reveal an unusual four-stranded anti-parallel arrangement. Interface mutations in the CC domain yield monomeric PHR1, which is no longer able to bind DNA with high affinity. Mutation of conserved basic residues located at the surface of the CC domain disrupt interaction with the SPX receptor in vitro and in planta, resulting in constitutive Pi starvation responses. Together, our findings suggest that InsP8 regulates plant Pi homeostasis by controlling the oligomeric state and hence the promoter binding capability of PHRs via their SPX receptors. (173 words)


eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinsheng Zhu ◽  
Kelvin Lau ◽  
Robert Puschmann ◽  
Robert K Harmel ◽  
Youjun Zhang ◽  
...  

Many eukaryotic proteins regulating phosphate (Pi) homeostasis contain SPX domains that are receptors for inositol pyrophosphates (PP-InsP), suggesting that PP-InsPs may regulate Pi homeostasis. Here we report that deletion of two diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate kinases VIH1/2 impairs plant growth and leads to constitutive Pi starvation responses. Deletion of phosphate starvation response transcription factors partially rescues vih1 vih2 mutant phenotypes, placing diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate kinases in plant Pi signal transduction cascades. VIH1/2 are bifunctional enzymes able to generate and break-down PP-InsPs. Mutations in the kinase active site lead to increased Pi levels and constitutive Pi starvation responses. ATP levels change significantly in different Pi growth conditions. ATP-Mg2+ concentrations shift the relative kinase and phosphatase activities of diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate kinases in vitro. Pi inhibits the phosphatase activity of the enzyme. Thus, VIH1 and VIH2 relay changes in cellular ATP and Pi concentrations to changes in PP-InsP levels, allowing plants to maintain sufficient Pi levels.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeyuan Guan ◽  
Qunxia Zhang ◽  
Zhifei Zhang ◽  
Julie Savarin ◽  
Jiaqi Zuo ◽  
...  

Abstract Phosphate (Pi) is a key macronutrient limiting plant growth and crop productivity. In response to the nutrient deficiency, Pi starvation response (PHR) transcription factors activate Pi starvation induced (PSI) genes. PHR transcription factors are negatively regulated by stand-alone SPX proteins, cellular receptors for inositol pyrophosphate (PP-InsP) nutrient messengers. How PP-InsP-bound SPX domains interact with PHR transcription factors is poorly understood. Here, we report crystal structures of the rice SPX2/InsP6/PHR2 complex and of the PHR2 DNA binding (MYB) domain in complex with its target DNA at resolutions of 3.1 Å and 2.7 Å, respectively. Inositol polyphosphate binding causes SPX2 to assemble into a domain-swapped dimer. The signalling-active SPX2 dimer binds two copies of PHR2, targeting both its coiled-coil (CC) oligomerisation domain and its MYB domain. Structural comparisons, biochemical analyses and genetic characterizations reveal that the SPX2 senses InsP6 / PP-InsPs to inactivate PHR2 by establishing severe steric clashes with the PHR2 MYB domain, preventing DNA binding, and by disrupting oligomerisation of the PHR2 CC domain, attenuating promoter binding. The complex structure rationalizes how PP-InsPs activate SPX receptor proteins to target PHR family transcription factors and provides a mechanistic framework to engineer crops with improved phosphate use efficiency.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUANWEI FAN ◽  
Natasha Bilkey ◽  
Ram Dixit

Accruing evidence points to the control of microtubule minus-end dynamics as being crucial for the spatial arrangement and function of the microtubule cytoskeleton. In plants, the SPIRAL2 (SPR2) protein has emerged as a microtubule minus-end regulator that is structurally distinct from the animal minus-end regulators. Previously, SPR2 was shown to autonomously localize to microtubule minus ends and decrease their depolymerization rate. Here, we used in vitro and in planta experiments to identify the structural determinants required for SPR2 to recognize and stabilize microtubule minus ends. We show that SPR2 contains a single N-terminal TOG domain that binds to soluble tubulin. The TOG domain, a basic region, and coiled-coil domain are necessary and sufficient to target and stabilize microtubule minus ends. We demonstrate that the coiled-coil domain mediates multimerization of SPR2 that provides avidity for microtubule binding and is essential for binding to soluble tubulin. While TOG domain-containing proteins are traditionally thought to function as microtubule plus-end regulators, our results reveal that nature has repurposed the TOG domain of SPR2 to regulate microtubule minus ends.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinsheng Zhu ◽  
Kelvin Lau ◽  
Robert K. Harmel ◽  
Robert Puschmann ◽  
Larissa Broger ◽  
...  

AbstractMany eukaryotic proteins regulating phosphate (Pi) homeostasis contain SPX domains. We have previously shown that these domains act as cellular receptors for inositol pyrophosphate (PP-InsP) signaling molecules, suggesting that PP-InsPs may regulate Pi homeostasis. Here we report that simultaneous deletion of two diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate kinases VIH1 and 2 in Arabidopsis impairs plant growth and leads to constitutive Pi starvation responses. We demonstrate that VIH1 and VIH2 are bifunctional cytosolic enzymes able to generate and break-down PP-InsPs. Point-mutants targeting the kinase and phosphatase active sites have opposing effects on plant Pi content and Pi starvation responses, while VIH1 and VIH2 protein levels remain constant in different Pi growth conditions. Enzymatic assays reveal that ATP-Mg2+ substrate levels can shift the relative kinase and phosphatase activities of full-length diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate kinases. Deletion of phosphate starvation response transcription factors rescues vih1 vih2 mutant phenotypes, placing diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate kinases and PP-InsPs in plant phosphate signal transduction cascades. We propose that VIH1 and VIH2 relay changes in cellular ATP concentration to changes in PPInsP levels, allowing plants to maintain cellular Pi concentrations constant and to trigger Pi starvation responses.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grmay H. Lilay ◽  
Daniel P. Persson ◽  
Pedro Humberto Castro ◽  
Feixue Liao ◽  
Ross D. Alexander ◽  
...  

AbstractZinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient for plants and animals because of its structural and catalytic roles in many proteins. Zn deficiency affects ca. two billion people, mainly those living on plant-based diets that rely on crops from Zn deficient soils. Plants maintain adequate Zn levels through tightly regulated Zn homeostasis mechanisms, involving Zn uptake, distribution and storage, but it was not known how they sense Zn status. We use in vitro and in planta approaches to show that the Arabidopsis thaliana F-group bZIP transcription factors bZIP19 and bZIP23, which are the central regulators of the Zn deficiency response, act as Zn sensors by binding Zn2+ ions to a Zn sensor motif (ZSM). Deletions or modifications of this ZSM disrupts Zn binding, leading to a constitutive transcriptional Zn deficiency response, which causes a significant increase in plant and seed Zn accumulation. Since the ZSM is highly conserved in F-bZIPs across land plants, the identification of the first plant Zn-sensor will promote new strategies to improve the Zn nutritional quality of plant-derived food and feed, and contribute to tackle the global Zn deficiency health problem.


mSphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunkyu Sang ◽  
Hao-Xun Chang ◽  
Martin I. Chilvers

ABSTRACT Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a plant-pathogenic ascomycete fungus and infects over 400 host plants, including pea (Pisum sativum L.). The fungus causes white mold on pea, and substantial yield loss is attributed to the disease. To improve white mold management, further understanding of S. sclerotiorum pathogenicity is crucial. In this study, 389 transcription factors (TFs) were mined from the complete genome sequence of S. sclerotiorum and their in planta expression patterns were determined in susceptible and partially resistant pea lines and compared to in vitro expression patterns on culture medium. One of the transcription factors was significantly induced in planta at 24 and 48 h postinfection compared to the expression in vitro. This putative C6 transcription factor of S. sclerotiorum (SsC6TF1) was knocked down using a gene-silencing approach to investigate its functions in vegetative growth and sclerotial development as well as its virulence and pathogenicity in pea. While the SsC6TF1 knockdown mutants had hyphal growth rates identical to those of the wild-type strain and were capable of infection, the knockdown mutants produced no sclerotia or significantly fewer and smaller sclerotia on the culture medium and exhibited reduced virulence on both pea lines. This study profiled genome-wide expression for S. sclerotiorum transcription factors in planta and in vitro and functionally characterized a novel transcription factor, SsC6TF1, which positively regulates sclerotial development and virulence on pea. The finding provides molecular insights into S. sclerotiorum biology and interaction with pea and other economically important crops. IMPORTANCE White mold, caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is a destructive disease on important legume species such as soybean, dry bean, and pea. This study investigated expression levels of transcription factors in S. sclerotiorum in planta (pea lines) and in vitro (culture medium). One transcription factor displaying high expression in planta was found to be involved in sclerotial development and virulence on pea. This report provides a new understanding regarding transcription factors of S. sclerotiorum in development and virulence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (32) ◽  
pp. 19245-19253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soumyadip Sahu ◽  
Zhenzhen Wang ◽  
Xinfu Jiao ◽  
Chunfang Gu ◽  
Nikolaus Jork ◽  
...  

Regulation of enzymatic 5′ decapping of messenger RNA (mRNA), which normally commits transcripts to their destruction, has the capacity to dynamically reshape the transcriptome. For example, protection from 5′ decapping promotes accumulation of mRNAs into processing (P) bodies—membraneless, biomolecular condensates. Such compartmentalization of mRNAs temporarily removes them from the translatable pool; these repressed transcripts are stabilized and stored until P-body dissolution permits transcript reentry into the cytosol. Here, we describe regulation of mRNA stability and P-body dynamics by the inositol pyrophosphate signaling molecule 5-InsP7(5-diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate). First, we demonstrate 5-InsP7inhibits decapping by recombinant NUDT3 (Nudix [nucleoside diphosphate linked moiety X]-type hydrolase 3) in vitro. Next, in intact HEK293 and HCT116 cells, we monitored the stability of a cadre of NUDT3 mRNA substrates following CRISPR-Cas9 knockout ofPPIP5Ks(diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate 5-kinases type 1 and 2, i.e.,PPIP5KKO), which elevates cellular 5-InsP7levels by two- to threefold (i.e., within the physiological rheostatic range). ThePPIP5KKO cells exhibited elevated levels of NUDT3 mRNA substrates and increased P-body abundance. Pharmacological and genetic attenuation of 5-InsP7synthesis in the KO background reverted both NUDT3 mRNA substrate levels and P-body counts to those of wild-type cells. Furthermore, liposomal delivery of a metabolically resistant 5-InsP7analog into wild-type cells elevated levels of NUDT3 mRNA substrates and raised P-body abundance. In the context that cellular 5-InsP7levels normally fluctuate in response to changes in the bioenergetic environment, regulation of mRNA structure by this inositol pyrophosphate represents an epitranscriptomic control process. The associated impact on P-body dynamics has relevance to regulation of stem cell differentiation, stress responses, and, potentially, amelioration of neurodegenerative diseases and aging.


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