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The microRNA156 (miR156)-modulated SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) is involved in diverse biological processes that include growth, development and metabolism. Here, we report that the Arabidopsis miR156 and SPL3 as regulators play important roles in phosphate (Pi) deficiency response. MiR156 was induced during Pi starvation whereas SPL3 expression was repressed. Phenotypes of reduced rhizosphere acidification and decreased anthocyanin accumulation were observed in 35S:MIM156 (via target mimicry) transgenic plants under Pi deficiency. The content and uptake of Pi in 35S:MIM156 Arabidopsis plants were increased compared with wild-type (Col-0 ecotype) plants. 35S:rSPL3 seedlings showed similar anthocyanin accumulation and Pi content phenotypes to those of 35S:MIM156 plants. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and an electrophoretic mobility shift assay indicated that the SPL3 protein directly bound to GTAC motifs in the PLDZ2, Pht1;5 and miR399f promoters. The expression of several Pi starvation-induced genes was increased in 35S:MIM156 and 35S:rSPL3 plants, including high-affinity Pi transporters, Mt4/TPS1-like genes and phosphatases. Collectively, our results suggest that the miR156-SPL3-Pht1;5 (-PLDZ2 and -miR399f) pathways constitute a component of the Pi deficiency-induced regulatory mechanism of Arabidopsis., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) plays important roles in plant development and adaptation to environmental stress. ABA induces the production of nitric oxide (NO) in guard cells, but how NO regulates ABA signaling is not understood. Here, we show that NO negatively regulates ABA signaling in guard cells by inhibiting open stomata 1 (OST1)/sucrose nonfermenting 1 (SNF1)-related protein kinase 2.6 (SnRK2.6) through S-nitrosylation. We found that SnRK2.6 is S-nitrosylated at cysteine 137, a residue adjacent to the kinase catalytic site. Dysfunction in the S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) reductase (GSNOR) gene in the gsnor1-3 mutant causes NO overaccumulation in guard cells, constitutive S-nitrosylation of SnRK2.6, and impairment of ABA-induced stomatal closure. Introduction of the Cys137 to Ser mutated SnRK2.6 into the gsnor1-3/ost1-3 double-mutant partially suppressed the effect of gsnor1-3 on ABA-induced stomatal closure. A cysteine residue corresponding to Cys137 of SnRK2.6 is present in several yeast and human protein kinases and can be S-nitrosylated, suggesting that the S-nitrosylation may be an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for protein kinase regulation.

Ammonium (NH 4 + ) is both a necessary nutrient and an important signal in plants, but can be toxic in excess. Ammonium sensing and regulatory mechanisms in plant cells have not been fully elucidated. To decipher the complex network of NH 4 + signaling, we analyzed [Ca 2+ ] cyt -associated protein kinase (CAP) genes, which encode signaling components that undergo marked changes in transcription levels in response to various stressors. We demonstrated that CAP1, a tonoplast-localized receptor-like kinase, regulates root hair tip growth by maintaining cytoplasmic Ca 2+ gradients. A CAP1 knockout mutant (cap1-1) produced elevated levels of cytoplasmic NH 4 + . Furthermore, root hair growth of cap1-1 was inhibited on Murashige and Skoog medium, but NH 4 + depletion reestablished the Ca 2+ gradient necessary for normal growth. The lower net NH 4 + influx across the vacuolar membrane and relatively alkaline cytosolic pH of cap1-1 root hairs implied that mutation of CAP1 increased NH 4 + accumulation in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, CAP1 functionally complemented the npr1 (nitrogen permease reactivator protein) kinase yeast mutant, which is defective in high-affinity NH 4 + uptake via MEP2 (methylammonium permease 2), distinguishing CAP1 as a cytosolic modulator of NH 4 + levels that participates in NH 4 + homeostasis-regulated root hair growth by modulating tip-focused cytoplasmic Ca 2+ gradients., (© 2014 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.)

Nitrate reductase is a central enzyme of nitrogen assimilation in plants. In a recent work, we have revealed MPK6 could phosphorylate Arabidopsis NIA2 at the serine 627 in hinge 2 region, this phosporylation may represent a rapid activation mechnism when plant need excessive nitrate reduction. Interestingly, all eukaryotic NRs have conserved docking sequence in their FAD domains, and many plant NR proteins have the conserved MAPK phosphorylation site. Those results indicated the MAPK cascades, the conserved signaling pathway also involved in lateral root development, mediated of NR phosporylation and NO generation. We noticed that the phosphorylation of S627 residue by MPK6 have a specially influence on the NO generation activity of NIA2. Although no homology of mammalian NOS has been identified in plants, NR may still share a similar regulation mechanism with mammalian NOS.

As a second messenger, H(2)O(2) generation and signal transduction is subtly controlled and involves various signal elements, among which are the members of MAP kinase family. The increasing evidences indicate that both MEK1/2 and p38-like MAP protein kinase mediate ABA-induced H(2)O(2) signaling in plant cells. Here we analyze the mechanisms of similarity and difference between MEK1/2 and p38-like MAP protein kinase in mediating ABA-induced H(2)O(2) generation, inhibition of inward K(+) currents, and stomatal closure. These data suggest that activation of MEK1/2 is prior to p38-like protein kinase in Vicia guard cells.

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) modulates the expression of many genes important to plant growth and development and to stress adaptation. In this study, we found that an APETALA2/EREBP-type transcription factor, AtERF7, plays an important role in ABA responses. AtERF7 interacts with the protein kinase PKS3, which has been shown to be a global regulator of ABA responses. AtERF7 binds to the GCC box and acts as a repressor of gene transcription. AtERF7 interacts with the Arabidopsis thaliana homolog of a human global corepressor of transcription, AtSin3, which in turn may interact with HDA19, a histone deacetylase. The transcriptional repression activity of AtERF7 is enhanced by HDA19 and AtSin3. Arabidopsis plants overexpressing AtERF7 show reduced sensitivity of guard cells to ABA and increased transpirational water loss. By contrast, AtERF7 and AtSin3 RNA interference lines show increased sensitivity to ABA during germination. Together, our results suggest that AtERF7 plays an important role in ABA responses and may be part of a transcriptional repressor complex and be regulated by PKS3.

It is usually suggested that either H(2)O(2) or NO function as a signal molecule in mediating the ABA-induced stomatal closure of guard cells, but there has been no report on the relationship between H(2)O(2) and NO in ABA signal transduction pathway. Here, using stomatal analysis and laser scanning cofocal microscope techniques, we show firstly that NO functions as a downstream intermediate of H(2)O(2) signaling to mediate ABA-induced stomatal closure in Vicia faba L. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP, a NO donor) and H(2)O(2) can mimic the effects of ABA on stomatal closure. Carboxy-PTIO (c-PTIO, a specific scavenger of NO) partly reverse the stomatal closure induced by ABA or H(2)O(2), while catalase (CAT), a H(2)O(2) scavenger, failed to reverse the NO-induced aperture reduction in Vicia faba guard cells. Monitoring the changes in both NO and H(2)O(2) generation in guard cells by using fluorescent probe of NO or H(2)O(2), DAF-2DA or H2DCFDA, respectively, we found that the generating rate of H(2)O(2) in guard cells was faster than that of NO after being treated with ABA 10 micromol/L. CAT almost completely inhibited the increase in DAF fluorescence induced by ABA. Similar to ABA, exogenous H(2)O(2) provoked the production of NO. c-PTIO slightly enhanced the fluorescent intensity of DCF stimulated by ABA, while exogenous SNP did not increase DCF fluorescence in guard cells. Taken together, these results suggest that H(2)O(2) could probably act as upstream component of NO signaling and NO negatively regulate H(2)O(2) generation during ABA-induced stomatal closure in guard cells.

Several lines of evidences show that reactive oxygen species (ROS), taking H(2)O(2) considered, and the protein kinase, especially mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase), jointly regulated plant stress signaling. In plant cells, a number of MAP kinases were specifically involved in oxidative burst (OXB) or hypersensitive response (HR) in response to biotic stresses, besides salicylic acid (SA) induced MAP kinase (SIPK) and ROS play the crucial roles in the processes of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) being established. The reciprocal relationship between SIPK and ROS could be essential in response to abiotic stresses in plant cells, because it was indicated that ozone, wounding, or osmotic stimuli activated SIPK. Together, these primary results showed that MAP kinases were required for ROS signaling in response to stress in plant cells, and more studies are in demand in this area.

To identify the genetic loci that control salt tolerance in higher plants, a large-scale screen was conducted with a bialaphos marker-based T-DNA insertional collection of Arabidopsis ecotype C24 mutants. One line, osm1 (for osmotic stress-sensitive mutant), exhibited increased sensitivity to both ionic (NaCl) and nonionic (mannitol) osmotic stress in a root-bending assay. The osm1 mutant displayed a more branched root pattern with or without stress and was hypersensitive to inhibition by Na(+), K(+), and Li(+) but not Cs(+). Plants of the osm1 mutant also were more prone to wilting when grown with limited soil moisture compared with wild-type plants. The stomata of osm1 plants were insensitive to both ABA-induced closing and inhibition of opening compared with wild-type plants. The T-DNA insertion appeared in the first exon of an open reading frame on chromosome 1 (F3M18.7, which is the same as AtSYP61). This insertion mutation cosegregated closely with the osm1 phenotype and was the only functional T-DNA in the mutant genome. Expression of the OSM1 gene was disrupted in mutant plants, and abnormal transcripts accumulated. Gene complementation with the native gene from the wild-type genome completely restored the mutant phenotype to the wild type. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of the affected gene revealed that OSM1 is related most closely to mammalian syntaxins 6 and 10, which are members of the SNARE superfamily of proteins required for vesicular/target membrane fusions. Expression of the OSM1 promoter::beta-glucuronidase gene in transformants indicated that OSM1 is expressed in all tissues except hypocotyls and young leaves and is hyperexpressed in epidermal guard cells. Together, our results demonstrate important roles of OSM1/SYP61 in osmotic stress tolerance and in the ABA regulation of stomatal responses.