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How Aluminum-resistance Transcription Factor STOP1 Is Regulated in Plants

Dec 18, 2018

Researchers have identified an F-box protein-encoding gene RAE1 that regulates the stability of C2H2-type transcription factor STOP1 and aluminum resistance.  

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is a major constraint of crop production on acid soils. Some plants have evolved resistance mechanisms to detoxify Al. For example, Arabidopsis secretes malate via the AtALMT1 transporter to chelate and detoxify Al.

The transcription factor STOP1 is essential for the regulation of AtALMT1 expression and associated Al resistance. Although STOP1 expression is not affected by Al, the expression of STOP1-downstream genes including AtALMT1 is induced by Al, suggesting that STOP1 might be regulated at post-transcriptional levels.

Researchers from Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology of Chinese Academy of Sciences and other institutions identified and characterized an F-box protein-encoding gene Regulation of AtALMT1 Expression 1 (RAE1) that regulates the level of STOP1. The study was published in PNAS. 

Via the ubiquitin-26S proteasome pathway, RAE1 was found to interact with and promote the degradation of STOP1, while Al stress was found to promote the accumulation of STOP1.

STOP1 was found to upregulate RAE1 expression by directly binding to the RAE1 promoter, thus forming a negative feedback loop between STOP1 and RAE1.

Besides, researchers found that mutation of RAE1 increases the expression of STOP1-regulated genes including AtALMT1, which renders the plants more resistant to Al.

The results revealed a new mechanism underlying the regulation of STOP1 accumulation, and also reveal the important roles of RAE1 in the regulation of STOP1 stability and Al resistance.

"It might be a good strategy to increase crop resistance to Al through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of crop RAE1 orthologs in the future," said Dr. HUANG Chaofeng, a principal investigator at Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology.

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