ASR1 Mediates Glucose-Hormone Cross Talk by Affecting Sugar Trafficking in Tobacco Plants

Pia Guadalupe Dominguez,Nicolas Frankel,Ilse Balbo,Norberto Iusem,Fernando Carrari,Alisdair R Fernie,Jeannine Mazuch

doi:10.1104/pp.112.208199

Pia Guadalupe Dominguez, Nicolas Frankel + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.112.208199

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Abstract

Asr (for ABA, stress, ripening) genes are exclusively found in the genomes of higher plants, and the encoded proteins have been found localized both to the nucleus and cytoplasm. However, before the mechanisms underlying the activity of ASR proteins can be determined, the role of these proteins in planta should be deciphered. Results from this study suggest that ASR is positioned within the signaling cascade of interactions among glucose, abscisic acid, and gibberellins. Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) transgenic lines with reduced levels of ASR protein showed impaired glucose metabolism and altered abscisic acid and gibberellin levels. These changes were associated with dwarfism, reduced carbon dioxide assimilation, and accelerated leaf senescence as a consequence of a fine regulation exerted by ASR to the glucose metabolism. This regulation resulted in an impact on glucose signaling mediated by Hexokinase1 and Snf1-related kinase, which would subsequently have been responsible for photosynthesis, leaf senescence, and hormone level alterations. It thus can be postulated that ASR is not only involved in the control of hexose uptake in heterotrophic organs, as we have previously reported, but also in the control of carbon fixation by the leaves mediated by a similar mechanism.

Highlights

IntroductionAsr (for ABA, stress, ripening) genes are exclusively found in the genomes of higher plants, and the encoded proteins have been found localized both to the nucleus and cytoplasm
Asr genes are exclusively found in the genomes of higher plants, and the encoded proteins have been found localized both to the nucleus and cytoplasm
Siblings S 22 2 and S 22 3 derive from S 22, and siblings AS 2 2 and AS 2 4 derive from AS 2. When these lines were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR, significant reductions and increments in Asr1 mRNA levels were confirmed in fully expanded leaves of antisense and sense plants, respectively, compared with wild-type controls (Fig. 1C)

Summary

Introduction

Asr (for ABA, stress, ripening) genes are exclusively found in the genomes of higher plants, and the encoded proteins have been found localized both to the nucleus and cytoplasm. Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) transgenic lines with reduced levels of ASR protein showed impaired glucose metabolism and altered abscisic acid and gibberellin levels These changes were associated with dwarfism, reduced carbon dioxide assimilation, and accelerated leaf senescence as a consequence of a fine regulation exerted by ASR to the glucose metabolism. Sugars supply necessary carbon and energy for the vast majority of metabolic processes in plants They act as signaling molecules in a wide number of physiological processes, such as growth, development, and senescence (Rolland et al, 2006; BaenaGonzález and Sheen, 2008; Hanson and Smeekens, 2009; Eveland and Jackson, 2012). It has been demonstrated that the grape (Vitis vinifera) ASR VvMSA (for MATURATION-, STRESS-, ABA-INDUCED PROTEIN) protein interacts with a DROUGHT RESPONSE ELEMENT BINDING transcription factor in the nucleus (Saumonneau et al, 2008)

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