Subcellular partitioning-dependent functional switching of Arabidopsis photoreceptor phytochrome B in response to brassinosteroids

Abstract

Many organisms control their physiology and behavior in response to the local light environment, which is first perceived by photoreceptors that undergo light-dependent conformational changes. Phytochromes are one of the major photoreceptors in plants, controlling wide aspects of plant physiology by recognizing the light in red (R) and far-red (FR) spectra. Higher plants have two types of phytochromes; the photo-labile type I (phyA in Arabidopsis) and photo-stable type II (phyB-E in Arabidopsis). Phytochrome B (phyB), a member of the type II phytochromes in Arabidopsis, shows classical R and FR reversibility between the inter-convertible photoisomers, Pr and Pfr. Interestingly, the Pr and Pfr isomers show partitioning in the cytosol and nucleus, respectively. In the over 50 years since its discovery, it has been thought that the type II phytochromes only function to mediate R light. As described in the text, we have now discovered phyB has an active function in FR light. Even striking is that the R and FR light exert an opposite effect. Thus, FR light is not simply nullifying the R effect but has an opposing effect to R light. What is more interesting is that the phyB-mediated actions of FR and R light occur at different cellular compartment of the plant cell, cytosol and nucleus, respectively, which was proven through utilization of the cytosolic and nuclear-localized mutant versions of phyB. Our observations thus shoot down a major dogma in plant physiology and will be considered highly provocative in phytochrome function. We argue that it would make much more sense that plants utilize the two isoforms rather than only one form, to effectively monitor the changing environmental light information and to incorporate the information into their developmental programs.