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Trehalose‐6‐phosphate signaling regulates thermoresponsive hypocotyl growth in Arabidopsis thaliana
Author(s) -
Hwang Geonhee,
Kim Sara,
Cho JaeYong,
Paik Inyup,
Kim JeongIl,
Oh Eunkyoo
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
embo reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.584
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1469-3178
pISSN - 1469-221X
DOI - 10.15252/embr.201947828
Subject(s) - hypocotyl , arabidopsis thaliana , trehalose , arabidopsis , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , chemistry , signal transduction , biology , botany , mutant , gene
Growth plasticity is a key mechanism by which plants adapt to the ever‐changing environmental conditions. Since growth is a high‐energy‐demanding and irreversible process, it is expected to be regulated by the integration of endogenous energy status as well as environmental conditions. Here, we show that trehalose‐6‐phosphate (T6P) functions as a sugar signaling molecule that coordinates thermoresponsive hypocotyl growth with endogenous sugar availability. We found that the loss of T6P SYNTHASE 1 ( TPS 1) in Arabidopsis thaliana impaired high‐temperature‐mediated hypocotyl growth. Consistently, the activity of PIF 4, a transcription factor that positively regulates hypocotyl growth, was compromised in the tps1 mutant. We further show that, in the tps1 mutant, a sugar signaling kinase KIN 10 directly phosphorylates and destabilizes PIF 4. T6P inhibits KIN 10 activity in a GRIK ‐dependent manner, allowing PIF 4 to promote hypocotyl growth at high temperatures. Together, our results demonstrate that T6P determines thermoresponsive growth through the KIN 10‐ PIF 4 signaling module. Such regulation of PIF 4 by T6P integrates the temperature‐signaling pathway with the endogenous sugar status, thus optimizing plant growth response to environmental stresses.