Dominant negative guard cell K+ channel mutants reduce inward-rectifying K+ currents and light-induced stomatal opening in arabidopsis

Involvement of OST1 Protein Kinase and PYR/PYL/RCAR Receptors in Methyl Jasmonate-Induced Stomatal Closure in Arabidopsis Guard Cells

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) induces stomatal closure. It has been shown that stomata of many ABA-insensitive mutants are also insensitive to MeJA, and a low amount of ABA is a prerequisite for the MeJA response. However, the molecular mechanisms of the interaction between ABA and MeJA signaling remain to be elucidated. Here we studied the interplay of signaling of the two hormones in guard cells using the quadruple ABA receptor mutant pyr1 pyl1 pyl2 pyl4 and ABA-activated protein kinase mutants ost1-2 and srk2e. In the quadruple mutant, MeJA-induced stomatal closure, H2O2 production, nitric oxide (NO) production, cytosolic alkalization and plasma membrane Ca(2+)-permeable current (ICa) activation were not impaired. At the same time, the inactivation of the inward-rectifying K(+) current was impaired. In contrast to the quadruple mutant, MeJA-induced stomatal closure, H2O2 production, NO production and cytosolic alkalization were impaired in ost1-2 and srk2e as well as in aba2-2, the ABA-deficient mutant. The activation of ICa was also impaired in srk2e. Collectively, these results indicated that OST1 was essential for MeJA-induced stomatal closure, while PYR1, PYL1, PYL2 and PYL4 ABA receptors were not sufficient factors. MeJA did not appear to activate OST1 kinase activity. This implies that OST1 mediates MeJA signaling through an undetectable level of activity or a non-enzymatic action. MeJA induced the expression of an ABA synthesis gene, NCED3, and increased ABA contents only modestly. Taken together with previous reports, this study suggests that MeJA signaling in guard cells is primed by ABA and is not brought about through the pathway mediated by PYR1, PYL1 PYL2 and PYL4.

Genome-Wide Identification of Soybean U-Box E3 Ubiquitin Ligases and Roles of GmPUB8 in Negative Regulation of Drought Stress Response in Arabidopsis

Plant U-box (PUB) E3 ubiquitin ligases play important roles in hormone signaling pathways and response to abiotic stresses, but little is known about them in soybean, Glycine max. Here, we identified and characterized 125 PUB genes from the soybean genome, which were classified into eight groups according to their protein domains. Soybean PUB genes (GmPUB genes) are broadly expressed in many tissues and are a little more abundant in the roots than in the other tissues. Nine GmPUB genes, GmPUB1-GmPUB9, showed induced expression patterns by drought, and the expression of GmPUB8 was also induced by exogenous ABA and NaCl. GmPUB8 was localized to post-Golgi compartments, interacting with GmE2 protein as demonstrated by yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) experiments, and showed E3 ubiquitin ligase activity by in vitro ubiquitination assay. Heterogeneous overexpression of GmPUB8 in Arabidopsis showed decreased drought tolerance, enhanced sensitivity with respect to osmotic and salt stress inhibition of seed germination and seedling growth, and inhibited ABA- and mannitol-mediated stomatal closure. Eight drought stress-related genes were less induced in GmPUB8-overexpressing Arabidopsis after drought treatment compared with the wild type and the pub23 mutant. Taken together, our results suggested that GmPUB8 might negatively regulate plant response to drought stress. In addition, Y2H and BiFC showed that GmPUB8 interacted with soybean COL (CONSTANS LIKE) protein. GmPUB8-overexpressing Arabidopsis flowered earlier under middle- and short-day conditions but later under long-day conditions, indicating that GmPUB8 might regulate flowering time in the photoperiod pathway. This study helps us to understand the functions of PUB E3 ubiquitin ligases in soybean.

A link between magnesium-chelatase H subunit and sucrose nonfermenting 1 (SNF1)-related protein kinase SnRK2.6/OST1 in Arabidopsis guard cell signalling in response to abscisic acid

Magnesium-chelatase H subunit [CHLH/putative abscisic acid (ABA) receptor ABAR] positively regulates guard cell signalling in response to ABA, but the molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. A member of the sucrose nonfermenting 1 (SNF1)-related protein kinase 2 family, SnRK2.6/open stomata 1 (OST1)/SRK2E, which plays a critical role in ABA signalling in Arabidopsis guard cells, interacts with ABAR/CHLH. Neither mutation nor over-expression of the ABAR gene affects significantly ABA-insensitive phenotypes of stomatal movement in the OST1 knockout mutant allele srk2e. However, OST1 over-expression suppresses ABA-insensitive phenotypes of the ABAR mutant allele cch in stomatal movement. These genetic data support that OST1 functions downstream of ABAR in ABA signalling in guard cells. Consistent with this, ABAR protein is phosphorylated, but independently of the OST1 protein kinase. Two ABAR mutant alleles, cch and rtl1, show ABA insensitivity in ABA-induced reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide production, as well as in ABA-activated phosphorylation of a K(+) inward channel KAT1 in guard cells, which is consistent with that observed in the pyr1 pyl1 pyl2 pyl4 quadruple mutant of the well-characterized ABA receptor PYR/PYL/RCAR family acting upstream of OST1. These findings suggest that ABAR shares, at least in part, downstream signalling components with PYR/PYL/RCAR receptors for ABA in guard cells; though cch and rtl1 show strong ABA-insensitive phenotypes in both ABA-induced stomatal closure and inhibition of stomatal opening, while the pyr1 pyl1 pyl2 pyl4 quadruple mutant shows strong ABA insensitivity only in ABA-induced stomatal closure. These data establish a link between ABAR/CHLH and SnRK2.6/OST1 in guard cell signalling in response to ABA.

bHLH transcription factors that facilitate K⁺ uptake during stomatal opening are repressed by abscisic acid through phosphorylation

Stomata open in response to light and close after exposure to abscisic acid (ABA). They regulate gas exchange between plants and the atmosphere, enabling plants to adapt to changing environmental conditions. ABA binding to receptors initiates a signaling cascade that involves protein phosphorylation. We show that ABA induced the phosphorylation of three basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors, called AKSs (ABA-responsive kinase substrates; AKS1, AKS2, and AKS3), in Arabidopsis guard cells. In their unphosphorylated state, AKSs facilitated stomatal opening through the transcription of genes encoding inwardly rectifying K⁺ channels. aks1aks2-1 double mutant plants showed decreases in light-induced stomatal opening, K⁺ accumulation in response to light, activity of inwardly rectifying K⁺ channels, and transcription of genes encoding major inwardly rectifying K⁺ channels without affecting ABA-mediated stomatal closure. Overexpression of potassium channel in Arabidopsis thaliana 1 (KAT1), which encodes a major inwardly rectifying K⁺ channel in guard cells, rescued the phenotype of aks1aks2-1 plants. AKS1 bound directly to the promoter of KAT1, an interaction that was attenuated after ABA-induced phosphorylation. The ABA agonist pyrabactin induced phosphorylation of AKSs. Our results demonstrate that the AKS family of bHLH transcription factors facilitates stomatal opening through the transcription of genes encoding inwardly rectifying K⁺ channels and that ABA suppresses the activity of these channels by triggering the phosphorylation of AKS family transcription factors.

FIA functions as an early signal component of abscisic acid signal cascade in Vicia faba guard cells

An abscisic acid (ABA)-insensitive Vicia faba mutant, fia (fava bean impaired in ABA-induced stomatal closure) had previously been isolated. In this study, it was investigated how FIA functions in ABA signalling in guard cells of Vicia faba. Unlike ABA, methyl jasmonate (MeJA), H(2)O(2), and nitric oxide (NO) induced stomatal closure in the fia mutant. ABA did not induce production of either reactive oxygen species or NO in the mutant. Moreover, ABA did not suppress inward-rectifying K(+) (K(in)) currents or activate ABA-activated protein kinase (AAPK) in mutant guard cells. These results suggest that FIA functions as an early signal component upstream of AAPK activation in ABA signalling but does not function in MeJA signalling in guard cells of Vicia faba.

Abscisic acid and CO2 signalling via calcium sensitivity priming in guard cells, new CDPK mutant phenotypes and a method for improved resolution of stomatal stimulus-response analyses

BACKGROUND

Stomatal guard cells are the regulators of gas exchange between plants and the atmosphere. Ca(2+)-dependent and Ca(2+)-independent mechanisms function in these responses. Key stomatal regulation mechanisms, including plasma membrane and vacuolar ion channels have been identified and are regulated by the free cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](cyt)).

SCOPE

Here we show that CO(2)-induced stomatal closing is strongly impaired under conditions that prevent intracellular Ca(2+) elevations. Moreover, Ca(2+) oscillation-induced stomatal closing is partially impaired in knock-out mutations in several guard cell-expressed Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) here, including the cpk4cpk11 double and cpk10 mutants; however, abscisic acid-regulated stomatal movements remain relatively intact in the cpk4cpk11 and cpk10 mutants. We further discuss diverse studies of Ca(2+) signalling in guard cells, discuss apparent peculiarities, and pose novel open questions. The recently proposed Ca(2+) sensitivity priming model could account for many of the findings in the field. Recent research shows that the stomatal closing stimuli abscisic acid and CO(2) enhance the sensitivity of stomatal closing mechanisms to intracellular Ca(2+), which has been termed 'calcium sensitivity priming'. The genome of the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana encodes for over 250 Ca(2+)-sensing proteins, giving rise to the question, how can specificity in Ca(2+) responses be achieved? Calcium sensitivity priming could provide a key mechanism contributing to specificity in eukaryotic Ca(2+) signal transduction, a topic of central interest in cell signalling research. In this article we further propose an individual stomatal tracking method for improved analyses of stimulus-regulated stomatal movements in Arabidopsis guard cells that reduces noise and increases fidelity in stimulus-regulated stomatal aperture responses ( Box 1). This method is recommended for stomatal response research, in parallel to previously adopted blind analyses, due to the relatively small and diverse sizes of stomatal apertures in the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Early abscisic acid signal transduction mechanisms: newly discovered components and newly emerging questions

The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) regulates many key processes in plants, including seed germination and development and abiotic stress tolerance, particularly drought resistance. Understanding early events in ABA signal transduction has been a major goal of plant research. The recent identification of the PYRABACTIN (4-bromo-N-[pyridin-2-yl methyl]naphthalene-1-sulfonamide) RESISTANCE (PYR)/REGULATORY COMPONENT OF ABA RECEPTOR (RCAR) family of ABA receptors and their biochemical mode of action represents a major breakthrough in the field. The solving of PYR/RCAR structures provides a context for resolving mechanisms mediating ABA control of protein-protein interactions for downstream signaling. Recent studies show that a pathway based on PYR/RCAR ABA receptors, PROTEIN PHOSPHATASE 2Cs (PP2Cs), and SNF1-RELATED PROTEIN KINASE 2s (SnRK2s) forms the primary basis of an early ABA signaling module. This pathway interfaces with ion channels, transcription factors, and other targets, thus providing a mechanistic connection between the phytohormone and ABA-induced responses. This emerging PYR/RCAR-PP2C-SnRK2 model of ABA signal transduction is reviewed here, and provides an opportunity for testing novel hypotheses concerning ABA signaling. We address newly emerging questions, including the potential roles of different PYR/RCAR isoforms, and the significance of ABA-induced versus constitutive PYR/RCAR-PP2C interactions. We also consider how the PYR/RCAR-PP2C-SnRK2 pathway interfaces with ABA-dependent gene expression, ion channel regulation, and control of small molecule signaling. These exciting developments provide researchers with a framework through which early ABA signaling can be understood, and allow novel questions about the hormone response pathway and possible applications in stress resistance engineering of plants to be addressed.

The guard cell as a single-cell model towards understanding drought tolerance and abscisic acid action

Stomatal guard cells are functionally specialized epidermal cells usually arranged in pairs surrounding a pore. Changes in ion fluxes, and more specifically osmolytes, within the guard cells drive opening/closing of the pore, allowing gas exchange while limiting water loss through evapo-transpiration. Adjustments of the pore aperture to optimize these conflicting needs are thus centrally important for land plants to survive, especially with the rise in CO(2) associated with global warming and increasing water scarcity this century. The basic biophysical events in modulating membrane transport have been gradually delineated over two decades. Genetics and molecular approaches in recent years have complemented and extended these earlier studies to identify major regulatory nodes. In Arabidopsis, the reference for guard cell genetics, stomatal opening driven by K(+) entry is mainly through KAT1 and KAT2, two voltage-gated K(+) inward-rectifying channels that are activated on hyperpolarization of the plasma membrane principally by the OST2 H(+)-ATPase (proton pump coupled to ATP hydrolysis). By contrast, stomatal closing is caused by K(+) efflux mainly through GORK, the outward-rectifying channel activated by membrane depolarization. The depolarization is most likely initiated by SLAC1, an anion channel distantly related to the dicarboxylate/malic acid transport protein found in fungi and bacteria. Beyond this established framework, there is also burgeoning evidence for the involvement of additional transporters, such as homologues to the multi-drug resistance proteins (or ABC transporters) as intimated by several pharmacological and reverse genetics studies. General inhibitors of protein kinases and protein phosphatases have been shown to profoundly affect guard cell membrane transport properties. Indeed, the first regulatory enzymes underpinning these transport processes revealed genetically were several protein phosphatases of the 2C class and the OST1 kinase, a member of the SnRK2 family. Taken together, these results are providing the first glimpses of an emerging signalling complex critical for modulating the stomatal aperture in response to environmental stimuli.

Roles of RCN1, regulatory A subunit of protein phosphatase 2A, in methyl jasmonate signaling and signal crosstalk between methyl jasmonate and abscisic acid

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) as well as abscisic acid (ABA) induces stomatal closure with their signal crosstalk. We investigated the function of a regulatory A subunit of protein phosphatase 2A, RCN1, in MeJA signaling. Both MeJA and ABA failed to induce stomatal closure in Arabidopsis rcn1 knockout mutants unlike in wild-type plants. Neither MeJA nor ABA induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and suppressed inward-rectifying potassium channel activities in rcn1 mutants but not in wild-type plants. These results suggest that RCN1 functions upstream of ROS production and downstream of the branch point of MeJA signaling and ABA signaling in Arabidopsis guard cells.

Heteromeric K+ channels in plants

Voltage-gated potassium channels of plants are multimeric proteins built of four alpha-subunits. In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, nine genes coding for K+ channel alpha-subunits have been identified. When co-expressed in heterologous expression systems, most of them display the ability to form heteromeric K+ channels. Till now it was not clear whether plants use this potential of heteromerization to increase the functional diversity of potassium channels. Here, we designed an experimental approach employing different transgenic plant lines that allowed us to prove the existence of heteromeric K+ channels in plants. The chosen strategy might also be useful for investigating the activity and function of other multimeric channel proteins like, for instance, cyclic-nucleotide gated channels, tandem-pore K+ channels and glutamate receptor channels.

Isolation of a strong Arabidopsis guard cell promoter and its potential as a research tool

BACKGROUND

A common limitation in guard cell signaling research is that it is difficult to obtain consistent high expression of transgenes of interest in Arabidopsis guard cells using known guard cell promoters or the constitutive 35S cauliflower mosaic virus promoter. An additional drawback of the 35S promoter is that ectopically expressing a gene throughout the organism could cause pleiotropic effects. To improve available methods for targeted gene expression in guard cells, we isolated strong guard cell promoter candidates based on new guard cell-specific microarray analyses of 23,000 genes that are made available together with this report.

RESULTS

A promoter, pGC1(At1g22690), drove strong and relatively specific reporter gene expression in guard cells including GUS (beta-glucuronidase) and yellow cameleon YC3.60 (GFP-based calcium FRET reporter). Reporter gene expression was weaker in immature guard cells. The expression of YC3.60 was sufficiently strong to image intracellular Ca2+ dynamics in guard cells of intact plants and resolved spontaneous calcium transients in guard cells. The GC1 promoter also mediated strong reporter expression in clustered stomata in the stomatal development mutant too-many-mouths (tmm). Furthermore, the same promoter::reporter constructs also drove guard cell specific reporter expression in tobacco, illustrating the potential of this promoter as a method for high level expression in guard cells. A serial deletion of the promoter defined a guard cell expression promoter region. In addition, anti-sense repression using pGC1 was powerful for reducing specific GFP gene expression in guard cells while expression in leaf epidermal cells was not repressed, demonstrating strong cell-type preferential gene repression.

CONCLUSION

The pGC1 promoter described here drives strong reporter expression in guard cells of Arabidopsis and tobacco plants. It provides a potent research tool for targeted guard cell expression or gene silencing. It is also applicable to reduce specific gene expression in guard cells, providing a method for circumvention of limitations arising from genetic redundancy and lethality. These advances could be very useful for manipulating signaling pathways in guard cells and modifying plant performance under stress conditions. In addition, new guard cell and mesophyll cell-specific 23,000 gene microarray data are made publicly available here.

Prokaryotic K(+) channels: from crystal structures to diversity

The deep roots and wide branches of the K(+)-channel family are evident from genome surveys and laboratory experimentation. K(+)-channel genes are widespread and found in nearly all the free-living bacteria, archaea and eukarya. The conservation of basic structures and mechanisms such as the K(+) filter, the gate, and some of the gate's regulatory domains have allowed general insights on animal K(+) channels to be gained from crystal structures of prokaryotic channels. Since microbes are the great majority of life's diversity, it is not surprising that microbial genomes reveal structural motifs beyond those found in animals. There are open-reading frames that encode K(+)-channel subunits with unconventional filter sequences, or regulatory domains of different sizes and numbers not previously known. Parasitic or symbiotic bacteria tend not to have K(+) channels, while those showing lifestyle versatility often have more than one K(+)-channel gene. It is speculated that prokaryotic K(+) channels function to allow adaptation to environmental and metabolic changes, although the actual roles of these channels in prokaryotes are not yet known. Unlike enzymes in basic metabolism, K(+) channel, though evolved early, appear to play more diverse roles than revealed by animal research. Finding and sorting out these roles will be the goal and challenge of the near future.

Regulation of K+ channel activities in plants: from physiological to molecular aspects

Plant voltage-gated channels belonging to the Shaker family participate in sustained K+ transport processes at the cell and whole plant levels, such as K+ uptake from the soil solution, long-distance K+ transport in the xylem and phloem, and K+ fluxes in guard cells during stomatal movements. The attention here is focused on the regulation of these transport systems by protein-protein interactions. Clues to the identity of the regulatory mechanisms have been provided by electrophysiological approaches in planta or in heterologous systems, and through analogies with their animal counterparts. It has been shown that, like their animal homologues, plant voltage-gated channels can assemble as homo- or heterotetramers associating polypeptides encoded by different Shaker genes, and that they can bind auxiliary subunits homologous to those identified in mammals. Furthermore, several regulatory processes (involving, for example, protein kinases and phosphatases, G proteins, 14-3-3s, or syntaxins) might be common to plant and animal Shakers. However, the molecular identification of plant channel partners is still at its beginning. This paper reviews current knowledge on plant K+ channel regulation at the physiological and molecular levels, in the light of the corresponding knowledge in animal cells, and discusses perspectives for the deciphering of regulatory networks in the future.

The plant multidrug resistance ABC transporter AtMRP5 is involved in guard cell hormonal signalling and water use

Carbon dioxide uptake and water release through stomata, controlling the opening and closure of stomatal pore size in the leaf surface, is critical for optimal plant performance. Stomatal movements are regulated by multiple signalling pathways involving guard cell ion channels. Using reverse genetics, we recently isolated a T-DNA insertion mutant for the Arabidopsis ABC-transporter AtMRP5 (mrp5-1). Guard cells from mrp5-1 mutant plants were found to be insensitive to the sulfonylurea compound glibenclamide, which in the wild type induces stomatal opening in the dark. Here, we report that the knockout in AtMRP5 affects several signalling pathways controlling stomatal movements. Stomatal apertures of mrp5-1 and wild-type Ws-2 were identical in the dark. In contrast, opening of stomata of mrp5-1 plants was reduced in the light. In the light, stomatal closure of mrp5-1 was insensitive to external calcium and abscisic acid, a phytohormone responsible for stomatal closure during drought stress. In contrast to Ws-2, the phytohormone auxin could not stimulate stomatal opening in the mutant in darkness. All stomatal phenotypes were complemented in transgenic mrp5-1 plants transformed with a cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S-AtMRP5 construct. Both whole-plant and single-leaf gas exchange measurements demonstrated a reduced transpiration rate of mrp5-1 in the light. Excised leaves of mutant plants exhibited reduced water loss, and water uptake was strongly decreased at the whole-plant level. Finally, if plants were not watered, mrp5-1 plants survived much longer due to reduced water use. Analysis of CO2 uptake and transpiration showed that mrp5-1 plants have increased water use efficiency. Mutant plants overexpressing AtMRP5 under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter again exhibited wild-type characteristics. These results demonstrate that multidrug resistance-associated proteins (MRPs) are important components of guard cell functioning.

Molecular mechanisms and regulation of K+ transport in higher plants

Potassium (K+) plays a number of important roles in plant growth and development. Over the past few years, molecular approaches associated with electrophysiological analyses have greatly advanced our understanding of K+ transport in plants. A large number of genes encoding K+ transport systems have been identified, revealing a high level of complexity. Characterization of some transport systems is providing exciting information at the molecular level on functions such as root K+ uptake and secretion into the xylem sap, K+ transport in guard cells, or K+ influx into growing pollen tubes. In this review, we take stock of this recent molecular information. The main families of plant K+ transport systems (Shaker and KCO channels, KUP/HAK/KT and HKT transporters) are described, along with molecular data on how these systems are regulated. Finally, we discuss a few physiological questions on which molecular studies have shed new light.