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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Plant Gene Expression Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #229825
Title: The Arabidopsis Phytochrome-Interacting Factor PIF7, Together with PIF3 and PIF4, Regulates Responses to Prolonged Red Light by Modulating phyB Levels

Author
item LEIVAR, PABLO - ARS-UCB PLNT GENE EXP CTR
item MONTE, ELENA - ARS-UCB PLNT GENE EXP CTR
item AL-SADY, BASSEM - ARS-UCB PLNT GENE EXP CTR
item CARLE, CHRISTINE - ARS-UCB PLNT GENE EXP CTR
item STORER, ALYSSA - ARS-UCB PLNT GENE EXP CTR
item ALONSO, JOSE - SALK INST LA JOLLA CALIF
item ECKER, JOSEPH - SALK INST LA JOLLA CALIF
item QUAIL, PETER - ARS-UCB PLNT GENE EXP CTR

Submitted to: The Plant Cell
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/16/2007
Publication Date: 2/1/2008
Citation: Leivar, P., Monte, E., Al-Sady, B., Carle, C., Storer, A., Alonso, J.M., Ecker, J.R., Quail, P.H. 2008. The Arabidopsis Phytochrome-Interacting Factor PIF7, Together with PIF3 and PIF4, Regulates Responses to Prolonged Red Light by Modulating phyB Levels. The Plant Cell. 20:337-352.

Interpretive Summary: We show that a previously uncharacterized Arabidopsis thaliana basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) phytochrome interacting factor (PIF), designated PIF7, interacts specifically with the far-red light–absorbing Pfr form of phyB through a conserved domain called the active phyB binding motif. Similar to PIF3, upon light exposure, PIF7 rapidly migrates to intranuclear speckles, where it colocalizes with phyB. However, in striking contrast to PIF3, this process is not accompanied by detectable light-induced phosphorylation or degradation of PIF7, suggesting that the consequences of interaction with photoactivated phyB may differ among PIFs. Nevertheless, PIF7 acts similarly to PIF3 in prolonged red light as a weak negative regulator of phyB-mediated seedling deetiolation. Examination of pif3, pif4, and pif7 double mutant combinations shows that their moderate hypersensitivity to extended red light is additive. We provide evidence that the mechanism by which these PIFs operate on the phyB signaling pathway under prolonged red light is through maintaining low phyB protein levels, in an additive or synergistic manner, via a process likely involving the proteasome pathway. These data suggest that the role of these phyB-interacting bHLH factors in modulating seedling deetiolation in prolonged red light may not be as phy-activated signaling intermediates, as proposed previously, but as direct modulators of the abundance of the photoreceptor.

Technical Abstract: We show that a previously uncharacterized Arabidopsis thaliana basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) phytochrome interacting factor (PIF), designated PIF7, interacts specifically with the far-red light–absorbing Pfr form of phyB through a conserved domain called the active phyB binding motif. Similar to PIF3, upon light exposure, PIF7 rapidly migrates to intranuclear speckles, where it colocalizes with phyB. However, in striking contrast to PIF3, this process is not accompanied by detectable light-induced phosphorylation or degradation of PIF7, suggesting that the consequences of interaction with photoactivated phyB may differ among PIFs. Nevertheless, PIF7 acts similarly to PIF3 in prolonged red light as a weak negative regulator of phyB-mediated seedling deetiolation. Examination of pif3, pif4, and pif7 double mutant combinations shows that their moderate hypersensitivity to extended red light is additive. We provide evidence that the mechanism by which these PIFs operate on the phyB signaling pathway under prolonged red light is through maintaining low phyB protein levels, in an additive or synergistic manner, via a process likely involving the proteasome pathway. These data suggest that the role of these phyB-interacting bHLH factors in modulating seedling deetiolation in prolonged red light may not be as phy-activated signaling intermediates, as proposed previously, but as direct modulators of the abundance of the photoreceptor.