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Dissection of abscisic acid signal transduction pathways in barley aleurone layers

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Abstract

Abscisic acid (ABA) induces genes that are highly expressed during late embryogenesis, but suppresses gibberellin (GA)-responsive genes essential for seed germination and seedling growth. Promoter elements necessary and sufficient for ABA up- and down-regulation of gene expression have been previously defined in barley aleurone layers. We have studied the effect of a protein phosphatase 2C, ABI1, an ABA-inducible protein kinase, PKABA1, and a transcription factor, VP1, on ABA action in a barley aleurone transient expression system. The observations have allowed us to dissect ABA signal transduction pathways leading to either induction or suppression of gene expression. The ABA induction of embryogenesis genes is highly inhibited in the presence of a mutated protein phosphatase 2C, encoded by the abi1-1 dominant mutant gene that is known to block ABA responses in Arabidopsis. However, the abi1-1 gene product has no effect on the ABA suppression of a GA-responsive α-amylase gene. On the other hand, PKABA1 suppresses the expression of α-amylase genes, but has little effect on ABA up-regulated genes. Therefore, it appears that ABA induction and suppression follow two separate signal transduction pathways with the former inhibited by ABI1 and the latter modulated by PKABA1. The presence of VP1 enhances the ABA induction of late embryogenesis genes, but also suppresses germination specific genes. A schematic model based on these observations is presented to explain the effect of these regulatory proteins on ABA-mediated gene expression.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Biology Program, Department of Biology, Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA

    Qingxi Shen, Aurelio Gomez-Cadenas, Pengnian Zhang & Tuan-Hua David Ho

  2. USDA-Agriculture Research Service, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-6420, USA

    Mary Kay Walker-Simmons

  3. Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Jen Sheen

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  1. Qingxi Shen
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  2. Aurelio Gomez-Cadenas
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Shen, Q., Gomez-Cadenas, A., Zhang, P. et al. Dissection of abscisic acid signal transduction pathways in barley aleurone layers. Plant Mol Biol 47, 437–448 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011667312754

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