Type 2C protein phosphatases in plants Fuchs, Stefan; Grill, Erwin; Meskiene, Irute ...
The FEBS journal,
January 2013, Letnik:
280, Številka:
2
Journal Article
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Type 2C protein phosphatases (PP2Cs) form a structurally unique class of Mg2+‐/Mn2+‐dependent enzymes. PP2Cs are evolutionary conserved from prokaryotes to higher eukaryotes and play a prominent role ...in stress signalling. In this review, we focus on the evolution, function and regulation of the plant PP2Cs. Members of a subclass of plant PP2Cs counteract mitogen‐activated protein kinase pathways, whereas members of other subfamilies function as co‐receptors for the phytohormone abscisic acid. Recent structural analyses of abscisic acid receptors have elucidated the mode of ligand‐dependent regulation and substrate targeting.
Type 2C protein phosphatases (PP2Cs) are evolutionary conserved from prokaryotes to higher eukaryotes and play a prominent role in stress signalling. This review focuses on evolution, function and regulation of the plant PP2Cs.
PP2C-type protein phosphatases are monomeric enzymes present in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Members of this family of phosphoprotein phosphatases are involved in the regulation of several ...signaling pathways. A database analysis of
Arabidopsis reveals PP2Cs to be the largest protein phosphatase family in plants, with 76 members, displaying high complexity, and greatly outnumbering PP2Cs in other eukaryotes. Plant PP2Cs have been found as regulators of signal transduction pathways and also involved in development. PP2C functions emphasize the existence of sophisticated signaling pathways in plants, in which protein dephosphorylation plays a crucial role towards determining specificities.
In plants, cell polarity and tissue patterning are connected by intercellular flow of the phytohormone auxin, whose directional signaling depends on polar subcellular localization of PIN auxin ...transport proteins. The mechanism of polar targeting of PINs or other cargos in plants is largely unidentified, with the PINOID kinase being the only known molecular component. Here, we identify PP2A phosphatase as an important regulator of PIN apical-basal targeting and auxin distribution. Genetic analysis, localization, and phosphorylation studies demonstrate that PP2A and PINOID both partially colocalize with PINs and act antagonistically on the phosphorylation state of their central hydrophilic loop, hence mediating PIN apical-basal polar targeting. Thus, in plants, polar sorting by the reversible phosphorylation of cargos allows for their conditional delivery to specific intracellular destinations. In the case of PIN proteins, this mechanism enables switches in the direction of intercellular auxin fluxes, which mediate differential growth, tissue patterning, and organogenesis.
In plant post-embryonic epidermis mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling promotes differentiation of pavement cells and inhibits initiation of stomata. Stomata are cells specialized to ...modulate gas exchange and water loss. Arabidopsis MAPKs MPK3 and MPK6 are at the core of the signaling cascade; however, it is not well understood how the activity of these pleiotropic MAPKs is constrained spatially so that pavement cell differentiation is promoted only outside the stomata lineage. Here we identified a PP2C-type phosphatase termed AP2C3 (Arabidopsis protein phosphatase 2C) that is expressed distinctively during stomata development as well as interacts and inactivates MPK3, MPK4 and MPK6. AP2C3 co-localizes with MAPKs within the nucleus and this localization depends on its N-terminal extension. We show that other closely related phosphatases AP2C2 and AP2C4 are also MAPK phosphatases acting on MPK6, but have a distinct expression pattern from AP2C3. In accordance with this, only AP2C3 ectopic expression is able to stimulate cell proliferation leading to excess stomata development. This function of AP2C3 relies on the domains required for MAPK docking and intracellular localization. Concomitantly, the constitutive and inducible AP2C3 expression deregulates E2F-RB pathway, promotes the abundance and activity of CDKA, as well as changes of CDKB1;1 forms. We suggest that AP2C3 downregulates the MAPK signaling activity to help maintain the balance between differentiation of stomata and pavement cells.
Protein phosphorylation by protein kinases can be reversed by the action of protein phosphatases. In plants, the Ser/Thr-specific phosphatases dominate among the protein phosphatase families with the ...type 2C protein phosphatases (PP2Cs) being the most abundant among them. PP2Cs are monomeric enzymes that require metal cations for their activity and are insensitive to known phosphatase inhibitors. PP2Cs were shown to counteract the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase/MAPK) activities in plants and to regulate developmental and stress signaling pathways. Studies of PP2C activities can be performed in vitro using recombinant proteins. The potential substrates of PP2Cs can be tested for dephosphorylation by the phosphatase in vitro. We have found that the stress-induced PP2Cs from alfalfa and Arabidopsis interact with stress-activated MAPKs in yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screens. Consequently, recombinant MAPKs were employed as substrates for dephosphorylation by selected PP2Cs from different family clusters. The members of the PP2C phosphatase family demonstrated specificity toward the substrate already in vitro, supporting the notion that protein phosphatases are specific enzymes. The PP2C from Arabidopsis thaliana cluster B, Arabidopsis PP2C-type phosphatase (AP2C1), and its homolog from Medicago sativa, Medicago PP2C-type phosphatase (MP2C), were able to dephosphorylate and inactivate MAPKs, whereas the ABSCISIC ACID (ABA)-INSENSITIVE 2 (ABI2) and HOMOLOGY TO ABI1 (HAB1) PP2Cs from the distinct Arabidopsis cluster A were not able to do so. The method described here can be used for the determination of PP2C protein activity and for studying the effect of mutations introduced into their catalytic domains.
Protein phosphatases of type 2C (PP2Cs) play important roles in eukaryotic signal transduction. In contrast to other eukaryotes, plants such as Arabidopsis have an unusually large group of 69 ...different PP2C genes. At present, little is known about the functions and substrates of plant PP2Cs. We have previously shown that MP2C, a wound-induced alfalfa PP2C, is a negative regulator of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways in yeast and plants. In this report, we provide evidence that alfalfa salt stress-inducible MAPK (SIMK) and stress-activated MAPK (SAMK) are activated by wounding and that MP2C is a MAPK phosphatase that directly inactivates SIMK but not the wound-activated MAPK, SAMK. SIMK is inactivated through threonine dephosphorylation of the pTEpY motif, which is essential for MAPK activity. Mutant analysis indicated that inactivation of SIMK depends on the catalytic activity of MP2C. A comparison of MP2C with two other PP2Cs, ABI2 and AtP2CHA, revealed that although all three phosphatases have similar activities toward casein as a substrate, only MP2C is able to dephosphorylate and inactivate SIMK. In agreement with the notion that MP2C interacts directly with SIMK, the MAPK was identified as an interacting partner of MP2C in a yeast two-hybrid screen. MP2C can be immunoprecipitated with SIMK in a complex in vivo and shows direct binding to SIMK in vitro in protein interaction assays. Wound-induced MP2C expression correlates with the time window when SIMK is inactivated, corroborating the notion that MP2C is involved in resetting the SIMK signaling pathway.
Plant-parasitic cyst nematodes infect plants and form highly sophisticated feeding sites in roots. It is not known which plant cell signalling mechanisms trigger plant defence during the early stages ...of nematode parasitism. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are central components of protein phosphorylation cascades transducing extracellular signals to plant defence responses. MAPK phosphatases control kinase activities and the signalling outcome. The involvement and the role of MPK3 and MPK6, as well as the MAPK phosphatase AP2C1, is demonstrated during parasitism of the beet cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii in Arabidopsis. Our data reveal notable activation patterns of plant MAPKs and the induction of AP2C1 suggesting the attenuation of defence signalling in plant cells during early nematode infection. It is demonstrated that the ap2c1 mutant that is lacking AP2C1 is more attractive but less susceptible to nematodes compared with the AP2C1-overexpressing line. This implies that the function of AP2C1 is a negative regulator of nematode-induced defence. By contrast, the enhanced susceptibility of mpk3 and mpk6 plants indicates a positive role of stress-activated MAPKs in plant immunity against nematodes. Evidence is provided that phosphatase AP2C1, as well as AP2C1-targeted MPK3 and MPK6, are important regulators of plant–nematode interaction, where the co-ordinated action of these signalling components ensures the timely activation of plant defence.
Phosphatases in plants Schweighofer, Alois; Meskiene, Irute
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.),
01/2015, Letnik:
1306
Journal Article
Reversible protein phosphorylation is an essential posttranslational modification mechanism executed by opposing actions of protein phosphatases and protein kinases. About 1,000 predicted kinases in ...Arabidopsis thaliana kinome predominate the number of protein phosphatases, of which there are only ~150 members in Arabidopsis. Protein phosphatases were often referred to as "housekeeping" enzymes, which act to keep eukaryotic systems in balance by counteracting the activity of protein kinases. However, recent investigations reveal the crucial and specific regulatory functions of phosphatases in cell signaling. Phosphatases operate in a coordinated manner with the protein kinases, to execute their important function in determining the cellular response to a physiological stimulus. Closer examination has established high specificity of phosphatases in substrate recognition and important roles in plant signaling pathways, such as pathogen defense and stress regulation, light and hormonal signaling, cell cycle and differentiation, metabolism, and plant growth. In this minireview we provide a compact overview about Arabidopsis protein phosphatase families, as well as members of phosphoglucan and lipid phosphatases, and highlight the recent discoveries in phosphatase research.
Abstract
Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades transmit environmental signals and induce stress and defence responses in plants. These signalling cascades are negatively controlled by ...specific Ser/Thr protein phosphatases of the type 2C (PP2C) and dual-specificity phosphatase (DSP) families that inactivate stress-induced MAPKs; however, the interplay between phosphatases of these different types has remained unknown. This work reveals that different Arabidopsis MAPK phosphatases, the PP2C-type AP2C1 and the DSP-type MKP1, exhibit both specific and overlapping functions in plant stress responses. Each single mutant, ap2c1 and mkp1, and the ap2c1 mkp1 double mutant displayed enhanced stress-induced activation of the MAPKs MPK3, MPK4, and MPK6, as well as induction of a set of transcription factors. Moreover, ap2c1 mkp1 double mutants showed an autoimmune-like response, associated with increased levels of the stress hormones salicylic acid and ethylene, and of the phytoalexin camalexin. This phenotype was reduced in the ap2c1 mkp1 mpk3 and ap2c1 mkp1 mpk6 triple mutants, suggesting that the autoimmune-like response is due to MAPK misregulation. We conclude that the evolutionarily distant MAPK phosphatases AP2C1 and MKP1 contribute crucially to the tight control of MAPK activities, ensuring appropriately balanced stress signalling and suppression of autoimmune-like responses during plant growth and development.
Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphatase double mutant ap2c1 mkp1 Arabidopsis plants exhibit constitutive, autoimmune-like stress responses, dependent on their substrate MAPKs MPK3 and MPK6.
Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) mediate plant immune responses to pathogenic bacteria. However, less is known about the cell autonomous negative regulatory mechanism controlling basal plant ...immunity. We report the biological role of Arabidopsis thaliana MAPK phosphatase AP2C1 as a negative regulator of plant basal resistance and defense responses to Pseudomonas syringae. AP2C2, a closely related MAPK phosphatase, also negatively controls plant resistance. Loss of AP2C1 leads to enhanced pathogen-induced MAPK activities, increased callose deposition in response to pathogen-associated molecular patterns or to P. syringae pv. tomato (Pto) DC3000, and enhanced resistance to bacterial infection with Pto. We also reveal the impact of AP2C1 on the global transcriptional reprogramming of transcription factors during Pto infection. Importantly, ap2c1 plants show salicylic acid-independent transcriptional reprogramming of several defense genes and enhanced ethylene production in response to Pto. This study pinpoints the specificity of MAPK regulation by the different MAPK phosphatases AP2C1 and MKP1, which control the same MAPK substrates, nevertheless leading to different downstream events. We suggest that precise and specific control of defined MAPKs by MAPK phosphatases during plant challenge with pathogenic bacteria can strongly influence plant resistance.
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