Work

MOTHER OF FT AND TFL1 Regulates Seed Germination through a Negative Feedback Loop Modulating ABA Signaling in Arabidopsis

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: Abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellin (GA) are two antagonistic phytohormones that regulate seed germination in response to biotic and abiotic environmental stresses. We demonstrate here that MOTHER OF FT AND TFL1 (MFT), which encodes a phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein, regulates seed germination via the ABA and GA signaling pathways in Arabidopsis thaliana. MFT is specifically induced in the radical-hypocotyl transition zone of the embryo in response to ABA, and mft loss-of-function mutants show hypersensitivity to ABA in seed germination. In germinating seeds, MFT expression is directly regulated by ABA-INSENSITIVE3 (ABI3) and ABI5, two key transcription factors in ABA signaling pathway. MFT is also upregulated by DELLA proteins in the GA signaling pathway. MFT in turn provides negative feedback regulation of ABA signaling by directly repressing ABI5. We conclude that during seed germination, MFT promotes embryo growth by constituting a negative feedback loop in the ABA signaling pathway.

Source: The Plant Cell

DOI: 10.1105/tpc.109.073072

Authors: Wanyan Xi, Chang Liu, Xingliang Hou, Hao Yu

Institutions: Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore

Language: English

Topic: Seed Germination and Physiology

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: green

Funders: National University of Singapore, Singapore Millennium Foundation, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, Arizona Biomedical Research Commission