A phosphorylation-based switch controls TAA1-mediated auxin biosynthesis in plants

Qian Wang, Guochen Qin, Min Cao, Rong Chen, Yuming He, Liyuan Yang, Zhejun Zeng, Yongqiang Yu, Yangtao Gu, Weiman Xing, W. Andy Tao and Tongda Xu ()
Additional contact information
Qian Wang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Guochen Qin: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Min Cao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Rong Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yuming He: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou
Liyuan Yang: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou
Zhejun Zeng: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou
Yongqiang Yu: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou
Yangtao Gu: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou
Weiman Xing: Chinese Academy of Sciences
W. Andy Tao: Purdue University
Tongda Xu: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Auxin determines the developmental fate of plant tissues, and local auxin concentration is precisely controlled. The role of auxin transport in modulating local auxin concentration has been widely studied but the regulation of local auxin biosynthesis is less well understood. Here, we show that TRYPTOPHAN AMINOTRANSFERASE OF ARABIDOPSIS (TAA1), a key enzyme in the auxin biosynthesis pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana is phosphorylated at Threonine 101 (T101). T101 phosphorylation status can act as an on/off switch to control TAA1-dependent auxin biosynthesis and is required for proper regulation of root meristem size and root hair development. This phosphosite is evolutionarily conserved suggesting post-translational regulation of auxin biosynthesis may be a general phenomenon. In addition, we show that auxin itself, in part via TRANS-MEMBRANE KINASE 4 (TMK4), can induce T101 phosphorylation of TAA1 suggesting a self-regulatory loop whereby local auxin signalling can suppress biosynthesis. We conclude that phosphorylation-dependent control of TAA1 enzymatic activity may contribute to regulation of auxin concentration in response to endogenous and/or external cues.

Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14395-w Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-14395-w

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14395-w

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().