The TOR–EIN2 axis mediates nuclear signalling to modulate plant growth

Liwen Fu, Yanlin Liu, Guochen Qin, Ping Wu, Hailing Zi, Zhongtian Xu, Xiaodi Zhao, Yue Wang, Yaxing Li, Shuhui Yang, Chao Peng, Catherine C. L. Wong, Sang-Dong Yoo, Zecheng Zuo, Renyi Liu, Young-Hee Cho and Yan Xiong ()
Additional contact information
Liwen Fu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yanlin Liu: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Guochen Qin: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ping Wu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hailing Zi: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhongtian Xu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiaodi Zhao: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Yue Wang: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Yaxing Li: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Shuhui Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chao Peng: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Catherine C. L. Wong: Peking University
Sang-Dong Yoo: Korea University
Zecheng Zuo: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Renyi Liu: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Young-Hee Cho: Korea University
Yan Xiong: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University

Nature, 2021, vol. 591, issue 7849, 288-292

Abstract: Abstract The evolutionarily conserved target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase acts as a master regulator that coordinates cell proliferation and growth by integrating nutrient, energy, hormone and stress signals in all eukaryotes1,2. Research has focused mainly on TOR-regulated translation, but how TOR orchestrates the global transcriptional network remains unclear. Here we identify ethylene-insensitive protein 2 (EIN2), a central integrator3–5 that shuttles between the cytoplasm and the nucleus, as a direct substrate of TOR in Arabidopsis thaliana. Glucose-activated TOR kinase directly phosphorylates EIN2 to prevent its nuclear localization. Notably, the rapid global transcriptional reprogramming that is directed by glucose–TOR signalling is largely compromised in the ein2-5 mutant, and EIN2 negatively regulates the expression of a wide range of target genes of glucose-activated TOR that are involved in DNA replication, cell wall and lipid synthesis and various secondary metabolic pathways. Chemical, cellular and genetic analyses reveal that cell elongation and proliferation processes that are controlled by the glucose–TOR–EIN2 axis are decoupled from canonical ethylene–CTR1–EIN2 signalling, and mediated by different phosphorylation sites. Our findings reveal a molecular mechanism by which a central signalling hub is shared but differentially modulated by diverse signalling pathways using distinct phosphorylation codes that can be specified by upstream protein kinases.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03310-y

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