A Short Amino-Terminal Part of Arabidopsis Phytochrome A Induces Constitutive Photomorphogenic Response

摘要

Phytochrome A (phyA) is the dominant photoreceptor of far-red light sensing in Arabidopsis thaliana.phyA accumulates at high levels in the cytoplasm of etiolated seedlings,and light-induced phyA signaling is mediated by a complex regulatory network.This includes light- and FHY1/FHL protein-dependent translocation of native phyA into the nucleus in vivo.It has also been shown that a short N-terminal fragment of phyA (PHYA406) is sufficient to phenocopy this highly regulated cellular process in vitro.To test the biological activity of this N-terminal fragment of phyA in planta,we produced transgenic phyA-201 plants expressing the PHYA406-YFP (YELLOW FLUORESCENT PROTEIN)-DD,PHYA406-YFP-DD-NLS (nuclear localization signal),and PHYA406-YFP-DD-NES (nuclear export signal) fusion proteins.Here,we report that PHYA406-YFP-DD is imported into the nucleus and this process is partially light-dependent whereas PHYA406-YFP-DD-NLS and PHYA406-YFP-DD-NES display the expected constitutive localization patterns.Our results show that these truncated phyA proteins are light-stable,they trigger a constitutive photomorphogenic-like response when localized in the nuclei,and neither of them induces proper phyA signaling.We demonstrate that in vitro and in vivo PHYA406 Pfr and Pr bind COP1,a general repressor of photomorphogenesis,and co-localize with it in nuclear bodies.Thus,we conclude that,in planta,the truncated PHYA406 proteins inactivate COP1 in the nuclei in a light-independent fashion.