A novel transcription factor involved in plant defense endowed with protein phosphatase activity.
In plants, expression of a disease-resistance character following perception of a pathogen involves massive deployment of transcription-dependent defenses. Thus, if rapid and effective defense responses have to be achieved, it is crucial that the pathogenic signal is transduced and amplified through pre-existing signaling pathways. Reversible phosphorylation of specific transcription factors, by a concerted action of protein kinases and phosphatases, may represent a mechanism for rapid and flexible regulation of selective gene expression by environmental stimuli. Here we identified a novel DNA-binding protein from tobacco plants, designated DBP1, with protein phosphatase activity, which binds in a sequence-specific manner to a cis- acting element of a defense-related gene and participates in its transcriptional regulation. This finding helps delineate a terminal event in a signaling pathway for the selective activation of early transcription-dependent defense responses in plants, and suggests that stimulus-dependent reversible phosphorylation of regulatory proteins may occur directly in a transcription protein-DNA complex.
Carrasco
José L
JL
Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia-CSIC Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
Ancillo
Gema
G
Mayda
Esther
E
Vera
Pablo
P
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D017931:DNA Primers; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000502:physiology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
D017931:DNA Primers; D014157:Transcription Factors; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases