The Arabidopsis thaliana MEK AtMKK6 activates the MAP kinase AtMPK13.
Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases mediate cellular responses to a wide variety of stimuli. Activation of a MAP kinase occurs after phosphorylation by an upstream dual-specificity protein kinase, known as a MAP kinase kinase or MEK. The Arabidopsis thaliana genome encodes 10 MEKs but few of these have been shown directly to activate any of the 20 Arabidopsis MAP kinases. We show here that functional complementation of the cell lysis phenotype of a mutant yeast strain depends on the co-expression of the Arabidopsis MEK AtMKK6 and the MAP kinase AtMPK13. The kinase activity of AtMPK13 is stimulated in the presence of AtMKK6 in yeast cells. RT-PCR analysis showed the co-expression of these two genes in diverse plant tissues. These data show that AtMKK6 can functionally activate the MAP kinase AtMPK13.
Max F. Perutz Laboratories, University Departments at the Vienna Biocenter, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, University of Vienna, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.
Balázs
B
Melikant
Concetta
C
Giuliani
Susanne
S
Halbmayer-Watzina
Apinun
A
Limmongkon
Erwin
E
Heberle-Bors
Cathal
C
Wilson
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D015870:Gene Expression; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D018745:Genome, Plant; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics; D015398:Signal Transduction; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques
D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases