title: The coactivator function of Arabidopsis NPR1 requires the core of its BTB/POZ domain and the oxidation of C-terminal cysteines.
abstract: NONEXPRESSOR OF PATHOGENESIS-RELATED GENES1 (NPR1) regulates systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in Arabidopsis thaliana, and current models propose that after treatment with salicylic acid (SA), Cys-82 and Cys-216 of NPR1 are reduced, leading to nuclear import. The interaction of nucleus-localized NPR1 with TGA transcription factors results in the activation of defense genes, including the SAR marker PATHOGENESIS-RELATED-1 (PR-1), and the deployment of SAR. Little is known about how TGA factors or NPR1 regulate transcription or whether a TGA-NPR1 complex forms on DNA. We show that TGA2 and NPR1 are recruited to PR-1 independently of each other and of SA treatment. Consistent with the result that a triple knockout in TGA2/5/6 derepresses PR-1, in vivo plant transcription assays revealed that TGA2 is not an autonomous transcription activator but is a transcriptional repressor in both untreated and SA-treated cells. However, after stimulation with SA, TGA2 is incorporated into a transactivating complex with NPR1, forming an enhanceosome that requires the core of the NPR1 BTB/POZ domain (residues 80 to 91) and the oxidation of NPR1 Cys-521 and Cys-529. These Cys residues are found in a new type of transactivation domain that we term Cys-oxidized. These data further our understanding of the mechanism by which TGA2 and NPR1 activate Arabidopsis PR-1.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rochon
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boyle
authors.forename: Tracy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wignes
authors.forename: Pierre R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Fobert
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Després
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D050976:Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003545:Cysteine / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction / Q000187:drug effects; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary / Q000187:drug effects; D021381:Protein Transport / Q000187:drug effects; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020156:Salicylic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D015533:Transcriptional Activation / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: C489413:AHBP-1b protein, Arabidopsis; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D050976:Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors; C105496:NPR1 protein, Arabidopsis; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C053376:pathogenesis-related proteins, plant; D003545:Cysteine; D020156:Salicylic Acid