title: Signaling specificity provided by the Arabidopsis thaliana heterotrimeric G-protein γ subunits AGG1 and AGG2 is partially but not exclusively provided through transcriptional regulation.
abstract: The heterotrimeric G-protein complex in Arabidopsis thaliana consists of one α, one ß and three γ subunits. While two of the γ subunits, AGG1 and AGG2 have been shown to provide functional selectivity to the Gßγ dimer in Arabidopsis, it is unclear if such selectivity is embedded in their molecular structures or conferred by the different expression patterns observed in both subunits. In order to study the molecular basis for such selectivity we tested genetic complementation of AGG1- and AGG2 driven by the respectively swapped gene promoters. When expressed in the same tissues as AGG1, AGG2 rescues some agg1 mutant phenotypes such as the hypersensitivity to Fusarium oxysporum and D-mannitol as well as the altered levels of lateral roots, but does not rescue the early flowering phenotype. Similarly, AGG1 when expressed in the same tissues as AGG2 rescues the osmotic stress and lateral-root phenotypes observed in agg2 mutants but failed to rescue the heat-stress induction of flowering. The fact that AGG1 and AGG2 are functionally interchangeable in some pathways implies that, at least for those pathways, signaling specificity resides in the distinctive spatiotemporal expression patterns exhibited by each γ subunit. On the other hand, the lack of complementation for some phenotypes indicates that there are pathways in which signaling specificity is provided by differences in the primary AGG1 and AGG2 amino acid sequences.
authors.affiliation: Plant Genetic Engineering Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Leena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thung
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chakravorty
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Trusov
authors.forename: Alan M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: José Ramón
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Botella
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D005670:Fusarium / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D044388:GTP-Binding Protein gamma Subunits / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000502:physiology*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000502:physiology*; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D008353:Mannitol / Q000378:metabolism; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C521249:AGG1 protein, Arabidopsis; C521250:AGG2 protein, Arabidopsis; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D044388:GTP-Binding Protein gamma Subunits; D008353:Mannitol