title: Plant cysteine oxidases control the oxygen-dependent branch of the N-end-rule pathway.
abstract: In plant and animal cells, amino-terminal cysteine oxidation controls selective proteolysis via an oxygen-dependent branch of the N-end rule pathway. It remains unknown how the N-terminal cysteine is specifically oxidized. Here we identify plant cysteine oxidase (PCO) enzymes that oxidize the penultimate cysteine of ERF-VII transcription factors by using oxygen as a co-substrate, thereby controlling the lifetime of these proteins. Consequently, ERF-VII proteins are stabilized under hypoxia and activate the molecular response to low oxygen while the expression of anaerobic genes is repressed in air. Members of the PCO family are themselves targets of ERF-VII transcription factors, generating a feedback loop that adapts the stress response according to the extent of the hypoxic condition. Our results reveal that PCOs act as sensor proteins for oxygen in plants and provide an example of how proactive regulation of the N-end rule pathway balances stress response to optimal growth and development in plants.
authors.affiliation: 1] Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa 56124, Italy [2] Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Daan A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Weits
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa 56124, Italy.
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Giuntoli
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kosmacz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa 56124, Italy.
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parlanti
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Michael
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Hubberten
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Heike
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Riegler
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hoefgen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa 56124, Italy.
authors.forename: Pierdomenico
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Perata
authors.affiliation: 1] Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany [2] Institute of Biology, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Joost T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: van Dongen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa 56124, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Licausi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000693:Anaerobiosis; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D003545:Cysteine / Q000378:metabolism; D050558:Cysteine Dioxygenase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D007527:Isoenzymes; D014157:Transcription Factors; D050558:Cysteine Dioxygenase; D003545:Cysteine; D010100:Oxygen