Abscisic acid transporters cooperate to control seed germination.
Seed germination is a key developmental process that has to be tightly controlled to avoid germination under unfavourable conditions. Abscisic acid (ABA) is an essential repressor of seed germination. In Arabidopsis, it has been shown that the endosperm, a single cell layer surrounding the embryo, synthesizes and continuously releases ABA towards the embryo. The mechanism of ABA transport from the endosperm to the embryo was hitherto unknown. Here we show that four AtABCG transporters act in concert to deliver ABA from the endosperm to the embryo: AtABCG25 and AtABCG31 export ABA from the endosperm, whereas AtABCG30 and AtABCG40 import ABA into the embryo. Thus, this work establishes that radicle extension and subsequent embryonic growth are suppressed by the coordinated activity of multiple ABA transporters expressed in different tissues.
Institut für Pflanzenbiologie, Universität Zürich, Zollikerstrasse 107, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland.|POSTECH-UZH Global Research Laboratory, Division of Molecular Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea.
Joohyun
J
Kang
POSTECH-UZH Global Research Laboratory, Division of Molecular Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea.
Sojeong
S
Yim
POSTECH-UZH Global Research Laboratory, Division of Molecular Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea.
Hyunju
H
Choi
POSTECH-UZH Global Research Laboratory, Division of Molecular Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea.
Areum
A
Kim
Départment de Biologie Végétale, Université de Genève, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
Keun Pyo
KP
Lee
Départment de Biologie Végétale, Université de Genève, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
Luis
L
Lopez-Molina
Institut für Pflanzenbiologie, Universität Zürich, Zollikerstrasse 107, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland.|POSTECH-UZH Global Research Laboratory, Division of Molecular Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea.
Enrico
E
Martinoia
POSTECH-UZH Global Research Laboratory, Division of Molecular Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea.|Division of Integrative Biology and Biotechnology, POSTECH, Pohang 790-784, Korea.
Youngsook
Y
Lee
D000070996:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily G; D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000040:Abscisic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D056625:Endosperm / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018525:Germination / Q000235:genetics*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012639:Seeds / Q000378:metabolism*
C000606829:ABCG25 protein, Arabidopsis; C000592970:ABCG31 protein, Arabidopsis; C000606830:ABCG40 protein, Arabidopsis; D000070996:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily G; D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C547218:Atpdr2 protein, Arabidopsis; D000040:Abscisic Acid