A light-sensing feedback loop keeps plant stems and leaf stalks from getting leggy
Song Z, Zhao F, Bian Y, Dong J, Xu D
Plant Signaling
The stretched, floppy stems on seedlings started on a dim windowsill come from this same light-controlled growth switch, and understanding it could lead to sturdier, more compact plants.
Plants sense red light and use it to decide how long their stems and leaf stalks should grow. Scientists found a protein called LOP1 that acts like a brake on this stretching. Plants missing it grew long, lanky stalks, while plants with extra of it stayed short and dwarfed. The brake and the growth-promoting protein it controls keep each other in balance.
Key Findings
Loss of LOP1 function produced elongated petioles and stems, while LOP1 overexpression produced dwarfed plants with dramatically shortened petioles and stems.
The red-light photoreceptor phyB physically interacts with LOP1, and the two proteins stabilize each other.
LOP1 tags PIF4 for ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation, while PIF4 binds G-box elements in the LOP1 promoter to activate its transcription, forming a negative feedback loop.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers found a protein called LOP1 that keeps plant stems and leaf stalks from stretching too far. It works with a red-light sensor and a growth-promoting protein in a feedback loop that shapes how tall and leggy a plant grows.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
The E3 ubiquitin ligase LOP1 targets PIF4 to control plant morphogenesis.
Light signals orchestrate plant morphogenic development, yet the mechanisms linking photoreceptor signaling to growth regulation remain incompletely understood. Here, we report that the RING-finger...
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