Auxin efflux by PIN-FORMED proteins is activated by two different protein kinases, D6 PROTEIN KINASE and PINOID

  1. Melina Zourelidou
  2. Birgit Absmanner
  3. Benjamin Weller
  4. Inês CR Barbosa
  5. Björn C Willige
  6. Astrid Fastner
  7. Verena Streit
  8. Sarah A Port
  9. Jean Colcombet
  10. Sergio de la Fuente van Bentem
  11. Heribert Hirt
  12. Bernhard Kuster
  13. Waltraud X Schulze
  14. Ulrich Z Hammes
  15. Claus Schwechheimer  Is a corresponding author
  1. Technische Universität München, Germany
  2. Universität Regensburg, Germany
  3. Salk Institute for Biological Studies, United States
  4. Göttingen University Medical Center, Germany
  5. Université Evry, France
  6. Syngenta Seeds B.V, Netherlands
  7. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
  8. Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Germany

Abstract

The development and morphology of vascular plants is critically determined by synthesis and proper distribution of the phytohormone auxin. The directed cell-to-cell distribution of auxin is achieved through a system of auxin influx and efflux transporters. PIN-FORMED (PIN) proteins are proposed auxin efflux transporters, and auxin fluxes can seemingly be predicted based on the - in many cells - asymmetric plasma membrane distribution of PINs. Here, we show in a heterologous Xenopus oocyte system as well as in Arabidopsis thaliana inflorescence stems that PIN-mediated auxin transport is directly activated by D6 PROTEIN KINASE (D6PK) and PINOID (PID)/WAG kinases of the Arabidopsis AGCVIII kinase family. At the same time, we reveal that D6PKs and PID have differential phosphosite preferences. Our study suggests that PIN activation by protein kinases is a crucial component of auxin transport control that must be taken into account to understand auxin distribution within the plant.

Article and author information

Author details

  1. Melina Zourelidou

    Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  2. Birgit Absmanner

    Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  3. Benjamin Weller

    Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  4. Inês CR Barbosa

    Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  5. Björn C Willige

    Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  6. Astrid Fastner

    Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  7. Verena Streit

    Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  8. Sarah A Port

    Göttingen University Medical Center, Göttingen, Germany
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  9. Jean Colcombet

    Université Evry, Evry, France
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  10. Sergio de la Fuente van Bentem

    Syngenta Seeds B.V, Enkhuizen, Netherlands
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  11. Heribert Hirt

    King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  12. Bernhard Kuster

    Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  13. Waltraud X Schulze

    Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  14. Ulrich Z Hammes

    Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  15. Claus Schwechheimer

    Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany
    For correspondence
    claus.schwechheimer@wzw.tum.de
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

Ethics

Animal experimentation: This study was performed in strict accordance with the recommendations and guidelines based on the Tierschutzgesetz (TierSchG) of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Copyright

© 2014, Zourelidou et al.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.

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  1. Melina Zourelidou
  2. Birgit Absmanner
  3. Benjamin Weller
  4. Inês CR Barbosa
  5. Björn C Willige
  6. Astrid Fastner
  7. Verena Streit
  8. Sarah A Port
  9. Jean Colcombet
  10. Sergio de la Fuente van Bentem
  11. Heribert Hirt
  12. Bernhard Kuster
  13. Waltraud X Schulze
  14. Ulrich Z Hammes
  15. Claus Schwechheimer
(2014)
Auxin efflux by PIN-FORMED proteins is activated by two different protein kinases, D6 PROTEIN KINASE and PINOID
eLife 3:e02860.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02860

Share this article

https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02860

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