In bacteria, the biosynthesis of cysteine is accomplished by two enzymes that are encoged by the cysK and cysM genes. CysM is also able to incorporate thiosulfate to produce S-sulfocysteine. In plant cells, the biosynthesis of cysteine occurs in the cytosol, mitochondria and chloroplasts. Chloroplasts contain two O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase homologs, which are encoded by the OAS-B and CS26 genes. An in vitro enzymatic analysis of the recombinant CS26 protein demonstrated that this isoform possesses S-sulfocysteine synthase activity and lacks O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase activity. In vivo functional analysis of this enzyme in knockout mutants demonstrated that mutation of cs26 suppressed the S-sulfocysteine synthase activity that was detected in wild type; furthermore, the mutants exhibited a growth phenotype, but penetrance depended on the light regime. The cs26 mutant plants also had reductions in chlorophyll content and photosynthetic activity (neither of which were observed in oas-b mutants), as well as elevated glutathione levels. However, cs26 leaves were not able to properly detoxify ROS, which accumulated to high levels under long-day growth conditions. The transcriptional profile of the cs26 mutant revealed that the mutation had a pleiotropic effect on many cellular and metabolic processes. Our finding reveals that S-sulfocysteine and the activity of S-sulfocysteine synthase play an important role in chloroplast function and are essential for light-dependent redox regulation within the chloroplast.
Arabidopsis S-sulfocysteine synthase activity is essential for chloroplast function and long-day light-dependent redox control.
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View SamplesWe describe a new mutant allele of the ACTIN2 gene with enhanced actin dynamics, displaying a broad array of twisting and bending phenotypes that resemble BR-treated plants. Moreover, auxin transcriptional regulation is enhanced on the mutant background, supporting the idea that shaping actin filaments is sufficient to modulate BR-mediated auxin responsiveness. The actin cytoskeleton thus functions as a scaffold for integration of auxin and BR signaling pathways.
Role of actin cytoskeleton in brassinosteroid signaling and in its integration with the auxin response in plants.
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