Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Imaging Spatial Reorganization of a MAPK Signaling Pathway Using the Tobacco Transient Expression System
Published on: March 20, 2016
Comprehensive analysis of protein-protein interactions between Arabidopsis MAPKs and MAPK kinases helps define
Jin Suk Lee1, Kyung Won Huh, Apurva Bhargava
1Michael Smith Laboratories; University of British Columbia; Vancouver, British Columbia Canada.
Abstract:
The Arabidopsis genome encodes a 20-member gene family of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MPKs) but biological roles have only been identified for a small subset of these crucial signalling components. In particular, it is unclear how the MPKs may be organized into functional modules within the cell. To gain insight into their potential relationships, we used the yeast two-hybrid system to conduct a directed protein-protein interaction screen between all the Arabidopsis MPKs and their upstream activators (MAPK kinases; MKK). Novel interactions were also tested in vitro for enzyme-substrate functionality, using recombinant proteins. The resulting data confirm a number of earlier reported MKK-MPK relationships, but also reveal a more extensive pattern of interactions that should help to guide future analyses of MAPK signalling in plants.
Related Concept Videos
MAPK Signaling Cascades
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
Cell Signaling in Plants
Protein Networks
These interactions can be represented through maps depicting protein-protein interaction networks, represented as nodes and edges. Nodes are circles that are representative of a protein,...
cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase Pathways
Microtubule Associated Proteins (MAPs)

