Reconstitution of phytochrome A-mediated light modulation of the ABA signaling pathways in yeast

Abscisic acid (ABA), a classical plant hormone, plays an essential role in plant adaptation to environmental stresses. The ABA signaling mechanisms have been extensively investigated, and it was shown that the PYR1 (PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE1)/PYL (PYR1-LIKE)/RCAR (REGULATORY COMPONENT OF ABA RECEPTOR) ABA receptors, the PP2C coreceptors, and the SnRK2 protein kinases constitute the core ABA signaling module responsible for ABA perception and initiation of downstream responses. We recently showed that ABA signaling is modulated by light signals, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely obscure. In this study, we established a system in yeast cells that was not only successful in reconstituting a complete ABA signaling pathway, from hormone perception to ABA-responsive gene expression, but also suitable for functionally characterizing the regulatory roles of additional factors of ABA signaling. Using this system, we analyzed the roles of several light signaling components, including the red and far-red light photoreceptors phytochrome A (phyA) and phyB, and the photomorphogenic central repressor COP1, in the regulation of ABA signaling. Our results showed that both phyA and phyB negatively regulated ABA signaling, whereas COP1 positively regulated ABA signaling in yeast cells. Further analyses showed that photoactivated phyA interacted with the ABA coreceptors ABI1 and ABI2 to decrease their interactions with the ABA receptor PYR1. Together, data from our reconstituted yeast ABA signaling system provide evidence that photoactivated photoreceptors attenuate ABA signaling by directly interacting with the key components of the core ABA signaling module, thus conferring enhanced ABA tolerance to light-grown plants.