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Published on: May 21, 2019
Small proteins modulate ion-channel-like ACD6 to regulate immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana
Junbin Chen1, Lei Li2, Jong Hum Kim3
1China Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio-breeding, and College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Abstract:
The multi-pass transmembrane protein ACCELERATED CELL DEATH 6 (ACD6) is an immune regulator in Arabidopsis thaliana with an unclear biochemical mode of action. We have identified two loci, MODULATOR OF HYPERACTIVE ACD6 1 (MHA1) and its paralog MHA1-LIKE (MHA1L), that code for ∼7 kDa proteins, which differentially interact with specific ACD6 variants. MHA1L enhances the accumulation of an ACD6 complex, thereby increasing the activity of the ACD6 standard allele for regulating plant growth and defenses. The intracellular ankyrin repeats of ACD6 are structurally similar to those found in mammalian ion channels. Several lines of evidence link increased ACD6 activity to enhanced calcium influx, with MHA1L as a direct regulator of ACD6, indicating that peptide-regulated ion channels are not restricted to animals.
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