Characterization of Phytochrome Interacting Factors from the Moss Physcomitrella patens Illustrates Conservation of Phytochrome Signaling Modules in Land Plants
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E-Artikel
Titel:
Characterization of Phytochrome Interacting Factors from the Moss Physcomitrella patens Illustrates Conservation of Phytochrome Signaling Modules in Land Plants
Beschreibung:
<p>Across the plant kingdom, phytochrome (PHY) photoreceptors play an important role during adaptive and developmental responses to light. In <italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</italic>, light-activated PHYs accumulate in the nucleus, where they regulate downstream signaling components, such as phytochrome interacting factors (PIFs). PIFs are transcription factors that act as repressors of photomorphogenesis; their inhibition by PHYs leads to substantial changes in gene expression. The nuclear function of PHYs, however, has so far been investigated in only a few non-seed plants. Here, we identified putative target genes of PHY signaling in the moss <italic>Physcomitrella patens</italic> and found light-regulated genes that are putative orthologs of PIF-controlled genes in Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that an ancestral PIF-like gene was already present in streptophyte algae, i.e., before the water-to-land transition of plants. The PIF homologs in the genome of <italic>P. patens</italic> resemble Arabidopsis PIFs in their protein domain structure, molecular properties, and physiological effects, albeit with notable differences in the motif-dependent PHY interaction. Our results suggest that <italic>P. patens</italic> PIFs are involved in PHY signaling. The PHY-PIF signaling node that relays light signals to target genes has been largely conserved during land plant evolution, with evidence of lineage-specific diversification.</p>