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Genome sequencing has uncovered tremendous sequence variation within and between species. In plants, in addition to large variations in genome size, a great deal of sequence polymorphism is also evident in several large multi-gene families, including those involved in the ubiquitin-26S proteasome protein degradation system. However, the biological function of this sequence variation is yet not clear. In this work, we explicitly demonstrated a single origin of retroposed Arabidopsis Skp1-Like ( ASK ) genes using an improved phylogenetic analysis. Taking advantage of the 1,001 genomes project, we here provide several lines of polymorphism evidence showing both adaptive and degenerative evolutionary processes in ASK genes. Yeast two-hybrid quantitative interaction assays further suggested that recent neutral changes in the ASK2 coding sequence weakened its interactions with some F-box proteins. The trend that highly polymorphic upstream regions of ASK1 yield high levels of expression implied negative expression regulation of ASK1 by an as-yet-unknown transcriptional suppression mechanism, which may contribute to the polymorphic roles of Skp1-CUL1-F-box complexes. Taken together, this study provides new evolutionary evidence to guide future functional genomic studies of SCF-mediated protein ubiquitylation.
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Generation of a fertile ask1 mutant uncovers a comprehensive set of SCF‐mediated intracellular functions
Summary Many eukaryotic intracellular processes employ protein ubiquitylation by ubiquitin E3 ligases for functional regulation or protein quality control. In plants, the multi‐subunit Skp1–Cullin1–F‐box (SCF) complexes compose the largest group of E3 ligases whose specificity is determined by a diverse array of F‐box proteins. Although both sequence divergence and polymorphism ofF‐boxgenes well support a broad spectrum of SCF functions, experimental evidence is scarce due to the low number of identified SCF substrates. Taking advantage of the bridge role of Skp1 between F‐box and Cullin1 in the complex, we systematically analyzed the functional influence of a well‐characterizedArabidopsis Skp1‐Like1(ASK1)Dsinsertion allele,ask1, in different Arabidopsis accessions. Through 10 generations of backcrossing with Columbia‐0 (Col‐0), we partially rescued the fertility of this otherwise sterileask1allele in Landsbergerecta, thus providing experimental evidence showing the polymorphic roles of SCF complexes. Thisask1mutant produces twisted rosette leaves, a reduced number of petals, fewer viable pollen grains, and larger embryos and seeds compared to Col‐0. RNA‐Seq‐based transcriptome analysis ofask1uncovered a large spectrum of SCF functions, which is greater than a 10‐fold increase compared with previous studies. We also identified its hyposensitive responses to auxin and abscisic acid treatments and enhanced far‐red light/phyA‐mediated photomorphogenesis. Such diverse roles are consistent with the 20–30% reduction of ubiquitylation events inask1estimated by immunoblotting analysis in this work. Collectively, we conclude that ASK1 is a predominant Skp1 protein in Arabidopsis and that the fertileask1mutant allowed us to uncover a comprehensive set of SCF functions.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1750361
- PAR ID:
- 10455110
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Plant Journal
- Volume:
- 104
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0960-7412
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 493-509
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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