Structural basis of JAZ repression of MYC transcription factors in jasmonate signalling

Feng Zhang, Jian Yao, Jiyuan Ke, Li Zhang, Vinh Q. Lam, Xiu Fang Xin, X. Edward Zhou, Jian Chen, Joseph Brunzelle, Patrick R. Griffin, Mingguo Zhou, H. Eric Xu, Karsten Melcher, Sheng Yang He*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

262 Scopus citations

Abstract

The plant hormone jasmonate plays crucial roles in regulating plant responses to herbivorous insects and microbial pathogens and is an important regulator of plant growth and development. Key mediators of jasmonate signalling include MYC transcription factors, which are repressed by jasmonate ZIM-domain (JAZ) transcriptional repressors in the resting state. In the presence of active jasmonate, JAZ proteins function as jasmonate co-receptors by forming a hormone-dependent complex with COI1, the F-box subunit of an SCF-type ubiquitin E3 ligase. The hormone-dependent formation of the COI1-JAZ co-receptor complex leads to ubiquitination and proteasome-dependent degradation of JAZ repressors and release of MYC proteins from transcriptional repression. The mechanism by which JAZ proteins repress MYC transcription factors and how JAZ proteins switch between the repressor function in the absence of hormone and the co-receptor function in the presence of hormone remain enigmatic. Here we show that Arabidopsis MYC3 undergoes pronounced conformational changes when bound to the conserved Jas motif of the JAZ9 repressor. The Jas motif, previously shown to bind to hormone as a partly unwound helix, forms a complete α-helix that displaces the amino (N)-terminal helix of MYC3 and becomes an integral part of the MYC N-terminal fold. In this position, the Jas helix competitively inhibits MYC3 interaction with the MED25 subunit of the transcriptional Mediator complex. Our structural and functional studies elucidate a dynamic molecular switch mechanism that governs the repression and activation of a major plant hormone pathway.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)269-273
Number of pages5
JournalNature
Volume525
Issue number7568
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 10 2015

Funding

Acknowledgements This research is supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF3037, to S.Y.H.), the China Scholarship Council (to F.Z.), Van Andel Research Institute (to H.E.X. and K.M.), the National Institutes of Health (R01 GM102545 to K.M. and R01AI060761 to S.Y.H.), and the Department of Energy (the Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science Grant DE–FG02–91ER20021 (to S.Y.H.). We thank S. Grant for administrative support and staff members of the Life Science Collaborative Access Teamof the Advanced PhotonSource for assistance in data collectionat the beam lines of sector 21, which is in part funded by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Michigan Technology Tri-Corridor (grant 085P1000817). Use of the Advanced Photon Source was supported by the Office of Science of the US Department of Energy, under contract number DE-AC02-06CH11357. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views ofthe NationalInstitutesofHealth.Wealso thankG.HoweandK.Aungfor reading the manuscript.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Structural basis of JAZ repression of MYC transcription factors in jasmonate signalling'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this