Direct Interaction of Arabidopsis Cryptochromes with COP1 in Light Control Development
Haiyang Wang,1
Li-Geng Ma,12
Jin-Ming Li,3
Hong-Yu Zhao,3
Xing
Wang Deng12*
Arabidopsis seedling photomorphogenesis involves two
antagonistically acting components, COP1 and HY5. COP1 specifically
targets HY5 for degradation via the 26S proteasome in the
dark through their direct physical interaction. Little is known
regarding how light signals perceived by photoreceptors are transduced
to regulate COP1. Arabidopsis has two related cryptochromes
(cry1 and cry2) mediating various blue/ultraviolet-A light responses.
Here we show that both photoactivated cryptochromes repress COP1
activity through a direct protein-protein contact and that this direct regulation is primarily responsible for the cryptochrome-mediated blue
light regulation of seedling photomorphogenic development and genome
expression profile.
1 Department of Molecular, Cellular, and
Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
2 Peking-Yale Joint Center of Plant Molecular
Genetics and Agrobiotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Peking
University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
3 Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale
University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
xingwang.deng{at}yale.edu
