MYC2 Regulates the Termination of Jasmonate Signaling via an Autoregulatory Negative Feedback Loop
    作者: Yuanyuan Liu, Minmin Du, Lei Deng, Jiafang Shen, Mingming Fang, Qian Chen, Yanhui Lu, Qiaomei Wang, Chuanyou Li, and Qingzhe Zhai
    刊物名称: The Plant Cell
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    摘要:
    In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), as with in other plants, the immunity hormone jasmonate (JA) triggers genome-wide transcriptional changes in response to pathogen and insect attack. These changes are largely regulated by the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor MYC2. The function of MYC2 depends on its physical interaction with the MED25 subunit of the Mediator transcriptional co-activator complex. Although much has been learned about the MYC2-dependent transcriptional activation of JA-responsive genes, relatively less studied is the termination of JA-mediated transcriptional responses and the underlying mechanisms. Here, we report an unexpected function of MYC2 in regulating the termination of JA signaling through activating a small group of JA-inducible bHLH proteins, termed MYC2-TARGETED BHLH 1 (MTB1), MTB2, and MTB3. MTB proteins negatively regulate JA-mediated transcriptional responses via their antagonistic effects on the functionality of the MYC2-MED25 transcriptional activation complex. MTB proteins impair the formation of the MYC2-MED25 complex and compete with MYC2 to bind to its target gene promoters. Therefore, MYC2 and MTB proteins form an autoregulatory negative feedback circuit to terminate JA signaling in a highly organized manner. We exemplify that new gene editing tools, such as CRISPR/Cas9, open up new avenues to exploit MTB genes for crop protection.