Reversible SUMOylation of FHY1 Regulates Phytochrome A Signaling in Arabidopsis

In response to far-red light(FR),FAR-RED ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 1(FHY1)transports the photoactivated phytochrome A(phyA),the primary FR photoreceptor,into the nucleus,where it initiates FR signaling in plants.Light promotes the 26S proteasome-mediated degradation of FHY1,which desensitizes FR signaling,but the underlying regulatory mechanism remains largely unknown.Here,we show that reversible SUMOylation of FHY1 tightly regulates this process.Lysine K32(K32)and K103 are major SUMOylation sites of FHY1.We found that FR exposure promotes the SUMOylation of FHY1,which accelerates its degradation.Furthermore,we discovered that ARABIDOPSIS SUMO PROTEASE 1(ASP1)interacts with FHY1 in the nucleus under FR and facilitates its deSUMOylation.FHY1 was strongly SUMOylated and its protein level was decreased in the asp1-1 loss-of-function mutant compared with that in the wild type under FR.Consistently,asp1-1 seedlings exhibited a decreased sensitivity to FR,suggesting that ASP1 plays an important role in the maintenance of proper FHY1 levels under FR.Genetic analysis further revealed that ASP1 regulates FR signaling through an FHY1-and phyA-dependent pathway.Interestingly,We found that continuous FR inhibits ASP1 accumulation,perhaps contributing to the desensitization of FR signaling.Taken together,these results indicate that FR-induced SUMOylation and ASP1-dependent deSUMOylation of FHY1 represent a key regulatory mechanism that fine-tunes FR signaling.

SUMO E3 Ligases GmSIZ1a and GmSIZ1b regulate vegetative growth in soybean

SIZ1 is a small ubiquitin-related modifier（SUMO） E3 ligase that mediates post-translational SUMO modification of target proteins and thereby regulates developmental processes and hormonal and environmental stress responses in Arabidopsis. However,the role of SUMO E3 ligases in crop plants is largely unknown. Here, we identified and characterized two Glycine max（soybean） SUMO E3 ligases, GmSIZ1a and GmSIZ1b. Expression of GmSIZ1a and GmSIZ1b was induced in response to salicylic acid（SA）, heat, and dehydration treatment, but not in response to cold, abscisic acid（ABA）, and Na Cl treatment. Although GmSIZ1a was expressed at higher levels than GmSIZ1b, both genes encoded proteins with SUMO E3 ligase activity in vivo.Heterologous expression of GmSIZ1a or GmSIZ1b rescued the mutant phenotype of Arabidopsis siz1-2, including dwarfism, constitutively activated expression of pathogen-related genes, and ABA-sensitive seed germination.Simultaneous downregulation of GmSIZ1a and GmSIZ1b（GmSIZ1a/b） using RNA interference（RNAi）-mediated gene silencing decreased heat shock-induced SUMO conjugation in soybean. Moreover, GmSIZ1 RNAi plants exhibited reduced plant height and leaf size. However,unlike Arabidopsis siz1-2 mutant plants, flowering time and SA levels were not significantly altered in GmSIZ1 RNAi plants. Taken together, our results indicate that GmSIZ1a and GmSIZ1b mediate SUMO modification and positively regulate vegetative growth in soybean.