The role of arabidopsis WDR protein in plant growth and defense strategies.

Evidence indicates that the mechanisms controlling photosynthesis efficiency also regulate plant response to biotic and abiotic stress. Light-induced cell death is genetically maintained for the control of innate immunity. In a recent study we showed that the expression of AtWDR26 was induced by light, multiple plant hormones, and abiotic stress; increased AtWDR26 strongly upregulated gene groups related to chloroplast metabolism, disease resistance, and abiotic stress tolerance.

An Arabidopsis WDR protein coordinates cellular networks involved in light, stress response and hormone signals.

The WD-40 repeat (WDR) protein acts as a scaffold for protein interactions in various cellular events. An Arabidopsis WDR protein exhibited sequence similarity with human WDR26, a scaffolding protein implicated in H2O2-induced cell death in neural cells. The AtWDR26 transcript was induced by auxin, abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene (ET), osmostic stress and salinity.