Editor's Summary
19 January 2006
Elusive ABA receptor found
Abscisic acid (ABA) is a major plant hormone involved in stress responses, including dormancy and (hence its name) leaf fall. For two decades the search has been on for a physiological receptor for abscisic acid and now Razem et al. have found one. FCA, an RNA binding protein that regulates flowering time, binds abscisic acid with high affinity. Abscisic acid exerts direct control on FCA-directed processing of mRNA. There are many uncharacterized RNA binding proteins in plants and animals, and this discovery suggests that some may be involved in hormone-mediated post-transcriptional gene regulation.
News and Views: Plant biology: Abscisic acid in bloom
To survive environmental stresses, plants must respond to the hormone abscisic acid. The receptors for this hormone have remained elusive, but one receptor with unique functions in flowering has now been identified.
Julian I. Schroeder & Josef M Kuhn
doi:10.1038/439277a
Article: The RNA-binding protein FCA is an abscisic acid receptor
Fawzi A. Razem, Ashraf El-Kereamy, Suzanne R. Abrams & Robert D. Hill
doi:10.1038/nature04373
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (415K) | Supplementary information
