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A small-molecule screen identifies new functions for the plant hormone strigolactone

Nature Chemical Biology volume 6, pages 741–749 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Parasitic weeds of the genera Striga and Orobanche are considered the most damaging agricultural agents in the developing world. An essential step in parasitic seed germination is sensing a group of structurally related compounds called strigolactones that are released by host plants. Although this makes strigolactone synthesis and action a major target of biotechnology, little fundamental information is known about this hormone. Chemical genetic screening using Arabidopsis thaliana as a platform identified a collection of related small molecules, cotylimides, which perturb strigolactone accumulation. Suppressor screens against select cotylimides identified light-signaling genes as positive regulators of strigolactone levels. Molecular analysis showed strigolactones regulate the nuclear localization of the COP1 ubiquitin ligase, which in part determines the levels of light regulators such as HY5. This information not only uncovers new functions for strigolactones but was also used to identify rice cultivars with reduced capacity to germinate parasitic seed.

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Figure 1: Structures and action of CTL compounds.
Figure 2: Strigolactone mutants are less sensitive to CTL-VI.
Figure 3: PΦB synthesis mutants have reduced germination and strigolactone levels.
Figure 4: Strigolactones inhibit hypocotyl growth.
Figure 5: Strigolactones cause accumulation of HY5 protein.
Figure 6: Strigolactones reduce COP1 nuclear localization.
Figure 7: Strigolactones can mimic light-adapted growth.
Figure 8: Model of strigolactone signaling.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. Desveaux and S. Lumba for helpful discussion. We also thank the following researchers and the Ohio State Stock Center for providing materials: S.R. Cutler (Univ. California, Riverside), ABRC (T-DNA insertion lies); O. Leyser (Univ. York) (max1-1, max2-1, max3-9); T. Kohchi (Kyoto Univ.) (hy2-105); T. Sakai (RIKEN) (cry1 cry2); Y. Yamauchi, T. Izawa (Japanese National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences) and M. Nakazono (Univ. of Tokyo) (rice strains); M. Umehara (RIKEN) (rice instructions); A.G.T. Babiker (Sudan University of Science and Technology) (Striga hermonthica); M. Goldwasser (Hebrew Univ.) (Orobanche aegyptiaca); K. Yoneyama (Utsunomiya Univ.) (GR24); K. Shirasu and S. Yoshida (RIKEN) (Striga instructions); X.W. Deng (Yale Univ.) (HY5 antibody). We thank K. Akiyama (Osaka Prefecture Univ.) for the internal standard of 2′-epi-5DS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Yuichiro Tsuchiya, Danielle Vidaurre, Shigeo Toh, Eiji Nambara & Peter McCourt

  2. Centre for the Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Danielle Vidaurre, Eiji Nambara & Peter McCourt

  3. RIKEN Plant Science Center, Yokohama, Japan

    Yuichiro Tsuchiya, Atsushi Hanada, Eiji Nambara, Yuji Kamiya & Shinjiro Yamaguchi

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  1. Yuichiro Tsuchiya
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Contributions

Y.T. performed the majority of the wet lab experiments with guidance from P.M. and E.N. D.V. and S.T. performed western blot analysis. A.H. contributed to strigolactone measurements in rice with guidance from S.Y. and Y.K. The project was conceived by Y.T. and P.M. and the manuscript written by P.M.

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Correspondence to Peter McCourt.

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Supplementary Figs. 1–15 and Supplementary Methods (PDF 5323 kb)

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Tsuchiya, Y., Vidaurre, D., Toh, S. et al. A small-molecule screen identifies new functions for the plant hormone strigolactone. Nat Chem Biol 6, 741–749 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.435

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