Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Published:

Plant phytochrome A in the Pr state assembles as an asymmetric dimer

Cell Research volume 33, pages 802–805 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Dear Editor,

Phytochromes (phys) are photoreceptors responsible for a series of red/far-red light-dependent processes in plants, fungi, algae, and bacteria.1 In plants, phys regulate various essential processes, including flowering, de-etiolation, shade avoidance, and photomorphogenic responses.1,2 The phys exist in two distinct states: the inactive Pr state and the active Pfr state. Under red-light irradiation, the covalently bound chromophore PΦB in phys isomerizes, leading to Pr-to-Pfr conversion, which alters their interactions with multiple proteins to transduce red-light signals.1,2,3 After far-red light detection or thermal relaxation, Pfr reverts to Pr.1 The phy family in Arabidopsis (phyA to phyE) is encoded by five genes.1 Among them, phyA and phyB play dominant roles in regulating physiological responses. In seeds, phyA detects very low-fluence red or far-red light to promote germination irreversibly; while phyB detects low-fluence red light to promote germination, this effect can be reversed by low-fluence far-red light. At the seedling stage, phyA detects high-fluence far-red light, and phyB detects high-fluence red light to promote de-etiolation of seedlings.1,2 Moreover, phyB is important for temperature sensing, but phyA is not.1,4,5 Although the functional distinctions between phyA and phyB have been well established, the molecular basis of their different functions remains a matter of debate.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Full-length phyA in the Pr state assembles as an asymmetric dimer.

Data availability

The PDB code of phyA in the Protein Data Bank is 8IFF. Accession code of phyA cryo-EM maps (including the 3.1 Å primary map and the 3.4 Å additional map) in the EM Database is EMD-35415.

References

  1. Legris, M., Ince, Y. Ç. & Fankhauser, C. Nat. Commun. 10, 5219 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Cheng, M. C. et al. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 72, 217–244 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Rockwell, N. C., Su, Y. S. & Lagarias, J. C. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 57, 837–358 (2006).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Legris, M. et al. Science 354, 897–900 (2016).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Jung, J. H. et al. Science 354, 886–889 (2016).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Burgie, E. S. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 118, e2105649118 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Burgie, E. S. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 111, 10179–10184 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Nagano, S. et al. Nat. Plants 6, 581–588 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Takala, H. et al. Nature 509, 245–248 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Li, H. et al. Nature 604, 127–133 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Siegelman, H. W. & Firer, E. M. Biochemistry 3, 418–423 (1964).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Burgie, E. S. et al. Sci. Rep. 7, 13648 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the Cryo-EM Center of School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences of Peking University and the Center for Protein Research of Huazhong Agricultural University for technical support. We thank Prof. Yu Zhang, from CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, for providing Arabidopsis-suspension-cell line T87. We thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32071211), the Major Project of Hubei Hongshan Laboratory (2021hszd011), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2662022SKQD006, 2662023PY001). Dr. Chen Zhou thanks the BaiChuan fellowship of the College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Jiao Wang, Chen Zhou.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China

    Jiao Wang, Chen Zhou, Zeyuan Guan, Qiang Wang, Lixia Wang, Liuqing Zhang, Delin Zhang, Ling Ma & Ping Yin

  2. National Key Laboratory of Wheat Improvement, Peking University Institute of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Shandong Laboratory of Advanced Agricultural Sciences in Weifang, Weifang, Shandong, China

    Jun Zhao & Xing Wang Deng

Authors
  1. Jiao Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chen Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Zeyuan Guan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Qiang Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jun Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Lixia Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Liuqing Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Delin Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Xing Wang Deng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Ling Ma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Ping Yin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

P.Y. conceived the project. J.W., C.Z., and L.M. prepared protein samples and performed functional assays. Q.W. prepared cryo-EM sample and collected data. Z.G. performed cryo-EM data processing and model building. L.M. and P.Y. wrote the manuscript. All authors analyzed the data.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ling Ma or Ping Yin.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Supplementary Information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, J., Zhou, C., Guan, Z. et al. Plant phytochrome A in the Pr state assembles as an asymmetric dimer. Cell Res 33, 802–805 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-023-00847-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-023-00847-7

Search

Advanced search

Quick links