The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) modulates the expression of many genes important to plant growth and development and to stress adaptation. In this study, we found that an APETALA2/EREBP-type transcription factor, AtERF7, plays an important role in ABA responses. AtERF7 interacts with the protein kinase PKS3, which has been shown to be a global regulator of ABA responses. AtERF7 binds to the GCC box and acts as a repressor of gene transcription. AtERF7 interacts with the Arabidopsis thaliana homolog of a human global corepressor of transcription, AtSin3, which in turn may interact with HDA19, a histone deacetylase. The transcriptional repression activity of AtERF7 is enhanced by HDA19 and AtSin3. Arabidopsis plants overexpressing AtERF7 show reduced sensitivity of guard cells to ABA and increased transpirational water loss. By contrast, AtERF7 and AtSin3 RNA interference lines show increased sensitivity to ABA during germination. Together, our results suggest that AtERF7 plays an important role in ABA responses and may be part of a transcriptional repressor complex and be regulated by PKS3.

SOS2 (salt overly sensitive 2) is a serine͞threonine protein kinase required for salt tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. In this study, we identified the protein phosphatase 2C ABI2 (abscisic acid-insensitive 2) as a SOS2-interacting protein. Deletion analysis led to the discovery of a novel protein domain of 37 amino acid residues, designated as the protein phosphatase interaction (PPI) motif, of SOS2 that is necessary and sufficient for interaction with ABI2. The PPI motif is conserved in protein kinases of the SOS2 family (i.e., protein kinase S, PKS) and in the DNA damage repair and replication block checkpoint kinase, Chk1, from various organisms including humans. Mutations in the conserved amino acid residues in the PPI motif abolish the interaction of SOS2 with ABI2. We also identified a protein kinase interaction domain in ABI2 and examined the interaction specificity between PKS and the ABI phosphatases. We found that some PKSs interact strongly with ABI2 whereas others interact preferentially with ABI1. The interaction between SOS2 and ABI2 was disrupted by the abi2-1 mutation, which causes increased tolerance to salt shock and abscisic acid insensitivity in plants. Our results establish the PPI motif and the protein kinase interaction domain as novel protein interaction domains that mediate the binding between the SOS2 family of protein kinases and the ABI1͞2 family of protein phosphatases. R eversible protein phosphorylation is a fundamental mechanism by which living organisms regulate cellular processes in response to developmental, hormonal, and environmental cues. The Arabidopsis SOS2 (salt overly sensitive 2) gene is necessary for sodium and potassium ion homeostasis and salt tolerance (1). SOS2 encodes a serine͞threonine protein kinase with an Nterminal kinase catalytic domain similar to SNF1͞AMPK and a novel C-terminal regulatory domain (2). SOS2 is normally inactive, presumably because of an intramolecular interaction between the catalytic domain and the autoinhibitory regulatory domain (3). Salt stress elicits a cytosolic calcium signal (4). Calcium, together with the calcium-binding protein SOS3, activates SOS2 (5). SOS3 physically interacts with SOS2 in the yeast two-hybrid system as well as in vitro (5). A 21-aa sequence in the regulatory domain of SOS2, designated as the FISL motif, is necessary and sufficient for the interaction with SOS3 (3). The SOS3-SOS2 kinase complex is required for the phosphorylation and activation of the plasma membrane Na ϩ ͞H ϩ antiporter encoded by the SOS1 gene (6-8).In Arabidopsis, SOS2 is a member of a family of 25 protein kinases that are known as protein kinase S (PKS) (3). Evidence suggests that individual PKS proteins interact with specific calcium-binding proteins in the SOS3 family (known as SCaBPs) to form distinct protein kinase complexes (3). These protein kinase complexes may be capable of decoding various calcium signals elicited by developmental, hormonal, or environmental cues (3). For example, whereas the SOS3-SOS2 protein kinase complex media...

In Arabidopsis thaliana, the Salt Overly Sensitive 2 (SOS2) gene is required for intracellular Na ؉ and K ؉ homeostasis. Mutations in SOS2 cause Na ؉ and K ؉ imbalance and render plants more sensitive toward growth inhibition by high Na ؉ and low K ؉ environments. We isolated the SOS2 gene through positional cloning. SOS2 is predicted to encode a serine͞threonine type protein kinase with an N-terminal catalytic domain similar to that of the yeast SNF1 kinase. Sequence analyses of sos2 mutant alleles reveal that both the N-terminal catalytic domain and the C-terminal regulatory domain of SOS2 are functionally essential. The steady-state level of SOS2 transcript is up-regulated by salt stress in the root. Autophosphorylation assays show that SOS2 is an active protein kinase. In the recessive sos2-5 allele, a conserved glycine residue in the kinase catalytic domain is changed to glutamate. This mutation abolishes SOS2 autophosphorylation, indicating that SOS2 protein kinase activity is required for salt tolerance.

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) triggers an oscillation in the cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration, which is then perceived by unknown Ca(2+) binding proteins to initiate a series of signaling cascades that control many physiological processes, including adaptation to environmental stress. We report here that a Ca(2+) binding protein, SCaBP5, and its interacting protein kinase, PKS3, function as global regulators of ABA responses. Arabidopsis mutants with silenced SCaBP5 or PKS3 are hypersensitive to ABA in seed germination, seedling growth, stomatal closing, and gene expression. PKS3 physically interacts with the 2C-type protein phosphatase ABI2 (ABA-insensitive 2) and to a lesser extent with the homologous ABI1 (ABA-insensitive 1) protein. Thus, SCaBP5 and PKS3 are part of a calcium-responsive negative regulatory loop controlling ABA sensitivity.

The SOS3 (for SALT OVERLY SENSITIVE3) calcium binding protein and SOS2 protein kinase are required for sodium and potassium ion homeostasis and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis. We have shown previously that SOS3 interacts with and activates the SOS2 protein kinase. We report here the identification of a SOS3 binding motif in SOS2 that also serves as the kinase autoinhibitory domain. Yeast two-hybrid assays as well as in vitro binding assays revealed a 21-amino acid motif in the regulatory domain of SOS2 that is necessary and sufficient for interaction with SOS3. Database searches revealed a large family of SOS2-like protein kinases containing such a SOS3 binding motif. Using a yeast two-hybrid system, we show that these SOS2-like kinases interact with members of the SOS3 family of calcium binding proteins. Two-hybrid assays also revealed interaction between the N-terminal kinase domain and the C-terminal regulatory domain within SOS2, suggesting that the regulatory domain may inhibit kinase activity by blocking substrate access to the catalytic site. Removal of the regulatory domain of SOS2, including the SOS3 binding motif, resulted in constitutive activation of the protein kinase, indicating that the SOS3 binding motif can serve as a kinase autoinhibitory domain. Constitutively active SOS2 that is SOS3 independent also was produced by changing Thr(168) to Asp in the activation loop of the SOS2 kinase domain. Combining the Thr(168)-to-Asp mutation with the autoinhibitory domain deletion created a superactive SOS2 kinase. These results provide insights into regulation of the kinase activities of SOS2 and the SOS2 family of protein kinases.

The SOS3 (for SALT OVERLY SENSITIVE3) calcium binding protein and SOS2 protein kinase are required for sodium and potassium ion homeostasis and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis. We have shown previously that SOS3 interacts with and activates the SOS2 protein kinase. We report here the identification of a SOS3 binding motif in SOS2 that also serves as the kinase autoinhibitory domain. Yeast two-hybrid assays as well as in vitro binding assays revealed a 21-amino acid motif in the regulatory domain of SOS2 that is necessary and sufficient for interaction with SOS3. Database searches revealed a large family of SOS2-like protein kinases containing such a SOS3 binding motif. Using a yeast two-hybrid system, we show that these SOS2-like kinases interact with members of the SOS3 family of calcium binding proteins. Two-hybrid assays also revealed interaction between the N-terminal kinase domain and the C-terminal regulatory domain within SOS2, suggesting that the regulatory domain may inhibit kinase activity by blocking substrate access to the catalytic site. Removal of the regulatory domain of SOS2, including the SOS3 binding motif, resulted in constitutive activation of the protein kinase, indicating that the SOS3 binding motif can serve as a kinase autoinhibitory domain. Constitutively active SOS2 that is SOS3 independent also was produced by changing Thr(168) to Asp in the activation loop of the SOS2 kinase domain. Combining the Thr(168)-to-Asp mutation with the autoinhibitory domain deletion created a superactive SOS2 kinase. These results provide insights into regulation of the kinase activities of SOS2 and the SOS2 family of protein kinases.

The salt tolerance gene SOS3 (for salt overly sensitive3) of Arabidopsis is predicted to encode a calcium binding protein with an N-myristoylation signature sequence. Here, we examine the myristoylation and calcium binding properties of SOS3 and their functional significance in plant tolerance to salt. Treatment of young Arabidopsis seedlings with the myristoylation inhibitor 2-hydroxymyristic acid caused the swelling of root tips, mimicking the phenotype of the salt-hypersensitive mutant sos3-1 . In vitro translation assays with reticulocyte showed that the SOS3 protein was myristoylated. Targeted mutagenesis of the N-terminal glycine-2 to alanine prevented the myristoylation of SOS3. The functional significance of SOS3 myristoylation was examined by expressing the wild-type myristoylated SOS3 and the mutated nonmyristoylated SOS3 in the sos3-1 mutant. Expression of the myristoylated but not the nonmyristoylated SOS3 complemented the salt-hypersensitive phenotype of sos3-1 plants. No significant difference in membrane association was observed between the myristoylated and nonmyristoylated SOS3. Gel mobility shift and 45 Ca 2 ϩ overlay assays demonstrated that SOS3 is a unique calcium binding protein and that the sos3-1 mutation substantially reduced the capacity of SOS3 to bind calcium. The resulting mutant SOS3 protein was not able to interact with the SOS2 protein kinase and was less capable of activating it. Together, these results strongly suggest that both N-myristoylation and calcium binding are required for SOS3 function in plant salt tolerance.

The Arabidopsis thaliana SOS2 and SOS3 genes are required for intracellular Na(+) and K(+) homeostasis and plant tolerance to high Na(+) and low K(+) environments. SOS3 is an EF hand type calcium-binding protein having sequence similarities with animal neuronal calcium sensors and the yeast calcineurin B. SOS2 is a serine/threonine protein kinase in the SNF1/AMPK family. We report here that SOS3 physically interacts with and activates SOS2 protein kinase. Genetically, sos2sos3 double mutant analysis indicates that SOS2 and SOS3 function in the same pathway. Biochemically, SOS2 interacts with SOS3 in the yeast two-hybrid system and in vitro binding assays. The interaction is mediated by the C-terminal regulatory domain of SOS2. SOS3 activates SOS2 protein kinase activity in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. Therefore, SOS3 and SOS2 define a novel regulatory pathway important for the control of intracellular ion homeostasis and salt tolerance in plants.