Summary-Analysis of a synthetic ABA agonist uncovers a new family of ABA binding proteins that control signal transduction by directly regulating the activity of type 2C protein phosphatases.-PP2Cs are vital phosphatases that play important roles in abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. Using chemical genetics, we previously identified a synthetic growth inhibitor called pyrabactin. Here we show that pyrabactin is a selective ABA agonist that acts through PYR1, the founding member of a family of START proteins called PYR/PYLs, which are necessary for both pyrabactin and ABA signaling in vivo. We show that ABA binds to PYR1, which in turn binds to and inhibits PP2Cs. We therefore suggest that PYR/PYLs are ABA-receptors that function at the apex of a negative regulatory pathway that controls ABA signaling by inhibiting PP2Cs. Our results

Abscisic acid (ABA) is an important phytohormone regulating plant growth, development, and stress responses. It has an essential role in multiple physiological processes of plants, such as stomatal closure, cuticular wax accumulation, leaf senescence, bud dormancy, seed germination, osmotic regulation, and growth inhibition among many others. Abscisic acid controls downstream responses to abiotic and biotic environmental changes through both transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms. During the past 20 years, ABA biosynthesis and many of its signaling pathways have been well characterized. Here we review the dynamics of ABA metabolic pools and signaling that affects many of its physiological functions.

The transition from dormancy to germination in seeds is a key physiological process during the lifecycle of plants. Abscisic acid (ABA) is the sole plant hormone known to maintain seed dormancy; it acts through a gene expression network involving the transcription factor ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE 3 (ABI3). However, whether other phytohormone pathways function in the maintenance of seed dormancy in response to environmental and internal signals remains an important question. Here, we show that the plant growth hormone auxin, which acts as a versatile trigger in many developmental processes, also plays a critical role in seed dormancy in Arabidopsis. We show that disruptions in auxin signaling in MIR160-overexpressing plants, auxin receptor mutants, or auxin biosynthesis mutants dramatically release seed dormancy, whereas increases in auxin signaling or biosynthesis greatly enhance seed dormancy. Auxin action in seed dormancy requires the ABA signaling pathway (and vice versa), indicating that the roles of auxin and ABA in seed dormancy are interdependent. Furthermore, we show that auxin acts upstream of the major regulator of seed dormancy, ABI3, by recruiting the auxin response factors AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 10 and AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 16 to control the expression of ABI3 during seed germination. Our study, thus, uncovers a previously unrecognized regulatory factor of seed dormancy and a coordinating network of auxin and ABA signaling in this important process.hormones | interaction | preharvest sprouting | agriculture | evolutionary mechanism S eed plants must be equipped with mechanisms to maintain the dormancy of freshly matured seeds until the proper season for propagation. The transition of the seed from dormancy to germination is a critical step in the lifecycle of plants. Dormancy is crucial to the survival of plant species, because it ensures that seed germination will occur only when environmental conditions are optimal for growth. Seed dormancy is also important for agriculture, because defective seed dormancy causes preharvest sprouting when humid conditions persist before harvest.It has long been known that the relative levels of plant hormones control seed dormancy and germination. Gibberellins (GAs) break seed dormancy and promote germination (1, 2), and several other hormones, including brassinosteroids, ethylene, and cytokinin, have also been shown to promote seed germination (3, 4). However, abscisic acid (ABA) is the only hormone known to induce and maintain seed dormancy. ABA acts through the PYR/RCAR-PP2C-SnRK2 signaling cascade (5, 6). A major downstream component of ABA signaling, ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE 3 (ABI3), has been long recognized as a major regulator of seed dormancy and ABA inhibition of seed germination (2).The hormone auxin regulates many aspects of plant growth and development through the Transport inhibitor response1 (TIR1)/Additional F box protein (AFB)-Aux/indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) -AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR (ARF) signaling system (7,8). Recent studies have also suggested the...