A Rationally Designed Agonist Defines Subfamily IIIA Abscisic Acid Receptors As Critical Targets for Manipulating Transpiration. ACS Chem Biol 2017 Nov 17;12(11):2842-2848
Date
09/28/2017Pubmed ID
28949512DOI
10.1021/acschembio.7b00650Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85034653681 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 65 CitationsAbstract
Increasing drought and diminishing freshwater supplies have stimulated interest in developing small molecules that can be used to control transpiration. Receptors for the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) have emerged as key targets for this application, because ABA controls the apertures of stomata, which in turn regulate transpiration. Here, we describe the rational design of cyanabactin, an ABA receptor agonist that preferentially activates Pyrabactin Resistance 1 (PYR1) with low nanomolar potency. A 1.63 Å X-ray crystallographic structure of cyanabactin in complex with PYR1 illustrates that cyanabactin's arylnitrile mimics ABA's cyclohexenone oxygen and engages the tryptophan lock, a key component required to stabilize activated receptors. Further, its sulfonamide and 4-methylbenzyl substructures mimic ABA's carboxylate and C6 methyl groups, respectively. Isothermal titration calorimetry measurements show that cyanabactin's compact structure provides ready access to high ligand efficiency on a relatively simple scaffold. Cyanabactin treatments reduce Arabidopsis whole-plant stomatal conductance and activate multiple ABA responses, demonstrating that its in vitro potency translates to ABA-like activity in vivo. Genetic analyses show that the effects of cyanabactin, and the previously identified agonist quinabactin, can be abolished by the genetic removal of PYR1 and PYL1, which form subclade A within the dimeric subfamily III receptors. Thus, cyanabactin is a potent and selective agonist with a wide spectrum of ABA-like activities that defines subfamily IIIA receptors as key target sites for manipulating transpiration.
Author List
Vaidya AS, Peterson FC, Yarmolinsky D, Merilo E, Verstraeten I, Park SY, Elzinga D, Kaundal A, Helander J, Lozano-Juste J, Otani M, Wu K, Jensen DR, Kollist H, Volkman BF, Cutler SRAuthors
Francis C. Peterson PhD Professor in the Biochemistry department at Medical College of WisconsinBrian F. Volkman PhD Professor in the Biochemistry department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Abscisic AcidAgrochemicals
Arabidopsis
Arabidopsis Proteins
Crystallography, X-Ray
Droughts
Ligands
Membrane Transport Proteins
Models, Molecular
Naphthalenes
Plant Stomata
Small Molecule Libraries
Sulfonamides
