Journal Article
Nature Communications, vol. 13, iss. 1, 2022
Authors
Sung-Hwan Cho, Katalin Tóth, Daewon Kim, Phuc H. Vo, Chung-Ho Lin, Pubudu P. Handakumbura, Albert Rivas Ubach, Sterling Evans, Ljiljana Paša-Tolić, Gary Stacey
Abstract
AbstractThe mevalonate pathway plays a critical role in multiple cellular processes in both animals and plants. In plants, the products of this pathway impact growth and development, as well as the response to environmental stress. A forward genetic screen of Arabidopsis thaliana using Ca2+-imaging identified mevalonate kinase (MVK) as a critical component of plant purinergic signaling. MVK interacts directly with the plant extracellular ATP (eATP) receptor P2K1 and is phosphorylated by P2K1 in response to eATP. Mutation of P2K1-mediated phosphorylation sites in MVK eliminates the ATP-induced cytoplasmic calcium response, MVK enzymatic activity, and suppresses pathogen defense. The data demonstrate that the plasma membrane associated P2K1 directly impacts plant cellular metabolism by phosphorylation of MVK, a key enzyme in the mevalonate pathway. The results underline the importance of purinergic signaling in plants and the ability of eATP to influence the activity of a key metabolite pathway with global effects on plant metabolism.