The plant-unique cis-element that mediates signaling from multiple endoplasmic reticulum stress sensors

Abstract

The accumulation of unfolded proteins in the ER lumen induces intracellular signaling mediated by the ER stress sensor protein IRE1. Our recent study identified a new common cis-element of ER stress-responsive genes (such as rice BiP paralogs and WRKY45) that were regulated via an IRE1-dependent pathway. ER stress-responsive cis-elements had been expected to be conserved between plants and mammals. However, contrary to expectations, sequences of the plant cis-element, pUPRE-II, were not identical to those of its mammalian counterpart. Additionally, pUPRE-II also interacted with another ER stress sensor protein and mediated multiple signaling pathways. Here, we provide a summary of the results that suggest the complicated mechanism underlying the regulation of ER stress-responsive gene expression in plants.

Keywords: :

• endoplasmic reticulum stress
• unfolded protein response
• transcription factors
• cis-elements
• plants
• Oryza sativa

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Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from NIAS Strategic Research Funding from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan to Fumio Takaiwa.