Dissecting the phytochrome A-dependent signaling network in higher plants

Abstract

Plants monitor their ambient light environment using a network of photoreceptors. In Arabidopsis, phytochrome A (phyA) is the primary photoreceptor responsible for perceiving and mediating various responses to far-red light. Several breakthroughs in understanding the signaling network mediating phyA-activated responses have been made in recent years. Here, we highlight several key advances: the demonstration that light regulates nuclear translocation of phyA and its associated kinase activity; the revelation of a transcriptional cascade controlling phyA-regulated gene expression; the detection of a direct interaction between phyA and a transcription factor; and the identification and characterization of many phyA-specific signaling intermediates, some of them suggesting the involvement of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.