MURAL - Maynooth University Research Archive Library



    Functional Divergence of the Arg/N‐Degron Pathway Between the Crop Brassica rapa and the Model Plant Arabidopsis thaliana


    Mooney, Brian C., Garcia, Pablo, Singh, Shreenivas Kumar and Graciet, Emmanuelle (2026) Functional Divergence of the Arg/N‐Degron Pathway Between the Crop Brassica rapa and the Model Plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Direct, 10 (3). ISSN 2475-4455

    Abstract

    The ubiquitin‐dependent Arg/N‐degron pathway relates the stability of a substrate protein to the nature of its N‐terminal amino acid residue or its biochemical modifications, with some N‐terminal residues being recognized by specific E3 ubiquitin ligases, resulting in the ubiquitylation and degradation of the substrate protein. Work in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has shown that the Arg/N‐degron pathway is a key regulator of plant responses to hypoxia, which can be either physiological or a stress in the context of waterlogging or submergence. The role of the Arg/N‐degron pathway in hypoxia response is mediated via the oxygen‐dependent degradation of group VII ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR (ERFVII) transcription factors, which act as the master regulators of the hypoxia response program in plants. Analysis of Arabidopsis mutants for different enzymatic components of the Arg/N‐degron pathway has also revealed its roles in the regulation of responses to other abiotic stresses (e.g., salt stress), as well as to pathogens. Although much has been learned from studies in Arabidopsis about the functions of the Arg/N‐degron pathway, very little is known about this pathway in crops, including in Brassica crops such as oilseed rape, cabbage, or turnip. To determine functional similarities and divergence of the Arg/N‐degron pathway between Arabidopsis and Brassica crops, we isolated and characterized the first Arg/N‐degron pathway mutants in Brassica rapa (turnip, pak choi), a diploid Brassica crop closely related to oilseed rape. We focused on two enzymatic components, namely, the arginine‐transferases ( ATE s) and the E3 ubiquitin ligase PROTEOLYSIS6 ( PRT6 ). Our results show both similarities and divergence of function for these Arg/N‐degron pathway components in B. rapa compared to Arabidopsis. Specifically, ATE mutants in B. rapa arrest their development at the seedling stage, which contrasts with the mild phenotypic defects of the equivalent Arabidopsis mutants. Double mutant lines for two of the three PRT6 genes in B. rapa indicated a constitutive activation of hypoxia response genes at the transcriptional level, as shown in the single prt6 mutant in Arabidopsis. However, contrary to Arabidopsis, the B. rapa double mutants were more sensitive to waterlogging and hypoxia and did not show differential response to salt stress or to biotic stress compared to the wild type. The functional divergence identified likely reflects variability in each species in the substrate repertoire and/or in the regulation of pathways or targets downstream of Arg/N‐degron pathway substrates. Such differences could be driven by direct selective pressures at N‐termini (e.g., gain or loss of a destabilizing N‐terminal residue) or by species‐specific proteases that may generate destabilizing neo‐N‐termini after cleavage. These similarities and differences highlight the difficulties in translating research findings from Arabidopsis to crops, even within the same plant family (Brassicaceae), and highlight the need to study pathways in crops.
    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: Functional Divergence; Arg/N‐Degron Pathway; Crop Brassica rapa; Model Plant Arabidopsis thaliana;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Science & Engineering > Biology
    Item ID: 21588
    Identification Number: 10.1002/pld3.70158
    Depositing User: Emmanuelle Graciet
    Date Deposited: 19 May 2026 14:38
    Journal or Publication Title: Plant Direct
    Publisher: Wiley Open Access
    Refereed: Yes
    Related URLs:
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

    Downloads

    Downloads per month over past year

    Origin of downloads

    Altmetric Badge

    Repository Staff Only (login required)

    Item control page
    Item control page