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Plant Physiol. (1999) 119: 1243-1250
Fusicoccin, 14-3-3 Proteins, and Defense Responses in Tomato
Plants1
Michael R. Roberts* and
Dianna J. Bowles
The Plant Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of York,
P.O. Box 373, York YO10 5YW, United Kingdom
 |
ABSTRACT |
Fusicoccin (FC) is a fungal toxin
that activates the plant plasma membrane H+-ATPase by
binding with 14-3-3 proteins, causing membrane hyperpolarization. Here
we report on the effect of FC on a gene-for-gene pathogen-resistance response and show that FC application induces the expression of several
genes involved in plant responses to pathogens. Ten members of the
FC-binding 14-3-3 protein gene family were isolated from tomato
(Lycopersicon esculentum) to characterize their role in defense responses. Sequence analysis is suggestive of common
biochemical functions for these tomato 14-3-3 proteins, but their genes
showed different expression patterns in leaves after challenges.
Different specific subsets of 14-3-3 genes were induced after
treatment with FC and during a gene-for-gene resistance response.
Possible roles for the H+-ATPase and 14-3-3 proteins in
responses to pathogens are discussed.
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INTRODUCTION |
The plant plasma membrane H+-ATPase governs
the electrochemical gradient across the plasma membrane, which is
essential for the control of ion transport and cytoplasmic pH (for
review, see Palmgren, 1998 ). The activity of the
H+-ATPase is deregulated by the fungal toxin FC,
resulting in membrane hyperpolarization and alteration of ionic
gradients. This affects a number of plant processes, including cell
expansion, seed germination, stomatal behavior, and nutrient uptake
(for review, see Marrè, 1979 ). Changes in membrane potential are
also associated with the initiation of a number of other signal
transduction pathways (for review, see Ward et al., 1995 ), in
particular those involved in pathogen and in stress responses. The
first evidence that FC could affect defense signaling was the
inhibition of wound-responsive gene expression in tomato
(Lycopersicon esculentum) (Doherty and Bowles, 1990 ;
O'Donnell, 1994 ). Subsequently, FC was shown to inhibit
systemin-induced depolarization of tomato leaf plasma membranes (Moyen
and Johannes, 1996 ), oligogalacturonic acid-induced expression of Phe
ammonia lyase (Messiaen and van Cutsem, 1994 ), and, more recently,
elicitation of active oxygen species in cryptogein-treated tobacco
cells (Simon-Plas et al., 1997 ).
FC binds to a single "receptor" in higher plants, and polypeptides
isolated as FC-binding proteins from three different plant species have
been identified as products of the 14-3-3 gene family (Kourthout and de
Boer, 1994 ; Marra et al., 1994 ; Oecking et al., 1994 ). It has now been
demonstrated that a functional FC-binding site is formed from a complex
between the C-terminal regulatory domain of the
H+-ATPase and 14-3-3 proteins and that both
proteins are required for FC binding (Baunsgaard et al., 1998 ).
However, since another protein-protein complex involving 14-3-3s and
the enzyme NR was shown to be disrupted by FC in vitro (Moorhead et
al., 1996 ), the precise mode of interaction between FC and 14-3-3 proteins remains to be established.
14-3-3 proteins are a family of regulatory proteins that have attracted
much attention in recent years because of the identification of
interactions between various mammalian 14-3-3 isoforms and proteins
involved in signal transduction, particularly protein kinases and
phosphatases (for review, see Aitken, 1996 ). Biochemical and structural
analyses of 14-3-3 proteins have shown that they occur as homo- and
heterodimers in vitro and in vivo, leading to the suggestion that
14-3-3 dimers may mediate interactions between pairs of associated
proteins (Jones et al., 1995 ). It has now been shown that 14-3-3 proteins bind to phosphorylated Ser residues present within one of a
small number of consensus sequences found in many of the proteins with
which they interact (Muslin et al., 1996 ; Yaffe et al., 1997 ; Ku et
al., 1998 ).
A number of 14-3-3 genes have been identified in plants, and functional
roles for their products, in addition to their interactions with the
H+-ATPase, are beginning to be identified. For
example, 14-3-3 proteins from Arabidopsis and maize were originally
found as part of a transcription factor complex (de Vetten et al.,
1992 ; Lu et al., 1992 ). It is now known that 14-3-3 proteins complex
with the maize transcription factors EmBP1 and VP1 and may function as
adapter molecules to establish a complex between the two factors
(Schultz et al., 1998 ). A different role for 14-3-3 proteins is their
involvement in the regulation of NR (Bachmann et al., 1996 ; Moorhead et
al., 1996 ). NR is regulated by phosphorylation, and its activity is inhibited when 14-3-3 proteins are bound specifically to the
phosphorylated form of the protein.
We are interested in understanding the regulation of signal
transduction pathways leading to responses to pathogens and stress. The
aim of this study was to investigate the effect of FC on PR signaling
and to identify tomato 14-3-3 gene products that may be involved. We
describe the 14-3-3 gene family of tomato and identify the responses of
individual members to FC and PR signals.
Accession numbers for the sequences reported in this article are:
X95900 (TFT1), X95901 (TFT2), X95902
(TFT3), X95903 (TFT5), X95904
(TFT6), X95905 (TFT7), X98864
(TFT8), X98865 (TFT9), and X98866
(TFT10).
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Plant Material
Three- to four-week-old tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum
cv Moneymaker) plants grown in controlled-environment cabinets were used in all experiments, with the exception that cotyledon injections were carried out on 16-d-old seedlings grown under the same conditions. For FC treatments, plants were excised at the base and incubated in 1 µM FC for 30 min before being transferred to
distilled water. The two youngest fully expanded leaves from each of
five plants were harvested and frozen in liquid nitrogen at 0 and 30 min and 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 24 h after transfer to water. A control
incubation of 8 h in distilled water with no FC pretreatment was
also performed. For elicitation of resistance responses, leaves or
cotyledons were infiltrated with approximately 30 µL of intercellular
fluid extracts using a 1-mL plastic syringe.
14-3-3 cDNA Cloning by PCR
The template for PCR cloning was derived from a cDNA library made
from 2-h-wounded tomato leaf tissue in -ZAPII (Stratagene) vector.
Total phage nucleic acid was prepared from 1 mL of amplified library
stock. 3 -RACE-PCR amplifications were carried out using primer 14-3-3A
(sequence 3 -CGACTAGTGCITA(T/C)AA(A/G)AA(T/C) GTI(G/A)TIGG-5 ; I = inosine) and the M13 universal primer using Taq DNA
polymerase (GIBCO-BRL). Products were purified from agarose gels using
the Geneclean II kit (Bio 101, Vista, CA), digested with
SpeI plus XhoI, and cloned into pBluescript
SK (Stratagene). 5 -RACE was carried out using
primer 14-3-3B (sequence 5 -CGACTAGT(G/A)TA(G/A)TC(G/C/A)CC(C/T)TTCAT(C/T)TT-3 )
and the M13 reverse primer. Gel-purified products were cloned as
SpeI/BamHI fragments into pBluescript
SK+ (Stratagene).
Analysis of DNA and Protein Sequence and Structure
Sequencing of single-stranded DNA templates was performed using
Sequenase (version 2.0, Amersham), and sequences were compiled and
analyzed using the GCG (Genetics Computer Group, Madison, WI) package
(version 8.0). Protein-structure modeling was performed using the
program Quanta (Molecular Simulations, Burlington, MA).
DNA and RNA Analysis
DNA was extracted from tomato leaves using a cetyl
triethylammonium bromide extraction protocol, as described by Draper
and Scott (1988) . RNA was extracted from harvested tissue using a scaled-up version of the method of Verwoerd et al. (1989) . Nucleic acids were separated on agarose gels before transfer onto Magna nylon
membranes (Micron Separations, Westborough, MA). Probes were prepared
by random-primed labeling and were purified on Sephadex G-50 columns
before overnight hybridization with filters in 0.25 M
sodium phosphate, pH 7.0, and 7% (w/v) SDS at 65°C. Filters were
washed in 0.02 M sodium phosphate, pH 7.0, and 1% (w/v)
SDS at 65°C. Bands were visualized by autoradiography.
 |
RESULTS |
The Effect of FC on PR Gene Expression
A range of evidence shows that depolarization of the plasma
membrane is associated with responses to pathogen elicitors, so we
wanted to analyze the effect of hyperpolarizing the membrane with FC
prior to challenge with elicitors. We found that FC treatment alone was
sufficient to induce PR gene expression. As shown in Figure
1A, a 30-min application of 1 µM FC via the transpiration stream of tomato plants led
to a rapid, strong induction of mRNAs corresponding to various PR
genes. The expression of several classical PR genes, including the
basic and acidic isoforms of -1,3-glucanase and chitinase, was
up-regulated after FC treatment. Steady-state message levels of the
genes tested increased to high levels from an
undetectable baseline within 6 h, with
PR1 and acidic chitinase being particularly
abundant. Expression of ACO
(1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylic acid
Oxidase), which encodes the final enzyme in the
biosynthetic pathway of ethylene, was also induced by FC but more
rapidly than the PR genes (Fig. 1A). Similar data were obtained for
FC-treated tobacco leaves (data not shown).

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| Figure 1.
Effects of FC on PR gene expression. A, PR gene
expression is induced by FC, as shown by RNA gel blots showing
expression of PR1 (accession no. M69248), acidic PR
glucanase (PR2A, accession no. M80604), acidic PR
chitinase (PR3A, accession no. Z15141), basic PR
chitinase (PR3B, accession no. Z15140), and ACC oxidase
(ACO, accession no. A35021) in tomato leaves pretreated
with either 1 µM FC or water for 30 min. Hybridization to
a 28S rRNA probe is shown as a loading control. The data are
representative of at least three independent experiments. B,
Synergistic effects of FC and avirulence elicitor on PR gene
expression, as shown by RNA gel blots showing expression of acidic PR
chitinase (PR3A), basic PR chitinase
(PR3B), and ACO in tomato cotyledons
24 h after injection with combinations of 1 µM FC
and intercellular fluid extracts containing (Avr9+) or lacking (Avr9 )
the Avr9 elicitor.
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To investigate the effects of FC on a resistance (R) gene response, we
used the well-characterized response induced by the Cladosporium
fulvum race-specific elicitor Avr9 in tomato plants carrying the
Cf9 R gene (for review, see Hammond-Kosack and Jones, 1995 ).
Co-infiltration of 1 µM FC with Avr9-containing
intercellular fluids into cotyledons of Cf9 seedlings
produced no visible effect on hypersensitive lesion formation. However,
at the level of gene expression, a greater accumulation of the acidic
and basic chitinases was observed in the co-infiltrated leaves (Fig.
1B). The co-infiltration also caused a severe downward curvature of the
cotyledon petioles that was absent after treatment with Avr9 or FC
alone. This resembled a typical epinastic response, which suggests
increased ethylene production in the co-infiltrated cotyledons.
Tomato Contains at Least 10 Members of the FC-Binding 14-3-3 Protein Family
Since FC perception is mediated by 14-3-3 proteins in plant cells
and since in one system genes encoding 14-3-3 proteins have been shown
to be up-regulated in response to a pathogen (Brandt et al., 1992 ;
Andersen, 1997 ), we were interested in analyzing the 14-3-3 genes of
tomato, with a view to understanding their role in defense responses.
Tomato 14-3-3 cDNAs were cloned from a tomato leaf cDNA library using
degenerate 3 -RACE-PCR. We defined six distinct sequence classes of
14-3-3 cDNAs on this basis. cDNA clones within each group had identical
nucleotide sequences but exhibited significant heterogeneity in the
lengths of their 3 -untranslated regions, suggesting the presence
of multiple sites of polyadenylation of the mRNAs. Two of the six
classes had nucleotide sequences identical to two previously reported
tomato 14-3-3s expressed primarily in stems, roots, and fruits
(Laughner et al., 1995 ).
Alignment of the nucleotide sequences of the 3 -RACE products enabled a
second degenerate oligonucleotide primer to be designed for 5 -RACE
amplifications. The overlap between the 3 - and 5 -RACE cDNA clones was
used to match corresponding products and to construct full-length cDNA
sequences. In addition to the original six cDNAs whose sequences were
completed in this way, the 5 regions of four other 14-3-3 cDNAs were
identified. Each of the 10 classes of cDNA clones is derived from a
unique gene. We have designated these 10 genes TFT1 to
TFT10 (Tomato
Fourteen-Three-three). The genes described here
as TFT3 and TFT4 correspond to those described by
Laughner et al. (1995) as Le GF14 T3 and Le GF14 T4, respectively (accession nos. L29151 and L29150), except that the TFT3 sequence is full length.
Table I presents a summary indicating the
level of amino acid identity between the deduced translation products
of the TFT genes and, for comparison, between the TFT
sequences and human 14-3-3 . A dendrogram derived from an alignment
of the tomato 14-3-3 sequences, human 14-3-3 and 14-3-3 , and the
10 Arabidopsis 14-3-3 gene family members shows that the plant 14-3-3 proteins fall into two major groups. Each group is distinct from
14-3-3 , but one includes 14-3-3 (Fig.
2). These groups correspond to those
described by Wu et al. (1997) . The dendrogram also suggests that there
is not an equivalent tomato 14-3-3 protein for each Arabidopsis 14-3-3 protein.
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Table I.
Amino acid identity between TFT genes and human
14-3-3
Percent identities were calculated using the Gap program (Genetics
Computer Group). Only the N-terminal region covered by all tomato
sequences was considered in the comparison.
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| Figure 2.
Relationship among tomato, Arabidopsis, and human
14-3-3 sequences. Dendrogram was produced by the GCG program PileUp and
represents amino acid sequence similarity between tomato and
Arabidopsis (gf protein) 14-3-3 proteins and human 14-3-3 (Swissprot
143T_human) and 14-3-3 (Swissprot 143E_human). Only the N-terminal
region covered by all tomato sequences was considered in the
comparisons.
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Predicted Structural Features of Tomato 14-3-3s
The crystal structures of two mammalian 14-3-3 isoforms ( and
) were recently solved (Liu et al., 1995 ; Xiao et al., 1995 ). These
structures show that 14-3-3 monomers are composed of nine antiparallel
-helices. Helices 1 to 4 form a dimerization domain, and helices 5 to 9 form a domain involved in target binding. Figure 3A shows the consensus amino acid
sequence derived from the six full-length tomato 14-3-3 sequences
aligned with the amino acid sequence of human 14-3-3 . Little
similarity is seen in helices 1, 2, and 4, which are part of the
dimerization domain. However, several blocks of extensive identity that
correspond to -helices 3, 5, 7, and 9 can clearly be distinguished.
These helices are located in the inside of the groove formed by the
dimer. Superimposition of the alignment onto the crystal structure for
14-3-3 highlights that throughout the polypeptide the majority of
conserved residues are located within the groove, whereas divergent
residues are located on the outside of the molecule. This is
illustrated for one 14-3-3 monomer in Figure 3B. Since this groove is
responsible for binding target peptides (Yaffe et al., 1997 ), this
structural conservation suggests that the tomato 14-3-3 proteins likely
have fundamental target-binding properties in common with mammalian and
other 14-3-3s.

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| Figure 3.
Similarity between tomato 14-3-3 and human
14-3-3 . A, Conserved regions in 14-3-3 proteins correspond to
-helices, as shown by amino acid sequence alignment between a
consensus sequence derived from the six full-length tomato cDNAs and
human 14-3-3 . Only amino acids conserved between all six tomato
sequences are shown (top line); identity between tomato and 14-3-3
residues is indicated by a bar. Gaps (periods) were introduced to
optimize the alignment. The regions that form the nine -helices in
the 14-3-3 crystal structure are indicated by a line below the
sequence. B, Sequence homology is mainly within the inner face of
14-3-3 proteins, as shown by a space-filling model of the 14-3-3
protein crystal structure colored by homology with the tomato consensus
shown in A. Identical amino acids are shown in blue, and nonidentical
residues are shown in yellow. The upper inner face of the molecule,
which corresponds to the C-terminal domain, shows high sequence
conservation; whereas the lower inner face, corresponding to the
N-terminal dimerization domain, and the whole outer face are poorly
conserved.
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14-3-3 Genes Exhibit Differential Regulation in Challenged
Leaves
To analyze the expression of specific 14-3-3 genes in tomato
leaves, we generated gene-specific probes for RNA gel-blot analyses corresponding to 400- to 550-bp regions at the 5 ends of the TFT cDNAs. The Southern analysis presented in Figure
4 demonstrates that at high stringency
each of these probes detects only a single, unique gene.

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| Figure 4.
Southern analysis of the tomato 14-3-3 gene
family. 5 Probes from the 10 tomato 14-3-3 cDNAs were hybridized at
high stringency to identical filters containing genomic DNA digested
with EcoRI+BamHI (left lanes) and
HindIII (right lanes). The positions of molecular size
standards are indicated to the left of the figure.
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We first examined expression of the TFT genes after
treatment of plants with FC. Solutions of 1 µM
FC were applied to the cut stems of plants for 30 min for uptake via
the transpiration stream. Figure 5 shows
the expression patterns of the TFT genes in leaves over a
time course from a representative experiment. Steady-state transcript
levels of most of the genes appear relatively unchanged, but
significant up-regulation of four genes, TFT4, TFT8, TFT9, and TFT10, was observed
repeatedly. The time course of induction of these genes was similar to
the induction of PR genes by FC. We then examined the expression of
14-3-3 genes during the Cf9-Avr9 R gene response
and found that most members of the gene family were unresponsive, with
no significant change in steady-state transcript level after injection
of Avr9 intercellular fluid into Cf9 leaves.

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| Figure 5.
Tomato 14-3-3s are differentially expressed
in response to FC. Time points showing the mRNA levels in tomato
leaves of the 10 tomato 14-3-3 genes through a time course after a
30-min treatment with 1 µM FC. RNA from leaves of
healthy, untreated plants and from leaves of plants incubated in water
for 8 h are included as references. Hybridization to a 28S rRNA
probe is shown as a loading control. The data are representative of at
least three independent experiments.
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The results of using TFT5 and TFT9 probes are
shown in Figure 6 as examples of this
lack of response. In contrast, the expression of three genes,
TFT1, TFT4, and TFT6, was induced, and
the induction was specific to the R gene response since no changes were
observed on injection of intercellular fluid into Cf0
plants, which do not carry the corresponding R gene. Different time
courses of induction were observed for each of these three genes.
TFT4 already showed maximum steady-state mRNA levels by the
first time point sampled (4 h), and TFT6 showed a transient
accumulation of transcripts to a maximum at 16 h, whereas
TFT1 steady-state mRNA levels showed a gradual increase over
the entire time course of 48 h, corresponding closely to the time
course of induction of the PR1 gene used as a control for a
positive response (Fig. 6).

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| Figure 6.
Tomato 14-3-3s are differentially expressed during
a resistance response. Time points showing the mRNA levels in
Cf9 and Cf0 tomato leaves of selected
tomato 14-3-3 genes through a time course after infiltration of
Avr9-containing intercellular fluid. Hybridization to a 28S rRNA probe
is shown as a loading control. The data are representative of two
independent experiments.
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DISCUSSION |
FC has often been used as an experimental tool to investigate the
role of plasma membrane depolarization in signaling events leading to
plant defense responses. Through its deregulation of the
H+-ATPase, FC treatment hyperpolarizes the plasma
membrane, and this can inhibit downstream responses dependent on
membrane depolarization.
It has been shown in tomato that leaf damage or application of
oligogalacturonic acids or of the systemin peptide leads to instantaneous membrane depolarization (Thain et al., 1990 ; Moyen and
Johannes, 1996 ). Pretreatment with FC blocks this depolarization and
the effects of wounding and elicitors on the expression of wound-responsive marker genes, such as those encoding proteinase inhibitors (Doherty and Bowles, 1990 ; Messiaen and van Cutsem, 1994 ;
O'Donnell, 1994 ). Similarly, the induction of reactive oxygen species
by cryptogein, thought in tobacco to act through suppression of
H+-ATPase activity, is inhibited by pretreatment
with FC (Simon-Plas et al., 1997 ). In contrast, in this study we show
that when FC is co-infiltrated with Avr9 elicitor into tomato plants
carrying the Cf9 R gene the compound leads to a synergistic
effect on PR gene expression. Since our control infiltrations included
intercellular fluid preparations lacking Avr9 peptide, this synergism
was due to a specific interaction between the Avr9- and FC-induced
signals, not some other component in the intercellular fluid.
Our data are consistent with previous studies reporting a
R-gene-dependent activation of the plasma membrane
H+-ATPase in response to C. fulvum Avr5
avirulence factor (Vera-Estrella et al., 1994 ; Xing et al., 1996 ). It
is possible that increased stomatal opening and water loss are part of
the normal process of localized PR gene induction in tissues undergoing
lesion formation and that FC exacerbates these effects. The importance
of water status is highlighted by the observation that high humidity
suppresses many aspects of the Cf2- and
Cf9-related resistance responses in tomato (Hammond-Kossack
et al., 1996). It is also known that a wide range of plant pathogens
produce compounds that directly affect H+-ATPase
activity (for review, see Knogge, 1996 ), e.g. supprescin B synthesized
by virulent races of Mycosphaerella pinodes, which inhibits
H+-ATPase activity and renders plants more
susceptible to avirulent races of the pathogen.
We found that application of FC alone induces PR gene expression in
tomato plants. As yet we do not know whether this is a direct or an
indirect consequence of the compound's effect on the
H+-ATPase or if there may be some other
biochemical target for FC. The effect of FC on ethylene emission from
suspension-cultured cells was shown previously and was found to be
dependent on the activation of the H+-ATPase
(Malerba et al., 1995 ; Malerba and Bianchetti, 1996 ). FC also induces
ethylene when applied to tomato plants (O'Donnell, 1994 ), and although
ethylene is known to induce basic PR gene expression in tobacco
(Ohme-Takagi and Shinshi, 1995 ), in the present study preferential
induction of the acidic rather than the basic PR protein gene was
observed.
At the molecular level only a single class of FC-binding proteins is
detectable, which are now known to be products of the 14-3-3 gene
family. Initially, it was thought that the 14-3-3 proteins bound FC
directly, but recently it has been shown that FC binds only to a
protein-protein complex composed of a 14-3-3 protein and the C terminus
of the H+-ATPase (Baunsgaard et al., 1998 ). The
exclusivity of this target has been questioned by Moorhead et al.
(1996) , with data showing that FC also affects complex formation
between 14-3-3s and NR. However, the effect on NR was demonstrated only
in vitro and at FC concentrations much higher than those required for
its biological activity.
We have found that tomato plants possess at least 10 14-3-3 genes and
that these exhibit differential patterns of expression in the leaf,
responding differently to FC and elicitor treatments. These data extend
investigations of 14-3-3 gene expression in Arabidopsis and tomato that
analyzed tissue-specific expression (Laughner et al., 1995 ; Daugherty
et al., 1996 ). The question as to whether individual 14-3-3 proteins
exhibit functional specificity is currently a matter for debate. In
support of this possibility, some reports indicate a preferential
association between particular 14-3-3 proteins and target proteins
(e.g. human A20 and 14-3-3 [Vincenz and Dixit, 1996 ]), whereas
Drosophila melanogaster 14-3-3 mutants exhibit distinct
developmental phenotypes, including lethality for 14-3-3 (Kockel et
al., 1997 ).
At the protein level there are structural data and a range of
biochemical analyses in vitro to argue against a specific role for each
14-3-3 gene product. For example, Yaffe et al. (1997) demonstrated that
all of the six human and two yeast 14-3-3 recombinant gene products
that they analyzed showed very similar binding characteristics in vitro
to phosphopeptide sequences. The major sites of contact with these
interacting phosphopeptides are conserved residues found in all
mammalian and yeast 14-3-3s and located within the groove formed by a
14-3-3 dimer, as visualized in the crystal structure of the human protein (Xiao et al., 1995 ). Any specificity of function of the
different 14-3-3 gene products in the cell was suggested to arise via
interactions between target proteins and the less-conserved residues on
the external face of the dimer (Yaffe et al., 1997 ). Comparing the
tomato 14-3-3 sequences with those of other eukaryotic 14-3-3 genes
shows greatest structural conservation within the groove. Thus, it is
highly probable that all plant 14-3-3 gene products have the ability to
bind the same phosphopeptides in vitro, and this lack of specificity
between plant 14-3-3 recombinant proteins and a range of targets has
been demonstrated in biochemical studies (Lu et al., 1994 ; Moorhead et
al., 1996 ; van Heusden et al., 1996 ; Baunsgaard et al., 1998 ).
In the plant, functional specificity could be endowed by the
cell-specific, inducible, or developmental regulation of 14-3-3 gene
expression, such that only a subset of 14-3-3 proteins is present in a
cell at any one time. In this context, transcriptional control of
14-3-3 gene expression has recently been shown to be important in
events mediated at the protein level. Thus, transcription of the human
14-3-3 form was directed by an activated p53 tumor-suppressor protein in response to DNA damage, and the newly synthesized 14-3-3 protein bound to and sequestered Cdc25c, leading to cell-cycle arrest
(Hermeking et al., 1997 ).
It is possible that the responses of the tomato 14-3-3 genes to
different stimuli reflect causal roles of their products in the plant.
To address this issue we are in the process of producing transgenic
lines in which individual 14-3-3 genes are eliminated by antisense mRNA
expression. Studies are also in progress to identify targets of 14-3-3 proteins in tomato leaves and to define their interactions during
defense responses.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
1
This work was funded by a U.K. Biotechnology and
Biological Sciences Research Council Realising Our Potential
Award to D.J.B. and by a Royal Society Fellowship to M.R.R.
*
Corresponding author; e-mail mrr5{at}york.ac.uk; fax
44-1904-434312.
Received October 26, 1998;
accepted January 14, 1999.
 |
ABBREVIATIONS |
Abbreviations:
FC, fusicoccin.
NR, nitrate reductase.
PR, pathogenesis-related.
RACE, rapid amplification of cDNA ends.
 |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
The authors thank Dr. J. van Kan and Professor P.J.G.M. de Witt
(Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands) for the generous
gift of the tomato PR gene cDNAs and Robert Darby (University of Wales,
Aberystwth, UK) for the rRNA cDNA. The coordinates for the 14-3-3
protein structure were kindly made available by Dr. Steve Gamblin
(National Institute for Medical Research, London). Tomato
Avr9-containing intercellular fluid was generously provided by Dr.
Jonathan Jones (Sainsbury Laboratory, John Innes Centre for Plant
Science Research, Norwich, UK). We also thank the members of the
European Community Central Role in Adaptation of Fourteen Three
Three Proteins network for their helpful discussions.
 |
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