Mechanism of early light signaling by the carboxy-terminal output module of Arabidopsis phytochrome B

A small subset of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors called PIFs (phytochrome-interacting factors) act to repress seed germination, promote seedling skotomorphogenesis and promote shade-avoidance through regulated expression of over a thousand genes. Light-activated phytochrome molecules directly reverse these activities by inducing rapid degradation of the PIF proteins. Here, we review recent advances in dissecting this signaling pathway and examine emerging evidence that indicates that other pathways also converge to regulate PIF activity, including the gibberellin pathway, the circadian clock and high temperature. Thus PIFs have broader roles than previously appreciated, functioning as a cellular signaling hub that integrates multiple signals to orchestrate regulation of the transcriptional network that drives multiple facets of downstream morphogenesis. The relative contributions of the individual PIFs to this spectrum of regulatory functions ranges from quantitatively redundant to qualitatively distinct. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phytochromes are a widespread family of red/far-red responsive photoreceptors first discovered in plants, where they constitute one of the three main classes of photomorphogenesis regulators. All phytochromes utilize covalently attached bilin chromophores that enable photoconversion between red-absorbing (P(r)) and far-red-absorbing (P(fr)) forms. Phytochromes are thus photoswitchable photosensors; canonical phytochromes have a conserved N-terminal photosensory core and a C-terminal regulatory region, which typically includes a histidine-kinase-related domain. The discovery of new bacterial and cyanobacterial members of the phytochrome family within the last decade has greatly aided biochemical and structural characterization of this family, with the first crystal structure of a bacteriophytochrome photosensory core appearing in 2005. This structure and other recent biochemical studies have provided exciting new insights into the structure of phytochrome, the photoconversion process that is central to light sensing, and the mechanism of signal transfer by this important family of photoreceptors.

Plant growth and development are particularly sensitive to changes in the light environment and especially to vegetational shading. The shade-avoidance response is mainly controlled by the phytochrome photoreceptors. In Arabidopsis, recent studies have identified several related bHLH class transcription factors (PIF, for phytochrome-interacting factors) as important components in phytochrome signaling. In addition to a related bHLH domain, most of the PIFs contain an active phytochrome binding (APB) domain that mediates their interaction with light-activated phytochrome B (phyB). Here we show that PIF4 and PIF5 act early in the phytochrome signaling pathways to promote the shade-avoidance response. PIF4 and PIF5 accumulate to high levels in the dark, are selectively degraded in response to red light, and remain at high levels under shade-mimicking conditions. Degradation of these transcription factors is preceded by phosphorylation, requires the APB domain and is sensitive to inhibitors of the proteasome, suggesting that PIF4 and PIF5 are degraded upon interaction with light-activated phyB. Our data suggest that, in dense vegetation, which is rich in far-red light, shade avoidance is triggered, at least partially, as a consequence of reduced phytochrome-mediated degradation of transcription factors such as PIF4 and PIF5. Consistent with this idea, the constitutive shade-avoidance phenotype of phyB mutants partially reverts in the absence of PIF4 and PIF5.