An Abscisic Acid-AtNAP Transcription Factor-SAG113 Protein Phosphatase 2C Regulatory Chain for Controlling Dehydration in Senescing Arabidopsis Leaves

AtNAP is a NAC family transcription factor gene that plays a key role in leaf senescence but its underlying mechanisms are not known. SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED GENE113 (SAG113), a gene encoding a Golgi-localized protein phosphatase 2C family protein phosphatase, mediates abscisic acid (ABA)-regulated stomatal movement and water loss specifically during leaf senescence. Here we report that SAG113 is a direct target gene of the AtNAP transcription factor. We found that both AtNAP and SAG113 were induced by leaf senescence and ABA. When AtNAP was chemically induced, SAG113 was also induced whereas when AtNAP was knocked out, the ABA- and senescence-induced expression of SAG113 was reduced. These data suggest that the expression of SAG113 is predominantly dependent on AtNAP. Functionally, overexpression of SAG113 restored the markedly delayed leaf senescence phenotype in atnap knockouts to wild type. Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) one-hybrid experiments and electrophoresis mobility shift assays showed that AtNAP could physically bind to the SAG113 promoter in vivo and in vitro, respectively. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed that AtNAP binds to a 9-bp core sequence of the SAG113 promoter, 5'CACGTAAGT3'. These results indicate that there is a unique regulatory chain, ABA-AtNAP-SAG113 protein phosphastase 2C, which controls stomatal movement and water loss during leaf senescence.