Phosphoproteome analyses pinpoint the F-box protein SLOW MOTION as a regulator of warm temperature-mediated hypocotyl growth in Arabidopsis

center dot Hypocotyl elongation is controlled by several signals and is a major characteristic of plants growing in darkness or under warm temperature. While already several molecular mechanisms associated with this process are known, protein degradation and associated E3 ligases have hardly been studied in the context of warm temperature. center dot center dot In a time-course phosphoproteome analysis on Arabidopsis seedlings exposed to control or warm ambient temperature, we observed reduced levels of diverse proteins over time, which could be due to transcription, translation, and/or degradation. In addition, we observed differential phosphorylation of the LRR F-box protein SLOMO MOTION (SLOMO) at two serine residues.center dot We demonstrate that SLOMO is a negative regulator of hypocotyl growth, also under warm temperature conditions, and protein-protein interaction studies revealed possible interactors of SLOMO, such as MKK5, DWF1, and NCED4. We identified DWF1 as a likely SLOMO substrate and a regulator of warm temperature-mediated hypocotyl growth.center dot We propose that warm temperature-mediated regulation of SLOMO activity controls the abundance of hypocotyl growth regulators, such as DWF1, through ubiquitin-mediated degradation.

Automated summary

SLOMO is a negative regulator of hypocotyl growth, and its activity is regulated by warm temperature, which affects the abundance of proteins involved in hypocotyl growth through ubiquitin-mediated degradation.