The prolific ATL family of RING-H2 ubiquitin ligases

An abundant class of E3 ubiquitin ligases encodes the RING-finger domain. The RING finger binds to the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme and brings together both the E2 and substrate. It is predicted that 477 RING finger E3 ligases exist in Arabidopsis thaliana. A particular family among them, named Arabidopsis Tóxicos en Levadura (ATL), consists of 91 members that contain the RING-H2 variation and a hydrophobic domain located at the N-terminal end. Transmembrane E3 ligases are important in several biological processes. For instance, some transmembrane RING finger E3 ligases are main participants in the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation pathway that targets misfolded proteins. Functional analysis of a number of ATLs has shown that some of them regulate distinct pathways in plants. Several ATLs have been shown to participate in defense responses, while others play a role in the regulation of the carbon/nitrogen response during post-germinative seedling growth transition, in the regulation of cell death during root development, in endosperm development, or in the transition to flowering under short day conditions. The ATL family has also been instrumental in evolution studies for showing how gene families are expanded in plant genomes.     

Diversity in the architecture of ATLs, a family of plant ubiquitin-ligases, leads to recognition and targeting of substrates in different cellular environments

Ubiquitin-ligases or E3s are components of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) that coordinate the transfer of ubiquitin to the target protein. A major class of ubiquitin-ligases consists of RING-finger domain proteins that include the substrate recognition sequences in the same polypeptide; these are known as single-subunit RING finger E3s. We are studying a particular family of RING finger E3s, named ATL, that contain a transmembrane domain and the RING-H2 finger domain; none of the member of the family contains any other previously described domain. Although the study of a few members in A. thaliana and O. sativa has been reported, the role of this family in the life cycle of a plant is still vague. To provide tools to advance on the functional analysis of this family we have undertaken a phylogenetic analysis of ATLs in twenty-four plant genomes. ATLs were found in all the 24 plant species analyzed, in numbers ranging from 20-28 in two basal species to 162 in soybean. Analysis of ATLs arrayed in tandem indicates that sets of genes are expanding in a species-specific manner. To get insights into the domain architecture of ATLs we generated 75 pHMM LOGOs from 1815 ATLs, and unraveled potential protein-protein interaction regions by means of yeast two-hybrid assays. Several ATLs were found to interact with DSK2a/ubiquilin through a region at the amino-terminal end, suggesting that this is a widespread interaction that may assist in the mode of action of ATLs; the region was traced to a distinct sequence LOGO. Our analysis provides significant observations on the evolution and expansion of the ATL family in addition to information on the domain structure of this class of ubiquitin-ligases that may be involved in plant adaptation to environmental stress.     

Expansion and Diversification of BTL Ring-H2 Ubiquitin Ligases in Angiosperms: Putative Rabring7/BCA2 Orthologs

RING finger E3 ligases are components of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) that mediate the transfer of ubiquitin to substrates. Single-subunit RING finger E3s binds the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme and contains recognition sequences for the substrate within the same polypeptide. Here we describe the characterization of a class of RING finger E3 ligases that is conserved among eukaryotes. This class encodes a RING-H2 domain related in sequence to the ATL RING-H2 domain, another class of E3 ligases, and a C2/C2 zing finger at the amino-terminus, formerly described as BZF. In viridiplantae (green algae and land plants), we designed this family as BTL for BZF ATLs. BTLs are putative orthologs of the mammalian Rabring7/BCA2 RING-H2 E3s that have expanded in angiosperms. They are found in numbers ranging from three to thirty-one, which is in contrast to the one to three members normally found in animals, fungi, and protists. Furthermore, the number of sequence LOGOs generated in angiosperms is four times greater than that in other eukaryotes. In contrast to ATLs, which show expansion by tandem duplication, tandemly duplicated BTLs are scarce. The mode of action of Rabring7/BCA2 and BTLs may be similar since both the Rabring7/BCA2 BZF and the ath|BTL4 BZF are likely to mediate the binding of ubiquitin. This study introduces valuable information on the evolution and domain structure of the Rabring7/BCA2/BTL class of E3 ligases which may be important for core eukaryotic genes.     

Genome-wide analysis of the RING finger gene family in apple

The RING finger protein family plays a crucial role in plant growth and development and in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, no detailed information concerning this family is available for apple (Malus × domestica L. Borkh) due to the limited information on whole genome sequences. In this study, 688 RING domains in 663 predicted proteins were identified in apple. Based on the spacing between metal ligands or substitutions at one or more of the metal ligand positions, nine RING types were identified: RING-H2, RING-HC, RING-C2, RING-v, RING-D, RING-S/T, RING-G, RING-mH2, and RING-mHC, in which the first seven types were described previously in Arabidopsis, while the latter two were newly identified in apple. Proteins containing RING finger motifs were further classified into 57 groups according to the different known or unknown domains outside the RING domains. A total of 643 retrieved proteins appear to be distributed over all 17 linkage groups with different densities. Microarray and expressed sequence tag data revealed that only a few of these RING finger proteins may be involved in fruit development. As a first step towards genome-wide analyses of the RING-containing genes in apple, our results provide valuable information for understanding the classification and putative functions of the RING finger gene family in higher plants.     

Functional analysis reveals pleiotropic effects of rice RING-H2 finger protein gene OsBIRF1 on regulation of growth and defense responses against abiotic and biotic stresses

RING finger proteins comprise a large family and play key roles in regulating growth/developmental processes, hormone signaling and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. A rice gene, OsBIRF1, encoding a putative RING-H2 finger protein, was cloned and identified. OsBIRF1 encodes a 396 amino acid protein belonging to the ATL family characterized by a conserved RING-H2 finger domain (C-X2-C-X15-C-X1-H-X2-H-X2-C-X10-C-X2-C), a transmembrane domain at the N-terminal, a basic amino acid rich region and a characteristic GLD region. Expression of OsBIRF1 was up-regulated in rice seedlings after treatment with benzothaidiazole, salicylic acid, l-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid and jasmonic acid, and was induced differentially in incompatible but not compatible interactions between rice and Magnaporthe grisea, the causal agent of blast disease. Transgenic tobacco plants that constitutively express OsBIRF1 exhibit enhanced disease resistance against tobacco mosaic virus and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci and elevated expression levels of defense-related genes, e.g. PR-1, PR-2, PR-3 and PR-5. The OsBIRF1-overexpressing transgenic tobacco plants show increased oxidative stress tolerance to exogenous treatment with methyl viologen and H2O2, and up-regulate expression of oxidative stress-related genes. Reduced ABA sensitivity in root elongation and increased drought tolerance in seed germination were also observed in OsBIRF1 transgenic tobacco plants. Furthermore, the transgenic tobacco plants show longer roots and higher plant heights as compared with the wild-type plants, suggesting that overexpression of OsBIRF1 promote plant growth. These results demonstrate that OsBIRF1 has pleiotropic effects on growth and defense response against multiple abiotic and biotic stresses.     

The ATL Gene Family from Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa Comprises a Large Number of Putative Ubiquitin Ligases of the RING-H2 Type

^Abstract Ubiquitin ligases play an important regulatory role in the control of protein degradation processes via the ubiquitin/26S proteasome pathway in eukaryotes. These enzymes participate in substrate specification and mediate the transfer of ubiquitin to target proteins. A large number of ubiquitin ligases are predicted in the eukaryotes whose genomes have been sequenced; in Arabidopsis thaliana more than 1300 genes are thought to encode ubiquitin ligases. At least three classes of ubiquitin ligases are present in Arabidopsis, one of which comprises about 470 RING zinc-finger domain proteins. Within this class we have characterized the ATL family that encodes a RING-H2 finger. We identified 80 members of this family in A. thaliana and 121 in Oryza sativa. About 60% of the rice ATLs are clustered with A. thaliana ATLs, and in many cases the gene products showed sequence similarities beyond the ATL’s conserved features, suggesting that they could be orthologous genes. Ninety percent of the ATLs are intronless genes, suggesting that the structure of the basic ATL protein may have evolved as a functional module. We carried out a survey of T-DNA insertions in 30% of the Arabidopsis ATL genes and screened for possible phenotypes. Four of these genes are likely to be essential for viability, since homozygous plants for the T-DNA insertion were not recovered. One of them, ATL8, is mainly expressed in young siliques, suggesting a role during embryogenesis. We also recovered a line carrying a T-DNA insertion in ATL43 that showed an ABA-insensitive phenotype, suggesting a role of this gene in the ABA response. The organization of ATLs in Arabidopsis and rice in this study will be a valuable comprehensive guide for this multigene family. Electronic Supplementary Material Electronic Supplementary material is available for this article at and accessible for authorised users. [Reviewing Editor: Dr. Martin Kreitman]     

The RING finger motif of photomorphogenic repressor COP1 specifically interacts with the RING-H2 motif of a novel Arabidopsis protein.

The constitutive photomorphogenic 1 (COP1) protein of Arabidopsis functions as a molecular switch for the seedling developmental fates: photomorphogenesis under light conditions and skotomorphogenesis in darkness. The COP1 protein contains a cysteine-rich zinc-binding RING finger motif found in diverse groups of regulatory proteins. To understand the role of the COP1 RING finger in mediating protein-protein interaction, we have performed a yeast two-hybrid screen and isolated a novel protein with a RING-H2 motif, a variant type of the RING finger. This protein, designated COP1 Interacting Protein 8 (CIP8), is encoded by a single copy gene and localized to cytosol in a transient assay. In addition to the RING-H2 motif, the predicted protein has a C4 zinc finger, an acidic region, a glycine-rich cluster, and a serine-rich cluster. The COP1 RING finger and the CIP8 RING-H2 domains are sufficient for their interaction with each other both in vitro and in yeast, whereas neither motif displayed significant self-association. Moreover, site-directed mutagenesis studies demonstrated that the expected zinc-binding ligands of the RING finger and RING-H2 fingers are essential for their interaction. Our findings indicate that the RING finger motif, in this case, serves as autonomous protein-protein interaction domain. The allele specific effect of cop1 mutations on the CIP8 protein accumulation in seedlings indicates that its stability in vivo is dependent on the COP1 protein.     

Expression analysis of RING zinc finger genes from Triticum aestivum and identification of TaRZF70 that contains four RING-H2 domains and differentially responds to water deficit between leaf and root

RING zinc finger proteins are known for their role predominantly in targeted protein degradation and participate in gene regulation through interaction with other regulatory proteins. In this study seven RING zinc finger genes from Triticum aestivum (bread wheat) were analysed for expression profiles in various organs (leaf, root, stem, spike, endosperm and embryo) and during leaf development and aging as well as in their responses to water deficit. Expression levels of six of these seven genes varied markedly among the six organs examined. All seven genes changed their expression levels in the leaf from the growing to senescing stage. Four genes were responsive to water deficit. A RING-H2 zinc finger gene, TaRZF70 showed differential response to water deprivation, namely up-regulation in the leaf and down-regulation in the root. This differential response was also observed in abscisic acid (ABA)-treated plants. Sequence analysis revealed that TaRZF70 contained four RING-H2 domains, the largest number of RING-H2 domains in any RING-H2 zinc finger proteins reported to date. These results indicate that these RING zinc finger genes are involved in diverse physiological processes in wheat, including response to drought.     

Isolation and characterization of a novel RING-H2 finger gene induced in response to cold and drought in the interfertile Citrus relative Poncirus trifoliata

Many genes in different organisms encode proteins with really interesting gene (RING) finger domain(s). The RING zinc finger domain is involved in a wide variety of functions in diverse organisms. A cDNA clone showing homology with RING zinc finger genes and nine-fold induction in response to cold was previously identified during a gene expression study in the interfertile Citrus relative Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf. In this study, the full-length cDNA of this clone was isolated from 2-day cold-acclimated P. trifoliata by a rapid amplification of cDNA ends method using gene-specific primers. The full-length cDNA was 956 bp containing a complete open reading frame of 474 bp encoding a polypeptide of 158 amino acids. The full-length cDNA showed a high level of homology with genes encoding putative RING zinc finger proteins in plants. The deduced amino acid sequence of this gene contained a signature sequence motif for a RING zinc finger close to the C terminus of the protein. The RING zinc finger domain was significantly similar to previously characterized RING zinc finger proteins from different organisms. Additionally, it had a histidine residue at the fifth co-ordination site, indicating that this gene encodes a RING-H2 finger protein. Northern blot hybridization showed that the expression of the RING finger gene was induced in response to cold in cold-hardy P. trifoliata but not to the same extent in cold-sensitive Citrus grandis L. Osb. (pummelo). However, the gene was induced by drought stress similarly in both the species. To our knowledge, this study presents the first isolation of the full-length sequence of a RING zinc finger gene induced in response to abiotic stress in plants and the initial characterization of this gene in Citrus .     

A gene family encoding RING finger proteins in rice: their expansion, expression diversity, and co-expressed genes

The proteins harboring RING finger motif(s) have been shown to mediate protein–protein interactions that are relevant to a variety of cellular processes. In an effort to elucidate the evolutionary dynamics of the rice RING finger protein family, we have attempted to determine their genomic locations, expression diversity, and co-expressed genes via in silico analysis and semi-quantitative RT–PCR. A total of 425 retrieved genes appear to be distributed over all 12 of the chromosomes of rice with different distributions, and are reflective of the evolutionary dynamics of the rice genome. A genome-wide dataset harboring 155 gene expression omnibus sample plates evidenced some degree of differential evolutionary fates between members of RING-H2 and RING-HC types. Additionally, responses to abiotic stresses, such as salinity and drought, demonstrated that some degree of expression diversity existed between members of the RING finger protein genes. Interestingly, we determined that one RING-H2 finger protein gene (Os04g51400) manifested striking differences in expression patterns in response to abiotic stresses between leaf and culm-node tissues, further revealing responses highly similar to the majority of randomly selected co-expressed genes. The gene network of genes co-expressed with Os04g51400 may suggest some role in the salt response of the gene. These findings may shed further light on the evolutionary dynamics and molecular functional diversity of these proteins in complex cellular regulations.     

RNF122诱导细胞凋亡功能依赖于其RING结构域

人类功能基因RNF122能够明显抑制细胞生长,导致细胞凋亡.RNF122含有RING-H2结构域.为了研究RNF122的RING结构域和凋亡的相互关系,构建了RING结构域突变体.MTT和凋亡实验发现,RNF122与细胞存活的密切关系依赖于其RING结构域.进一步的实验提示,RNF122能够负向调节ERK通路,而RING结构域突变型RNF122则能够增强ERK的磷酸化,提示RNF122可能通过ERK通路调节细胞的存活.总之,RING结构域对于RNF122发挥功能起至关重要的作用.     

ORTH/VIM proteins that regulate DNA methylation are functional ubiquitin E3 ligases

Appropriate methylation of genomes is essential for gene regulation. Here, we describe the six-member ORTHRUS (ORTH) gene family of Arabidopsis thaliana that plays a role in DNA methylation in vivo. ORTH1- ORTH5 are predicted to encode proteins that contain one plant homeodomain (PHD), two really interesting new gene (RING) domains, and one set ring associated (SRA) domain, whereas ORTHlike-1 encodes a protein with only one RING and SRA domain. cDNAs for ORTH1, ORTH2, ORTH5 and ORTHlike-1 were isolated, and when expressed as glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins, were capable of promoting ubiquitylation in vitro with the E2 AtUBC11. ORTH1 promotes ubiquitylation when paired with additional AtUBC8 family members. ORTH1 proteins with substitutions in metal-ligand binding residues in each ORTH1 RING domain individually, and ORTH1 truncation derivatives lacking one or both RING domains, were tested for their ability to catalyze ubiquitylation in vitro. In these assays, either ORTH1 RING domain is capable of promoting ubiquitylation. The PHD alone is not active as an E3 ligase, nor is it required for ligase activity. GFP-ORTH1 and GFP-ORTH2 are nuclear-localized in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Overexpression of ORTH1 or ORTH2 in Arabidopsis leads to an altered flowering time. Inspection of DNA methylation at FWA and Cen180 repeats revealed hypomethylation when ORTH proteins were overexpressed. Once initiated, a late-flowering phenotype persisted in the absence of the ORTH transgene, consistent with epigenetic effects at FWA. We conclude that ORTH proteins are E3 ligases mediating DNA methylation status in vivo.     

A RING-H2 zinc-finger protein gene RIE1 is essential for seed development in Arabidopsis

RING zinc-finger proteins play important roles in the regulation of development in a variety of organisms. In the plant kingdom, few genes encoding RING zinc-finger proteins have been documented with visible effects on plant growth and development. A novel gene, RIE1, encoding a RING-H2 zinc-finger protein was identified in Arabidopsis thaliana and is characterized in this paper. RIE1 encodes a predicted protein product of 359 amino acids residues with a molecular mass of 40 kDa, with a RING-H2 zinc-finger motif located at the extreme end of the C-terminus. Characterization of a Dissociation (Ds) insertion line (SGT4559) and a T-DNA insertion line (SRIE1) demonstrated that disruption of RIE1 is embryo-lethal. SGT4559 heterozygous plants produced seeds with embryo development arrested from globular to torpedo stages. Some mutant seeds were rescued by embryo culture, and the mutant (rie1) plants seemed to grow normally compared to wild-type plants, except that the mutants produced only abnormal seeds. However, RIE1 was expressed in different tissues throughout the whole plant as revealed by northern blot analysis and gene fusion assay of RIE1 promoter with the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene. Our results indicated that RIE1 plays an essential role in seed development.     

Molecular characterization and concerted evolution of two genes encoding RING-C2 type proteins in rice

RING (Really Interesting New Gene) finger proteins are believed to play a critical role in mediating the transfer of ubiquitin to heterogeneous substrate(s). While the two canonical types, RING-H2 and RING-HC, have been well-characterized, the molecular functions of the modified types, particularly the RING-C2 types, remain elusive. We isolated two rice genes harboring the RING-C2 domain on the distal parts of rice chromosomes 11 and 12, termed OsRINGC2-1 and OsRINGC2-2, respectively. A comparison of sequence divergences between 10 duplicate pairs on the distal parts of rice chromosomes 11 and 12 and randomly selected duplicate pairs suggested that OsRINGC2-1 and OsRINGC2-2 have evolved in concert via gene conversion. An in vitro ubiquitination assay revealed that both proteins possess E3 ligase activity, suggesting that the innate functions of these RING domains have not been affected by their modifications during evolution. Subcellular localizations were strikingly different; OsRINGC2-1 was found only in the cytoplasm with many punctate complexes, whereas OsRINGC2-2 was observed in both the nucleus and cytoplasm. The expression patterns of both genes showed striking differences in response to salt stress, whereas plants heterogeneous for both genes mediated salt tolerance in Arabidopsis, supporting the notion of concerted evolution. These results shed light on the molecular functions of OsRINGC2-1 and OsRINGC2-2 and provide insight into their molecular evolution.     

Auxin response factor family in rice

We isolated 11 rice genes homologous to the genes encoding auxin response factors (ARFs) in Arabidopsis. All of the genes encoded a well-conserved amino acid sequence in the N-terminal region, which is considered to be a DNA-binding domain (DBD). Phylogenetic analysis based on comparison of the DBDs indicated that rice has one or two closely related orthologs corresponding to a given respective ARF gene in Arabidopsis. We also analyzed the amino acid sequences of another conserved domain in the C-terminal conserved domain (CTD), which was shared by almost all the rice ARFs, with the exception of OsETTIN1 and OsETTIN2. These results agreed well with the evolutionary relationship deduced from the DBD comparison. In contrast to many ARFs, OsETTIN1 and OsETTIN2 do not contain the conserved C-terminal domain, but do share another consensus motif that is also found in Arabidopsis ETTIN. All of the above observations indicate that rice has functionally diversified ARF genes whose structures and functions correspond to those of various Arabidopsis ARFs, with one or two rice ARFs corresponding to a given Arabidopsis ARF. Thus, auxin signal transduction mechanisms may be well conserved between monocot and dicot plants.     

普通烟草ARF基因家族序列的鉴定与表达分析

ARF(AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR)基因含有一个B3功能域和具有转录激活或抑制活性的中心功能域,在植物发育过程中起到非常重要的作用。本研究采用生物信息学方法,根据拟南芥ARF基因序列鉴定了普通烟草基因组中的ARF基因,并对家族成员进行了序列特征、系统发生、亚细胞定位和表达模式分析。目前在普通烟草基因组中共得到50个ARF基因成员,其基因结构相对复杂,一般含有10个外显子。亚细胞定位结果表明,少数ARF蛋白定位到线粒体或叶绿体,大多数未检测到定位信号。转录组数据分析表明,ARF基因具有不同的组织表达模式,部分基因表现出组织特异性。这些研究结果为普通烟草ARF基因家族功能的深入研究奠定了基础。