Posttranslational modification of the RHO of plants protein RACB by phosphorylation and cross-kingdom conserved ubiquitination

PLoS One. 2022 Mar 25;17(3):e0258924. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258924. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Small RHO-type G-proteins act as signaling hubs and master regulators of polarity in eukaryotic cells. Their activity is tightly controlled, as defective RHO signaling leads to aberrant growth and developmental defects. Two major processes regulate G-protein activity: canonical shuttling between different nucleotide bound states and posttranslational modification (PTM), of which the latter can support or suppress RHO signaling, depending on the individual PTM. In plants, regulation of Rho of plants (ROPs) signaling activity has been shown to act through nucleotide exchange and GTP hydrolysis, as well as through lipid modification, but there is little data available on phosphorylation or ubiquitination of ROPs. Hence, we applied proteomic analyses to identify PTMs of the barley ROP RACB. We observed in vitro phosphorylation by barley ROP binding kinase 1 and in vivo ubiquitination of RACB. Comparative analyses of the newly identified RACB phosphosites and human RHO protein phosphosites revealed conservation of modified amino acid residues, but no overlap of actual phosphorylation patterns. However, the identified RACB ubiquitination site is conserved in all ROPs from Hordeum vulgare, Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa and in mammalian Rac1 and Rac3. Point mutation of this ubiquitination site leads to stabilization of RACB. Hence, this highly conserved lysine residue may regulate protein stability across different kingdoms.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis* / genetics
  • Arabidopsis* / metabolism
  • Hordeum* / genetics
  • Hordeum* / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Nucleotides / metabolism
  • Oryza* / genetics
  • Oryza* / metabolism
  • Phosphorylation
  • Plant Proteins* / genetics
  • Plant Proteins* / metabolism
  • Protein Processing, Post-Translational
  • Proteomics
  • Ubiquitination
  • rho GTP-Binding Proteins* / genetics
  • rho GTP-Binding Proteins* / metabolism

Substances

  • Nucleotides
  • Plant Proteins
  • rho GTP-Binding Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was supported by a research grant to R.H. from the German Research Foundation in frame of the collaborative research center SFB924. The contribution of A.F. was supported by a grant from the National Research, Development, and Innovation Office (#K101112; Hungary). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.