''Avoiding unnecessary stress: post-transcriptional regulation of mitochondrial dysfunction responses in plants''

Associate Prof Saijaliisa Kangasjärvi

Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences

University of Helsinki
FINLAND

Thursday, May 12, 2022
11:00

Saijaliisa Kangasjärvi ^1,2,3

¹Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Finland.

²Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland.

³Viikki Plant Science Center, University of Helsinki, Finland

Organellar retrograde signals are vital in determining stress reactions in plants. We have identified Protein Phosphatase 2A (PP2A) as a cytosolic factor that controls organelle-induced stress reactions and pathogenesis responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. PP2A regulatory subunit B’γ (PP2A-B’γ) is required to maintain growth and prevent premature senescence under favorable conditions. On a molecular level, PP2A-B’γ controls multiple phosphoproteins that are elicited by mitochondrial dysfunction and critical in determining metabolic activities and detoxification capacity in plant cells. Under stress, the promoter of PP2A-B’γ becomes transiently inactivated by mitochondrial dysfunction signals. Hence, PP2A-B’γ does not prevent stress responses upon environmental challenges, but is an important regulator of stress recovery. Phosphoproteomic analysis suggests networks related to plant immunity, vesicle transport and RNA metabolism as regulation targets for PP2A-B’γ. PP2A-B’γ as a post-transcriptional regulator of mitochondrial dysfunction responses and stress recovery will be presented. 

Jozef Schell seminar room
Technologiepark 71 - 9052 

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