Poster abstracts
Poster number 16 submitted by Aaron Bruns
SnRK1 phosphorylates eIF4E/iso4E to regulate translation
Sizhun Li (Molecular Genetics), Aaron N Bruns (OSBP), David Bisaro (Molecular Genetics)
Abstract:
Plant SNF1-Related Kinase (SnRK1) belongs to a conserved protein family that includes animal AMP-activated Kinase (AMPK) and yeast SNF1. These kinases sense the AMP:ATP ratio in cells and play important roles in maintaining energy homeostasis through a variety of pathways. SnRK1/SNF1/AMPK are also involved in both biotic and abiotic stress response. In these studies, we have demonstrated the presence of a previously unknown regulatory pathway in which SnRK1 interacts with and phosphorylates mRNA cap-binding protein Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 4E (eIF4E) and its isoform (eIFiso4E). Additionally, we have shown that this phosphorylation event inhibits translation in cells. Since SnRK1 and eIF4E/iso4E are widely conserved, this novel regulatory mechanism has broad importance in both pathogen defense and stress response in many organisms, including valuable crop plants and potentially a wide variety of other non-vertebrate systems.
Keywords: Translation, Plant, eIF4E