Conformational plasticity of the intrinsically disordered protein ASR1 modulates its function as a drought stress-responsive gene.

ABSTRACT: Plants in arid zones are constantly exposed to drought stress. The ASR protein family (Abscisic, Stress, Ripening) -a subgroup of the late embryogenesis abundant superfamily- is involved in the water stress response and adaptation to dry environments. Tomato ASR1, as well as other members of this family, is an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) that functions as a transcription factor and a chaperone. Here we employed different biophysical techniques to perform a deep in vitro characterization of ASR1 as an IDP and showed how both environmental factors and in vivo targets modulate its folding. We report that ASR1 adopts different conformations such as α-helix or polyproline type II in response to environmental changes. Low temperatures and low pH promote the polyproline type II conform

SUBMITTER: Wetzler DE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6107238 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature