Mammalian Melatonin Agonist Pharmaceuticals Stimulate Rhomboid Proteins in Plants.

ABSTRACT: Melatonin is a human neurotransmitter and plant signalling metabolite that perceives and directs plant metabolism. The mechanisms of melatonin action in plants remain undefined. We hypothesized that roots have a melatonin-specific receptor and/or transporter that can respond to melatonin-mediating pharmaceuticals. To test this hypothesis Arabidopsis seedlings were grown with melatonin pharmaceutical receptor agonists: ramelteon and tasimelteon, and/or antagonists: luzindole and 4-P-PDOT. Ramelteon was found both to mimic and competitively inhibit melatonin metabolism in plants. Due to the higher selectivity of ramelteon for the MT1 receptor type in humans, a sequence homology search for MT1 in Arabidopsis identified the rhomboid-like protein 7 (RBL7). In physiological studies

SUBMITTER: Erland LAE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9313243 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature