Illuminating the COP1/SPA Ubiquitin Ligase: Fresh Insights Into Its Structure and Functions During Plant Photomorphogenesis

Jathish Ponnu; Ute Hoecker

doi:10.3389/fpls.2021.662793

Illuminating the COP1/SPA Ubiquitin Ligase: Fresh Insights Into Its Structure and Functions During Plant Photomorphogenesis

Front Plant Sci. 2021 Mar 24:12:662793. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.662793. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Jathish Ponnu¹, Ute Hoecker¹

Affiliation

¹ Institute for Plant Sciences, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Biocenter, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Abstract

CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 functions as an E3 ubiquitin ligase in plants and animals. Discovered originally in Arabidopsis thaliana, COP1 acts in a complex with SPA proteins as a central repressor of light-mediated responses in plants. By ubiquitinating and promoting the degradation of several substrates, COP1/SPA regulates many aspects of plant growth, development and metabolism. In contrast to plants, human COP1 acts as a crucial regulator of tumorigenesis. In this review, we discuss the recent important findings in COP1/SPA research including a brief comparison between COP1 activity in plants and humans.

Keywords: C3D; CDD; COP1; CUL4; DDB1; E3 ligase; SPA; ubiquitination.

Publication types

Review