Background: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH or G6PD) functions in supply of NADPH, which is required for plant defense responses to stresses. However, whether G6PD functions in the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway remains to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the involvement of the cytosolic G6PD5 in the ABA signaling pathway in Arabidopsis.
Results: We characterized the Arabidopsis single null mutant g6pd5. Phenotypic analysis showed that the mutant is more sensitive to ABA during seed germination and root growth, whereas G6PD5-overexpressing plants are less sensitive to ABA compared to wild type (WT). Furthermore, ABA induces excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mutant seeds and seedlings. G6PD5 participates in the reduction of H2O2 to H2O in the ascorbate-glutathione cycle. In addition, we found that G6PD5 suppressed the expression of Abscisic Acid Insensitive 5 (ABI5), the major ABA signaling component in dormancy control. When G6PD5 was overexpressed, the ABA signaling pathway was inactivated. Consistently, G6PD5 negatively modulates ABA-blocked primary root growth in the meristem and elongation zones. Of note, the suppression of root elongation by ABA is triggered by the cell cycle B-type cyclin CYCB1.
Conclusions: This study showed that G6PD5 is involved in the ABA-mediated seed germination and root growth by suppressing ABI5.
Keywords: Abscisic acid; Germination; Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase 5; NADPH oxidases; Reactive oxygen species; Root system architecture.