<i>CRK41</i> Modulates Microtubule Depolymerization in Response to Salt Stress in <i>Arabidopsis</i>
Sa Zhou,
Qiuling Luo,
Zhiyan Nie,
Changhui Wang,
Wenkang Zhu,
Yingxiang Hong,
Jun Zhao,
Baolei Pei,
Wenjian Ma
Affiliations
Sa Zhou
Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
Qiuling Luo
Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
Zhiyan Nie
Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
Changhui Wang
Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
Wenkang Zhu
Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
Yingxiang Hong
Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
Jun Zhao
State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Baolei Pei
College of Life Science and Food Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huai’an 223003, China
Wenjian Ma
Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
The pivotal role of cysteine-rich receptor-like kinases (CRKs) in modulating growth, development, and responses to stress has been widely acknowledged in Arabidopsis. However, the function and regulation of CRK41 has remained unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that CRK41 is critical for modulating microtubule depolymerization in response to salt stress. The crk41 mutant exhibited increased tolerance, while overexpression of CRK41 led to hypersensitivity to salt. Further analysis revealed that CRK41 interacts directly with the MAP kinase3 (MPK3), but not with MPK6. Inactivation of either MPK3 or MPK6 could abrogate the salt tolerance of the crk41 mutant. Upon NaCl treatment, microtubule depolymerization was heightened in the crk41 mutant, yet alleviated in the crk41mpk3 and crk41mpk6 double mutants, indicating that CRK41 suppresses MAPK-mediated microtubule depolymerizations. Collectively, these results reveal that CRK41 plays a crucial role in regulating microtubule depolymerization triggered by salt stress through coordination with MPK3/MPK6 signalling pathways, which are key factors in maintaining microtubule stability and conferring salt stress resistance in plants.
