The pros and cons of taking on additional work on top of full-time employment are hotly debated. However, in biology, individual proteins often perform multiple functions, so side jobs are not uncommon. Scientists have known for years that rare floral organ (UFO) proteins seem to have a side job.
Based on protein structure, its role in plants is thought to target proteins for destruction.It also works with the Leafy (LFY) protein to aid in flower formation. A team of French scientists have revealed how this protein serves a dual purpose.
flower and UFO
When it comes to flower formation, the Leafy (LFY) protein is a real workhorse. Flowers consist of sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels arranged in spirals. LFY proteins, acting alone or in combination with other proteins, are responsible for activating genes essential for the making of each of these moieties. LFY binds with UFOs to help form petals and stamens.
according to research According to lead author François Parcy of CNRS and University of Grenoble Alpes, the reason it took more than 25 years to understand the UFO-LFY mechanism was due to “the misleading nature of UFO proteins.”
UFOs belong to a group of approximately 700 proteins characterized by patterns of amino acids called F-box domains that regulate the levels of other proteins. According to Percy, UFOs mark other proteins for destruction. As soon as the protein is marked, [some] a cellular mechanism called [a] The proteasome recognizes the marks and chops the protein into hundreds of pieces. “
So you might expect UFOs to mark LFY for destruction as well. “Normally, it would also degrade the LFY protein,” Parcy said. “But for LFY, we found that the UFO has a completely different function: it binds to regions of DNA that are not accessible to LFY alone.” says.
Together, LFY and UFO attach to DNA near genes essential for petal and stamen formation.
Percy and his team began their research four years ago by producing large amounts of UFO proteins in insect cells. “UFOs are one of the most difficult proteins to produce artificially, so it was very challenging,” Parcy said.
where there are flowers
It turns out that UFOs don’t need to destroy other proteins to work with LFY. “We then modified it by deleting the F-box domain responsible for causing degradation of the partner protein. was found to work well with the LFY protein,” said Parcy. This experiment reveals that the UFO proteins do more than target and destroy proteins.
Its extra features seem to include DNA sequence changes that Leafy sticks to. The researcher used cryo-electron microscopy to obtain his 3D structure of the interactions between LFYs, UFOs, and the DNA regions they bind to. According to Parcy, when UFOs and LFYs act together, they can attach to regions of DNA involved in the formation of petals and stamens. Neither of these proteins can attach to this DNA by themselves.
“This means that each protein has the ability to make weak contacts with regions of DNA, but when combined they increase their strength and interact with new DNA motifs,” he said.
LFY-UFO associations are present in all flowering plants. In rice, too, two of her proteins, LFY and UFO, stick together and become able to bind to new regions of DNA, resulting in the development of the grain-holding part of the plant called the panicle.
