A Calcium/Palmitoylation Switch Interfaces the Signaling Networks of Stress Response and Transition to Flowering

Abstract

The precise timing of flowering in adverse environments is critical for plants to secure reproductive success. We report a novel mechanism controlling the time of flowering by which the palmitoylation-dependent nuclear import of protein SOS3/CBL4, a Ca2+-signaling intermediary in the plant response to salinity, results in the selective stabilization of the flowering time regulator GIGANTEA inside the nucleus under salt stress, while degradation of GIGANTEA in the cytosol releases the protein kinase SOS2 to achieve salt tolerance. S-acylation of SOS3 was critical for its nuclear localization and the promotion of flowering, but dispensable for salt tolerance. SOS3 interacted with the photoperiodic flowering components GIGANTEA and FKF1 on the CONSTANS gene promoter to sustain the transcription of CO and FT under salinity. Thus, SOS3 acts as a Ca2+- and palmitoylation-dependent molecular switch that fine-tunes flowering in a saline environment through the shared spatial separation and selective stabilization of GIGANTEA. The SOS3 protein connects two signaling networks to co-regulate stress adaptation and time of flowering. Short summaryS-acylation promoted the nuclear import of SOS3/CBL4 for the selective stabilization of the photoperiodic floral regulator GIGANTEA to fine-tune flowering time in a saline environment. Spatial separation of SOS3 acts as a molecular switch co-regulating stress adaptation and time of flowering.