AUTHOR=Baek Dongwon , Cha Joon-Yung , Kang Songhwa , Park Bokyung , Lee Hyo-Jung , Hong Hyewon , Chun Hyun Jin , Kim Doh Hoon , Kim Min Chul , Lee Sang Yeol , Yun Dae-Jin 

TITLE=The Arabidopsis a zinc finger domain protein ARS1 is essential for seed germination and ROS homeostasis in response to ABA and oxidative stress

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.00963

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2015.00963

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) induces accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can disrupt seed dormancy and plant development. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of an <italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</italic> mutant called <italic>ars1</italic> (<italic><underline>a</underline>ba and <underline>r</underline>os <underline>s</underline>ensitive 1</italic>) that showed hypersensitivity to ABA during seed germination and to methyl viologen (MV) at the seedling stage. <italic>ARS1</italic> encodes a nuclear protein with one zinc finger domain, two nuclear localization signal (NLS) domains, and one nuclear export signal (NES). The <italic>ars1</italic> mutants showed reduced expression of a gene for superoxide dismutase (<italic>CSD3</italic>) and enhanced accumulation of ROS after ABA treatment. Transient expression of ARS1 in <italic>Arabidopsis</italic> protoplasts strongly suppressed ABA-mediated ROS production. Interestingly, nuclear-localized ARS1 translocated to the cytoplasm in response to treatment with ABA, H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, or MV. Taken together, these results suggest that ARS1 modulates seed germination and ROS homeostasis in response to ABA and oxidative stress in plants.</p>