2. Academic Validation
  3. Dynamic control of plant water use using designed ABA receptor agonists

Dynamic control of plant water use using designed ABA receptor agonists

  • Science. 2019 Oct 25;366(6464):eaaw8848. doi: 10.1126/science.aaw8848.
Aditya S Vaidya 1 2,  Jonathan D M Helander 1 2,  Francis C Peterson 3,  Dezi Elzinga 1 2,  Wim Dejonghe 1 2,  Amita Kaundal 1 4,  Sang-Youl Park 1 2,  Zenan Xing 1 2,  Ryousuke Mega 5,  Jun Takeuchi 6 7,  Bardia Khanderahoo 1 2,  Steven Bishay 1 2,  Brian F Volkman 3,  Yasushi Todoroki 6 7,  Masanori Okamoto 8 9,  Sean R Cutler 10 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
  • 2 Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
  • 3 Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.
  • 4 Department of Plants, Soils and Climate, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA.
  • 5 Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, 1390 Hamasaka, Tottori 680-0001, Japan.
  • 6 Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan.
  • 7 Research Institute of Green Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan.
  • 8 Center for Bioscience Research and Education, Utsunomiya University, 350 Mine, Utsunomiya, Tochigi 321-8505, Japan.
  • 9 PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.
  • 10 Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. [email protected].
PMID: 31649167 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw8848
Abstract

Drought causes crop losses worldwide, and its impact is expected to increase as the world warms. This has motivated the development of small-molecule tools for mitigating the effects of drought on agriculture. We show here that current leads are limited by poor bioactivity in wheat, a widely grown staple crop, and in tomato. To address this limitation, we combined virtual screening, x-ray crystallography, and structure-guided design to develop opabactin (OP), an Abscisic acid (ABA) mimic with up to an approximately sevenfold increase in receptor affinity relative to ABA and up to 10-fold greater activity in vivo. Studies in Arabidopsis thaliana reveal a role of the type III receptor PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE-LIKE 2 for the antitranspirant efficacy of OP. Thus, virtual screening and structure-guided optimization yielded newly discovered agonists for manipulating crop abiotic stress tolerance and water use.

Figures
Products
  • Cat. No.
    Product Name
    Description
    Target
    Research Area
  • HY-162467
    Abscisic Acid Receptor Agonist