Mammalian Melatonin Agonist Pharmaceuticals Stimulate Rhomboid Proteins in Plants

Melatonin is a human neurotransmitter and plant signalling metabolite that perceives and directs plant metabolism. The mechanisms of melatonin action in plants remain undefined. We hypothesized that roots have a melatonin-specific receptor and/or transporter that can respond to melatonin-mediating p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biomolecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2022-06, Vol.12 (7), p.882
Main Authors: Erland, Lauren A. E., Dumigan, Christopher R., Forsyth, Jillian A., Frolova, Liubov, Yasunaga, Adam B., Pun, Winnie, Li, Isaac T. S., Deyholos, Michael K., Murch, Susan J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agonists
Antagonists
Antioxidants
Arabidopsis
Cell membranes
Environmental factors
Experiments
Homology
Localization
Mammals
Melatonin
Plant growth
quantum dot
Quantum dots
ramelteon
rhomboid
Seedlings
Seeds
serotonin
tasimelteon
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Summary:Melatonin is a human neurotransmitter and plant signalling metabolite that perceives and directs plant metabolism. The mechanisms of melatonin action in plants remain undefined. We hypothesized that roots have a melatonin-specific receptor and/or transporter that can respond to melatonin-mediating pharmaceuticals. To test this hypothesis Arabidopsis seedlings were grown with melatonin pharmaceutical receptor agonists: ramelteon and tasimelteon, and/or antagonists: luzindole and 4-P-PDOT. Ramelteon was found both to mimic and competitively inhibit melatonin metabolism in plants. Due to the higher selectivity of ramelteon for the MT1 receptor type in humans, a sequence homology search for MT1 in Arabidopsis identified the rhomboid-like protein 7 (RBL7). In physiological studies, Arabidopsis rbl7 mutants were less responsive to ramelteon and melatonin. Quantum dot visualizations of the effects of ramelteon on melatonin binding to root cell membranes revealed a potential mechanism. We propose that RBL7 is a melatonin-interacting protein that directs root architecture and growth in a mechanism that is responsive to environmental factors.
ISSN:2218-273X
2218-273X
DOI:10.3390/biom12070882