Arabidopsis HEMERA Promotes Light-mediated Development by Phytochromes

Light is an important factor in the development of a plant. However, the mechanism on how the light-detection pigments are able to drive an environment-induced change in the phenotype is still lacking in evidence. One of the initial role of light in the plant development is exhibited in the transfer of red/far-red pigments called phytochromes from the cytoplasm to the phytochrome nuclear bodies. The function of the nuclear bodies was still unknown, and thus investigated by Meng Chen of Duke University and colleagues. They discovered that hemera, a seedling mutant of Arabidopsis with altered phytochrome nuclear body trends has a function in the nucleus.  Previous studies reported that HEMERA was a part of the plastid complex involved in transcription. Chen discovered that HEMERA works particularly in protein signaling in the nucleus. Furthermore, the results of their study showed that the hydrolytic breakdown of phytochrome occurs in the phytochrome nuclear bodies.

Read the summary of this study published by Cell Press Journal at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2010.05.007.