OPDA signaling channels resource (e−) allocations from photosynthetic ETC to plastid cysteine biosynthesis in defense activations

Abstract A primary precursor of jasmonates 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA) is an autonomous hormone signal that activates and fine-tunes plant defense responses, as well as growth and development. However, the architecture of its signaling circuits remains largely elusive. Here we describe that OPDA signaling drives photosynthetic reductant powers toward the plastid sulfur assimilations, incorporating sulfide into cysteine. Under stressed states, OPDA −accumulated in the chloroplasts− binds and promotes cyclophilin 20-3, an OPDA receptor, to transfer electrons from thioredoxin F2, an electron carrier in the photosynthesis reaction, to serine acetyltransferase 1 (SAT1). The charge carrier (H+, e−) then splits dimeric SAT1 trimers in half to signal the recruitment of dimeric O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase B, forming a hetero-oligomeric cysteine synthase complex (CSC). The CSC formation and its metabolic products (esp., glutathione) then coordinate redox-resolved retrograde signaling from the chloroplasts to the nucleus in adjusting OPDA-responsive gene expressions such as GLUTAREDOXIN 480 and CYTOCHROME P450, and actuating defense responses against various ecological constraints such as salinity and excess oxidants, as well as mechanical wounding. We thus conclude that OPDA signaling regulates a unique metabolic switch in channeling light input into outputs that fuel/shape a multitude of physiological processes, optimizing plant growth fitness and survival capacity under a range of environmental stress cues.