MPI-MP SPRING SERIES: Negative Feedback regulation of TORC1 signaling balances growth and stress-response trade-offs in Arabidopsis - Muhamad Jamsheer

The Target Of Rapamycin Complex 1 (TORC1) is a major integrator of nutrient signals and growth in eukaryotes. In plants, TORC1 is important for promoting growth in optimal light and nutrient conditions. TORC1 favors growth by downregulating abiotic and biotic signaling machinery. Therefore, hyperactivation of TORC1 makes plants susceptible to environmental stress conditions and pathogens, and how plants maintain optimal TORC1 signaling is currently unknown. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we identified that the negative feedback regulation of TORC1 is critical for the adaptability of plants in changing environmental conditions. Data-driven screening identified the FCS-Like Zinc Finger 8 (FLZ8), a plant-specific protein, acts as a negative feedback loop in TORC1 signaling in Arabidopsis in favorable condition. This negative feedback loop moderates the TOR-growth signaling axis in favorable conditions and helps in the rapid activation of SNF1-Related Protein Kinase 1 (SnRK1) and stress signaling in unfavorable conditions establishing its importance in the adaptability of plants.