Arabidopsis CBL interacting protein kinase 3 interacts with ABR1, an APETALA2 domain transcription factor, to regulate ABA responses

•CIPK3 phosphorylates CBL9.•ABR1 is reported as the downstream target of CBL9-CIPK3 module.•ABR1 and CIPK3 co-localize to the nucleus.•ABR1 modulate ABA mediated drought responses in Arabidopsis. Calcium (Ca2+) plays a vital role as a second messenger in several signaling pathways in plants. The calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) represent a family of plant calcium-binding proteins that function in propagating Ca2+ signals by interacting with CBL interacting protein kinases (CIPKs). Phosphorylation of CBL by CIPK is essential for the module to display full activity towards its target protein. Previous genetic analysis showed that the function of CBL9-CIPK3 module was implicated in negatively regulating seed germination and early development. In the present study, we have biochemically investigated the interaction of CBL9-CIPK3 module and our findings show that CBL9 is phosphorylated by CIPK3. Moreover, Abscisic acid repressor 1 (ABR1) is identified as the downstream target of CIPK3 and CIPK3-ABR1 function to regulate ABA responses during seed germination. Our study also indicates that the role of ABR1 is not limited to seed germination but it also regulates the ABA dependent processes in the adult stage of plant development. Combining our results, we conclude that the CBL9-CIPK3-ABR1 pathway functions to regulate seed germination and ABA dependent physiological processes in Arabidopsis.