SIZ1 negatively regulates aluminum resistance by mediating the STOP1–ALMT1 pathway in Arabidopsis

Sensitive to proton rhizotoxicity 1 (STOP1) functions as a crucial regulator of root growth during aluminum (Al) stress. However, how this transcription factor is regulated by Al stress to affect downstream genes expression is not well understood. To explore the underlying mechanisms of the function and regulation of STOP1, we employed a yeast two hybrid screen to identify STOP1‐interacting proteins. The SUMO E3 ligase SIZ1, was found to interact with STOP1 and mainly facilitate its SUMO modification at K40 and K212 residues. Simultaneous introduction of K40R and K212R substitutions in STOP1 enhances its transactivation activity to upregulate the expression of aluminum‐activated malate transporter 1 (ALMT1) via increasing the association with mediator 16 (MED16) transcriptional co‐activator. Loss of function of SIZ1 causes highly increased expression of ALMT1, thus enhancing Al‐induced malate exudation and Al tolerance. Also, we found that the protein level of SIZ1 is reduced in response to Al stress. Genetic evidence demonstrates that STOP1/ALMT1 is epistatic to SIZ1 in regulating root growth response to Al stress. This study suggests a mechanism about how the SIZ1–STOP1–ALMT1 signaling module is involved in root growth response to Al stress. Aluminum (Al) stress enhances the transactivation activity of STOP1 to activate expression of the Al resistance gene ALMT1 via inhibiting its SUMO modification mediated by SIZ1, suggesting a novel signal transduction pathway for plant adaption to Al toxicity.