Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande,Oeiras, Portugal.
J Exp Bot. 2019 Apr 15;70(8):2261-2274. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erz066.
The evolutionarily conserved protein kinase complexes SnRK1 and TOR are central metabolic regulators essential for plant growth, development, and stress responses. They are activated by opposite signals, and the outcome of their activation is, in global terms, antagonistic. Similarly to their yeast and animal counterparts, SnRK1 is activated by the energy deficit often associated with stress to restore homeostasis, while TOR is activated in nutrient-rich conditions to promote growth. Recent evidence suggests that SnRK1 represses TOR in plants, revealing evolutionary conservation also in their crosstalk. Given their importance for integrating environmental information into growth and developmental programs, these signaling pathways hold great promise for reducing the growth penalties caused by stress. Here we review the literature connecting SnRK1 and TOR to plant stress responses. Although SnRK1 and TOR emerge mostly as positive regulators of defense and growth, respectively, the outcome of their activities in plant growth and performance is not always straightforward. Manipulation of both pathways under similar experimental setups, as well as further biochemical and genetic analyses of their molecular and functional interaction, is essential to fully understand the mechanisms through which these two metabolic pathways contribute to stress responses, growth, and development.
进化保守的蛋白激酶复合物 SnRK1 和 TOR 是植物生长、发育和应激反应所必需的核心代谢调节剂。它们被相反的信号激活，其激活的结果在总体上是拮抗的。与酵母和动物中的对应物类似，SnRK1 被与应激相关的能量亏缺激活，以恢复体内平衡，而 TOR 在营养丰富的条件下被激活以促进生长。最近的证据表明，SnRK1 在植物中抑制 TOR，揭示了它们在串扰中的进化保守性。鉴于它们在将环境信息整合到生长和发育计划中的重要性，这些信号通路有望减少应激引起的生长惩罚。在这里，我们回顾了将 SnRK1 和 TOR 与植物应激反应联系起来的文献。尽管 SnRK1 和 TOR 主要分别作为防御和生长的正调节剂出现，但它们在植物生长和性能中的活性的结果并不总是直接的。在类似的实验设置下对这两种途径进行操作，以及对它们的分子和功能相互作用的进一步生化和遗传分析，对于充分理解这两种代谢途径如何有助于应激反应、生长和发育是至关重要的。
