A phosphorylation-gated GAPDH-MAPK6-LBD1 module controls drought-responsive transcription.

Phosphorylation of GAPDH and MAPK6 enables nuclear relocalization and regulates drought-responsive gene expression in Betula platyphylla.

• Why it matters: Understanding how phosphorylation controls protein relocalization is crucial for revealing mechanisms of rapid stress response in plants, which can inform drought resilience strategies.
• What they did: Researchers examined a Betula platyphylla drought pathway involving kinase-induced phosphorylation of BpGAPDH and BpMAPK6, leading to their nuclear accumulation and interaction with BpLBD1.
• The result: Disruption of phosphorylation at specific sites on BpGAPDH or BpLBD1 impairs drought tolerance, indicating that the GAPDH-MAPK6-LBD1 module is essential for drought-responsive transcription regulation.