AKINbeta1 is involved in the regulation of nitrogen metabolism and sugar signaling in Arabidopsis.

Sucrose non-fermenting-1-related protein kinase 1 (SnRK1) has been located at the heart of the control of metabolism and development in plants. The active SnRK1 form is usually a heterotrimeric complex. Subcellular localization and specific target of the SnRK1 kinase are regulated by specific beta subunits. In Arabidopsis, there are at least seven genes encoding beta subunits, of which the regulatory functions are not yet clear. Here, we tried to study the function of one beta subunit, AKINbeta1. It showed that AKINbeta1 expression was dramatically induced by ammonia nitrate but not potassium nitrate, and the investigation of AKINbeta1 transgenic Arabidopsis and T-DNA insertion lines showed that AKINbeta1 negatively regulated the activity of nitrate ruductase and was positively involved in sugar repression in early seedling development. Meanwhile AKINbeta1 expression was reduced upon sugar treatment (including mannitol) and did not affect the activity of sucrose phosphate synthase. The results indicate that AKINbeta1 is involved in the regulation of nitrogen metabolism and sugar signaling.