Sumoylation and abscisic acid signaling.

The conjugation of small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) to substrates (sumoylation) is one of posttranslational modification systems in eukaryotes. Sumoylation plays an important role in the regulation of environmental stress response, biotic stress response, and flowering control in plants. Covalent SUMO conjugation requires an E1/E2/E3 enzyme, and SUMO E3 ligase SIZ1 is essential for these regulations. This addendum summarizes our recent study in which it has been established that in Arabidopsis, SUMO E3 ligase SIZ1 negatively controls abscisic acid (ABA) signaling through the sumoylation of ABI5. The conjugation of SUMO to ABI5 represses its activity and also prevents ABI5 from undergoing degradation.