Light suppresses ethylene response by direct interaction between phyB and EIN3

A seedling in the dark produces ethylene, which in a dicot such as Arabidopsis leads to apical hook formation that protects the cotyledons from damage as the seedling pushes through the soil. The emergence of the seedling into the soil causes a rapid transition to photomorphogenesis and a suppression of the ethylene-mediated apical hook. Shi et al. show that perception of light by the photoreceptor phytochrome B (phyB) activates its interaction with the core ethylene signaling protein EIN3 and the promotion of its degradation, providing a molecular basis for the rapid suppression of the ethylene response by light. Devel. Cell 10.1016/j.devcel.2016.10.020