The phosphorylation and protein interaction landscape of the plant TOR kinase (Nature Plants) ($)

The TOR (target of rapamycin) is a conserved regulator of cellular homeostasis and energy status in several clades of life. TOR signaling is well studied in animals while precise regulation and downstream targets of TOR kinase are not very well explored in plants. Some well-studied TOR kinase targets in plants includes S6 kinase, TAP46 and eIF-4E binding protein. In plants the activity of TOR is regulated by hormones and the SnRK1 complex. Mutant analysis and -omics studies have linked plant TOR signaling to nutrient status, meristem development in seedling and autophagy. Using an extensive phosphor-proteome analysis, Leene et al. have been able to develop a new protein interactome map for up/downstream components of TOR signaling in Arabidopsis. The differential phosphor-proteome analysis resulted in the identification of 83 TOR regulated proteins. Some interesting biological pathways for TOR targets are sugar protein homeostasis, protein folding, lipid and nucleotide metabolism and autophagy. (Summary by Kaushal Kumar Bhati) Nature Plants 10.1038/s41477-019-0378-z