{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T06:13:20Z","timestamp":1788416000146,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788393600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Plant Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Drought is one of the most severe abiotic stresses limiting crop productivity, and abscisic acid (ABA)-induced stomatal closure is a key mechanism underlying plant drought resistance. Although ABA signaling has been extensively characterized in\n                      <jats:italic>Arabidopsis thaliana<\/jats:italic>\n                      , the role and regulatory mechanisms of microfilaments (F-actin) in this process remain poorly understood. Previously, we identified the actin-binding protein CAP1 as an interactor of the ABA receptor RCAR12 and a phosphorylation target of OPEN STOMATA 1 (OST1), suggesting a potential link between actin dynamics and ABA signaling.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      To investigate the role of Actin Depolymerizing Factor 4 (ADF4) in ABA signaling, we examined its interaction with RCAR12 using bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC), GST pull-down, and co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assays. Genetic interactions between ADF4 and RCAR12 were further analyzed using\n                      <jats:italic>ADF4<\/jats:italic>\n                      -overexpressing lines in the ABA receptor quadruple mutant 1124 (\n                      <jats:italic>pyr1 pyl1 pyl2 pyl4<\/jats:italic>\n                      ) and the\n                      <jats:italic>adf4<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00d7 OE-\n                      <jats:italic>RCAR12<\/jats:italic>\n                      genotype. ABA responses and drought tolerance were evaluated through seed germination, cotyledon greening, stomatal closure, and drought assays.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      ADF4 physically interacted with RCAR12\n                      <jats:italic>in vivo<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n                      . Overexpression of ADF4 only weakly rescued the ABA-insensitive phenotype of the 1124 quadruple mutant during seed germination and seedling establishment, but completely restored its drought sensitivity. In addition, the adf4 \u00d7 OE-RCAR12 genotype partially rescued the defects of the adf4 mutant in ABA-mediated seed germination, cotyledon greening, ABA-induced stomatal closure, and drought tolerance.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings demonstrate that ADF4 functionally interacts with the ABA receptor RCAR12 and that the two proteins act synergistically in regulating ABA responses. Our results establish a link between actin dynamics and ABA receptor-mediated signaling and suggest that ADF4\u2013RCAR12 coordination contributes to ABA-induced stomatal regulation and drought tolerance in Arabidopsis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2026.1930623","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T05:21:51Z","timestamp":1788412911000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The ADF4-RCAR12 module regulates ABA-mediated drought tolerance in Arabidopsis"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Xiaoyi","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yihan","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiahan","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yufei","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xufeng","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianmei","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yi","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maohua","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sichuan University-Hong Kong Polytechnic University Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"E11857","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1815410115","article-title":"PYL8 mediates {Li 2018 #775} perception in the root through non-cell-autonomous and ligand-stabilization-based mechanisms","volume":"115","author":"Belda-Palazon","year":"2018","journal-title":"Proc. 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