Structure and function of the Arabidopsis ABC transporter ABCB19 in brassinosteroid export. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38513023/)

These scientists wanted to understand how plants use a special group of hormones called brassinosteroids to grow and survive in different environments. They discovered that a specific protein called ABCB19 acts like a transporter, helping to move these hormones around in plant cells. They studied the structure of ABCB19 and found that when brassinosteroids bind to it, it becomes very active and can move the hormones where they need to go. They also found that another similar protein, ABCB1, works with ABCB19 to help plants respond to brassinosteroids. This study helps us understand how plants use these hormones to grow and stay healthy.

Ying W., Wang Y., Wei H., Luo Y., Ma Q., Zhu H., Janssens H., Vukasinovic N., Kvasnica M., Winne JM., Gao Y., Tan S., Friml J., Liu X., Russinova E., Sun L. Structure and function of the Arabidopsis ABC transporter ABCB19 in brassinosteroid export. Science. 2024 Mar 22;383(6689):eadj4591. doi: 10.1126/science.adj4591. Epub 2024 Mar 22.