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Dolichol Biosynthesis and Its Effects on the Unfolded Protein Response and Abiotic Stress Resistance in Arabidopsis^[W],[OA]

^a State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
^b RIKEN Plant Science Center, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
^c Biochimie et Physiologie Moléculaire des Plantes, Institut de Biologie Intégrative des Plantes, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5004, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Unité Mixte de Recherche 0386, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique/Montpellier SupAgro/Université Montpellier 2, F-34060 Montpellier Cedex 1, France
^d Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Kanagawa 244-0813, Japan
^e Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, California 92521
^f China Agricultural University–University of California-Riverside Center for Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing 100193, China
^g National Center for Plant Gene Research, Beijing 100193, China

² Address correspondence to gongzz{at}cau.edu.cn

Dolichols are long-chain unsaturated polyisoprenoids with multiple cellular functions, such as serving as lipid carriers of sugars used for protein glycosylation, which affects protein trafficking in the endoplasmic reticulum. The biological functions of dolichols in plants are largely unknown. We isolated an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant, lew1 (for leaf wilting1), that showed a leaf-wilting phenotype under normal growth conditions. LEW1 encoded a cis-prenyltransferase, which when expressed in Escherichia coli catalyzed the formation of dolichol with a chain length around C₈₀ in an in vitro assay. The lew1 mutation reduced the total plant content of main dolichols by 85% and caused protein glycosylation defects. The mutation also impaired plasma membrane integrity, causing electrolyte leakage, lower turgor, reduced stomatal conductance, and increased drought resistance. Interestingly, drought stress in the lew1 mutant induced higher expression of the unfolded protein response pathway genes BINDING PROTEIN and BASIC DOMAIN/LEUCINE ZIPPER60 as well as earlier expression of the stress-responsive genes RD29A and COR47. The lew1 mutant was more sensitive to dark treatment, but this dark sensitivity was suppressed by drought treatment. Our data suggest that LEW1 catalyzes dolichol biosynthesis and that dolichol is important for plant responses to endoplasmic reticulum stress, drought, and dark-induced senescence in Arabidopsis.