PIF3 is involved in the primary root growth inhibition of Arabidopsis induced by nitric oxide in the light.

PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR3 (PIF3) is an important component in the phytochrome signaling pathway and mediates plant responses to various environmental conditions. We found that PIF3 is involved in the inhibition of root growth of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings induced by nitric oxide (NO) in light. Overexpression of PIF3 partially alleviated the inhibitory effect of NO on root growth, whereas the pif3-1 mutant displayed enhanced sensitivity to NO in terms of root growth. During phytochrome signaling, the photoreceptor PHYB mediates the degradation of PIF3. We found that the phyB-9 mutant had a similar phenotype to that of PIF3ox in terms of responsiveness to NO. Furthermore, NO treatment promoted the accumulation of PHYB, and thus reduced PIF3 content. Our results further show that the activity of PIF3 is regulated by the DELLA protein RGL3[RGA (repressor of ga1-3) LIKE 3]. Therefore, we speculate that PIF3 lies downstream of PHYB and RGL3, and plays an important role in the inhibitory effect of NO on root growth of Arabidopsis seedlings in light.