Dominant and recessive mutations in the Raf-like kinase HT1 gene completely disrupt stomatal responses to CO(2) in Arabidopsis

HT1 (HIGH LEAF TEMPERATURE 1) is the first component associated with changes in stomatal aperture in response to CO(2) to be isolated by forward genetic screening. The HT1 gene encodes a protein kinase expressed mainly in guard cells. The loss-of-function ht1-1 and ht1-2 mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana have CO(2)-hypersensitive stomatal closure with concomitant reductions in their kinase activities in vitro. In addition to these mutants, in this study we isolate or obtaine five new ht1 alleles (ht1-3, ht1-4, ht1-5, ht1-6, and ht1-7). Among the mutants, only ht1-3 has a dominant mutant phenotype and has widely opened stomata due to CO(2) insensitivity. The ht1-3 mutant has a missense mutation affecting a non-conserved residue (R102K), whereas the other six recessive mutants have mutations in highly conserved residues in the catalytic domains required for kinase activity. We found that the dominant mutation does not affect the expression of HT1 or the ability to phosphorylate casein, a universal kinase substrate, but it does affect autophosphorylation activity in vitro. A 3D structural model of HT1 also shows that the R102 residue protrudes from the surface of the kinase, implying a role for the formation of oligomers and/or interaction with its targets. We demonstrate that both the loss-of-function and gain-of-function ht1 mutants have completely disrupted CO(2) responses, although they have normal responses to ABA. Furthermore, light-induced stomatal opening is smaller in ht1-3 and much smaller in ht1-2. Taken together, these results indicate that HT1 is a critical regulator for CO(2) signaling and is partially involved in the light-induced stomatal opening pathway.