Phosphorylation‐dependent activation of MAP4K1/2 by OST1 mediates ABA‐induced stomatal closure in Arabidopsis

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ABSTRACT In higher plants, stomatal movements represent a critical physiological process that matains cellular water homestasis while enabling photosynthetic gas exchange. Open stomata 1 (OST1), a key protein kinase in the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling cascade, has been established as a central regulator of stomatal dynamics. This study reveals that two highly conserved mitogen‐activated protein kinase 1 (MAP4K1) and MAP4K2 are positive regulators in ABA promoted stomatal closure, and ABA‐activated OST1 potentiates MAP4K1/2 through phosphorylation at conserved serine and threonine residues (S166, T170, and S479/S488). The activated MAP4K1, in turn, phosphorylates two critical downstream targets: plasma membrane H + ‐ATPase 2 (AHA2) at residues T858, T881, and Y946, and slow anion channel‐associated 1 (SLAC1) at T114 and S116. Functional analysis demonstrates that the phosphomimetic (3D: S166D/T170D/S479D) MAP4K1, but not non‐phosphorylatable (3A: S166A/T170A/S479A) MAP4K1, could fully restore drought tolerance and reduced water loss in detached leaves of map4k1map4k2 double mutant. Our findings delineate a previously unrecognized signaling module comprising OST1–MAP4K1/2–AHA2/SLAC1, which crucially modulates ABA‐mediated stomatal regulation. This work advances our mechanistic understanding of phosphorylation cascades governing plant water relations and stress responses.

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