COP1 destabilizes DELLA proteins in Arabidopsis

DELLA proteins are plant-specific transcriptional regulators that act as signaling hubs at the interface between the environment and the transcriptional networks that control growth. The growth-promoting hormone gibberellin destabilizes DELLAs. Here we describe an alternative pathway to destabilize these proteins. We show that DELLAs are substrate of COP1, an E3 ubiquitin ligase that increases its activity to promote growth in response to shade or warmth. Our results show that COP1, and not changes in gibberellin levels, mediates the rapid destabilization of DELLAs in response to environmental cues.