Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade is an important signaling cascade that operates in stress signal transduction in plants. The biologically active monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (MIA) produced in Catharanthus roseus are known to be induced under several abiotic stress conditions such as wounding, UV-B etc. However involvement of any signaling component in the accumulation of MIAs remains poorly investigated so far. Here we report isolation of a novel abiotic stress inducible Catharanthus roseus MAPK, CrMPK3 that may have role in accumulation of MIAs in response to abiotic stress.
