Immunoprecipitation of Cullin-Ring Ligases (CRLs) in Arabidopsis thaliana Seedlings

CRL (Cullin-Ring ubiquitin ligases) are the major class of plant E3 ubiquitin ligases. Immunoprecipitation-based methods are useful techniques for revealing interactions among Cullin-Ring Ligase (CRL) subunits or between CRLs and other proteins, as well as for detecting poly-ubiquitin modifications of the CRLs themselves. Here, we describe two immunoprecipitation (IP) procedures suitable for CRLs in Arabidopsis: (1) a procedure for IP analysis of CRL subunits and their interactors and a second procedure for in vivo ubiquitination analysis of the CRLs. Both protocols can be divided into two major steps: (1) preparation of cell extracts without disruption of protein interactions and (2) affinity purification of the protein complexes and subsequent detection. We provide a thorough description of all the steps, as well as advice on how to choose proper buffers for these analyses. We also suggest a series of negative controls that can be used to verify the specificity of the procedure.