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The Arabidopsis NF-YA3 and NF-YA8 genes are functionally redundant and are required in early embryogenesis.

ABSTRACT: Nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) is a trimeric transcription factor composed of three distinct subunits called NF-YA, NF-YB and NF-YC. In Arabidopsis thaliana, NF-Y subunits are known to play roles in many processes, such as gametogenesis, embryogenesis, seed development, drought resistance, ABA signaling, flowering time, primary root elongation, Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) stress response and blue light responses. Here, we report that the closely related NF-YA3 and NF-YA8 genes control early embryogenesis. Detailed GUS and in situ analyses showed that NF-YA3 and NF-YA8 are expressed in vegetative and reproductive tissues with the highest expression being during embryo development from the globular to the torpedo embryo stage. Plants from the nf-ya3 and nf-ya8 single mutants do not display any obvious phenotypic alteration, whereas nf-ya3 nf-ya8 double mutants are embryo lethal. Morphological analyses showed that the nf-ya3 nf-ya8 embryos fail to undergo to the heart stage and develop into abnormal globular embryos with both proembryo and suspensor characterized by a disordered cell cluster with an irregular shape, suggesting defects in embryo development. The suppression of both NF-YA3 and NF-YA8 gene expression by RNAi experiments resulted in defective embryos that phenocopied the nf-ya3 nf-ya8 double mutants, whereas complementation experiments partially rescued the abnormal globular nf-ya3 nf-ya8 embryos, confirming that NF-YA3 and NF-YA8 are required in early embryogenesis. Finally, the lack of GFP expression of the auxin responsive DR5rev::GFP marker line in double mutant embryos suggested that mutations in both NF-YA3 and NF-YA8 affect auxin response in early developing embryos. Our findings indicate that NF-YA3 and NF-YA8 are functionally redundant genes required in early embryogenesis of Arabidopsis thaliana.

SUBMITTER: Fornari M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3841131 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Arabidopsis NF-YA3 and NF-YA8 genes are functionally redundant and are required in early embryogenesis.

Fornari Monica M Calvenzani Valentina V Masiero Simona S Tonelli Chiara C Petroni Katia K

PloS one 20131126 11

Nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) is a trimeric transcription factor composed of three distinct subunits called NF-YA, NF-YB and NF-YC. In Arabidopsis thaliana, NF-Y subunits are known to play roles in many processes, such as gametogenesis, embryogenesis, seed development, drought resistance, ABA signaling, flowering time, primary root elongation, Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) stress response and blue light responses. Here, we report that the closely related NF-YA3 and NF-YA8 genes control early embryogenesi ...[more]

PMID: 24303077

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Project description:Arabidopsis TSO1 encodes a protein with conserved CXC domains known to bind DNA and is homologous to animal proteins that function in chromatin complexes. tso1 mutants fall into two classes due to their distinct phenotypes. Class I, represented by two different missense mutations in the CXC domain, leads to failure in floral organ development, sterility, and fasciated inflorescence meristems. Class II, represented by a nonsense mutation and a T-DNA insertion line, develops wild-type-like flowers and inflorescences but shows severely reduced fertility. The phenotypic variability of tso1 alleles presents challenges in determining the true function of TSO1. In this study, we use artificial microRNA, double mutant analysis, and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay to investigate the molecular basis underlying these two distinct classes of phenotypes. We show that the class I mutants could be converted into class II by artificial microRNA knockdown of the tso1 mutant transcript, suggesting that class I alleles produce antimorphic mutant proteins that interfere with functionally redundant loci. We identified one such redundant factor coded by the closely related TSO1 homolog SOL2. We show that the class I phenotype can be mimicked by knocking out both TSO1 and its homolog SOL2 in double mutants. Such antimorphic alleles targeting redundant factors are likely prevalent in Arabidopsis and maybe common in organisms with many sets of paralogous genes such as human. Our data challenge the conventional view that recessive alleles are always hypomorphic or null and that antimorphic alleles are always dominant. This study shows that recessive alleles can also be antimorphic and can produce a phenotype more severe than null by interfering with the function of related loci. This finding adds a new paradigm to classical genetic concepts, with important implications for future genetic studies both in basic research as well as in agriculture and medicine.

Dataset Information

The Arabidopsis NF-YA3 and NF-YA8 genes are functionally redundant and are required in early embryogenesis.

Publications

The Arabidopsis NF-YA3 and NF-YA8 genes are functionally redundant and are required in early embryogenesis.

Similar Datasets

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