ABSTRACT: RNA-DIRECTED DNA METHYLATION 4 modulates cold stress resistance in Arabidopsis through the C-REPEAT-BINDING FACTOR-mediated pathway [Agilent]
Project description:RNA-DIRECTED DNA METHYLATION 4 modulates cold stress resistance in Arabidopsis through the C-REPEAT-BINDING FACTOR-mediated pathway [Affymetrix]
Project description:RNA-DIRECTED DNA METHYLATION 4 modulates cold stress resistance in Arabidopsis through the C-REPEAT-BINDING FACTOR-mediated pathway
Project description:The C-REPEAT-BINDING FACTOR (CBF) pathway has important roles in plant responses to cold stress. Previous research documented that constitutively expressed upstream transcription factors are activated by cold stress to induce the expression of CBF genes and the resulting CBF proteins trigger the expression of downstream cold responsive genes that confer freezing tolerance. In the present study, we found that dysfunction of RNA-DIRECTED DNA METHYLATION 4 (RDM4), which encodes a protein that associates with RNA polymerases Pol IV and Pol V as well as Pol II, and is required for RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) and proper plant development in Arabidopsis, reduced chilling and freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis as evidenced by decreased survival and increased electrolyte leakage under cold stress conditions. CBFs and CBF regulon genes were down-regulated in rdm4 but not nrpe1 (the largest subunit of PolV) mutant plants, suggesting that the role of RDM4 in cold stress responses is independent of the RdDM pathway. Overexpression of RDM4 increased the expression of CBFs and CBF regulon genes and decreased cold-induced membrane injury. The rdm4 mutants exhibited decreased antioxidant enzyme activities and increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Microarray analysis indicated that a great proportion of genes affected by rdm4 overlapped with those affected by CBF2 and CBF3 in Arabidopsis. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) results suggested that RDM4 is important for Pol II occupancy at the promoters of CBF genes but not the promoters of up-stream regulators of CBFs. Together, these data indicate that RDM4 acts as a component of a Pol II transcription complex that regulates CBF gene expression and cold stress resistance in Arabidopsis. Two-week-old seedlings of rdm4 and C24 WT plant were subjected to chilling treatment for 0, 3, and 48 h treatments.Plant materials were then collected for RNA extraction.
Project description:The C-REPEAT-BINDING FACTOR (CBF) pathway has important roles in plant responses to cold stress. Previous research documented that constitutively expressed upstream transcription factors are activated by cold stress to induce the expression of CBF genes and the resulting CBF proteins trigger the expression of downstream cold responsive genes that confer freezing tolerance. In the present study, we found that dysfunction of RNA-DIRECTED DNA METHYLATION 4 (RDM4), which encodes a protein that associates with RNA polymerases Pol IV and Pol V as well as Pol II, and is required for RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) and proper plant development in Arabidopsis, reduced chilling and freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis as evidenced by decreased survival and increased electrolyte leakage under cold stress conditions. CBFs and CBF regulon genes were down-regulated in rdm4 but not nrpe1 (the largest subunit of PolV) mutant plants, suggesting that the role of RDM4 in cold stress responses is independent of the RdDM pathway. Overexpression of RDM4 increased the expression of CBFs and CBF regulon genes and decreased cold-induced membrane injury. The rdm4 mutants exhibited decreased antioxidant enzyme activities and increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Microarray analysis indicated that a great proportion of genes affected by rdm4 overlapped with those affected by CBF2 and CBF3 in Arabidopsis. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) results suggested that RDM4 is important for Pol II occupancy at the promoters of CBF genes but not the promoters of up-stream regulators of CBFs. Together, these data indicate that RDM4 acts as a component of a Pol II transcription complex that regulates CBF gene expression and cold stress resistance in Arabidopsis. Two-week-old seedlings of 35S::RDM4 and Col WT plant were subjected to chilling treatment for 0, 3, and 48 h treatments.Plant materials were then collected for RNA extraction.
Project description:Stress priming is a critical adaptive mechanism that enables plants to enhance responses to recurring environmental stresses. While transcriptomic changes associated with cold stress priming have been reported, the underlying epigenetic mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated transcriptomic and DNA methylation dynamics in cold-primed and non-primed Arabidopsis thaliana plants. Cold stress induces distinct gene expression patterns between primed and non-primed plants, accompanied by DNA methylation changes across all cytosine contexts in both protein-coding genes and transposable elements (TEs). Notably, CHH methylation within gene bodies and TEs is markedly reduced in cold-primed plants, suggesting a role for DNA hypomethylation in establishing cold stress memory. This hypomethylation correlates with decreased expression of the CMT2 DNA methyltransferase and components of the RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway, indicating a passive demethylation process during cold treatment. Furthermore, DNA methylation mutants exhibit enhanced cold stress memory, highlighting the role of methylation in preventing spurious gene activation and maintaining priming specificity. Particularly, met1, deficient in CG methylation, shows reduced methylation at the CBF gene cluster, correlating with their overexpression and enhanced activation of downstream cold-responsive genes. Our findings show that DNA methylation modulates cold stress memory by shaping chromatin and ensuring transcriptional precision.
Project description:The C-REPEAT-BINDING FACTOR (CBF) pathway has important roles in plant responses to cold stress. Previous research documented that constitutively expressed upstream transcription factors are activated by cold stress to induce the expression of CBF genes and the resulting CBF proteins trigger the expression of downstream cold responsive genes that confer freezing tolerance. In the present study, we found that dysfunction of RNA-DIRECTED DNA METHYLATION 4 (RDM4), which encodes a protein that associates with RNA polymerases Pol IV and Pol V as well as Pol II, and is required for RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) and proper plant development in Arabidopsis, reduced chilling and freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis as evidenced by decreased survival and increased electrolyte leakage under cold stress conditions. CBFs and CBF regulon genes were down-regulated in rdm4 but not nrpe1 (the largest subunit of PolV) mutant plants, suggesting that the role of RDM4 in cold stress responses is independent of the RdDM pathway. Overexpression of RDM4 increased the expression of CBFs and CBF regulon genes and decreased cold-induced membrane injury. The rdm4 mutants exhibited decreased antioxidant enzyme activities and increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Microarray analysis indicated that a great proportion of genes affected by rdm4 overlapped with those affected by CBF2 and CBF3 in Arabidopsis. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) results suggested that RDM4 is important for Pol II occupancy at the promoters of CBF genes but not the promoters of up-stream regulators of CBFs. Together, these data indicate that RDM4 acts as a component of a Pol II transcription complex that regulates CBF gene expression and cold stress resistance in Arabidopsis.
Project description:The C-REPEAT-BINDING FACTOR (CBF) pathway has important roles in plant responses to cold stress. Previous research documented that constitutively expressed upstream transcription factors are activated by cold stress to induce the expression of CBF genes and the resulting CBF proteins trigger the expression of downstream cold responsive genes that confer freezing tolerance. In the present study, we found that dysfunction of RNA-DIRECTED DNA METHYLATION 4 (RDM4), which encodes a protein that associates with RNA polymerases Pol IV and Pol V as well as Pol II, and is required for RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) and proper plant development in Arabidopsis, reduced chilling and freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis as evidenced by decreased survival and increased electrolyte leakage under cold stress conditions. CBFs and CBF regulon genes were down-regulated in rdm4 but not nrpe1 (the largest subunit of PolV) mutant plants, suggesting that the role of RDM4 in cold stress responses is independent of the RdDM pathway. Overexpression of RDM4 increased the expression of CBFs and CBF regulon genes and decreased cold-induced membrane injury. The rdm4 mutants exhibited decreased antioxidant enzyme activities and increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Microarray analysis indicated that a great proportion of genes affected by rdm4 overlapped with those affected by CBF2 and CBF3 in Arabidopsis. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) results suggested that RDM4 is important for Pol II occupancy at the promoters of CBF genes but not the promoters of up-stream regulators of CBFs. Together, these data indicate that RDM4 acts as a component of a Pol II transcription complex that regulates CBF gene expression and cold stress resistance in Arabidopsis.
Project description:Brassinosteroids (BRs) are growth-promoting plant hormones that play a role in abiotic stress responses, but molecular modes that enable this activity remain largely unknown. Here we show that BRs participate in the regulation of freezing tolerance. BR signaling-defective mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana were hypersensitive to freezing before and after cold acclimation. The constitutive activation of BR signaling, in contrast, enhanced freezing resistance. Evidence is provided that the BR-controlled basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor CESTA (CES) can contribute to the constitutive expression of the C-REPEAT/DEHYDRATION-RESPONSIVE ELEMENT BINDING FACTOR (CBF) transcriptional regulators that control cold responsive (COR) gene expression. In addition, CBF-independent classes of BR-regulated COR genes are identified that are regulated in a BR- and CES-dependent manner during cold acclimation. A model is presented in which BRs govern different cold-responsive transcriptional cascades through the posttranslational modification of CES and redundantly acting factors. This contributes to the basal resistance against freezing stress, but also to the further improvement of this resistance through cold acclimation. We used microarray data to investigate the contribution of different pathways to cold tolerance of Arabidopsis thaliana .
Project description:Prolonged cold exposure over winter impacts plant growth and development but its role beyond flowering regulation remains underexplored. In this study we show that extended cold enhances callus formation and shoot regeneration in Arabidopsis seedlings. This enhancement is mediated by cold-induced AP2/ERF transcription factors C-repeat/DRE-Binding Factor 1 (CBF1), CBF2 and CBF3 which interact with the histone acetyltransferace HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE OF THE GNAT FAMILY 1 (HAG1). The CBFs recruit HAG1 to the loci of key regeneration regulators, such as WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX 5 (WOX5), to promote their expression via histone acetylation. Our findings thus uncover an epigenetic mechanism by which prolonged cold primes plants for enhanced regeneration, highlighting how environmental cues influence developmental plasticity in plants.
Project description:Prolonged cold exposure over winter impacts plant growth and development but its role beyond flowering regulation remains underexplored. In this study we show that extended cold enhances callus formation and shoot regeneration in Arabidopsis seedlings. This enhancement is mediated by cold-induced AP2/ERF transcription factors C-repeat/DRE-Binding Factor 1 (CBF1), CBF2 and CBF3 which interact with the histone acetyltransferace HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE OF THE GNAT FAMILY 1 (HAG1). The CBFs recruit HAG1 to the loci of key regeneration regulators, such as WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX 5 (WOX5), to promote their expression via histone acetylation. Our findings thus uncover an epigenetic mechanism by which prolonged cold primes plants for enhanced regeneration, highlighting how environmental cues influence developmental plasticity in plants.