Project description:Genome-wide landscapes of transcription factor (TF) binding sites (BSs) diverge during evolution, conferring species-specific transcriptional patterns. The rate of divergence varies in different metazoan lineages but has not been widely studied in plants. We identified the BSs and assessed the effects on transcription of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) and PERPETUAL FLOWERING 1 (PEP1), two orthologous MADS-box TFs that repress flowering and confer vernalization requirement in the Brassicaceae species Arabidopsis thaliana and Arabis alpina, respectively. We found the BSs that were conserved in both species, and that these contained a CArG-box that is recognised by MADS-box TFs. The CArG-box consensus at conserved BSs was extended compared to the core motif. By contrast, species-specific BSs usually lacked the CArG-box in the other species. Flowering-time genes were highly overrepresented among conserved targets and their CArG-boxes were widely conserved among Brassicaceae species. Cold-regulated genes (COR) were also overrepresented among targets, but the cognate BSs and the identity of the regulated genes were different in each species. In cold, COR gene transcript levels were increased in flc and pep1-1 mutants compared to wild-type and this correlated with reduced growth in pep1-1. Therefore FLC orthologs regulate a set of conserved target genes mainly involved in reproductive development and were later independently recruited to modulate stress responses in different Brassicaceae lineages. Analysis of TF BSs in these lineages thus distinguishes widely conserved targets representing the core function of the TF from those that were recruited later in evolution.
Project description:The seed germination in response to light shows natural variation in two accessions of Aethionema arabicum (Brassicaceae). One accession from Turkey (TUR) germinates well in darkness and light, while another closely related accession from Cyprus (CYP) germinates only in the dark. To understand the transcriptional differences between the two accession, we performed RNA-seq analysis from imbibed seeds, which were kept either in darkness or under light for 23 hours. Results provide the first transcriptional comparison from light-neutral (TUR) and light-sensivite (CYP) seeds kept in darkness or exposed to light.
Project description:Genome-wide landscapes of transcription factor (TF) binding sites (BSs) diverge during evolution, conferring species-specific transcriptional patterns. The rate of divergence varies in different metazoan lineages but has not been widely studied in plants. We identified the BSs and assessed the effects on transcription of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) and PERPETUAL FLOWERING 1 (PEP1), two orthologous MADS-box TFs that repress flowering and confer vernalization requirement in the Brassicaceae species Arabidopsis thaliana and Arabis alpina, respectively. We found that only 17% of their BSs were conserved in both species and that these contained a CArG-box that is recognised by MADS-box TFs. The CArG-box consensus at conserved BSs was extended compared to the core motif. By contrast, species-specific BSs usually lacked the CArG-box in the other species. Flowering-time genes were highly overrepresented among conserved targets and their CArG-boxes were widely conserved among Brassicaceae species. Cold-regulated genes (COR) were also overrepresented among targets, but the cognate BSs and the identity of the regulated genes were different in each species. In cold, COR gene transcript levels were increased in flc and pep1-1 mutants compared to wild-type and this correlated with reduced growth in pep1-1. Therefore FLC orthologs regulate a set of conserved target genes mainly involved in reproductive development and were later independently recruited to modulate stress responses in different Brassicaceae lineages. Analysis of TF BSs in these lineages thus distinguishes widely conserved targets representing the core function of the TF from those that were recruited later in evolution.
Project description:We show that in Arabidopsis SIN3 LIKE (SNL)family genes encoding a scoffold protein for assembly of histone deacetylase complex, directly regulate the expression of an FT activator and three FT repressors to regulate the transition to flowering in short days and long days, respectively. Under inductive long days, SNLs including SIN3 LIKE 1(SNL1) to SNL5, function in partial redundancy to repress the expression of three AP2 family transcription factors that repress FT expression, and thus mediate long-day induction of FT expression and promote the transitiion to flowering. In contrast, under non-inductive short days SNLs act to inhibit the floral transition, partly through direct repression of a MADS box transcriptional factor that promotes FT expression. Thus, our results reveal that SNLs, through histone deacetylation, play a novel dual role for the control of flowering in the long-day plant Arabidopsis: inhibiting flowering when the day length is shorter and promoting the floral transition when days become longer than a threshold length.
Project description:The annual cleistogamous herb Cardamine kokaiensis is an endemic plant along the Kokai River in Japan. We examined the differences in gene expression patterns among cleistogamous (CL), intermediate (INT), and chasmogamous (CH) flower by cross-species microarray analysis using an Arabidopsis thaliana Affymetrix high-density oligonucleotide microarray (GeneChip ATH1). We then discuss the molecular basis of the evolution of cleistogamy. Our results help to clarify the molecular basis of the evolution of plant mating systems that depend on environmental conditions. CITATION: Ecogenomics of cleistogamous and chasmogamous flowering: genome-wide gene expression patterns from cross-species microarray analysis in Cardamine kokaiensis (Brassicaceae); Journal of Ecology 2008; Shin-Ichi Morinaga, Atsushi J. Nagano, Saori Miyazaki, Minoru Kubo, Taku Demura, Hiroo Fukuda, Satoki Sakai, Mitsuyasu Hasebe Experiment Overall Design: gDNA hybridyzation data was used to calibration of cross-species microarray using Affymetrix ATH1. CH, INT, and CL flowers of C. kokaiensis were induced the chilling treatment before germination for 14 days or after germination for 14 or 28 days, respectively. We performed two biological replications per flower. Data analysis was conducted according to Hammond et al. (2005) that described the methods of calibration by gDNA hybridization.
Project description:Heterochromatin constitutes a fundamental aspect of genomes that is crucial for maintaining genome stability. In flowering plants, maintenance of heterochromatin relies on a positive feedback loop involving the histone 3 lysine nine methyltransferase (H3K9), KRYPTONITE (KYP), and the DNA methyltransferase, CHROMOMETHYLASE3 (CMT3). An H3K9 demethylase, INCREASED IN BONSAI METHYLATION 1 (IBM1), has evolved to modulate the activity of KYP-CMT3 within transcribed genes. The absence of IBM1 activity results in aberrant methylation of gene bodies, which is deleterious. This study demonstrates extensive genetic and gene expression variations in KYP, CMT3, and IBM1 within and between flowering plant species. IBM1 activity in Arabidopsis thaliana is uniquely regulated by the abundance of H3K9me2 in a repetitive sequence within an intron preceding the histone demethylase domain. This mechanism enables IBM1 to monitor global levels of H3K9me2. We discovered that the methylated intron is prevalent across flowering plants, however, its underlying sequence exhibits dynamic evolution. Its absence in species lacking gene body DNA methylation suggests its primary role in sensing H3K9me2 and preventing its integration into these constitutively expressed genes. Furthermore, our investigation uncovered Arabidopsis thaliana accessions resembling weak ibm1 mutants, several Brassicaceae species with reduced IBM1 expression, and a potential IBM1 deletion. Evolution towards reduced IBM1 activity in some flowering plants could explain the frequent natural occurrence of diminished or lost CMT3 activity, as cmt3 mutants in A. thaliana mitigate the deleterious effects of IBM1.