Project description:The size and shape of plant organs are highly responsive to environmental conditions. The plant's embryonic stem, or hypocotyl, displays phenotypic plasticity, in response to light and temperature. The, hypocotyl of shade avoiding species elongate to outcompete neighbouring plants and secure access to sunlight. Similar elongation occurs in high temperature. PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs) family transcription are known to be importenet players in these responses. However, it is poorly understood how environmental light and temperature interact to affect plants development. We found that low R/FR combined with warm temperature produces a synergistic hypocotyl growth response that dependent on PIF7 and the hormone auxin. We demonstrate that additional, unknown factor/s must be working downstream of the phyB-PIF-auxin module. As shade responses are known to affect yield, susceptibility to pathogens, and fruit quality in many species, our findings will improve the predictions of how plants will respond to increased ambient temperatures when grown at high density, a condition in which mutual shading occurs.
Project description:The size and shape of plant organs are highly responsive to the local environmental conditions. The embryonic stem, or hypocotyl, of the plant is one such organ that displays impressive phenotypic plasticity, and its length is affected by both light and temperature. After sensing surrounding vegetation, hypocotyls of shade avoiding species elongate to outcompete neighbouring plants and secure access to sunlight. A similar elongation response occurs when the plants are grown in high ambient temperatures. Previous studies have shown that this response is mediated by a family of transcription factors called PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs). However, it is poorly understood how environmental light and temperature interact to affect plants at the morphological and molecular levels. Here, we examine the genetic and molecular basis of the response to low R/FR under warm ambient temperatures. We found that low R/FR combined with warm temperature dominantly regulate by PIF7 and exhibit a synergistic effect on hypocotyl growth, greater than either stimulus alone. While the synergistic response was dependent on PIF7 and the plant hormone auxin, we demonstrate that additional, yet unknown key factor/s must be involved, likely working downstream of the phyB-PIF-auxin module. As shade responses are known to affect crop yield and fruit quality in many species, our findings will improve the predictions of how plants will respond to increased ambient temperatures when grown at high density, a condition in which mutual shading occurs. In addition, we point out key factors in this response that can potentially be modulated to minimize the negative effect on yield.
Project description:The size of plant organs is highly responsive to environmental conditions. The plant's embryonic stem, or hypocotyl, displays phenotypic plasticity, in response to light and temperature. The hypocotyl of shade avoiding species elongates to outcompete neighboring plants and secure access to sunlight. Similar elongation occurs in high temperature. However, it is poorly understood how environmental light and temperature cues interact to effect plant growth. We found that shade combined with warm temperature produces a synergistic hypocotyl growth response that dependent on PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 7 (PIF7) and auxin. This unique but agriculturally relevant scenario was almost totally independent on PIF4 activity. We show that warm temperature is sufficient to promote PIF7 DNA binding but not transcriptional activation and we demonstrate that additional, unknown factor/s must be working downstream of the phyB-PIF-auxin module. Our findings will improve the predictions of how plants will respond to increased ambient temperatures when grown at high density.
Project description:For shade-intolerant plants, changes in light quality indicative of competition from neighboring plants trigger shade avoidance syndrome (SAS). PYHTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 7 is the major transcriptional regulator of SAS in Arabidopsis. However, the epigenetic reprogramming under shade is poorly understood. To identify the histone chaperone ASF1 and HIRA function during SAS, we performed transcriptome deep sequencing (RNA-seq) to search for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by comparing transcript levels between Col-0 and pif7-1, asf1ab, or hira-1 seedlings during white light and shade conditions. Our data shown that histone chaperone ASF1, through interacting with PIF7 and helping of HIRA, positively regulates shade-induced genes expression.
Project description:Shade avoidance helps plants maximize their access to light for growth under crowding. It is unknown, however, whether a priming shade avoidance mechanism exists that allows plants to respond more effectively to successive shade conditions. Here, we show that the shade-intolerant plant Arabidopsis can remember a first experienced shade event and respond more efficiently to the next event on hypocotyl elongation. The transcriptional regulator PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 7 (PIF7) and the histone H3K27-demethylase RELATIVE OF EARLY FLOWERING 6 (REF6) were identified as being required for this shade avoidance memory. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that shade induction of shade memory-related genes was impaired in the pif7 and ref6 mutants. Based on the enrichments of H3K27me3, REF6 and PIF7, we found that priming shade treatment induced PIF7 accumulation, which further recruited REF6 to demethylate H3K27me3 on the chromatin of certain memory-related genes, leading to a state poised for their transcription. Upon the second shade treatment, enhanced shade-mediated induction of these genes resulted in stronger hypocotyl growth responses. We conclude that the transcriptional memory mediated by epigenetic modification plays a key role in the ability of primed plants to remember previously experienced shade and acquire enhanced responses to recurring shade conditions.
Project description:ChIP-Seq were performed using 35S::GFP-ASF1A, pHTR13::HTR13-HA, pHTR5::HTR5-HA, and pHTR5::HTR5-HA/pif7-1 transgenic plants after white light and 1 hr shade treatment. Two biological replicates were prepared for each genotype of plants grown under light and shade conditions. High-confidence binding peaks with cut off fold change > 1.5 and P-value <0.01. Our data reveal that ASF1 directly regulating a subset of target genes of PIF7. Furthermore, shade-elicited gene activation is accompanied by H3.3 enrichment, which is mediated by the PIF7-ASF1 regulatory module.