Feedback Regulation of FLC by FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and FD through a 5′ FLC Promoter Region in Arabidopsis

Luo, Xiao; Chen, Tao; Zeng, Xiaolin; He, Dingwei; He, Yuehui

doi:10.1016/j.molp.2019.01.013

Cited by 39 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…1B); instead, longer cold exposures of 8 and 12 wk were required for FT activation. In addition, it had previously been reported that FT feeds back to repress FLC at both vegetative and reproductive stages (Chen et al 2014;Chen and Penfield 2018;Luo et al 2019). Therefore, we wondered whether the lack of FT activation in Lov-1 after 4 wk of cold could explain FLC reactivation in that case and, more generally, the differences in the reactivation probability ( Fig.…”

Section: Ft Is Not Responsible For the Change In The Reactivation Promentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Thus, our data indicate that FT levels do not influence FLC epigenetic stability in Lov-1. Another possibility is that the Lov-1 polymorphisms could disrupt either or both of the previously reported FT-binding sites at FLC (Chen and Penfield 2018; Luo et al 2019). However, if FT was necessary for stable silencing of FLC, we would expect reactivation also in Col FRI in SD conditions where there is no FT.…”

Section: Ft Is Not Responsible For the Change In The Reactivation Promentioning

confidence: 97%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Noncoding SNPs influence a distinct phase of Polycomb silencing to destabilize long-term epigenetic memory at Arabidopsis FLC

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Arabidopsis thaliana, the cold-induced epigenetic regulation of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) involves distinct phases of Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) silencing. During cold, a PHD-PRC2 complex metastably and digitally nucleates H3K27me3 within FLC. On return to warm, PHD-PRC2 spreads across the locus delivering H3K27me3 to maintain long-term silencing. Here, we studied natural variation in this process in Arabidopsis accessions, exploring Lov-1, which shows FLC reactivation on return to warm, a feature characteristic of FLC in perennial Brassicaceae. This analysis identifies an additional phase in this Polycomb silencing mechanism downstream from H3K27me3 spreading. In this long-term silencing (perpetuated) phase, the PHD proteins are lost from the nucleation region and silencing is likely maintained by the read-write feedbacks associated with H3K27me3. A combination of noncoding SNPs in the nucleation region mediates instability in this long-term silencing phase with the result that Lov-1 FLC frequently digitally reactivates in individual cells, with a probability that diminishes with increasing cold duration. We propose that this decrease in reactivation probability is due to reduced DNA replication after flowering. Overall, this work defines an additional phase in the Polycomb mechanism instrumental in natural variation of silencing, and provides avenues to dissect broader evolutionary changes at FLC.

show abstract

Section: Ft Is Not Responsible For the Change In The Reactivation Promentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Ft Is Not Responsible For the Change In The Reactivation Promentioning

confidence: 97%

Noncoding SNPs influence a distinct phase of Polycomb silencing to destabilize long-term epigenetic memory at Arabidopsis FLC

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…RNA binding proteins of the autonomous pathway function to process COOLAIR, a set of lncRNAs transcribed antisense of FLC (Swiezewski et al, 2009;Hornyik et al, 2010;Whittaker and Dean, 2017). The significance of these lncRNAs in the regulation of vernalization remains controversial (Helliwell et al, 2011;Luo et al, 2019); however, much data have been gathered to indicate a functional if not essential role. The physical association of COOLAIR with FLC chromatin is associated with the reduction of H3K36me3 and H3K4me3, rendering the chromatin inactive (Csorba et al, 2014;Fang et al, 2020).…”

Section: Epigenetic Regulation Of Flc-like Genes In Cerealsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of FLOWERING LOCUS C Relatives in Cereals

Kennedy

Geuten

2020

Front. Plant Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) is one of the best characterized genes in plant research and is integral to vernalization-dependent flowering time regulation. Yet, despite the abundance of information on this gene and its relatives in Arabidopsis thaliana, the role FLC genes play in other species, in particular cereal crops and temperate grasses, remains elusive. This has been due in part to the comparative reduced availability of bioinformatic and mutant resources in cereals but also on the dominant effect in cereals of the VERNALIZATION (VRN) genes on the developmental process most associated with FLC in Arabidopsis. The strong effect of the VRN genes has led researchers to believe that the entire process of vernalization must have evolved separately in Arabidopsis and cereals. Yet, since the confirmation of the existence of FLC-like genes in monocots, new light has been shed on the roles these genes play in both vernalization and other mechanisms to fine tune development in response to specific environmental conditions. Comparisons of FLC gene function and their genetic and epigenetic regulation can now be made between Arabidopsis and cereals and how they overlap and diversify is coming into focus. With the advancement of genome editing techniques, further study on these genes is becoming increasingly easier, enabling us to investigate just how essential FLC-like genes are to modulating flowering time behavior in cereals.

show abstract

“…The natural variation studies implicating a functional role for COOLAIR in FLC regulation have been followed up by transgene experiments designed to further explore the mechanism of COOLAIR action (Csorba et al 2014;Wang et al 2014;Rosa et al 2016). However, in some cases, studies of transgenes aimed at attenuating antisense expression have concluded that COOLAIR expression is not required for vernalization (Helliwell et al 2011;Li et al 2018;Luo et al 2019;Luo and He 2020). This led to the suggestion that COOLAIR functions in FLC regulation at warm temperatures but potentially not in the cold.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural temperature fluctuations promote COOLAIR regulation of FLC

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plants monitor many aspects of their fluctuating environments to help align their development with seasons. Molecular understanding of how noisy temperature cues are registered has emerged from dissection of vernalization in Arabidopsis, which involves a multiphase cold-dependent silencing of the floral repressor locus FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). Cold-induced transcriptional silencing precedes a low probability PRC2 epigenetic switching mechanism. The epigenetic switch requires the absence of warm temperatures as well as long-term cold exposure. However, the natural temperature inputs into the earlier transcriptional silencing phase are less well understood.Here, through investigation of Arabidopsis accessions in natural and climatically distinct field sites, we show that the first seasonal frost strongly induces expression of COOLAIR, the antisense transcripts at FLC. Chamber experiments delivering a constant mean temperature with different fluctuations showed the freezing induction of COOLAIR correlates with stronger repression of FLC mRNA. Identification of a mutant that ectopically activates COOLAIR revealed how COOLAIR up-regulation can directly reduce FLC expression. Consistent with this, transgenes designed to knockout COOLAIR perturbed the early phase of FLC silencing. However, all transgenes designed to remove COOLAIR resulted in increased production of novel convergent FLC antisense transcripts. Our study reveals how natural temperature fluctuations promote COOLAIR regulation of FLC, with the first autumn frost acting as a key indicator of autumn/winter arrival.

show abstract

Feedback Regulation of FLC by FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and FD through a 5′ FLC Promoter Region in Arabidopsis

Cited by 39 publications

References 15 publications

Noncoding SNPs influence a distinct phase of Polycomb silencing to destabilize long-term epigenetic memory at Arabidopsis FLC

Noncoding SNPs influence a distinct phase of Polycomb silencing to destabilize long-term epigenetic memory at Arabidopsis FLC

The Role of FLOWERING LOCUS C Relatives in Cereals

Natural temperature fluctuations promote COOLAIR regulation of FLC

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About