Evolutionary conservation of cold-induced antisense RNAs of FLOWERING LOCUS C in Arabidopsis thaliana perennial relatives

Antisense RNA (asRNA) COOLAIR is expressed at A. thaliana FLOWERING LOCUS C ( FLC ) in response to winter temperatures. Its contribution to cold-induced silencing of FLC was proposed but its functional and evolutionary significance remain unclear. Here we identify a highly conserved block containing...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2014-07, Vol.5 (1), p.4457-4457, Article 4457
Main Authors: Castaings, Loren, Bergonzi, Sara, Albani, Maria C., Kemi, Ulla, Savolainen, Outi, Coupland, George
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
38
42
631/181/735
631/449/1659
Arabidopsis - genetics
Arabidopsis - metabolism
Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics
Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism
Cold Temperature
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
Genes
Humanities and Social Sciences
MADS Domain Proteins - genetics
multidisciplinary
Proteins
RNA, Antisense - genetics
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Antisense RNA (asRNA) COOLAIR is expressed at A. thaliana FLOWERING LOCUS C ( FLC ) in response to winter temperatures. Its contribution to cold-induced silencing of FLC was proposed but its functional and evolutionary significance remain unclear. Here we identify a highly conserved block containing the COOLAIR first exon and core promoter at the 3′ end of several FLC orthologues. Furthermore, asRNAs related to COOLAIR are expressed at FLC loci in the perennials A. alpina and A. lyrata , although some splicing variants differ from A. thaliana . Study of the A. alpina orthologue, PERPETUAL FLOWERING 1 ( PEP1 ), demonstrates that AaCOOLAIR is induced each winter of the perennial life cycle. Introduction of PEP1 into A. thaliana reveals that AaCOOLAIR cis -elements confer cold-inducibility in this heterologous species while the difference between PEP1 and FLC mRNA patterns depends on both cis -elements and species-specific trans -acting factors. Thus, expression of COOLAIR is highly conserved, supporting its importance in FLC regulation. FLOWERING LOCUS C ( FLC ) is thought to control the flowering time of A. thaliana in response to winter temperatures, in a process known as vernalization. Here, the authors suggest that the COOLAIR antisense RNA, which is conserved across plant species, acts to repress the expression of FLC during vernalization.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/ncomms5457