title: A SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex acts in noncoding RNA-mediated transcriptional silencing.
abstract: RNA-mediated transcriptional silencing prevents deleterious effects of transposon activity and controls the expression of protein-coding genes. It involves long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). In Arabidopsis thaliana, some of those lncRNAs are produced by a specialized RNA Polymerase V (Pol V). The mechanism by which lncRNAs affect chromatin structure and mRNA production remains mostly unknown. Here we identify the SWI/SNF ATP-dependent nucleosome-remodeling complex as a component of the RNA-mediated transcriptional silencing pathway. We found that SWI3B, an essential subunit of the SWI/SNF complex, physically interacts with a lncRNA-binding protein, IDN2. SWI/SNF subunits contribute to lncRNA-mediated transcriptional silencing. Moreover, Pol V mediates stabilization of nucleosomes on silenced regions. We propose that Pol V-produced lncRNAs mediate transcriptional silencing by guiding the SWI/SNF complex and establishing positioned nucleosomes on specific genomic loci. We further propose that guiding ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling complexes may be a more general function of lncRNAs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Yongyou
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: M Jordan
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rowley
authors.forename: Gudrun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Böhmdorfer
authors.forename: Andrzej T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Wierzbicki
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; D019175:DNA Methylation; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000378:metabolism; D034622:RNA Interference; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques
chemical_list: C463463:ATSWI3B protein, Arabidopsis; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C545931:IDN2 protein, Arabidopsis; D009707:Nucleosomes; D021122:Protein Subunits; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding; D018749:RNA, Plant; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C538841:RNA polymerase V, Arabidopsis; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases