title: Genetic identification of a novel locus, ACCELERATED FLOWERING 1 that controls chromatin modification associated with histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation in Arabidopsis thaliana.
abstract: Flowering on time is a critically important for successful reproduction of plants. Here we report an early-flowering mutant in Arabidopsis thaliana, accelerated flowering 1-1D (afl1-1D) that exhibited pleiotropic developmental defects including semi-dwarfism, curly leaf, and increased branching. Genetic analysis showed that afl1-1D mutant is a single, dominant mutant. Chromosomal mapping indicates that AFL1 resides at the middle of chromosome 4, around which no known flowering-related genes have been characterized. Expression analysis and double mutant studies with late flowering mutants in various floral pathways indicated that elevated FT is responsible for the early-flowering of afl1-1D mutant. Interestingly, not only flowering-related genes, but also several floral homeotic genes were ectopically overexpressed in the afl1-1D mutants in both FT-dependent and -independent manner. The degree of histone H3 Lys27-trimethylation (H3K27me3) was reduced in several chromatin including FT, FLC, AG and SEP3 in the afl1-1D, suggesting that afl1-1D might be involved in chromatin modification. In support, double mutant analysis of afl1-1D and lhp1-4 revealed epistatic interaction between afl1-1D and lhp1-4 in regard to flowering control. Taken together, we propose that AFL1 regulate various aspect of development through chromatin modification, particularly associated with H3K27me3 in A. thaliana.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, College of Life Science, Sejong University, Seoul 143-747, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sumin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kihye
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Inhye
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hae-Ryong
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Yoo-Sun
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Noh
authors.forename: Rin-A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seungjun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Soo-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Soon Ki
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sunghoon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Moon-Soo
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Soh
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D004843:Epistasis, Genetic; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D056426:Genetic Loci / Q000235:genetics*; D058685:Genetic Pleiotropy; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008239:Lysine / Q000378:metabolism*; D008745:Methylation; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D020161:Physical Chromosome Mapping
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D002843:Chromatin; C418905:FT protein, Arabidopsis; D006657:Histones; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D008239:Lysine