title: The Arabidopsis thaliana elongator complex subunit 2 epigenetically affects root development.
abstract: The elongator complex subunit 2 (ELP2) protein, one subunit of an evolutionarily conserved histone acetyltransferase complex, has been shown to participate in leaf patterning, plant immune and abiotic stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, its role in root development was explored. Compared to the wild type, the elp2 mutant exhibited an accelerated differentiation of its root stem cells and cell division was more active in its quiescent centre (QC). The key transcription factors responsible for maintaining root stem cell and QC identity, such as AP2 transcription factors PLT1 (PLETHORA1) and PLT2 (PLETHORA2), GRAS transcription factors such as SCR (SCARECROW) and SHR (SHORT ROOT) and WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX5 transcription factor WOX5, were all strongly down-regulated in the mutant. On the other hand, expression of the G2/M transition activator CYCB1 was substantially induced in elp2. The auxin efflux transporters PIN1 and PIN2 showed decreased protein levels and PIN1 also displayed mild polarity alterations in elp2, which resulted in a reduced auxin content in the root tip. Either the acetylation or methylation level of each of these genes differed between the mutant and the wild type, suggesting that the ELP2 regulation of root development involves the epigenetic modification of a range of transcription factors and other developmental regulators.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China.
authors.forename: Yuebin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China.
authors.forename: Huiyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Hongjiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China.
authors.forename: Qianqian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Jiri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Friml
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China dingzhaojun@sdu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhaojun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ding
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C585566:ELP2 protein, Arabidopsis; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases
keywords: Auxin ELP2; epigenetics; root.