title: The Arabidopsis RCC1 Family Protein TCF1 Regulates Freezing Tolerance and Cold Acclimation through Modulating Lignin Biosynthesis.
abstract: Cell water permeability and cell wall properties are critical to survival of plant cells during freezing, however the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we report that a specifically cold-induced nuclear protein, Tolerant to Chilling and Freezing 1 (TCF1), interacts with histones H3 and H4 and associates with chromatin containing a target gene, blue-copper-binding protein (BCB), encoding a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein that regulates lignin biosynthesis. Loss of TCF1 function leads to reduced BCB transcription through affecting H3K4me2 and H3K27me3 levels within the BCB gene, resulting in reduced lignin content and enhanced freezing tolerance. Furthermore, plants with knocked-down BCB expression (amiRNA-BCB) under cold acclimation had reduced lignin accumulation and increased freezing tolerance. The pal1pal2 double mutant (lignin content reduced by 30% compared with WT) also showed the freezing tolerant phenotype, and TCF1 and BCB act upstream of PALs to regulate lignin content. In addition, TCF1 acts independently of the CBF (C-repeat binding factor) pathway. Our findings delineate a novel molecular pathway linking the TCF1-mediated cold-specific transcriptional program to lignin biosynthesis, thus achieving cell wall remodeling with increased freezing tolerance.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Center for Agricultural Research Resources, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China; State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Hongtao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Center for Agricultural Research Resources, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China; State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Youning
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Bower Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cloix
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Center for Agricultural Research Resources, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China; State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Kexue
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Bower Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Gareth I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China.
authors.forename: Shuangfeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China.
authors.forename: Zhonglin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yiting
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shuhua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Center for Agricultural Research Resources, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China; State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization / Q000235:genetics*; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D003080:Cold Temperature; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006657:Histones / Q000235:genetics; D008031:Lignin / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D006657:Histones; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C000607110:TCF1 protein, Arabidopsis; C023548:copper-binding protein; D008031:Lignin