Gene-specific translation regulation mediated by the hormone-signaling molecule EIN2.
The central role of translation in modulating gene activity has long been recognized, yet the systematic exploration of quantitative changes in translation at a genome-wide scale in response to a specific stimulus has only recently become technically feasible. Using the well-characterized signaling pathway of the phytohormone ethylene and plant-optimized genome-wide ribosome footprinting, we have uncovered a molecular mechanism linking this hormone's perception to the activation of a gene-specific translational control mechanism. Characterization of one of the targets of this translation regulatory machinery, the ethylene signaling component EBF2, indicates that the signaling molecule EIN2 and the nonsense-mediated decay proteins UPFs play a central role in this ethylene-induced translational response. Furthermore, the 3'UTR of EBF2 is sufficient to confer translational regulation and required for the proper activation of ethylene responses. These findings represent a mechanistic paradigm of gene-specific regulation of translation in response to a key growth regulator.
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA; IHSM-UMA-CSIC, Departamento de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica, Universidad de Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain.
Catharina
C
Merchante
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Javier
J
Brumos
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Jeonga
J
Yun
Department of Computer Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Qiwen
Q
Hu
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Kristina R
KR
Spencer
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Paul
P
Enríquez
Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
Brad M
BM
Binder
Department of Computer Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Steffen
S
Heber
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA; Genetics Graduate Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA. Electronic address: atstepan@ncsu.edu.
Anna N
AN
Stepanova
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA; Genetics Graduate Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA. Electronic address: jmalonso@ncsu.edu.
Jose M
JM
Alonso
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005030:Ethylenes / Q000378:metabolism; D044783:F-Box Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism*; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C481045:EBF2 protein, Arabidopsis; C119963:EIN2 protein, Arabidopsis; C106987:EIN3 protein, Arabidopsis; D005030:Ethylenes; D044783:F-Box Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D014157:Transcription Factors; C036216:ethylene