title: RDM4 modulates cold stress resistance in Arabidopsis partially through the CBF-mediated pathway.
abstract: The C-REPEAT-BINDING FACTOR (CBF) pathway has important roles in plant responses to cold stress. How the CBF genes themselves are activated after cold acclimation remains poorly understood. In this study, we characterized cold tolerance of null mutant of RNA-DIRECTED DNA METHYLATION 4 (RDM4), which encodes a protein that associates with RNA polymerases Pol V and Pol II, and is required for RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) in Arabidopsis. The results showed that dysfunction of RDM4 reduced cold tolerance, as evidenced by decreased survival and increased electrolyte leakage. Mutation of RDM4 resulted in extensive transcriptomic reprogramming. CBFs and CBF regulon genes were down-regulated in rdm4 but not nrpe1 (the largest subunit of PolV) mutants, suggesting that the role of RDM4 in cold stress responses is independent of the RdDM pathway. Overexpression of RDM4 constitutively increased the expression of CBFs and regulon genes and decreased cold-induced membrane injury. A great proportion of genes affected by rdm4 overlapped with those affected by CBFs. Chromatin immunoprecipitation results suggested that RDM4 is important for Pol II occupancy at the promoters of CBF2 and CBF3. We present evidence of a considerable role for RDM4 in regulating gene expression at low temperature, including the CBF pathway in Arabidopsis.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430074, China.|Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology and Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Zhulong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430074, China.
authors.forename: Yanping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology and Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Minjie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47906, USA.|College of Life Science and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin, Sichuan, 644000, China.
authors.forename: Yuehua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47906, USA.|College of Life Science, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaan'xi, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Zixin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.affiliation: Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47906, USA.|Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Plateau Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai, 810001, China.
authors.forename: Haiqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47906, USA.|College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
authors.forename: Yuanlei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47906, USA.|Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 100093, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, 102206, China.
authors.forename: Xin-Jian
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology and Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.|Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47906, USA.
authors.forename: Jian-Kang
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005615:Freezing; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D063990:Gene Ontology; D017343:Genes, Plant; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000235:genetics; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000502:physiology; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D011485:Protein Binding; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D036226:Seedlings / Q000378:metabolism; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C118228:CBF2 protein, Arabidopsis; C548147:DMS4 protein, Arabidopsis; C114578:DREB1A protein, Arabidopsis; D004573:Electrolytes; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; D012319:RNA Polymerase II
keywords: C-REPEAT-BINDING FACTOR (CBF); Pol II; RNA-DIRECTED DNA METHYLATION 4 (RDM4); RNA-directed DNA methylation; cold; transcriptome