title: Depletion of Arabidopsis SC35 and SC35-like serine/arginine-rich proteins affects the transcription and splicing of a subset of genes.
abstract: Serine/arginine-rich (SR) proteins are important splicing factors which play significant roles in spliceosome assembly and splicing regulation. However, little is known regarding their biological functions in plants. Here, we analyzed the phenotypes of mutants upon depleting different subfamilies of Arabidopsis SR proteins. We found that loss of the functions of SC35 and SC35-like (SCL) proteins cause pleiotropic changes in plant morphology and development, including serrated leaves, late flowering, shorter roots and abnormal silique phyllotaxy. Using RNA-seq, we found that SC35 and SCL proteins play roles in the pre-mRNA splicing. Motif analysis revealed that SC35 and SCL proteins preferentially bind to a specific RNA sequence containing the AGAAGA motif. In addition, the transcriptions of a subset of genes are affected by the deletion of SC35 and SCL proteins which interact with NRPB4, a specific subunit of RNA polymerase II. The splicing of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) intron1 and transcription of FLC were significantly regulated by SC35 and SCL proteins to control Arabidopsis flowering. Therefore, our findings provide mechanistic insight into the functions of plant SC35 and SCL proteins in the regulation of splicing and transcription in a direct or indirect manner to maintain the proper expression of genes and development.
authors.affiliation: National key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Qingqing
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0178-2481
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: National key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: National key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Zhenfei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: National key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yuda
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7391-0246
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D018525:Germination; D007438:Introns; D026161:MADS Domain Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009154:Mutation; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000235:genetics; D012322:RNA Precursors / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D012639:Seeds / Q000378:metabolism; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D012694:Serine / Q000235:genetics; D000068103:Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C418902:At5g10140 protein, Arabidopsis; D026161:MADS Domain Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012322:RNA Precursors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018749:RNA, Plant; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C000619916:SC35 protein, Arabidopsis; C000619917:SC35-like protein, Arabidopsis; D000068103:Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors; D012694:Serine; D012319:RNA Polymerase II