The over-expression of a chrysanthemum gene encoding an RNA polymerase II CTD phosphatase-like 1 enzyme enhances tolerance to heat stress.

The enzyme RNAPII CTD phosphatase-like 1 is known as a transcriptional regulator of the plant response to various abiotic stresses. Here, the isolation of , a chrysanthemum () gene encoding this enzyme is described. Its predicted 955 residue gene product includes the FCPH catalytic domain, two double-stranded RNA binding motifs, and a nuclear localization signal. A sub-cellular localization assay confirmed that CmCPL1 was expressed in the nucleus. transcription was shown to be significantly inducible by heat stress. The over-expression and knockdown of , respectively, increased and diminished the tolerance of chrysanthemum to heat stress, which maybe dependent on the regulation of CmCPL1 and on the expression of downstream heat stress-responsive genes.