Department of Molecular Biosciences and The Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
Plant J. 2020 Aug;103(4):1490-1502. doi: 10.1111/tpj.14817. Epub 2020 Jun 22.
Vernalization accelerates flowering after prolonged winter cold. Transcriptional and epigenetic changes are known to be involved in the regulation of the vernalization response. Despite intensive applications of next-generation sequencing in diverse aspects of plant research, genome-wide transcriptome and epigenome profiling during the vernalization response has not been conducted. In this work, to our knowledge, we present the first comprehensive analyses of transcriptomic and epigenomic dynamics during the vernalization process in Arabidopsis thaliana. Six major clusters of genes exhibiting distinctive features were identified. Temporary changes in histone H3K4me3 levels were observed that likely coordinate photosynthesis and prevent oxidative damage during cold exposure. In addition, vernalization induced a stable accumulation of H3K27me3 over genes encoding many development-related transcription factors, which resulted in either inhibition of transcription or a bivalent status of the genes. Lastly, FLC-like and VIN3-like genes were identified that appear to be novel components of the vernalization pathway.
春化作用可加速冬季寒冷后开花。已知转录和表观遗传变化参与了春化反应的调控。尽管在植物研究的各个方面都广泛应用了下一代测序技术，但在春化反应过程中尚未进行全基因组转录组和表观基因组分析。在这项工作中，据我们所知，我们首次全面分析了拟南芥春化过程中的转录组和表观基因组动态。确定了具有独特特征的 6 个主要基因簇。观察到组蛋白 H3K4me3 水平的暂时变化，这可能协调光合作用并防止在寒冷暴露期间发生氧化损伤。此外，春化作用诱导了许多与发育相关的转录因子编码基因上 H3K27me3 的稳定积累，导致转录抑制或基因的双重状态。最后，鉴定出了与 FLC 类似和 VIN3 类似的基因，它们似乎是春化途径的新组成部分。
