The transcription factor MYB43 antagonizes with ICE1 to regulate freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis.

Previous discovering meticulously illustrates the post-translational modifications and protein stability regulation of ICE1 and their role in cold stress. However, the studies on the interaction of ICE1 with other transcription factors, and their function in modulation cold stress tolerance, as well as in the transition between cold stress and growth are largely insufficient. In this work, we found that maltose binding protein (MBP) 43 directly binds to the promoters of CBF genes to repress their expression, thereby negatively regulating freezing tolerance. Biochemical and genetic analyses showed that MYB43 interacts and antagonizes with ICE1 to regulate the expression of CBF genes and plant's freezing stress tolerance. PLEIOTROPIC REGULATORY LOCUS 1 (PRL1) accumulates under cold stress and promotes MYB43 protein degradation; however, when cold stress disappears, PRL1 restores normal protein levels, causing MYB43 protein to re-accumulate to normal levels. Furthermore, PRL1 positively regulates freezing tolerance by promoting degradation of MYB43 to attenuate its repression of CBF genes and antagonism with ICE1. Thus, our study reveals that MYB43 inhibits CBF genes expression under normal growth condition, while PRL1 promotes MYB43 protein degradation to attenuate its repression of CBF genes and antagonism with ICE1, and thereby to the precise modulation of plant cold stress responses.