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- Title
Cooperative transcriptional regulation by ATAF1 and HY5 promotes light-induced cotyledon opening in Arabidopsis thaliana.
- Authors
Yao, Xiuhong; Fang, Ke; Qiao, Kang; Xiong, Jiawei; Lan, Jiayi; Chen, Juan; Tian, Yuang; Kang, Xinke; Lei, Wei; Zhang, Dawei; Lin, Honghui
- Abstract
The opening of the embryonic leaves (cotyledons) as seedlings emerge from the dark soil into the light is crucial to ensure the survival of the plant. Seedlings that sprout in the dark elongate rapidly to reach light but keep their cotyledons closed. During de-etiolation, the transition from dark to light growth, elongation slows and the cotyledons open. Here, we report that the transcription factor ACTIVATING FACTOR1 (ATAF1) participates in de-etiolation and facilitates light-induced cotyledon opening. The transition from dark to light rapidly induced ATAF1 expression and ATAF1 accumulation in cotyledons. Seedlings lacking or overexpressing ATAF1 exhibited reduced or enhanced cotyledon opening, respectively, and transcriptomic analysis indicated that ATAF1 repressed the expression of genes associated with growth and cotyledon closure. The activation of the photoreceptor phytochrome A (phyA) by far-red light induced its association with the ATAF1 promoter and stimulation of ATAF1 expression. The transcription factor ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL5 (HY5), which is also activated in response far-red light, cooperated with phyA to induce ATAF1 expression. ATAF1 and HY5 interacted with one another and cooperatively repressed the expression of growth-promoting and cotyledon closure genes. Together, our study reveals a mechanism through which far-red light promotes cotyledon opening. Editor's summary: Seedlings elongate rapidly in the dark but slow their growth and open their cotyledons (embryonic leaves) after exposure to light. Yao et al. identified a network of light-regulated transcription factors that stimulate these changes in response to far-red light. Exposure of Arabidopsis seedlings to far-red light stimulated phytochrome A and the transcription factor HY5 to induce expression of the transcription factor ATAF1. Cooperation of ATAF1 and HY5 repressed the expression of genes that promote seedling elongation and maintain cotyledon closure. These findings elucidate a complex network of transcription factors that slow growth and stimulate cotyledon opening when seedlings reach light. —Annalisa M. VanHook
- Subjects
GENETIC transcription regulation; COTYLEDONS; PHYTOCHROMES; TRANSCRIPTION factors
- Publication
Science Signaling, 2024, Vol 17, Issue 817, p1
- ISSN
1945-0877
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1126/scisignal.adf7318