ABSTRACT
Arabidopsis thaliana SWP73A and SWP73B are homologs of mammalian BRAHMA-associated factors (BAF60s) that tether SWITCH/SUCROSE NONFERMENTING chromatin remodeling complexes to transcription factors of genes regulating various cell differentiation pathways. Here, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana SWP73s modulate several important developmental pathways. While undergoing normal vegetative development, swp73a mutants display reduced expression of FLOWERING LOCUS C and early flowering in short days. By contrast, swp73b mutants are characterized by retarded growth, severe defects in leaf and flower development, delayed flowering, and male sterility. MNase-Seq, transcript profiling, and ChIP-Seq studies demonstrate that SWP73B binds the promoters of ASYMMETRIC LEAVES1 and 2, KANADI1 and 3, and YABBY2, 3, and 5 genes, which regulate leaf development and show coordinately altered transcription in swp73b plants. Lack of SWP73B alters the expression patterns of APETALA1, APETALA3, and the MADS box gene AGL24, whereas other floral organ identity genes show reduced expression correlating with defects in flower development. Consistently, SWP73B binds to the promoter regions of APETALA1 and 3, SEPALLATA3, LEAFY, UNUSUAL FLORAL ORGANS, TERMINAL FLOWER1, AGAMOUS-LIKE24, and SUPPRESSOR OF CONSTANS OVEREXPRESSION1 genes, and the swp73b mutation alters nucleosome occupancy on most of these loci. In conclusion, SWP73B acts as important modulator of major developmental pathways, while SWP73A functions in flowering time control.
Subject(s)
Arabidopsis Proteins/metabolism , Arabidopsis/metabolism , Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone/metabolism , Flowers/growth & development , Flowers/metabolism , Plant Leaves/growth & development , Plant Leaves/metabolism , Protein Subunits/metabolism , Transcription Factors/metabolism , Arabidopsis/embryology , Arabidopsis/genetics , Arabidopsis Proteins/genetics , Chromatin Immunoprecipitation , Flowers/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Micrococcal Nuclease/metabolism , Mutagenesis, Insertional/genetics , Mutation/genetics , Nucleosomes/metabolism , Plant Leaves/genetics , Promoter Regions, Genetic/genetics , Protein Binding , Protein Subunits/genetics , RNA, Messenger/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Two-Hybrid System TechniquesABSTRACT
SWITCH/SUCROSE NONFERMENTING (SWI/SNF) chromatin-remodeling complexes mediate ATP-dependent alterations of DNA-histone contacts. The minimal functional core of conserved SWI/SNF complexes consists of a SWI2/SNF2 ATPase, SNF5, SWP73, and a pair of SWI3 subunits. Because of early duplication of the SWI3 gene family in plants, Arabidopsis thaliana encodes four SWI3-like proteins that show remarkable functional diversification. Whereas ATSWI3A and ATSWI3B form homodimers and heterodimers and interact with BSH/SNF5, ATSWI3C, and the flowering regulator FCA, ATSWI3D can only bind ATSWI3B in yeast two-hybrid assays. Mutations of ATSWI3A and ATSWI3B arrest embryo development at the globular stage. By a possible imprinting effect, the atswi3b mutations result in death for approximately half of both macrospores and microspores. Mutations in ATSWI3C cause semidwarf stature, inhibition of root elongation, leaf curling, aberrant stamen development, and reduced fertility. Plants carrying atswi3d mutations display severe dwarfism, alterations in the number and development of flower organs, and complete male and female sterility. These data indicate that, by possible contribution to the combinatorial assembly of different SWI/SNF complexes, the ATSWI3 proteins perform nonredundant regulatory functions that affect embryogenesis and both the vegetative and reproductive phases of plant development.
Subject(s)
Arabidopsis Proteins/metabolism , Arabidopsis/growth & development , Arabidopsis/genetics , Chromatin/metabolism , Protein Subunits/metabolism , RNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism , Animals , Arabidopsis/anatomy & histology , Arabidopsis Proteins/classification , Arabidopsis Proteins/genetics , DNA, Plant , Humans , Macromolecular Substances , Molecular Sequence Data , Multigene Family , Mutation , Phylogeny , Protein Isoforms/classification , Protein Isoforms/genetics , Protein Isoforms/metabolism , Protein Subunits/classification , Protein Subunits/genetics , RNA-Binding Proteins/classification , RNA-Binding Proteins/genetics , Two-Hybrid System TechniquesABSTRACT
ATP-dependent nucleosome remodeling plays a central role in the regulation of access to chromatin DNA. Swi/Snf remodeling complexes characterized in yeast, Drosophila and mammals all contain a conserved set of core subunits composed of homologs of yeast SNF2-type DNA-dependent ATPase, SNF5 and SWI3 proteins. So far, no complete Swi/Snf-type complex has been characterized in plants. Arabidopsis contains a single SNF5-type gene, BSH, which has been shown to complement the yeast snf5 mutation. Here we describe the characterization of AtSWI3B, the smallest of the four Arabidopsis homologs of SWI3. The gene encoding AtSWI3B is expressed ubiquitously in the plant. AtSWI3B is localized to nuclei and is associated mostly with the chromatin and soluble protein fractions. When expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the cDNA encoding AtSWI3B partially complements the swi3 mutant phenotype. However, like BSH, AtSWI3B is unable to activate transcription in yeast when tethered to DNA. The analysis by yeast two-hybrid indicates that AtSWI3B is capable of forming homodimers and interacts with BSH as well as with two other members of the Arabidopsis SWI3 family: AtSWI3A and AtSWI3C. The results of phage display screen using recombinant protein, confirmed by direct yeast two-hybrid analyses, indicate that AtSWI3B interacts with FCA, a regulator of flowering time in Arabidopsis. This interaction is through the C-terminal region of FCA, located outside the conserved RNA- and protein-binding domains of this protein.