Rice Homeodomain Protein WOX11 Recruits a Histone Acetyltransferase Complex to Establish Programs of Cell Proliferation of Crown Root Meristem

Abstract

Shoot-borne crown roots are the major root system in cereals. Previous work has shown that the Wuschel-related homeobox gene WOX11 is necessary and sufficient to promote rice (Oryza sativa) crown root emergence and elongation. Here, we show that WOX11 recruits the ADA2-GCN5 histone acetyltransferase module to activate downstream target genes in crown root meristem. Rice ADA2 and GCN5 genes are highly expressed in root meristem and are shown to be essential for cell division and growth. WOX11 and ADA2-GCN5 commonly target and regulate a set of root-specific genes involved in energy metabolism, cell wall biosynthesis, and hormone response, some of which are known to be important for root development. The results indicate that the recruitment of ADA2-GCN5 by WOX11 establishes gene expression programs of crown root meristem cell division and suggest that permissive chromatin modification involving histone acetylation is a strategy for WOX11 to stimulate root meristem development.

Inference of the gene regulatory network acting downstream of CROWN ROOTLESS 1 in rice reveals a regulatory cascade linking genes involved in auxin signaling, crown root initiation, and root meristem specification and maintenance

“…OsWOX11 is required for YUCCA‐overexpression induced CR proliferation (Qiao et al ., ). Furthermore, OsWOX11 can recruit the ADA2‐GCN5 histone acetyltransferase module to activate downstream target genes involved in CR development (Zhou et al ., ). OsWOX11 expression is downregulated in the loss‐of‐function crl6 background, suggesting a regulatory link between these two genes.…”

The AREB1 Transcription Factor Influences Histone Acetylation to Regulate Drought Responses and Tolerance in Populus trichocarpa

“…TFs typically interact with transcriptional coactivators for binding to the specific regions of their target gene promoters for transcriptional regulation (Stockinger et al, 2001;Mao et al, 2006;Weiste and Dröge-Laser, 2014;Zhou et al, 2017). The SAGA (Spt-Ada-Gcn5 acetyltransferase) complex is a highly conserved transcriptional coactivator that is involved in the transcription of nearly all active genes in yeast and plants (Koutelou et al, 2010;Bonnet et al, 2014;Zhou et al, 2017). We hypothesized that an ADA2b-GCN5 HAT complex (Vlachonasios et al, 2003) may be recruited to the promoters of drought-tolerance effector genes, such as the PtrNAC genes, by AREB1 to elevate the acetylation of H3K9, leading to the activation of these effector genes.…”

“…Mutations in GCN5 and ADA2 affect the expression of several cold-regulated genes leading to reduced tolerance to freezing temperatures (Vlachonasios et al, 2003). GCN5 and ADA2 are required for root meristem development in Arabidopsis and rice (Oryza sativa; Kornet and Scheres, 2009;Zhou et al, 2017). GCN5mediated histone acetylation plays important roles in regulating the transcriptional responses necessary for growth and adaptation to abiotic stress.…”

A Core Regulatory Pathway Controlling Rice Tiller Angle Mediated by the LAZY1-Dependent Asymmetric Distribution of Auxin

“…In this study, we identified two gravity-responsive TF genes, WOX6 and WOX11, which function downstream of auxin in shoot gravitropism. Previous studies showed that the rice WOX gene family plays diverse roles in shoot, root, trichome, and leaf development (Li et al, 2012;Lu et al, 2015b;Tanaka et al, 2015;Wang et al, 2017a;Zhou et al, 2017). In Arabidopsis, AtWOX11 and AtWOX12, orthologs of rice WOX6 and WOX11, respectively, are reported to play roles in root development (Liu et al, 2014;Hu and Xu, 2016;Sheng et al, 2017).…”