Chimeric Activators and Repressors Define HY5 Activity and Reveal a Light-Regulated Feedback Mechanism

Burko, Y., Seluzicki, A., Zander, M., Pedmale, U., Ecker, J.R., Chory, J. (February 2020) Chimeric Activators and Repressors Define HY5 Activity and Reveal a Light-Regulated Feedback Mechanism. Plant Cell. ISSN 1040-4651

URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32086365
DOI: 10.1105/tpc.19.00772

Abstract

The first exposure to light marks a crucial transition in plant development. This transition relies on the transcription factor HY5 controlling a complex downstream growth program. Despite its importance, its function in transcription remains unclear. Previous studies have generated lists of thousands of potential target genes and competing models of HY5 transcription regulation. In this work, we carry out detailed phenotypic and molecular analysis of constitutive activator and repressor HY5 fusion proteins. Using this strategy, we were able to filter out large numbers of genes that are unlikely to be direct targets, allowing us to eliminate several proposed models of HY5's mechanism of action. We demonstrate that the primary activity of HY5 is promoting transcription, and that this function relies on other, likely light-regulated, factors. In addition, this approach reveals a molecular feedback loop via the COP1/SPA E3-ubiquitin ligase complex suggesting novel mechanism which maintains low HY5 in the dark, primed for rapid accumulation to reprogram growth upon light exposure. Our strategy is broadly adaptable to the study of transcription factor activity. Lastly, we show that modulating this feedback loop can generate significant phenotypic diversity in both Arabidopsis and tomato.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: organism description > plant > Arabidopsis
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > transcription
organism description > plant
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Pedmale lab
Depositing User: Adrian Gomez
Date: 21 February 2020
Date Deposited: 06 Apr 2020 14:43
Last Modified: 29 Jan 2024 20:31
PMCID: PMC7145465
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/39227

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