MERISTEM-DEFECTIVE regulates the balance between stemness and differentiation in the root meristem through RNA splicing control.

ABSTRACT: Plants respond to environmental stresses through controlled stem cell maintenance and meristem activity. One level of gene regulation is RNA alternative splicing. However, the mechanistic link between stress, meristem function and RNA splicing is poorly understood. The MERISTEM-DEFECTIVE (MDF) Arabidopsis gene encodes an SR-related family protein, required for meristem function and leaf vascularization, and is the likely orthologue of the human SART1 and yeast Snu66 splicing factors. MDF is required for the correct splicing and expression of key transcripts associated with root meristem function. We identified RSZ33 and ACC1, both known to regulate cell patterning, as splicing targets required for MDF function in the meristem. MDF expression is modulated by osmotic and cold stress, associa

SUBMITTER: Thompson HL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10112893 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature