Project description:Functions of Arabidopsis REI1-LIKE (REIL) proteins, two homologs of a yeast ribosome biogenesis protein (RBP) that takes part in the late cytoplasmic steps of 60S ribosomal subunit maturation, were characterized by systems analyses of the 10°C cold acclimating reil1-1 reil2-1 double mutant compared to Col-0 wildtype. The mutant lacked both REIL proteins, was strongly growth inhibited in the cold and complemented by constitutive expression of N-terminal FLUORESCENT PROTEIN (FP)-REIL1 and FP-REIL2 fusion proteins under control of the UBIQUITIN 10 promoter. Wildtype acclimation to 10°C causes relative accumulation of cytosolic ribosome subunits and rRNA. Expression of cytosolic ribosomal genes, known cytosolic RBPs, translation initiation- and elongation-factors was activated. Conserved function of Arabidopsis REIL proteins was indicated by delay of these processes in reil1-1 reil2-1, cytosolic localization of FP-REIL proteins and native REIL protein interactions with 60S containing ribosome fractions. Non-acclimated reil1-1 reil2-1 triggered plant specific metabolic and transcriptomic cold acclimation responses that included activation of the DREB/CBF-regulon with a preference for the cold acclimation factors, CBF1/DREB1B, CBF2/DREB1C, and CBF3/DREB1A. Cold-acclimating reil1-1 reil2-1 maintained cellular integrity and acquired freezing tolerance but did not activate FLOWERING LOCUS T expression in mature leaves. This block was independent of FLOWERING LOCUS C and AGAMOUS-LIKE 19 mediated vernalization. We conclude that Arabidopsis REIL proteins enhance accumulation of cytosolic ribosome subunits after cold shift and either directly or indirectly feedback on temperature perception by suppression of premature cold acclimation at optimized temperature and by triggering growth and the vegetative to generative phase transition in the cold. Transcriptomic profiling demonstrated a hidden acclimation phenotype of the morphologically inconspicuous reil1-1reil2-1 mutant under optimized temperature conditions. Premature triggering of cold acclimation, a severe growth defect at 10°C and compensation responses indicate that REIL function may extend beyond cytosolic ribosome biogenesis towards translation initiation.
Project description:Differential gene expression of Arabidopsis ribosome biogenesis related gene SQTL1, by comparing transcriptome of sqtl1 RNAi mutant with WT Col-0.
Project description:Small RNAs, including ta-siRNAs, play crucial roles in various processes in plants. Efforts have been made for decades to elucidate the biogenesis and function of ta-siRNAs. Though the key proteins involved in ta-siRNA biogenesis have been identified, the subcellular localization where ta-siRNAs are processed remains largely unexplored. Remarkably, non-coding TAS transcripts were reported to be bound by ribosomes, the machinery responsible for protein translation. Utilizing edited TAS genes in Arabidopsis, a combination of sRNA-seq, mRNA-seq, RIP-seq, and degradome-seq was employed to investigate the role of ribosomes in ta-siRNA biogenesis in this study. In the two-hit model, deletion of ribosome-binding regions resulted in a decrease in the abundance of intact TAS3 transcripts but did not significantly affect ta-siRNAs production or the efficiency of miRNA-guided cleavage. Conversely, the deletion of ribosome-binding regions led to a significant reduction in ta-siRNA abundance without affecting mRNA levels in the one-hit model. These findings indicate that in the two-hit model, ribosomes primarily stabilize TAS transcripts, while in the one-hit model, they suppress miRNA cleavage but facilitate subsequent processing. Collectively, this study proposes a model that ribosomes play distinct roles in the one-hit and two-hit models of ta-siRNA biogenesis, and provides a new angle to investigate the tangled connection between small RNAs, including miRNA and ta-siRNA, and translation.