Molecular mechanism and physiological significance of alternative splicing regulation by phytochrome

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25291064
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Plant molecular biology/Plant physiology
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Matsushita Tomonao 九州大学, (連合)農学研究科(研究院), 准教授 (20464399)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: フィトクロム / 光受容体 / 植物 / シグナル伝達 / 光応答

Outline of Final Research Achievements

At present, it is widely believed that phytochrome regulates the transcription of light-responsive genes by modulating the activity of several transcription factors. However, we performed mRNA-seq analysis and revealed that phytochrome controls not only transcription, but also alternative splicing, to approximately the same degree at the genomic level in Arabidopsis. Moreover, we experimentally showed that phytochrome-induced alternative splicing changes of SPA3, the negative regulator of light signaling, physiologically contributed to promoting light responses of plants. From these results, we demonstrated that phytochrome directly and simultaneously regulates two different aspects of gene expression, namely transcription and alternative splicing to mediate light responses in plants.

Free Research Field

植物光生理学