Repressive chromatin modification underpins the long-term expression trend of a perennial flowering gene in nature

Haruki Nishio (), Diana M. Buzas, Atsushi J. Nagano, Koji Iwayama, Masayuki Ushio and Hiroshi Kudoh ()
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Haruki Nishio: Kyoto University
Diana M. Buzas: University of Tsukuba
Atsushi J. Nagano: Kyoto University
Koji Iwayama: Shiga University
Masayuki Ushio: Kyoto University
Hiroshi Kudoh: Kyoto University

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Natural environments require organisms to possess robust mechanisms allowing responses to seasonal trends. In Arabidopsis halleri, the flowering regulator AhgFLC shows upregulation and downregulation phases along with long-term past temperature, but the underlying machinery remains elusive. Here, we investigate the seasonal dynamics of histone modifications, H3K27me3 and H3K4me3, at AhgFLC in a natural population. Our advanced modelling and transplant experiments reveal that H3K27me3-mediated chromatin regulation at AhgFLC provides two essential properties. One is the ability to respond to the long-term temperature trends via bidirectional interactions between H3K27me3 and H3K4me3; the other is the ratchet-like character of the AhgFLC system, i.e. reversible in the entire perennial life cycle but irreversible during the upregulation phase. Furthermore, we show that the long-term temperature trends are locally indexed at AhgFLC in the form of histone modifications. Our study provides a more comprehensive understanding of H3K27me3 function at AhgFLC in a complex natural environment.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15896-4

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