Evolutionary conservation of cold-induced antisense RNAs of FLOWERING LOCUS C in Arabidopsis thaliana perennial relatives

Loren Castaings, Sara Bergonzi, Maria C. Albani, Ulla Kemi, Outi Savolainen and George Coupland ()
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Loren Castaings: Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl von Linné Weg 10
Sara Bergonzi: Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl von Linné Weg 10
Maria C. Albani: Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl von Linné Weg 10
Ulla Kemi: Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl von Linné Weg 10
Outi Savolainen: University of Oulu, PO Box 3000
George Coupland: Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl von Linné Weg 10

Nature Communications, 2014, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Antisense RNA (asRNA) COOLAIR is expressed at A. thaliana FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) in response to winter temperatures. Its contribution to cold-induced silencing of FLC was proposed but its functional and evolutionary significance remain unclear. Here we identify a highly conserved block containing the COOLAIR first exon and core promoter at the 3′ end of several FLC orthologues. Furthermore, asRNAs related to COOLAIR are expressed at FLC loci in the perennials A. alpina and A. lyrata, although some splicing variants differ from A. thaliana. Study of the A. alpina orthologue, PERPETUAL FLOWERING 1 (PEP1), demonstrates that AaCOOLAIR is induced each winter of the perennial life cycle. Introduction of PEP1 into A. thaliana reveals that AaCOOLAIR cis-elements confer cold-inducibility in this heterologous species while the difference between PEP1 and FLC mRNA patterns depends on both cis-elements and species-specific trans-acting factors. Thus, expression of COOLAIR is highly conserved, supporting its importance in FLC regulation.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5457

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