TY - JOUR
T1 - The Pumilio RNA-binding protein APUM24 regulates seed maturation by fine-tuning the BPM-WRI1 module in Arabidopsis
AU - Huang, Ruihua
AU - Liu, Mengling
AU - Gong, Guanping
AU - Wu, Pingzhi
AU - Patra, Barunava
AU - Yuan, Ling
AU - Qin, Hongting
AU - Wang, Xiaoxu
AU - Wang, Guohe
AU - Liao, Huimei
AU - Gao, Lu
AU - Yang, Chengwei
AU - Li, Hongqing
AU - Zhang, Shengchun
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - Pumilio RNA-binding proteins participate in messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation and translational repression, but their roles in plant development are largely unclear. Here, we show that Arabidopsis PUMILIO PROTEIN24 (APUM24), an atypical Pumilio-homology domain-containing protein, plays an important part in regulating seed maturation, a major stage of plant development. APUM24 is strongly expressed in maturing seeds. Reducing APUM24 expression resulted in abnormal seed maturation, wrinkled seeds, and lower seed oil contents, and APUM24 knockdown resulted in lower levels of WRINKLED 1 (WRI1), a key transcription factor controlling seed oil accumulation, and lower expression of WRI1 target genes. APUM24 reduces the mRNA stability of BTB/POZMATH (BPM) family genes, thus decreasing BPM protein levels. BPM is responsible for the 26S proteasome-mediated degradation of WRI1 and has important functions in plant growth and development. The 3′ untranslated regions of BPM family genes contain putative Pumilio response elements (PREs), which are bound by APUM24. Reduced BPM or increased WRI1 expression rescued the deficient seed maturation of apum24-2 knockdown mutants, and APUM24 overexpression resulted in increased seed size and weight. Therefore, APUM24 is crucial to seed maturation through its action as a positive regulator fine-tuning the BPM-WRI1 module, making APUM24 a promising target for breeding strategies to increase crop yields.
AB - Pumilio RNA-binding proteins participate in messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation and translational repression, but their roles in plant development are largely unclear. Here, we show that Arabidopsis PUMILIO PROTEIN24 (APUM24), an atypical Pumilio-homology domain-containing protein, plays an important part in regulating seed maturation, a major stage of plant development. APUM24 is strongly expressed in maturing seeds. Reducing APUM24 expression resulted in abnormal seed maturation, wrinkled seeds, and lower seed oil contents, and APUM24 knockdown resulted in lower levels of WRINKLED 1 (WRI1), a key transcription factor controlling seed oil accumulation, and lower expression of WRI1 target genes. APUM24 reduces the mRNA stability of BTB/POZMATH (BPM) family genes, thus decreasing BPM protein levels. BPM is responsible for the 26S proteasome-mediated degradation of WRI1 and has important functions in plant growth and development. The 3′ untranslated regions of BPM family genes contain putative Pumilio response elements (PREs), which are bound by APUM24. Reduced BPM or increased WRI1 expression rescued the deficient seed maturation of apum24-2 knockdown mutants, and APUM24 overexpression resulted in increased seed size and weight. Therefore, APUM24 is crucial to seed maturation through its action as a positive regulator fine-tuning the BPM-WRI1 module, making APUM24 a promising target for breeding strategies to increase crop yields.
KW - APUM24
KW - Arabidopsis
KW - BPM
KW - RNA-binding protein
KW - WRI1
KW - seed maturation
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U2 - 10.1111/jipb.13092
DO - 10.1111/jipb.13092
M3 - Article
C2 - 33729679
AN - SCOPUS:85107139892
SN - 1672-9072
VL - 63
SP - 1240
EP - 1259
JO - Journal of Integrative Plant Biology
JF - Journal of Integrative Plant Biology
IS - 7
ER -