Base-pair opening dynamics of the microRNA precursor pri-miR156a affect temperature-responsive flowering in Arabidopsis

Autor: Wanhui Kim, Hee-Eun Kim, Joon-Hwa Lee, A. Rim Jun, Nak Kyoon Kim, Suhyun Jin, Ji Hoon Ahn, Ae Ree Lee
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Zdroj: Biochemical and biophysical research communications. 484(4)
ISSN: 1090-2104
Popis: Internal and environmental cues, including ambient temperature changes, regulate the timing of flowering in plants. Arabidopsis miR156 represses flowering and plays an important role in the regulation of temperature-responsive flowering. However, the molecular basis of miR156 processing at lower temperatures remains largely unknown. Here, we performed nuclear magnetic resonance studies to investigate the base-pair opening dynamics of model RNAs at 16 °C and investigated the in vivo effects of the mutant RNAs on temperature-responsive flowering. The A9C and A10CG mutations in the B5 bulge of the lower stem of pri-miR156a stabilized the C15∙G98 and U16∙A97 base-pairs at the cleavage site of pri-miR156a at 16 °C. Consistent with this, production of mature miR156 was severely affected in plants overexpressing the A9C and A10CG constructs and these plants exhibited almost no delay in flowering at 16 °C. The A10G and A9AC mutations did not strongly affect C15∙G98 and U16∙A97 base-pairs at 16 °C, and plants overexpressing A10G and A9AC mutants of miR156 produced more mature miR156 than plants overexpressing the A9C and A10CG mutants and showed a strong delay in flowering at 16 °C. Interestingly, the A9AC mutation had distinct effects on the opening dynamics of the C15∙G98 and U16∙A97 base-pairs between 16 °C and 23 °C, and plants expressing the A9AC mutant miR156 showed only a moderate delay in flowering at 16 °C. Based on these results, we propose that fine-tuning of the base-pair stability at the cleavage site is essential for efficient processing of pri-miR156a at a low temperature and for reduced flowering sensitivity to ambient temperature changes.
Databáze: OpenAIRE