Seed Dormancy in Arabidopsis Is Controlled by Alternative Polyadenylation of DOG1

Plant Physiol. 2016 Feb;170(2):947-55. doi: 10.1104/pp.15.01483. Epub 2015 Nov 30.

Abstract

DOG1 (Delay of Germination 1) is a key regulator of seed dormancy in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and other plants. Interestingly, the C terminus of DOG1 is either absent or not conserved in many plant species. Here, we show that in Arabidopsis, DOG1 transcript is subject to alternative polyadenylation. In line with this, mutants in RNA 3' processing complex display weakened seed dormancy in parallel with defects in DOG1 proximal polyadenylation site selection, suggesting that the short DOG1 transcript is functional. This is corroborated by the finding that the proximally polyadenylated short DOG1 mRNA is translated in vivo and complements the dog1 mutant. In summary, our findings indicate that the short DOG1 protein isoform produced from the proximally polyadenylated DOG1 mRNA is a key player in the establishment of seed dormancy in Arabidopsis and characterizes a set of mutants in RNA 3' processing complex required for production of proximally polyadenylated functional DOG1 transcript.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Arabidopsis / genetics*
  • Arabidopsis / physiology*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / chemistry
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism
  • Base Sequence
  • Conserved Sequence
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Germination
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Phenotype
  • Plant Dormancy / genetics*
  • Polyadenylation / genetics*
  • Protein Biosynthesis
  • Protein Isoforms / genetics
  • Protein Isoforms / metabolism
  • RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Seeds / genetics
  • Seeds / physiology*

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • DOG1 protein, Arabidopsis
  • Protein Isoforms
  • RNA, Messenger