Vernalization-triggered expression of the antisense transcript COOLAIR is mediated by CBF genes

Many plants undergo vernalization, a long-term winter-triggered acceleration of flowering, to align their flowering time with spring. In Arabidopsis thaliana, this is achieved by silencing a floral repressor, FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). COOLAIR, an antisense noncoding RNA expressed at the FLC locus, is induced during the early phase of vernalization, preceding FLC suppression. However, the mechanism by which long-term cold induces COOLAIR is not well understood. Here, we showed that C-repeat (CRT)/dehydration-responsive elements (DREs) at the 3′-end of FLC and CRT/DRE-binding factors (CBFs) are required for vernalization-induced COOLAIR activation. The CBFs bind to CRT/DREs at the 3′-end of FLC, both in vitro and in vivo, and the CBFs levels increased gradually during vernalization. Additionally, vernalization-induced COOLAIR expression was highly suppressed in the cbfs mutant, in which all CBFs were knocked-out. Contrastingly, CBF-overexpressing plants showed COOLAIR upregulation, even at warm temperatures. We propose that COOLAIR is induced by CBFs in the early phase of vernalization but is downregulated as CBFs are evicted from closed FLC chromatin during the late vernalization phase. We also demonstrated that cbfs and COOLAIR mutants have a normal vernalization response, although they show defects in vernalization-induced COOLAIR activation, indicating that COOLAIR is not necessary for this process.

Accumulation Dynamics of Transcripts and Proteins of Cold-Responsive Genes in Fragaria vesca Genotypes of Differing Cold Tolerance

Identifying and characterizing cold responsive genes in Fragaria vesca associated with or responsible for low temperature tolerance is a vital part of strawberry cultivar development. In this study we have investigated the transcript levels of eight genes, two dehydrin genes, three putative ABA-regulated genes, two cold–inducible CBF genes and the alcohol dehydrogenase gene, extracted from leaf and crown tissues of three F. vesca genotypes that vary in cold tolerance. Transcript levels of the CBF/DREB1 transcription factor FvCBF1E exhibited stronger cold up-regulation in comparison to FvCBF1B.1 in all genotypes. Transcripts of FvADH were highly up-regulated in both crown and leaf tissues from all three genotypes. In the ‘ALTA’ genotype, FvADH transcripts were significantly higher in leaf than crown tissues and more than 10 to 20-fold greater than in the less cold-tolerant ‘NCGR1363’ and ‘FDP817’ genotypes. FvGEM, containing the conserved ABRE promoter element, transcript was found to be cold-regulated in crowns. Direct comparison of the kinetics of transcript and protein accumulation of dehydrins was scrutinized. In all genotypes and organs, the changes of XERO2 transcript levels generally preceded protein changes, while levels of COR47 protein accumulation preceded the increases in COR47 RNA in ‘ALTA’ crowns.

PsCor413pm2, a Plasma Membrane-Localized, Cold-Regulated Protein from Phlox subulata, Confers Low Temperature Tolerance in Arabidopsis

Low temperature stress adversely affects plant growth and development. Isolation and characterization of cold response genes from cold-tolerant plants help to understand the mechanism underlying low temperature tolerance. In this study, PsCor413pm2, a cold-regulated (COR) gene isolated from Phlox subulata, was transferred to Arabidopsis plants to investigate its function. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that PsCor413pm2 expression was induced by cold. Subcellular localization revealed that the PsCor413pm2-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein localized to the plasma membrane in tobacco and Arabidopsis plants. Furthermore, overexpression of PsCor413pm2 in Arabidopsis plants enhanced tolerance to low temperature stress. Transgenic Arabidopsis roots had more influx of Ca2+ after a cold shock than wild-type plants, as shown using non-invasive micro-test technology (NMT). Moreover, the transcription abundance of five COR and two C-repeat (CRT) binding factor (CBF) genes in transgenic Arabidopsis plants was higher than that in the wild-type plants under cold stress. Taken together, our results suggest that overexpression of PsCor413pm2 enhances low temperature tolerance in Arabidopsis plants by affecting Ca2+ flux and the expression of stress-related COR and CBF genes.