HISTONE DEACETYLASE 9 stimulates auxin-dependent thermomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana by mediating H2A.Z depletion

Lennard C. Van Der Woude, Giorgio Perrella, Basten L. Snoek, Mark Van Hoogdalem, Ondřej Novák, Marcel C. Van Verk, Heleen N. Van Kooten, Lennert E. Zorn, Rolf Tonckens, Joram A. Dongus, Myrthe Praat, Evelien A. Stouten, Marcel C.G. Proveniers, Elisa Vellutini, Eirini Patitaki, Umidjon Shapulatov, Wouter Kohlen, Sureshkumar Balasubramanian, Karin Ljung, Alexander R. Van Der KrolSjef Smeekens, Eirini Kaiserli, Martijn Van Zanten

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

109 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Many plant species respond to unfavorable high ambient temperatures by adjusting their vegetative body plan to facilitate cooling. This process is known as thermomorphogenesis and is induced by the phytohormone auxin. Here, we demonstrate that the chromatinmodifying enzyme HISTONE DEACETYLASE 9 (HDA9) mediates thermomorphogenesis but does not interfere with hypocotyl elongation during shade avoidance. HDA9 is stabilized in response to high temperature and mediates histone deacetylation at the YUCCA8 locus, a rate-limiting enzyme in auxin biosynthesis, at warm temperatures. We show that HDA9 permits net eviction of the H2A.Z histone variant from nucleosomes associated with YUCCA8, allowing binding and transcriptional activation by PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4, followed by auxin accumulation and thermomorphogenesis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)25343-25354
Number of pages12
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume116
Issue number50
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Dec 2019

Keywords

  • Arabidopsis
  • H2A.Z
  • HDA9
  • Shade avoidance
  • Thermomorphogenesis

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