Light in the transcription landscape: chromatin, RNA polymerase II and splicing throughout Arabidopsis thaliana?s life cycle

SERVI L; PETRILLO E; TOGNACCA RS; RODRIGUEZ F; KUBACZKA MG; GODOY HERZ MA

Transcription

Taylor and Francis Ltd.

Año: 2020

2154-1264

Plants have a high level of developmental plasticity that allows them to respond andadapt to changes in the environment. Among the environmental cues, light controlsalmost every aspect of A. thaliana?s life cycle, including seed maturation, seedgermination, seedling de-etiolation and flowering time. Light signals induce massivereprogramming of gene expression, producing changes in RNA polymerase IItranscription, alternative splicing, and chromatin state. Since splicing reactions occurmainly while transcription takes place, the regulation of RNAPII transcription hasrepercussions in the splicing outcomes. This cotranscriptional nature allows afunctional coupling between transcription and splicing, in which properties of thesplicing reactions are affected by the transcriptional process. Chromatin landscapesinfluence both transcription and splicing. In this review, we highlight, summarize anddiscuss recent progress in the field to gain a comprehensive insight on the cross-regulation between chromatin state, RNAPII transcription and splicing decisions inplants, with a special focus on light-triggered responses. We also introduce severalexamples of transcription and splicing factors that could be acting as coupling factorsin plants. Unravelling how these connected regulatory networks operate, can help inthe design of better crops with higher productivity and tolerance.