Poster abstracts
Poster number 160 submitted by Lichun Zhou
The polyadenylation factor CPSF30 is important for root development and plant response to salt stress
Lichun Zhou (Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington KY 40546), Arthur G. Hunt (Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington KY 40546)
Abstract:
Message RNA polyadenylation is an essential step for eukaryotic mRNA transport, translation, and turnover. Alternative polyadenylation (APA) serves an important role in regulation of gene expression. The Arabidopsis thaliana ortholog of the 30-kD subunit of the mammalian Cleavage and Polyadenylation Specificity Factor (CPSF30) gene encodes two proteins, CPSF30S and CPSF30L. Prior research has shown CPSF30S is a calmodulin-regulated RNA-binding protein, regulates APA, and links with cellular signaling and stress response. To better understand how CPSF30 contributes to stress responses and connects to environmental signals, we subjected a set of mutant and complemented Arabidopsis lines to salt stress. The set of lines included a mutant (oxt6) that does not express CPSF30 as well as lines that express either CPSF30S or CPSF30L in the oxt6 background. Seedlings were used to count lateral root numbers and collected to perform Poly (A) Tag Sequencing (PATSeq). The results show both CPSF30S and CPSF30L are functional in lateral root development. However, CPSF30S and CPSF30L have different functions in response to stress treatment. Specifically, CPSF30L is required for APA in salt stress. More generally, after stress treatment, genes associated with stress responses tended to use proximal poly(A) sites. Taken together, these results provide new insights into the connections between mRNA polyadenylation and environment signaling.
Keywords: Plant Polyadenylation, CPSF30