m6A readers ECT2/ECT3/ECT4 enhance mRNA stability through direct recruitment of the poly(A) binding proteins in Arabidopsis

Peizhe Song; Lianhuan Wei; Zixin Chen; Zhihe Cai; Qiang Lu; Chunling Wang; Enlin Tian; Guifang Jia

doi:10.1186/s13059-023-02947-4

m⁶A readers ECT2/ECT3/ECT4 enhance mRNA stability through direct recruitment of the poly(A) binding proteins in Arabidopsis

Genome Biol. 2023 Apr 30;24(1):103. doi: 10.1186/s13059-023-02947-4.

Authors

Peizhe Song^#¹, Lianhuan Wei^#¹, Zixin Chen^#¹, Zhihe Cai¹, Qiang Lu¹, Chunling Wang¹, Enlin Tian¹, Guifang Jia^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Synthetic and Functional Biomolecules Center, Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
² Synthetic and Functional Biomolecules Center, Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. guifangjia@pku.edu.cn.
³ Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, 100871, China. guifangjia@pku.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: RNA N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) modification is critical for plant growth and crop yield. m⁶A reader proteins can recognize m⁶A modifications to facilitate the functions of m⁶A in gene regulation. ECT2, ECT3, and ECT4 are m⁶A readers that are known to redundantly regulate trichome branching and leaf growth, but their molecular functions remain unclear.

Results: Here, we show that ECT2, ECT3, and ECT4 directly interact with each other in the cytoplasm and perform genetically redundant functions in abscisic acid (ABA) response regulation during seed germination and post-germination growth. We reveal that ECT2/ECT3/ECT4 promote the stabilization of their targeted m⁶A-modified mRNAs, but have no function in alternative polyadenylation and translation. We find that ECT2 directly interacts with the poly(A) binding proteins, PAB2 and PAB4, and maintains the stabilization of m⁶A-modified mRNAs. Disruption of ECT2/ECT3/ECT4 destabilizes mRNAs of ABA signaling-related genes, thereby promoting the accumulation of ABI5 and leading to ABA hypersensitivity.

Conclusion: Our study reveals a unified functional model of m⁶A mediated by m⁶A readers in plants. In this model, ECT2/ECT3/ECT4 promote stabilization of their target mRNAs in the cytoplasm.

Keywords: N 6-Methyladenosine (m6A); PAB proteins; Stability; m6A readers ECT2/ECT3/ECT4.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Abscisic Acid
Arabidopsis Proteins* / genetics
Arabidopsis Proteins* / metabolism
Arabidopsis* / metabolism
Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors / genetics
Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors / metabolism
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
Germination / genetics
Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / genetics
Poly(A)-Binding Proteins / genetics
Poly(A)-Binding Proteins / metabolism
RNA Stability
Seeds / genetics

Substances

Arabidopsis Proteins
Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors
Abscisic Acid
Poly(A)-Binding Proteins
ECT2 protein, Arabidopsis
Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins