Fine control of hypocotyl elongation through COP1-dependent COL3-COL13
feedback pathway
Abstract
CONSTANS-LIKE (COL) family members are commonly implicated in light
signal transduction during early photomorphogenesis. However, some of
their functions remain unclear. Here we propose a role for COL13 on the
hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana. We found that COL13 RNA
accumulates to high levels in hypocotyl, and that disruption of COL13
function via T-DNA insertion or RNAi led to longer hypocotyl of
Arabidopsis seedlings in red light. On the contrary, overexpression of
COL13 resulted in shorter hypocotyl. With various genetic, genomic and
biochemical assays, we proved that another COL protein named COL3
directly bound to the promoter of COL13, and the promoter region of COL3
was targeted by the transcription factor LONG HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5), to form
a HY5-COL3-COL13 regulatory chain for regulating hypocotyl elongation in
red light. In addition, further study demonstrated that COL13 interacted
with COL3 and COL13 promoted the interaction between COL3 and
CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC1 (COP1), suggesting a possible
COP1-dependent COL3-COL13 feedback pathway. Our results provides new
information regarding the genes network in mediating hypocotyl
elongation.