ETR1/RDO3 Regulates Seed Dormancy by Relieving the Inhibitory Effect of the ERF12-TPL Complex on DELAY OF GERMINATION1 Expression

First author: Xiaoying Li; Affiliations: Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (中科院植物研究所): Beijing, China

Corresponding author: Yongxiu Liu

The control of seed dormancy by ethylene has been well studied, but the molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Here, we report the cloning and characterization of the mutant reduced dormancy 3 (rdo3). We demonstrated that rdo3 is a loss of function mutant of the ethylene receptor ETHYLENE RESPONSE 1 (ETR1). ETR1 controls seed dormancy partially through the DELAY OF GERMINATION 1 (DOG1) pathway. Molecular and genetic studies demonstrated that ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR 12 (ERF12) is involved in the regulation of seed dormancy downstream of ETR1. ERF12 can interact with TOPLESS (TPL) and genetically requires TPL to function. ERF12 and TPL can repress the expression of DOG1 by occupying its promoter. Thus, we identified the dormancy pathway ETR1-ERF12/TPL-DOG1 and provided a mechanistic insight on the regulation of seed dormancy by linking the ethylene and DOG1 pathways.

有关乙烯调控种子休眠已经得到了很好的研究，但具体的分子调控机制还不是很清楚。本文，作者报道了rdo3突变体的克隆和功能验证。作者发现rdo3突变体是乙烯受体ETR1的功能缺失突变体。ETR1控制种子休眠有一部分是通过DOG1通路。分子和遗传学试验显示ERF12在ETR1的下游发挥作用参与种子休眠。ERF12可以与TPL互作，并且需要TPL一起才能发挥其功能。ERF12和TPL能够通过结合到DOG1的启动子上抑制DOG1的表达。因此，作者鉴定了一个控制种子休眠的调控网络ETR1-ERF12/TPL-DOG1，该网络通过乙烯与DOG1通路的联合调控种子休眠。

通讯：刘永秀 (http://sourcedb.ib.cas.cn/cn/expert/201110/t20111007_3358958.html)

个人简介：1993年，沈阳农业大学，学士；1996年，沈阳农业大学，硕士；1999年，中国农业大学，博士。

研究方向：表观遗传和植物激素调控种子休眠和萌发的分子基础。

doi: https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00449

Journal: Plant Cell

First Published: March 05, 2019