The trithorax group factor ULTRAPETALA1 controls flower and leaf development in woodland strawberry

• Published in: Plant science (Limerick) Vol. 333; p. 111729
• Main Authors: Han, Yafan, Kang, Chunying
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 01.08.2023
• Subjects: Development; EMS mutant; Flower; Fruit; Histone methylation; Leaf; Strawberry; ULTRAPETALA1; EMS mutant; Flower; Fruit; Histone methylation; Strawberry; Development; Leaf; ULTRAPETALA1
• ISSN: 0168-9452; 1873-2259
• DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111729

The trithorax group (TrxG) factors play a critical role in the regulation of gene transcription by modulating histone methylation. However, the biological functions of the TrxG components are poorly characterized in different plant species. In this work, we identified three allelic ethyl methane-sulfonate-induced mutants P7, R67 and M3 in the woodland strawberry Fragaria vesca. These mutants show an increased number of floral organs, a lower pollination rate, raised achenes on the surface of the receptacle and increased leaf complexity. The causative gene is FvH4_6g44900, which contains severe mutations leading to premature stop codons or alternative splicing in each mutant. This gene encodes a protein with high similarity to ULTRAPETALA1, a component of the TrxG complex, and is therefore named as FveULT1. Yeast-two-hybrid and split-luciferase assays revealed that FveULT1 can physically interact with the TrxG factor FveATX1 and the PcG repressive complex 2 (PRC2) accessory protein FveEMF1. Transcriptome analysis revealed that several MADS-box genes, FveLFY and FveUFO were significantly up-regulated in fveult1 flower buds. The leaf development genes FveKNOXs, FveLFYa and SIMPLE LEAF1 were strongly induced in fveult1 leaves, and their promoter regions showed increased H3K4me3 levels and decreased H3K27me3 levels in fveult1 compared to WT. Taken together, our results demonstrate that FveULT1 is important for flower, fruit and leaf development and highlight the potential regulatory functions of histone methylation in strawberry. •Disruption of the trithorax group (TrxG) gene FveULT1 causes various defects in flowers, fruits, and leaves in woodland strawberry.•FveULT1 directly interacts with the TrxG component FveATX1 and the PcG protein FveEMF1.•Several MADS-box and class I KNOX transcription factors are negatively regulated by FveULT1 during flower development.•Disrupted FveULT1 causes altered H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 levels in the promoters of up-regulated genes in young leaves.