A HY5-COL3-COL13 regulatory chain for controlling hypocotyl elongation
in Arabidopsis
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 in
hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana. We found that COL13 RNA
accumulates at high levels in hypocotyls and that a disruption in the
COL13 function via a T-DNA insertion or RNAi led to the formation of
longer hypocotyls of Arabidopsis seedlings under red light. On the
contrary, overexpression of COL13 resulted in the formation of shorter
hypocotyls. Using various genetic, genomic, and biochemical assays, we
proved that another COL protein, COL3, directly binds to the promoter of
COL13, and the promoter region of COL3 was targeted by the transcription
factor LONG HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5), to form an HY5-COL3-COL13 regulatory
chain for regulating hypocotyl elongation under red light. Additionally,
further study demonstrated that COL13 interacts with COL3, and COL13
promotes the interaction between COL3 and CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC1
(COP1), suggesting a possible COP1-dependent COL3-COL13 feedback
pathway. Our results provide new information regarding the gene network
in mediating hypocotyl elongation.