N6-Methyladenosine mRNA methylation is important for salt stress tolerance in Arabidopsis

Jianzhong Hu, Jing Cai, Su Jung Park, Kwanuk Lee, Yuxia Li, Yao Chen, Jae Young Yun, Tao Xu, Hunseung Kang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

164 Scopus citations

Abstract

As the most abundant internal modification of mRNA, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation of RNA is emerging as a new layer of epitranscriptomic gene regulation in cellular processes, including embryo development, flowering-time control, microspore generation and fruit ripening, in plants. However, the cellular role of m6A in plant responses to environmental stimuli remains largely unexplored. In this study, we show that m6A methylation plays an important role in salt stress tolerance in Arabidopsis. All mutants of m6A writer components, including MTA, MTB, VIRILIZER (VIR) and HAKAI, displayed salt-sensitive phenotypes in an m6A-dependent manner. The vir mutant, in which the level of m6A was most highly reduced, exhibited salt-hypersensitive phenotypes. Analysis of the m6A methylome in the vir mutant revealed a transcriptome-wide loss of m6A modification in the 3ʹ untranslated region (3ʹ-UTR). We demonstrated further that VIR-mediated m6A methylation modulates reactive oxygen species homeostasis by negatively regulating the mRNA stability of several salt stress negative regulators, including ATAF1, GI and GSTU17, through affecting 3ʹ-UTR lengthening linked to alternative polyadenylation. Our results highlight the important role played by epitranscriptomic mRNA methylation in the salt stress response of Arabidopsis and indicate a strong link between m6A methylation and 3ʹ-UTR length and mRNA stability during stress adaptation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1759-1775
Number of pages17
JournalPlant Journal
Volume106
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2021

Keywords

  • Arabidopsis thaliana
  • RNA methylation
  • epitranscriptomics
  • mA mRNA modification
  • salt stress
  • virilizer

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