Prof. Xingwang Deng and Dr. Danmeng Zhu published a paper in PNAS.
Transcriptional repressors such as the DREAM (dimerization partner, RB-like, E2F and multivulval class B)-related complexes are master regulators of the cell cycle, but much remains unknown about how binding of DREAM complexes controls gene expression. In this study, through a forward genetic screen we identified a plant-specific component of DREAM complex BTE1 (barrier of transcription elongation 1) in Arabidopsis. Our data showed that the interaction of BTE1 in the plant DREAM complex with Complex Proteins Associated with Set1 (COMPASS)-like complex component WDR5A contributes to the conserved DREAM complex-mediated transcription repression. H3K4me3 modification conferred by the COMPASS-like complex and methyltransferases in Arabidopsis is important for gene-specific RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription. We thus identified BTE1 as a key adaptor directly linking the promoter recognition and repression of Pol II elongation via the modulation of H3K4me3.
Original link: https://www.pnas.org/eprint/Q6FPQRN2MFNZIX4Z3YXW/full.
