Modulation of temperature-sensitive alternative splicing by plant specific serine/arginine-rich proteins

选择性剪接是调控基因表达的重要机制。在高温下，许多基因的pre-mRNA剪接谱被改变，导致蛋白质丰度和多样性的变化。例如，参与热应激反应的重要转录因子的水平由于选择性剪接而改变。这种变化会影响植物抵御和从热应激中恢复的能力。虽然这一机制对耐热性的重要性已被充分证明，但对植物高温下pre-mRNA剪接的调控尚不清楚。对温度敏感的选择性剪接的关键调节因子是什么？它们的活动如何调节对不同热应激制度的反应？我们已经确定了两个基因，参与调控选择性剪接的中心热应激转录因子在番茄。我们的目标是扩大这方面的知识，并描述这两个调控因子的基因网络，确定它们的RNA靶点，并描述它们在全球范围内pre-mRNA剪接中的功能模式。该项目为了解以番茄为例的重要细胞机制奠定了基础，未来可用于作物耐热性的改良。

Alternative splicing is an important mechanism for the regulation of gene expression. Under high temperatures, the pre-mRNA splicing profile of many genes is altered, resulting in changes in protein abundance and diversity. For example, the levels of important transcription factors involved in heat stress response are altered due to alternative splicing. Such changes affect the ability of a plant to withstand and recover from heat stress. While the importance of this mechanism for thermotolerance is well documented, the regulation of pre-mRNA splicing under high temperatures in plants is not well understood. What are the key regulators of temperature-sensitive alternative splicing and how does their activity modulate the response to different heat stress regimes? We have identified two genes that are involved in the regulation of alternative splicing of a central heat stress transcription factor in tomato. We aim to expand this knowledge and describe the gene networks of these two regulators, identify their RNA targets and describe their mode of function in pre-mRNA splicing on a global scale. This project sets the basis for understanding an important cellular mechanism on the example of tomato which in the future can be exploited for improvement of crop thermotolerance.