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SYSTEMS BIOLOGY, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, AND GENE REGULATION

Mutations in the Type II Protein Arginine Methyltransferase AtPRMT5 Result in Pleiotropic Developmental Defects in Arabidopsis^1,[C],[OA]

College of Life Science and Technology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China (Y.P.); State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics and Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China (Y.P., L.N., F.L., C.L., J.Z., X.K., X.C.); and Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China (L.N., F.L., J.Z., X.K.)

Human PROTEIN ARGININE METHYLTRANSFERASE5 (PRMT5) encodes a type II protein arginine (Arg) methyltransferase and its homologs in animals and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe) are known to regulate RNA processing, signal transduction, and gene expression. However, PRMT5 homologs in higher plants have not yet been reported and the biological roles of these proteins in plant development remain elusive. Here, using conventional biochemical approaches, we purified a plant histone Arg methyltransferase from cauliflower (Brassica oleracea) that was nearly identical to AtPRMT5, an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) homolog of human PRMT5. AtPRMT5 methylated histone H4, H2A, and myelin basic protein in vitro. Western blot using symmetric dimethyl histone H4 Arg 3-specific antibody and thin-layer chromatography analysis demonstrated that AtPRMT5 is a type II enzyme. Mutations in AtPRMT5 caused pleiotropic developmental defects, including growth retardation, dark green and curled leaves, and FlOWERING LOCUS C (FLC)-dependent delayed flowering. Therefore, the type II protein Arg methyltransferase AtPRMT5 is involved in promotion of vegetative growth and FLC-dependent flowering time regulation in Arabidopsis.

² These authors contributed equally to the article.

The author responsible for distribution of materials integral to the findings presented in this article in accordance with the policy described in the Instructions for Authors (www.plantphysiol.org) is: Xiaofeng Cao (xfcao{at}genetics.ac.cn).

^[C] Some figures in this article are displayed in color online but in black and white in the print edition.

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www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.107.099531

^* Corresponding author; e-mail xfcao{at}genetics.ac.cn; fax 86–10–64873428.

Received March 14, 2007; accepted June 8, 2007; published June 15, 2007.