ATX1-COMPASS-like complex participates in the bud dormancy release of tree peony by regulating H3K4me3 modification.
Liu J, Zhao Y, Yuan Y, Gao L, Liu C
Epigenetic Regulation
Tree peonies planted in warm-winter climates often fail to bloom reliably, and this research pinpoints the molecular reason: without enough cold hours, the chemical switches that tell buds 'it's time to grow' never get flipped.
Tree peonies sleep through winter and need a stretch of cold before they'll wake up and bloom. Researchers found a small team of proteins that acts like a lock-and-key system — after enough chilling, these proteins attach tiny chemical flags to the plant's genetic material, unlocking the genes that kick-start bud growth. The same unlock can be triggered by a plant hormone called gibberellin, which growers sometimes use to coax early flowering.
Key Findings
A specific histone mark called H3K4me3 — but not the related H3K4me1 or H3K4me2 — was the key epigenetic signal activated by both prolonged cold and gibberellin (GA3) treatment during dormancy release.
Four proteins (PsWDR5a, PsRBL, PsASH2R, PsATX1) were upregulated by chilling and GA3, and overexpressing them significantly promoted bud burst by raising genome-wide H3K4me3 levels.
The proteins assemble into a single functional complex where PsRBL acts as a molecular bridge and PsATX1 is the enzyme that writes the H3K4me3 mark, activating downstream growth genes including cell-cycle regulators (PsCYCD3.1, PsCYCD3.3) and a cell-wall loosening enzyme (PsBG6).
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists identified a molecular complex (ATX1-COMPASS-like) that controls when tree peonies wake from winter dormancy by chemically tagging DNA to switch on growth genes — a discovery that explains why adequate cold exposure and certain plant hormones are required before buds will break in spring.
Abstract Preview
Bud dormancy release in woody plants is crucial for survival, regrowth, flowering, and fruiting. Tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa), an important ornamental and economic plant, undergoes bud endodor...
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Tree peony is the vernacular name for the section Moutan of the plant genus Paeonia, or one of the species or cultivars belonging to this section. It consists of shrubs that have perennial aerial woody stems. Other peonies do not have perennial woody stems, but their stems die back after the grow...