Allelic shift in cis-elements of the transcription factor RAP2.12 underlies adaptation associated with humidity in Arabidopsis thaliana

Lou, Shangling; Guo, Xiang; Liu, Lian; Song, Yan; Zhang, Lei; Jiang, Yuanzhong; Zhang, Lushui; Sun, Pengchuan; Liu, Bao; Tong, Shaofei; Chen, Ningning; Liu, Meng; Zhang, Han; Liang, Ruyun; Feng, Xiaoqin; Zheng, Yudan; Liu, Huanhuan; Holdsworth, Michael J.; Liu, Jianquan

Abstract

Populations of widespread species are usually geographically distributed through contrasting stresses, but underlying genetic mechanisms controlling this adaptation remain largely unknown. Here, we show that in Arabidopsis thaliana, allelic changes in the cis-regulatory elements, WT box and W box, in the promoter of a key transcription factor associated with oxygen sensing, RELATED TO AP 2.12 (RAP2.12), are responsible for differentially regulating tolerance to drought and flooding. These two cis-elements are regulated by different transcription factors that downstream of RAP2.12 results in differential accumulation of hypoxia-responsive transcripts. The evolution from one cis-element haplotype to the other is associated with the colonization of humid environments from arid habitats. This gene thus promotes both drought and flooding adaptation via an adaptive mechanism that diversifies its regulation through noncoding alleles.

Citation

Lou, S., Guo, X., Liu, L., Song, Y., Zhang, L., Jiang, Y., …Liu, J. (2022). Allelic shift in cis-elements of the transcription factor RAP2.12 underlies adaptation associated with humidity in Arabidopsis thaliana. Science Advances, 8(18), Article eabn8281. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abn8281

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 18, 2022
• Online Publication Date: May 4, 2022
• Publication Date: May 6, 2022
• Deposit Date: May 9, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: May 17, 2022
• Journal: Science advances
• Electronic ISSN: 2375-2548
• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 18
• Article Number: eabn8281
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abn8281
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7957091
• Publisher URL: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abn8281