LEAFY is a pioneer transcription factor and licenses cell reprogramming to floral fate

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 626
• Main Authors: Jin, Run, Klasfeld, Samantha, Zhu, Yang, Fernandez Garcia, Meilin, Xiao, Jun, Han, Soon-Ki, Konkol, Adam, Wagner, Doris
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 27-01-2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 38/15; 38/39; 38/91; 631/136; 631/208/176; 631/208/200; 631/449; Activator protein 1; Arabidopsis - cytology; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis - metabolism; Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics; Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism; Base Sequence; Binding Sites; Cell fate; Cellular Reprogramming; Chromatin; Chromatin - metabolism; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA, Plant - metabolism; Eukaryotes; Flowers - cytology; Flowers - genetics; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Histone H1; Histones; Histones - metabolism; Humanities and Social Sciences; Loci; Models, Biological; multidisciplinary; Nucleosomes - metabolism; Plant Roots - metabolism; Protein Binding; Recruitment; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Transcription factors; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20883-w

Master transcription factors reprogram cell fate in multicellular eukaryotes. Pioneer transcription factors have prominent roles in this process because of their ability to contact their cognate binding motifs in closed chromatin. Reprogramming is pervasive in plants, whose development is plastic and tuned by the environment, yet little is known about pioneer transcription factors in this kingdom. Here, we show that the master transcription factor LEAFY (LFY), which promotes floral fate through upregulation of the floral commitment factor
APETALA1
(
AP1
), is a pioneer transcription factor. In vitro, LFY binds to the endogenous
AP1
target locus DNA assembled into a nucleosome. In vivo, LFY associates with nucleosome occupied binding sites at the majority of its target loci, including
AP1
. Upon binding, LFY ‘unlocks’ chromatin locally by displacing the H1 linker histone and by recruiting SWI/SNF chromatin remodelers, but broad changes in chromatin accessibility occur later. Our study provides a mechanistic framework for patterning of inflorescence architecture and uncovers striking similarities between LFY and animal pioneer transcription factor.
Pioneer transcription factors access their DNA binding motifs in closed chromatin and often act in cell fate reprogramming. Here, Jin et al. present biochemical evidence for a pioneer factor in plants and show that LFY promotes floral cell fate and locally unlocks chromatin by displacing histone H1 and recruiting SWI/SNF chromatin remodelers.