Dual function of MIPS1 as a metabolic enzyme and transcriptional regulator

Nucleic Acids Res. 2013 Mar 1;41(5):2907-17. doi: 10.1093/nar/gks1458. Epub 2013 Jan 21.

Abstract

Because regulation of its activity is instrumental either to support cell proliferation and growth or to promote cell death, the universal myo-inositol phosphate synthase (MIPS), responsible for myo-inositol biosynthesis, is a critical enzyme of primary metabolism. Surprisingly, we found this enzyme to be imported in the nucleus and to interact with the histone methyltransferases ATXR5 and ATXR6, raising the question of whether MIPS1 has a function in transcriptional regulation. Here, we demonstrate that MIPS1 binds directly to its promoter to stimulate its own expression by locally inhibiting the spreading of ATXR5/6-dependent heterochromatin marks coming from a transposable element. Furthermore, on activation of pathogen response, MIPS1 expression is reduced epigenetically, providing evidence for a complex regulatory mechanism acting at the transcriptional level. Thus, in plants, MIPS1 appears to have evolved as a protein that connects cellular metabolism, pathogen response and chromatin remodeling.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Apoptosis
  • Arabidopsis / cytology
  • Arabidopsis / enzymology
  • Arabidopsis / genetics*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / physiology
  • Cell Nucleus / enzymology
  • Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly
  • Cytoplasm / enzymology
  • DNA Methylation
  • Epigenesis, Genetic
  • Flagellin / immunology
  • Gene Expression
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant*
  • Histones / metabolism
  • Meristem / cytology
  • Meristem / enzymology
  • Meristem / genetics*
  • Methylation
  • Methyltransferases / metabolism
  • Methyltransferases / physiology
  • Myo-Inositol-1-Phosphate Synthase / genetics
  • Myo-Inositol-1-Phosphate Synthase / metabolism
  • Myo-Inositol-1-Phosphate Synthase / physiology*
  • Nicotiana
  • Plant Immunity / genetics
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Processing, Post-Translational
  • Protein Transport

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Histones
  • Flagellin
  • ATXR5 protein, Arabidopsis
  • ATXR6 protein, Arabidopsis
  • Methyltransferases
  • Myo-Inositol-1-Phosphate Synthase