AUTHOR=Kyung Jinseul , Jeon Myeongjune , Lee Ilha 

TITLE=Recent advances in the chromatin-based mechanism of FLOWERING LOCUS C repression through autonomous pathway genes

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.964931

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.964931

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Proper timing of flowering, a phase transition from vegetative to reproductive development, is crucial for plant fitness. The floral repressor <italic>FLOWERING LOCUS C</italic> (<italic>FLC</italic>) is the major determinant of flowering in <italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</italic>. In rapid-cycling <italic>A. thaliana</italic> accessions, which bloom rapidly, <italic>FLC</italic> is constitutively repressed by autonomous pathway (AP) genes, regardless of photoperiod. Diverse AP genes have been identified over the past two decades, and most of them repress <italic>FLC</italic> through histone modifications. However, the detailed mechanism underlying such modifications remains unclear. Several recent studies have revealed novel mechanisms to control <italic>FLC</italic> repression in concert with histone modifications. This review summarizes the latest advances in understanding the novel mechanisms by which AP proteins regulate <italic>FLC</italic> repression, including changes in chromatin architecture, RNA polymerase pausing, and liquid–liquid phase separation- and ncRNA-mediated gene silencing. Furthermore, we discuss how each mechanism is coupled with histone modifications in <italic>FLC</italic> chromatin.</p>