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Peer-reviewedCC BYThe Plant Cell

Removal of seed coat H3K27me3 in Arabidopsis requires noncanonical functions of brassinosteroid receptors

  • Rishabh Pankaj1
  • Rita B Lima1
  • Guan-Yu Louh1
  • Sinah Ehlert1
  • Gerardo Del Toro-De León1
  • Heinrich Bente1
  • Pascal Finger2,1
  • Hikaru Sato3
  • Duarte D. Figueiredo1
  1. 1Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam Science Park , Potsdam
  2. 2Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam , Potsdam
  3. 3Department of Integrated Biosciences, The University of Tokyo , Kashiwa ,
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Abstract

Seed development in angiosperms starts with double fertilization, where two paternal sperm cells fertilize the maternal gametes. This leads to the formation of the embryo and of the endosperm. These fertilization products are enveloped by the maternally-derived seed coat, the development of which is inhibited prior to fertilization by the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2). This complex deposits the repressive histone mark H3K27me3, whose removal is necessary for seed coat formation. Here, we show that JUMONJI-type (JMJ) histone demethylases are expressed in the seed coats of Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) and are necessary for its formation. We propose that JMJ activity is coupled to Brassinosteroid (BR) function, as BR transcription factors were shown to recruit JMJ proteins to target loci. Consistent with this, we show that loss of BR biosynthesis and signaling leads to seed coat defects, and that loss of the main BR receptor, BRI1, results in H3K27me3 hypermethylation. Moreover, our data suggests BRI1 mediating H3K27me3 removal independently of BRs, while a different receptor, BRL3, likely regulates seed coat formation in a BR-dependent manner. We thus propose a model where seed coat development relies on canonical and noncanonical functions of BR receptors.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{pankaj2026removal,
  title = {{Removal of seed coat H3K27me3 in Arabidopsis requires noncanonical functions of brassinosteroid receptors}},
  author = {Rishabh Pankaj and Rita B Lima and Guan-Yu Louh and Sinah Ehlert and Gerardo Del Toro-De León and Heinrich Bente and Pascal Finger and Hikaru Sato and Duarte D. Figueiredo},
  journal = {The Plant Cell},
  year = {2026},
  month = jun,
  doi = {10.1093/plcell/koag182},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koag182},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Removal of seed coat H3K27me3 in Arabidopsis requires noncanonical functions of brassinosteroid receptors
AU  - Rishabh Pankaj
AU  - Rita B Lima
AU  - Guan-Yu Louh
AU  - Sinah Ehlert
AU  - Gerardo Del Toro-De León
AU  - Heinrich Bente
AU  - Pascal Finger
AU  - Hikaru Sato
AU  - Duarte D. Figueiredo
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/01
JO  - The Plant Cell
DO  - 10.1093/plcell/koag182
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koag182
AB  - Seed development in angiosperms starts with double fertilization, where two paternal sperm cells fertilize the maternal gametes. This leads to the formation of the embryo and of the endosperm. These fertilization products are enveloped by the maternally-derived seed coat, the development of which is inhibited prior to fertilization by the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2). This complex deposits the repressive histone mark H3K27me3, whose removal is necessary for seed coat formation. Here, we show that JUMONJI-type (JMJ) histone demethylases are expressed in the seed coats of Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) and are necessary for its formation. We propose that JMJ activity is coupled to Brassinosteroid (BR) function, as BR transcription factors were shown to recruit JMJ proteins to target loci. Consistent with this, we show that loss of BR biosynthesis and signaling leads to seed coat defects, and that loss of the main BR receptor, BRI1, results in H3K27me3 hypermethylation. Moreover, our data suggests BRI1 mediating H3K27me3 removal independently of BRs, while a different receptor, BRL3, likely regulates seed coat formation in a BR-dependent manner. We thus propose a model where seed coat development relies on canonical and noncanonical functions of BR receptors.
SN  - 1040-4651
SN  - 1532-298X
ER  -