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Updated: Sep 21, 2025
06:46
Confocal Live Imaging of Shoot Apical Meristems from Different Plant Species
Published on: March 29, 2019
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SKI-INTERACTING PROTEIN interacts with SHOOT MERISTEMLESS to regulate shoot apical meristem formation
Ruiqi Li1,2, Zhifeng Wei2, Yan Li2
1State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Plant Physiology
|May 31, 2022
Summary
SKI-INTERACTING PROTEIN (SKIP) is crucial for shoot apical meristem (SAM) development. Loss of SKIP function prevents SAM formation, similar to SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM), revealing SKIP
Area of Science:
- Plant developmental biology
- Molecular genetics
- Transcriptional regulation
Background:
- The shoot apical meristem (SAM) is essential for plant growth, generating all above-ground organs.
- SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM), a Class I KNOX transcription factor, is a key regulator of SAM development in Arabidopsis thaliana.
- SKI-INTERACTING PROTEIN (SKIP) is a conserved eukaryotic protein involved in splicing and transcriptional regulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of SKI-INTERACTING PROTEIN (SKIP) in shoot apical meristem (SAM) development.
- To elucidate the molecular mechanism by which SKIP regulates SAM formation.
- To identify potential interactions between SKIP and known SAM regulators like STM.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana mutants with loss-of-function or tissue-specific knockout/expression of SKIP.
- Investigating SAM morphology and plant life cycle completion in mutant lines.
- In planta interaction studies (e.g., yeast two-hybrid, co-immunoprecipitation) to confirm protein-protein interactions.
- Promoter binding assays and gene expression analysis to assess transcriptional regulation.
Main Results:
- Loss of function of SKIP, or its specific knockout in the SAM, resulted in failed SAM development and lethality.
- Expression of SKIP specifically in the SAM rescued the mutant phenotype, leading to normal SAM and shoot system development.
- SKIP physically interacts with the STM transcription factor in planta.
- SKIP and STM co-regulate a similar set of target genes by binding to their promoters.
- Mutations in EARLY FLOWERING 7 (ELF7), a component of the Polymerase-Associated Factor 1 complex, also caused SAM defects, suggesting a broader regulatory network.
Conclusions:
- SKIP is essential for SAM formation and maintenance in Arabidopsis.
- SKIP functions as a component of the STM transcriptional complex, directly participating in the regulation of SAM development.
- This study reveals a novel mechanism for SKIP-mediated SAM formation, highlighting its importance in plant development.
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