Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 4, 2025

Investigating Interactions Between Histone Modifying Enzymes and Transcription Factors in vivo by Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
Published on: October 14, 2022
Rice OsUBR7 modulates plant height by regulating histone H2B monoubiquitination and cell proliferation
Yangyi Zheng1, Sensen Zhang1, Yanqiu Luo1
1State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou 510642, China.
Abstract:
Plant height is an important agronomic trait for lodging resistance and yield. Here, we report a new plant-height-related gene, OsUBR7 in rice (Oryza sativa L.); knockout of OsUBR7 caused fewer cells in internodes, resulting in a semi-dwarf phenotype. OsUBR7 encodes a putative E3 ligase containing a plant homeodomain finger and a ubiquitin protein ligase E3 component N-recognin 7 (UBR7) domain. OsUBR7 interacts with histones and monoubiquitinates H2B (H2Bub1) at lysine148 in coordination with the E2 conjugase OsUBC18. OsUBR7 mediates H2Bub1 at a number of chromatin loci for the normal expression of target genes, including cell-cycle-related and pleiotropic genes, consistent with the observation that cell-cycle progression was suppressed in the osubr7 mutant owing to reductions in H2Bub1 and expression levels at these loci. The genetic divergence of OsUBR7 alleles among japonica and indica cultivars affects their transcriptional activity, and these alleles may have undergone selection during rice domestication. Overall, our results reveal a novel mechanism that mediates H2Bub1 in plants, and UBR7 orthologs could be utilized as an untapped epigenetic resource for crop improvement.
Related Concept Videos
Cell Signaling in Plants
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps
Responses to Drought and Flooding
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Riboswitches
The aptamer has high specificity for a particular metabolite which allows riboswitches to specifically regulate...
Position-effect Variegation

