Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2025

Imaging Spatial Reorganization of a MAPK Signaling Pathway Using the Tobacco Transient Expression System
Published on: March 20, 2016
MDF is a conserved splicing factor and modulates cell division and stress response in Arabidopsis
Cloe de Luxán-Hernández1, Julia Lohmann1, Eduardo Tranque2
1Institute of Plant Sciences and Microbiology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Abstract:
The coordination of cell division with stress response is essential for maintaining genome stability in plant meristems. Proteins involved in pre-mRNA splicing are important for these processes in animal and human cells. Based on its homology to the splicing factor SART1, which is implicated in the control of cell division and genome stability in human cells, we analyzed if MDF has similar functions in plants. We found that MDF associates with U4/U6.U5 tri-snRNP proteins and is essential for correct splicing of 2,037 transcripts. Loss of MDF function leads to cell division defects and cell death in meristems and was associated with up-regulation of stress-induced genes and down-regulation of mitotic regulators. In addition, the mdf-1 mutant is hypersensitive to DNA damage treatment supporting its role in coordinating stress response with cell division. Our analysis of a dephosphomutant of MDF suggested how its protein activity might be controlled. Our work uncovers the conserved function of a plant splicing factor and provides novel insight into the interplay of pre-mRNA processing and genome stability in plants.
More Related Videos
11:04Geomagnetic Field Gmf and Plant Evolution: Investigating the Effects of Gmf Reversal on Arabidopsis thaliana Development and Gene Expression
Published on: November 30, 2015
08:39Author Spotlight: Polysome Profiling Protocol for Studying Translational Regulation in Arabidopsis Under Heat Stress
Published on: October 11, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Molecular Factors Affecting Cell Division
Several proteins function as internal regulators to ensure each cell cycle stage is completed faithfully before proceeding to the next. Regulator molecules may act directly or influence the activity or production of other...
Gene Regulation During Sporulation
Cell Signaling in Plants
Abnormal Proliferation
Master Transcription Regulators
Alternative RNA Splicing
There are five types of alternative RNA splicing that vary in the ways the pre-mRNA segments are removed or retained in the mature mRNA. The first...