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SUMMARYRNA-DNA hybrid (R-loop)-associated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), including the Arabidopsis lncRNAAUXIN-REGULATED PROMOTER LOOP(APOLO), are emerging as important regulators of three-dimensional chromatin conformation and gene transcriptional activity. Here, we showed that in addition to the PRC1-component LIKE-HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN 1 (LHP1),APOLOinteracts with the methylcytosine-binding protein VARIANT IN METHYLATION 1 (VIM1), a conserved homolog of the mammalian DNA methylation regulator UBIQUITIN-LIKE CONTAINING PHD AND RING FINGER DOMAINS 1 (UHRF1). TheAPOLO-VIM1-LHP1 complex directly regulates the transcription of the auxin biosynthesis geneYUCCA2by dynamically determining DNA methylation and H3K27me3 deposition over its promoter during the plant thermomorphogenic response. Strikingly, we demonstrated that the lncRNAUHRF1 Protein Associated Transcript(UPAT), a direct interactor of UHRF1 in humans, can be recognized by VIM1 and LHP1 in plant cells, despite the lack of sequence homology betweenUPATandAPOLO. In addition, we showed that increased levels ofAPOLOorUPAThamper VIM1 and LHP1 binding toYUCCA2promoter. Collectively, our results uncover a new mechanism in which a plant lncRNA coordinates Polycomb action and DNA methylation, and reveal that evolutionary unrelated lncRNAs may exert similar functions across kingdoms.

The aim of this paper is the presentation of reflections on the main issues that arose in the reorganization of the Second Cycle of Drama, Art and Music (University of Bologna), which is conducted by teachers of musicological and ethnomusicological disciplines together with students, in order to examine the need to employ different approaches to multidisciplinary teaching in graduate studies. Graduate studies have recorded a significant number of foreign students in recent years, mostly from the Far East, and especially from China, which represents a challenge for multidisciplinary teaching of musicology and ethnomusicology due to the differences between the language cultures. The authors recognize two levels of problems in the implementation of study programs and the organization of teaching: 1) the need to make a specific music lexicon suitable even for non-specialized students without lowering the level of didactic proposals for music curriculum students; 2) the strategy of relations with international students, mostly from the Far East, who generally possess excellent technical musical skills (resulting from the previous schooling at music academies or conservatories), who encounter several language problems, which are often related to the idea of studying and learning human sciences in general (in the case of students of the Far Eastern origin, the culture of learning and the perception of the methodology of teaching humanities differs significantly from the European approach to the same issue). The paper is based on sociological and ethnographic research on foreign students’ learning techniques and reflects on the analysis of collected notes of Chinese students as particular examples of the addressed problems in the perception and adoption of the musicological and ethnomusicological content taught in drama, art and music studies.

In autogamous plants like Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), stamen filament elongation must be finely regulated to ensure that anthers reach the pistil at the correct developmental stage. In this work, we studied the roles of Arabidopsis TEOSINTE BRANCHED1, CYCLOIDEA, PCF15 (TCP15), and related class-I TCP transcription factors in stamen filament elongation. Plants with decreased expression of class-I TCPs and plants that express a fusion of TCP15 to a repressor domain (pTCP15::TCP15-EAR) had shorter stamens, indicating that class-I TCPs stimulate filament growth. These plants also showed reduced expression of several SMALL AUXIN UP RNA (SAUR)63 subfamily genes, which contain TCP target motifs in their promoters. Mutational analysis indicated that the TCP target motif in the SAUR63 promoter is required for expression of SAUR63 in stamen filaments. Moreover, TCP15 directly binds to the SAUR63 promoter region that contains the TCP target motif in vivo, highlighting the role of the TCPs in this process. Class-I TCPs are also required for the induction of SAUR63 subfamily genes by gibberellins (GAs). In addition, overexpression of SAUR63 restores filament growth in pTCP15::TCP15-EAR plants, whereas overexpression of TCP15 rescues the short stamen phenotype of GA-deficient plants. The results indicate that TCP15 and related class-I TCPs modulate GA-dependent stamen filament elongation by direct activation of SAUR63 subfamily genes through conserved target sites in their promoters. This work provides insight into GA-dependent stamen filament elongation. Fil: Gastaldi, Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina Fil: Lucero, Leandro Exequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina Fil: Ferrero, Lucia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina Fil: Ariel, Federico Damian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina Fil: Gonzalez, Daniel Hector. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentina