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The F-box domain is a conserved structural protein motif that most frequently interacts with the SKP1 protein, the core of the SCFs (SKP1-CULLIN-F-box protein ligase) E3 ubiquitin protein ligases. As part of the SCF complexes, the various F-box proteins recruit substrates for degradation through ubiquitination. In this study, we functionally characterized an F-box gene (MtF-box) identified earlier in a population of Tnt1 retrotransposon-tagged mutants of Medicago truncatula and its Arabidopsis thaliana homolog (AtF-box) using gain- and loss-of-function plants. We highlighted the importance of MtF-box in leaf development of M. truncatula. Protein-protein interaction analyses revealed the 2-isopropylmalate synthase (IPMS) protein as a common interactor partner of MtF-box and AtF-box, being a key enzyme in the biosynthesis pathway of the branched-chain amino acid leucine. For further detailed analysis, we focused on AtF-box and its role during the cell division cycle. Based on this work, we suggest a mechanism for the role of the studied F-box gene in regulation of leucine homeostasis, which is important for growth., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

In eukaryotes, histone acetyltransferases regulate the acetylation of histones and transcription factors, affecting chromatin structural organization, transcriptional regulation, and gene activation. To assess the role of HAC1, a gene encoding for a histone acetyltransferase in Medicago truncatula, stable transgenic lines with modified HAC1 expression in the model plants M. truncatula, Lotus japonicus, and Arabidopsis thaliana were generated by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and used for functional analyses. Histochemical, transcriptional, flow cytometric, and morphological analyses demonstrated the involvement of HAC1 in plant growth and development, responses to internal stimuli, and cell cycle progression. Expression patterns of a reporter gene encoding beta-glucuronidase (GUS) fused to the HAC1 promoter sequence were associated with young tissues comprised of actively dividing cells in different plant organs. The green fluorescent protein (GFP) signal, driven by the HAC1 promoter, was detected in the nuclei and cytoplasm of root cells. Transgenic lines with HAC1 overexpression and knockdown showed a wide range of phenotypic deviations and developmental abnormalities, which provided lines of evidence for the role of HAC1 in plant development. Synchronization of A. thaliana root tips in a line with HAC1 knockdown showed the involvement of this gene in the acetylation of two core histones during S phase of the plant cell cycle.