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Background: DNA replication and transcription are dynamic processes regulating plant development that are dependent on the chromatin accessibility. Proteins belonging to the Agenet/Tudor domain family are known as histone modification "readers" and classified as chromatin remodeling proteins. Histone modifications and chromatin remodeling have profound effects on gene expression as well as on DNA replication, but how these processes are integrated has not been completely elucidated. It is clear that members of the Agenet/Tudor family are important regulators of development playing roles not well known in plants., Methods: Bioinformatics and phylogenetic analyses of the Agenet/Tudor Family domain in the plant kingdom were carried out with sequences from available complete genomes databases. 3D structure predictions of Agenet/Tudor domains were calculated by I-TASSER server. Protein interactions were tested in two-hybrid, GST pulldown, semi-in vivo pulldown and Tandem Affinity Purification assays. Gene function was studied in a T-DNA insertion GABI-line., Results: In the present work we analyzed the family of Agenet/Tudor domain proteins in the plant kingdom and we mapped the organization of this family throughout plant evolution. Furthermore, we characterized a member from Arabidopsis thaliana named AIP1 that harbors Agenet/Tudor and DUF724 domains. AIP1 interacts with ABAP1, a plant regulator of DNA replication licensing and gene transcription, with a plant histone modification "reader" (LHP1) and with non modified histones. AIP1 is expressed in reproductive tissues and its down-regulation delays flower development timing. Also, expression of ABAP1 and LHP1 target genes were repressed in flower buds of plants with reduced levels of AIP1., Conclusions: AIP1 is a novel Agenet/Tudor domain protein in plants that could act as a link between DNA replication, transcription and chromatin remodeling during flower development.

The anaphase-promoting complex (APC) plays pivotal roles in cell cycle pathways related to plant development. In this study, we present evidence that overproduction of APC10 from Arabidopsis thaliana in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants promotes significant increases in biomass. Analyzes of plant's fresh and dried weight, root length, number of days to flower and number of seeds of plants overexpressing AtAPC10 verified an improved agronomic performance of the transgenic plants. Detailed analyzes of the leaf growth at the cellular level, and measurements of leaf cell number, showed that AtAPC10 also produce more cells, showing an enhancement of proliferation in these plants. In addition, crossing of plants overexpressing AtAPC10 and AtCDC27a resulted in a synergistic accumulation of biomass and these transgenic plants exhibited superior characteristics compared to the parental lines. The results of the present study suggest that transgenic plants expressing AtAPC10 and AtAPC10/AtCDC27a concomitantly are promising leads to develop plants with higher biomass.

The largest E3 ubiquitin-ligase complex, known as anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C), regulates the proteolysis of cell cycle regulators such as CYCLIN B and SECURIN that are essential for sister-chromatid separation and exit from mitosis. Despite its importance, the role of APC/C in plant cells and the regulation of its activity during cell division remain poorly understood. Here, the Arabidopsis thaliana APC/C subunit APC10 was characterized and shown to functionally complement an apc10 yeast mutant. The APC10 protein was located in specific nuclear bodies, most probably resulting from its association with the proteasome complex. An apc10 Arabidopsis knockout mutant strongly impaired female gametogenesis. Surprisingly, constitutive overexpression of APC10 enhanced leaf size. Through kinematic analysis, the increased leaf size was found to be due to enhanced rates of cell division during the early stages of leaf development and, at the molecular level, by increased APC/C activity as measured by an amplification of the proteolysis rate of the mitotic cyclin, CYCB1;1., (© 2011 The Authors. The Plant Journal © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Despite its relevance for agricultural production, environmental stress-induced growth inhibition, which is responsible for significant yield reductions, is only poorly understood. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying cell cycle inhibition in young proliferating leaves of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana when subjected to mild osmotic stress. A detailed cellular analysis demonstrated that as soon as osmotic stress is sensed, cell cycle progression rapidly arrests, but cells are kept in a latent ambivalent state allowing a quick recovery (pause). Remarkably, cell cycle arrest coincides with an increase in 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate levels and the activation of ethylene signaling. Our work showed that ethylene acts on cell cycle progression via inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase A activity independently of EIN3 transcriptional control. When the stress persists, cells exit the mitotic cell cycle and initiate the differentiation process (stop). This stop is reflected by early endoreduplication onset, in a process independent of ethylene. Nonetheless, the potential to partially recover the decreased cell numbers remains due to the activity of meristemoids. Together, these data present a conceptual framework to understand how environmental stress reduces plant growth.

The Anaphase Promoting Complex (APC) controls CDK activity by targeting the ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis of S-phase and mitosis-promoting cyclins. Here, we report that the ectopic expression of the Arabidopsis CDC27a, an APC subunit, accelerates plant growth and results in plants with increased biomass production. CDC27a overexpression was associated to apical meristem restructuration, protoplasts with higher (3)H-thimidine incorporation and altered cell-cycle marker expression. Total protein extracts immunoprecipitated with a CDC27a antibody showed ubiquitin ligase activity, indicating that the Arabidopsis CDC27a gets incorporated into APC complexes. These results indicate a role of AtCDC27a in regulation of plant growth and raise the possibility that the activity of the APC and the rates of plant cell division could be regulated by the concentration of the CDC27a subunit.

Sister-chromatid separation and exit from mitosis require ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis of cell cycle regulators such as cyclin B and securin. The specificity of the reaction is controlled by an ubiquitin-ligase multiprotein complex known as APC (Anaphase Promoting Complex). Comparison of the coding sequences of Arabidopsis genes with the Genbank database reveals extensive homology of the predicted ORFs with the corresponding proteins of other eukaryotes, indicating that the APC is well conserved in plants. However, different from other eukaryotes, the Arabidopsis genes have some particular characteristics, such as the presence of two copies of the CDC27 gene. Furthermore, expression analyses of the AtAPC genes disclose complex profiles that differ, depending on the tissue examined. In actively dividing cell suspensions there is a direct correspondence between the rates of proliferation and mRNA levels from the AtAPC components. On the other hand, in plant organs, dark-grown seedlings and during leaf growth, this correlation is lost and the AtAPC genes are highly expressed in tissues with low overall cell division. Moreover, expression patterns diverge between the subunit genes, raising the possibility that there could be more than one form of the APC, which would execute distinct functions during plant development. The results suggest that an important layer of regulation of APC/C in plants could operate through subunit availability in specific tissues and/or cellular compartments.

In plant meristems, dividing cells interpret positional information and translate it into patterned cell differentiation. Here we report the molecular identification of the Arabidopsis HOBBIT gene that is required for cell division and cell differentiation in meristems. We show that it encodes a homolog of the CDC27 subunit of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC). HOBBIT partially complements a yeast nuc2/cdc27 mutant. Unlike other CDC27 homologs in Arabidopsis, its transcription is cell cycle regulated. Furthermore, hobbit mutants show a reduction in DR5 :: GUS auxin reporter gene expression and accumulate the AXR3/IAA17 repressor of auxin responses. HOBBIT activity may thus couple cell division to cell differentiation by regulating cell cycle progression in the meristem or by restricting the response to differentiation cues, such as auxin, to dividing cells.