Background
Similar to other eukaryotes, splicing is emerging as an important process affecting development and stress tolerance in plants. Ski-interacting protein (SKIP), a splicing factor, is essential for circadian clock function and abiotic stress tolerance; however, the mechanisms whereby it regulates flowering time are unknown.
Conclusions
Our findings indicate that SKIP regulates SWR1-C function via alternative splicing to control the floral transition in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Results
In this study, we found that SKIP is required for the splicing of serrated leaves and early flowering (SEF) pre-messenger RNA (mRNA), which encodes a component of the ATP-dependent SWR1 chromatin remodeling complex (SWR1-C). Defects in the splicing of SEF pre-mRNA reduced H2A.Z enrichment at FLC, MAF4, and MAF5, suppressed the expression of these genes, and produced an early flowering phenotype in skip-1 plants. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that SKIP regulates SWR1-C function via alternative splicing to control the floral transition in Arabidopsis thaliana.