ABSCISIC ACID-INSENSITIVE 3 is involved in brassinosteroid-mediated regulation of flowering in plants

Abstract

ABSCISIC ACID-INSENSITIVE 3 (ABI3) is one of the essential transcription factors of ABSCISIC ACID (ABA) signaling, functioning in seed germination, early seedling development, and abiotic stress tolerance. A recent study showed that epigenetic repression of ABI3 by brassinosteroid (BR)-activated BRI1 EMS SUPPRESSOR1 (BES1)–TOPLESS (TPL)HISTONE DEACETYLASE 19 (HDA19) repressor complex is a critical event for promoting seed germination and early seedling development. However, other physiological roles of the repression of ABI3 and ABA responses by BES1-mediated BR signaling pathways remain elusive. Here, we show that BES1-mediated suppression of ABI3 promotes floral transition and ABI3 acts as a negative regulator for flowering. Ectopic expression of ABI3 specifically compromised the early flowering phenotype of bes1-D and induced severe late-flowering phenotypes in wild-type Arabidopsis and Solanum lycopersicum plants. Both spatiotemporal expression patterns and global transcriptome analysis of ABI3-overexpressing plants supported the biological roles of ABI3 in the negative regulation of floral transition and reproduction. Finally, we confirmed that the loss of function of ABI3 induced early-flowering phenotypes in both long- and short-day conditions. In conclusion, our data suggest that BES1-mediated regulation of ABI3 is important in the reproductive phase transition of plants.