FLK is an mRNA m6A reader that regulates floral transition by modulating the stability and splicing of FLC in Arabidopsis

Abstract

N6-methyladenosine (m6A), which is added, removed, and interpreted by m6A writers, erasers, and readers, respectively, is the most abundant modification in eukaryotic mRNAs. The m6A marks play a pivotal role in the regulation of floral transition in plants. FLOWERING LOCUS K (FLK), an RNA-binding protein harboring K-homology (KH) motifs, is known to regulate floral transition by repressing the levels of a key floral repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) in Arabidopsis. However, the molecular mechanism underlying FLK-mediated FLC regulation remains unclear. In this study, we identified FLK as a novel mRNA m6A reader protein that directly binds the m6A site in the 3ʹ-untranslated region of FLC transcripts to repressing FLC levels by reducing its stability and splicing. Importantly, FLK binding of FLC transcripts was abolished in vir-1, an m6A writer mutant, and the late-flowering phenotype of the flk mutant could not be rescued by genetic complementation using the mutant FLKm gene, in which the m6A reader encoding function was eliminated, indicating that FLK binds and regulates FLC expression in an m6A-dependent manner. Collectively, our study has addressed a long-standing question of how FLK regulates FLC transcript levels and established a molecular link between the FLK-mediated recognition of m6A modifications on FLC transcripts and floral transition in Arabidopsis.