Unraveling the regulatory pathway of lysine-specific histone demethylases in plants

""In Arabidopsis thaliana four lysine-specific histone demethylases were recently identified (AtLSD1, AtLSD2, AtLSD3 and AtLSD4). These proteins participate in epigenetic regulation of gene expression in association with multi-protein complexes and are involved in important developmental processes, such as flower transition and root elongation. . To identify AtLSDs molecular partners, Arabidopsis plants were transformed with a 35S::AtLSD1-FLAG-HA construct and recombinant AtLSD1 together with associated proteins were immunoprecipitated. Mass spectrometry-based analysis of these proteins leads to interesting insights. Phenotypical analysis of loss-of-function atlsd mutants and 35S::AtLSDs transgenic plants under both physiological and stress conditions is in progress. These mutant plants are also analyzed for the expression of genes associated to plant developmental programs and defense resposes to determine the AtLSD specific targets. To obtain information on the tissue- and organ-specific expression pattern of the AtLSDs, AtLSD::GFP-GUS were obtained. Using this multi-disciplinary approach it has been possible to highlight important differences among the various AtLSDs.. ""