Mediator subunit 3 regulates flowering and is required for the Abscisic acid response in Arabidopsis

Abstract

The Mediator complex interacts with transcription factors to guide the assembly of the Pre-initiation complex in promoter DNA. It also interacts with hormone signaling components, connecting hormone signaling to gene expression, serving as a hub for signal integration. Despite its role being essential, some Mediator subunits have specific roles. Here, we characterized the role of the MED3 subunit of Arabidopsis thaliana. We obtained null med3 mutants by CRISPR Cas9 and show that MED3 promotes flowering in a photoperiod and temperature independent manner. med3 mutants behave similarly to autonomous pathway mutants and we show that late flowering is due to high expression of FLOWERING LOCUS C. However, we also show that exogenous application of gibberellic acid (GA) to med3 mutants drastically changes its architecture, leading to a disproportionately higher number of cauline leaves with respect to rosette leaves. These findings suggest that GAs more effectively promote bolting of med3 mutants, but delay flower appearance later, suggesting that med3 mutants are more sensitive to GAs during reproductive development. Finally, we obtained transcriptomic data showing that ABA response genes are expressed at lower levels in med3 mutants, and show that med3 mutants are less sensitive to ABA during germination. Given the antagonistic roles of GA and ABA, MED3 may also have a role in balancing the relative sensitivity to these hormones.