ROS regulated reversible protein phase separation synchronizes plant flowering

How aerobic organisms exploit inevitably generated but potentially dangerous reactive oxygen species (ROS) to benefit normal life is a fundamental biological question. Locally accumulated ROS have been reported to prime stem cell differentiation. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is unclear. Here, we reveal that developmentally produced H2O2 in plant shoot apical meristem (SAM) triggers reversible protein phase separation of TERMINATING FLOWER (TMF), a transcription factor that times flowering transition in the tomato by repressing pre-maturation of SAM. Cysteine residues within TMF sense cellular redox to form disulfide bonds that concatenate multiple TMF molecules and elevate the amount of intrinsically disordered regions to drive phase separation. Oxidation triggered phase separation enables TMF to bind and sequester the promoter of a floral identity gene ANANTHA to repress its expression. The reversible transcriptional condensation via redox-regulated phase separation endows aerobic organisms with the flexibility of gene control in dealing with developmental cues.

Automated summary

The study reveals that H2O2 in plant shoot apical meristem triggers reversible protein phase separation of TMF, a transcription factor that controls flowering transition in tomatoes. This process involves oxidation-regulated disulfide bonds formation within TMF, allowing it to bind and repress the expression of floral identity genes, providing aerobic organisms with flexibility in gene control in response to developmental cues.