Arabidopsis RETINOBLASTOMA-RELATED PROTEIN 1 is involved in G1 phase cell cycle arrest caused by sucrose starvation

Although sucrose availability is crucial for commitment to plant cell division during G1 phase by controlling the expression of D-type cyclins, it has remained unclear how these factors mediate entry into the cell cycle. Here we show that Arabidopsis RETINOBLASTOMA-RELATED PROTEIN 1 (AtRBR1) is involved in G1-phase cell cycle arrest caused by sucrose starvation. We generated estrogen-inducible AtRBR1 RNA interference (RNAi) Arabidopsis suspension MM2d cells, and found that downregulation of AtRBR1 leads to a higher frequency of arrest in G2 phase, instead of G1-phase arrest in the uninduced control, after sucrose starvation. Synchronization experiments confirmed that downregulation of AtRBR1 leads to a prolonged G2 phase and delayed activation of G2/M marker genes. Downregulation of AtRBR1 also stimulated the activation of E2F-regulated genes when these genes were repressed in the uninduced cells under the limited sucrose conditions. We conclude that AtRBR1 is a key effector for the ability of sucrose to modulate progression from G1 phase.