Cell Cycle Control by Nuclear Sequestration ofCDC20andCDH1mRNA in Plant Stem Cells
AbstractIn eukaryotic cells, most RNA molecules are exported into the cytoplasm after being transcribed in the nucleus. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to reside and function primarily inside the nucleus, but nuclear localization of protein-coding messenger RNAs (mRNAs) has been considered rare in both animals and plants. Here we show that two mRNAs, transcribed from theCDC20andCCS52B(plant orthologue ofCDH1) genes, are specifically sequestered inside the nucleus during the cell cycle. CDC20 and CDH1 both function as coactivators of the anaphase-promoting complex or cyclosome (APC/C) E3 ligase to trigger cyclin B (C YCB) destruction. In theArabidopsis thalianashoot apical meristem (SAM), we findCDC20andCCS52Bare co-expressed withCYCBsin mitotic cells.CYCBtranscripts can be exported and translated, whereasCDC20andCCS52BmRNAs are strictly confined to the nucleus at prophase and the cognate proteins are not translated until the redistribution of the mRNAs to the cytoplasm after nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD) at prometaphase. The 5’ untranslated region (UTR) is necessary and sufficient forCDC20mRNA nuclear localization as well as protein translation. Mitotic enrichment ofCDC20andCCS52Btranscripts enables the timely and rapid activation of APC/C, while their nuclear sequestration at prophase appears to protect cyclins from precocious degradation.