SMXL7 nuclear condensates regulate transcription and chromatin architecture in Arabidopsis [ATAC-seq]

This study investigates the role of SMXL7 protein condensates in regulating gene expression and chromatin organization in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The researchers found that SMXL7 forms phase-separated nuclear condensates that sequester transcription factors and histone demethylases, thereby repressing gene expression. These condensates also associate with and modulate levels of the repressive histone mark H3K27me3, influencing higher-order chromatin structure. The findings reveal a novel mechanism linking plant hormone signaling to epigenetic regulation and nuclear architecture, with implications for understanding how plants control development in response to environmental cues. This work provides new insights into the functions of biomolecular condensates in transcriptional control and hormone signaling in plants. To investigate changes in chromatin accessibility, ATAC-seq was performed on 3-week-old seedlings of wild-type Col-0, s678 mutants and SMXL7d53 plants. The quality of the libraries was assessed by DNA-based fluorometric assay and electrophoresis before sequencing with Illumina HiSeq 4000 paired-end reads of 2 × 50 bp.