Arabidopsis thaliana: wild type vs. scl15 mutant

Epigenetic regulation of gene expression is critical for controlling embryonic properties during the embryo-to-seedling phase transition. Here we report that a HISTONE DEACETYLASE19 (HDA19)-associated regulator, SCARECROW LIKE15 (SCL15), is essential for repressing the seed maturation program in vegetative tissues. SCL15 is expressed and GFP-tagged SCL15 predominantly localizes to the vascular bundles, particularly in the phloem companion cells and neighbouring specialized cells. Mutation of SCL15 leads to a global shift in gene expression in seedlings to a profile resembling late embryogenesis in seeds. In scl15 seedlings, many genes involved in seed maturation are markedly derepressed and 12S globulin accumulates; this is correlated with elevated levels of histone acetylation at a subset of seed-specific loci. SCL15 physically interacts with HDA19 and direct targets of HDA19-SCL15 association are identified. These studies revealed that SCL15 acts as an HDA19-associated regulator to repress embryonic traits in seedlings. Two-condition experiment: wild type vs. scl15 mutant seedlings. Biological replicates: 3 wild type and 3 mutant, independently grown and harvested. One replicate per array. Dye-swaps were performed.