The Arabidopsis Mediator CDK8 module genes CCT and GCT are global regulators of developmental phase transitions.

Temporal coordination of developmental programs is necessary for normal ontogeny, but the mechanism by which this is accomplished is poorly understood. We have previously shown that two components of the Mediator CDK8 module, CENTER CITY (CCT/MED12) and GRAND CENTRAL (GCT/MED13), are required for timing of pattern formation during embryogenesis in Arabidopsis. Here, we performed global gene expression analyses of wild-type, cct-1, and gct-2 seedlings (above-ground portions only) to help analyze their post-embryonic phenotypes. Our results suggest that MED12 and MED13 act as global regulators of developmental timing by fine-tuning expression of temporal regulatory genes. Seeds of wild-type Col-0, cct-1, and gct-2 were sown in Fafard #2 soil. Seedlings (above-ground portions only) were harvested when the first two leaf primordia were 1 mm in length, which was at day 7 for wild-type seedlings and day 9 for the two mutants. 75-100 seedlings were used for each of three biological replicates.