EXPORTIN 1A Prevents Transgene Silencing in Arabidopsis through Modulating the Nucleo-cytoplasmic Partitioning of HDA6

In eukaryotic cells, nucleo-cytoplasmic trafficking of macromolecules across the nuclear envelope is an essential process that ensures a rapid exchange of different cellular components, including proteins and RNAs, between the nucleus and cytoplasm. The significance of the nucleo-cytoplasmic trafficking of chromatin regulators in regulating DNA methylation and gene silencing is not well understood. Here, using a genetic screen, we identified XPO1A, one of the nuclear export receptors in Arabidopsis, as an anti-silencing factor that protects transgenes from transcriptional silencing. Loss-of-function of XPO1A leads to locus-specific DNA hypermethylation at transgene promoters and some endogenous loci. We found that XPO1A directly interacts with histone deacetylase HDA6 in vivo and the xpo1a mutation causes increased nuclear retention of HDA6 protein, resulting in reduced histone acetylation and enhanced transgene silencing. Our results revealed a new mechanism of epigenetic regulation through the modulation of XPO1A-dependent nucleo-cytoplasm partitioning of a chromatin regulator. Overall design: MethylC-Seq: 1 sample examined: xpo1a-4 mutant (with 35S::SUC2 transgene)