RNA-seq and RT-qPCR data showing MDF role in RNA splicing and gene expression control in Arabidopsis

Plants respond to environmental stresses through controlled stem cell
maintenance and meristem activity. One level of transcriptional control is
RNA alternative splicing. However the mechanistic link between stress,
meristem function and RNA splicing is poorly understood.
The MERISTEM-DEFECTIVE (MDF)/DEFECTIVELY ORGANIZED
TRIBUTARIES (DOT2) gene of Arabidopsis encodes a
SR-related family protein, required for meristem function and leaf
vascularization, and is the likely orthologue of the human SART1 and yeast
snu66 splicing factors. MDF is required for the correct splicing and
expression of key transcripts associated with root meristem function. We
identified RSZ33 and ACC1, both known to
regulate cell patterning, as splicing targets required for MDF function in
the meristem. MDF expression is modulated by osmotic and
cold stress, associated with differential splicing and specific isoform
accumulation and shuttling between nucleus and cytosol, and acts in part
via a splicing target SR34. We propose a model in which MDF
controls splicing in the root meristem to promote stemness and repress
stress response and cell differentiation pathways.