Here, the link between non-coding RNA and chromatin regulation is investigated through analysis of FLC — a regulator of flowering time in Arabidopsis and a target of several chromatin pathways. FLC is silenced by prolonged cold in a Polycomb-mediated process called vernalization. Upregulation of long non-coding antisense transcripts covering the entire FLC locus are now suggested to have an early role in the cold-induced silencing mechanism.
- Szymon Swiezewski
- Fuquan Liu
- Caroline Dean