Arabidopsis NF-YCs play dual roles in repressing brassinosteroid biosynthesis and signaling during light-regulated hypocotyl elongation

Abstract

Light functions as the primary environmental stimulus and brassinosteroids (BRs) as important endogenous growth regulators throughout the plant lifecycle. Photomorphogenesis involves a series of vital developmental processes that require the suppression of BR-mediated seedling growth, but the mechanism underlying the light-controlled regulation of the BR pathway remains unclear. Here, we reveal that nuclear factor YC proteins (NF-YCs) function as essential repressors of the BR pathway during light-controlled hypocotyl growth in Arabidopsis thaliana. In the light, NF-YCs inhibit BR biosynthesis by directly targeting the promoter of the BR biosynthesis gene BR6ox2 and repressing its transcription. NF-YCs also interact with BIN2, a critical repressor of BR signaling, and facilitate its stabilization by promoting its Tyr200 autophosphorylation, thus inhibiting the BR signaling pathway. Consistently, loss-of-function mutants of NF-YCs show etiolated growth and constitutive BR responses, even in the light. Our findings uncover a dual role of NF-YCs in repressing BR biosynthesis and signaling, providing mechanistic insights into how light antagonizes the BR pathway to ensure photomorphogenic growth in Arabidopsis.