HTA9 — Arabidopsis thaliana

Summary

AT1G52740 (HTA9) encodes a probable histone H2A variant 3 (H2A.Z) in Arabidopsis thaliana, a structural constituent of chromatin with histone-fold and H2A/H2B/H3 domains. The gene product is associated with diverse molecular functions including chromatin binding, DNA binding, protein heterodimerization, and various enzymatic activities such as histone acetylase, deacetylase, and protein kinase activities. HTA9 is associated with thermomorphogenesis, temperature detection, vegetative phase change, petal development, and shoot regeneration. Observed phenotypes link H2A.Z to reactive oxygen species production, lateral root development, and gravitropic response. The gene is associated with numerous traits including flowering time, leaf morphology, water use efficiency, high temperature stress response, manganese sensitivity, cytokinin and jasmonic acid sensitivity, root hair length, and germination rate. HTA9 localizes to heterochromatin, centromere complexes, and SWI-SNF and histone acetylase complexes. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to temperature sensing and immunity.