Background: DNA topoisomerases (TOPs) are essential components in a diverse range of biological processes including DNA replication, transcription and genome integrity. Although the functions and mechanisms of TOPs, particularly type I TOP (TOP1s), have been extensively studied in bacteria, yeast and animals, researches on these proteins in plants have only recently commenced.
Aim of review: In this review, the function and mechanism studies of TOP1s in plants and the structural biology of plant TOP1 are presented, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the current research status of this essential enzyme.The future research directions for exploring the working mechanism of plant TOP1s are also discussed.
Key scientific concepts of review: Over the past decade, it has been discovered TOP1s play a vital role in multiphasic processes of plant development, such as maintaining meristem activity, gametogenesis, flowering time, gravitropic response and so on. Plant TOP1s affects gene transcription by modulating chromatin status, including chromatin accessibility, DNA/RNA structure, and nucleosome positioning. However, the function and mechanism of this vital enzyme is poorly summarized although it has been systematically summarized in other species. This review summarized the research progresses of plant TOP1s according to the diverse functions and working mechanism in different tissues.
Keywords: Chromatin accessibility; DNA replication; Development; Meristem activity; Topoisomerase.
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