IBB PAS scientists improve the functional classification of SWI/SNF chromatin remodelling complexes
Researchers from the Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation led by Prof. Tomasz J. Sarnowski, in collaboration with two Max-Planck Institutes in Cologne and Potsdam and Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben proposed an improved classification of SWI/SNF-type chromatin remodelling complexes (CRCs) in Arabidopsis. Their work revealed the existence of so far unrecognized non-canonical SWI/SNF subclasses upon pathological conditions. They found a new function of subclasses of SWI/SNF CRCs in the control of various regulatory processes in Arabidopsis, including sugar metabolism, hormonal signalling, development and seed germination.
By demonstrating both shared and unique functions of BAF60/SWP73 subunits of SWI/SNF complexes, given their evolutionarily conservation, this work is of high importance not only for the plant field but also for cancer research, representing the ‘from plant to human’ direction of research.
These findings were published in New Phytologist journal on 23rd May 2025 in the article entitled “BAF60/SWP73 subunits define subclasses of SWI/SNF chromatin remodelling complexes in Arabidopsis”. The first author of this article is Sebastian P. Sacharowski, PhD, and Prof. Tomasz J. Sarnowski is the corresponding author. Szymon Kubala, PhD, Paweł Ćwiek, PhD, eng. and Jarosław Steciuk, PhD, made significant contributions to the work.
The study was co-funded by the Polish National Science Center grants awarded to Tomasz J. Sarnowski (OPUS 7), Sebastian P. Sacharowski (Preludium) and Jaroslaw Steciuk (Preludium).
The publication is available here: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/nph.70182
About New Phytologist
New Phytologist is a leading international journal focusing on high quality, original research across the broad spectrum of plant sciences, from intracellular processes through to global environmental change. The journal is owned by the New Phytologist Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of plant science.