Recruitment of bifunctional regulator thermospermine to methylated ribosomes directs xylem fate

Donghwi Ko; Raili Ruonala; Alexandre Faille; Eva Hellmann; Hanna Help; Huili Liu; Ronni Nielsen; Anders Haakonsson; Nuria De Diego; Anja Paatero; Mariia V. Shcherbii; Karolina Stefanowicz; Sanja Ćavar Zeljković; Tine Drud Lundager Rasmussen; Ondrej Novak; Zsuzsanna Bodi; Gugan Eswaran; Brecht Wybouw; Matthieu Bourdon; Cristina Urbez; Xiaonan Liu; Kari Salokas; Tiina Öhman; Tanya Waldie; Petri Törönen; Sedeer El-Showk; Martin Balcerowicz; Fabrice Besnard; Xiaomin Liu; Patrick Perkins; Serina Mazzoni-Putman; Julia P. Vainonen; Maija Sierla; Mikko J. Frilander; Susanne Mandrup; Teva Vernoux; Karin Ljung; Alejandro Ferrando; Miguel A. Blazquez; Liisa Holm; Rupert Fray; Markku Varjosalo; Ottoline Leyser; Ville O. Paavilainen; Ari Pekka Mähönen; Anna Stepanova; Jose Alonso; Steffen Heber; Robert Malinowski; Finn Kirpekar; Alan J. Warren; Ykä Helariutta

doi:10.1126/science.adx2867

Recruitment of bifunctional regulator thermospermine to methylated ribosomes directs xylem fate

Donghwi Ko
, Raili Ruonala
, Alexandre Faille
, Eva Hellmann
, Hanna Help
, Huili Liu
, Ronni Nielsen
, Anders Haakonsson
, Nuria De Diego
, Anja Paatero
, Mariia V. Shcherbii
, Karolina Stefanowicz
, Sanja Ćavar Zeljković
, Tine Drud Lundager Rasmussen
, Ondrej Novak
, Zsuzsanna Bodi
, Gugan Eswaran
, Brecht Wybouw
, Matthieu Bourdon
, Cristina Urbez

Xiaonan Liu, Kari Salokas, Tiina Öhman, Tanya Waldie, Petri Törönen, Sedeer El-Showk, Martin Balcerowicz, Fabrice Besnard, Xiaomin Liu, Patrick Perkins, Serina Mazzoni-Putman, Julia P. Vainonen, Maija Sierla, Mikko J. Frilander, Susanne Mandrup, Teva Vernoux, Karin Ljung, Alejandro Ferrando, Miguel A. Blazquez, Liisa Holm, Rupert Fray, Markku Varjosalo, Ottoline Leyser, Ville O. Paavilainen, Ari Pekka Mähönen, Anna Stepanova, Jose Alonso, Steffen Heber, Robert Malinowski, Finn Kirpekar (Lead / Corresponding author), Alan J. Warren (Lead / Corresponding author), Ykä Helariutta (Lead / Corresponding author)

Plant Sciences

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Abstract

Polyamines are often associated with ribosomes and are thought to stabilize their integrity. In Arabidopsis, the polyamine thermospermine (tSpm) affects xylem cell fate. tSpm induces translation of SUPPRESSOR-OF-ACAULIS51 (SAC51) and SAC51-LIKEs (SACLs), which inhibit heterodimerization of the xylem development proteins LONESOME-HIGHWAY (LHW) and TARGET-OF-MONOPTEROS5. Here, we report a methyltransferase, OVERACHIEVER, that methylates the peptidyl transferase center of the 25S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Residue m3U2952 promotes functional tSpm binding to a specific site connecting the P-site transfer RNA (tRNA) with rRNA residues in the peptidyl transferase center. This interaction enhances the translation of SACLs but inhibits that of LHW. Our study uncovers the dependency between a conserved rRNA base methylation and a polyamine in orchestrating cell fate decisions, highlighting a role for the ribosome chemical landscape in translational regulation.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	694-699
Number of pages	6
Journal	Science (New York, N.Y.)
Volume	391
Issue number	6786
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adx2867
Publication status	Published - 12 Feb 2026

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Author Accepted ManuscriptAccepted author manuscript, 7.38 MBLicence: CC BY

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Ko, D., Ruonala, R., Faille, A., Hellmann, E., Help, H., Liu, H., Nielsen, R., Haakonsson, A., De Diego, N., Paatero, A., Shcherbii, M. V., Stefanowicz, K., Ćavar Zeljković, S., Drud Lundager Rasmussen, T., Novak, O., Bodi, Z., Eswaran, G., Wybouw, B., Bourdon, M., ... Helariutta, Y. (2026). Recruitment of bifunctional regulator thermospermine to methylated ribosomes directs xylem fate. Science (New York, N.Y.), 391(6786), 694-699. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adx2867

@article{42215f12b8b84e078dc74a7682461231,

title = "Recruitment of bifunctional regulator thermospermine to methylated ribosomes directs xylem fate",

abstract = "Polyamines are often associated with ribosomes and are thought to stabilize their integrity. In Arabidopsis, the polyamine thermospermine (tSpm) affects xylem cell fate. tSpm induces translation of SUPPRESSOR-OF-ACAULIS51 (SAC51) and SAC51-LIKEs (SACLs), which inhibit heterodimerization of the xylem development proteins LONESOME-HIGHWAY (LHW) and TARGET-OF-MONOPTEROS5. Here, we report a methyltransferase, OVERACHIEVER, that methylates the peptidyl transferase center of the 25S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Residue m3U2952 promotes functional tSpm binding to a specific site connecting the P-site transfer RNA (tRNA) with rRNA residues in the peptidyl transferase center. This interaction enhances the translation of SACLs but inhibits that of LHW. Our study uncovers the dependency between a conserved rRNA base methylation and a polyamine in orchestrating cell fate decisions, highlighting a role for the ribosome chemical landscape in translational regulation.",

author = "Donghwi Ko and Raili Ruonala and Alexandre Faille and Eva Hellmann and Hanna Help and Huili Liu and Ronni Nielsen and Anders Haakonsson and \{De Diego\}, Nuria and Anja Paatero and Shcherbii, \{Mariia V.\} and Karolina Stefanowicz and \{{\'C}avar Zeljkovi{\'c}\}, Sanja and \{Drud Lundager Rasmussen\}, Tine and Ondrej Novak and Zsuzsanna Bodi and Gugan Eswaran and Brecht Wybouw and Matthieu Bourdon and Cristina Urbez and Xiaonan Liu and Kari Salokas and Tiina {\"O}hman and Tanya Waldie and Petri T{\"o}r{\"o}nen and Sedeer El-Showk and Martin Balcerowicz and Fabrice Besnard and Xiaomin Liu and Patrick Perkins and Serina Mazzoni-Putman and Vainonen, \{Julia P.\} and Maija Sierla and Frilander, \{Mikko J.\} and Susanne Mandrup and Teva Vernoux and Karin Ljung and Alejandro Ferrando and Blazquez, \{Miguel A.\} and Liisa Holm and Rupert Fray and Markku Varjosalo and Ottoline Leyser and Paavilainen, \{Ville O.\} and M{\"a}h{\"o}nen, \{Ari Pekka\} and Anna Stepanova and Jose Alonso and Steffen Heber and Robert Malinowski and Finn Kirpekar and Warren, \{Alan J.\} and Yk{\"a} Helariutta",

note = "Copyright {\textcopyright} 2026 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science.",

year = "2026",

month = feb,

day = "12",

doi = "10.1126/science.adx2867",

language = "English",

volume = "391",

pages = "694--699",

journal = "Science (New York, N.Y.)",

issn = "0036-8075",

publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",

number = "6786",

}

Ko, D, Ruonala, R, Faille, A, Hellmann, E, Help, H, Liu, H, Nielsen, R, Haakonsson, A, De Diego, N, Paatero, A, Shcherbii, MV, Stefanowicz, K, Ćavar Zeljković, S, Drud Lundager Rasmussen, T, Novak, O, Bodi, Z, Eswaran, G, Wybouw, B, Bourdon, M, Urbez, C, Liu, X, Salokas, K, Öhman, T, Waldie, T, Törönen, P, El-Showk, S, Balcerowicz, M, Besnard, F, Liu, X, Perkins, P, Mazzoni-Putman, S, Vainonen, JP, Sierla, M, Frilander, MJ, Mandrup, S, Vernoux, T, Ljung, K, Ferrando, A, Blazquez, MA, Holm, L, Fray, R, Varjosalo, M, Leyser, O, Paavilainen, VO, Mähönen, AP, Stepanova, A, Alonso, J, Heber, S, Malinowski, R, Kirpekar, F, Warren, AJ & Helariutta, Y 2026, 'Recruitment of bifunctional regulator thermospermine to methylated ribosomes directs xylem fate', Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 391, no. 6786, pp. 694-699. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adx2867

TY - JOUR

T1 - Recruitment of bifunctional regulator thermospermine to methylated ribosomes directs xylem fate

AU - Ko, Donghwi

AU - Ruonala, Raili

AU - Faille, Alexandre

AU - Hellmann, Eva

AU - Help, Hanna

AU - Liu, Huili

AU - Nielsen, Ronni

AU - Haakonsson, Anders

AU - De Diego, Nuria

AU - Paatero, Anja

AU - Shcherbii, Mariia V.

AU - Stefanowicz, Karolina

AU - Ćavar Zeljković, Sanja

AU - Drud Lundager Rasmussen, Tine

AU - Novak, Ondrej

AU - Bodi, Zsuzsanna

AU - Eswaran, Gugan

AU - Wybouw, Brecht

AU - Bourdon, Matthieu

AU - Urbez, Cristina

AU - Liu, Xiaonan

AU - Salokas, Kari

AU - Öhman, Tiina

AU - Waldie, Tanya

AU - Törönen, Petri

AU - El-Showk, Sedeer

AU - Balcerowicz, Martin

AU - Besnard, Fabrice

AU - Liu, Xiaomin

AU - Perkins, Patrick

AU - Mazzoni-Putman, Serina

AU - Vainonen, Julia P.

AU - Sierla, Maija

AU - Frilander, Mikko J.

AU - Mandrup, Susanne

AU - Vernoux, Teva

AU - Ljung, Karin

AU - Ferrando, Alejandro

AU - Blazquez, Miguel A.

AU - Holm, Liisa

AU - Fray, Rupert

AU - Varjosalo, Markku

AU - Leyser, Ottoline

AU - Paavilainen, Ville O.

AU - Mähönen, Ari Pekka

AU - Stepanova, Anna

AU - Alonso, Jose

AU - Heber, Steffen

AU - Malinowski, Robert

AU - Kirpekar, Finn

AU - Warren, Alan J.

AU - Helariutta, Ykä

PY - 2026/2/12

Y1 - 2026/2/12

N2 - Polyamines are often associated with ribosomes and are thought to stabilize their integrity. In Arabidopsis, the polyamine thermospermine (tSpm) affects xylem cell fate. tSpm induces translation of SUPPRESSOR-OF-ACAULIS51 (SAC51) and SAC51-LIKEs (SACLs), which inhibit heterodimerization of the xylem development proteins LONESOME-HIGHWAY (LHW) and TARGET-OF-MONOPTEROS5. Here, we report a methyltransferase, OVERACHIEVER, that methylates the peptidyl transferase center of the 25S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Residue m3U2952 promotes functional tSpm binding to a specific site connecting the P-site transfer RNA (tRNA) with rRNA residues in the peptidyl transferase center. This interaction enhances the translation of SACLs but inhibits that of LHW. Our study uncovers the dependency between a conserved rRNA base methylation and a polyamine in orchestrating cell fate decisions, highlighting a role for the ribosome chemical landscape in translational regulation.

AB - Polyamines are often associated with ribosomes and are thought to stabilize their integrity. In Arabidopsis, the polyamine thermospermine (tSpm) affects xylem cell fate. tSpm induces translation of SUPPRESSOR-OF-ACAULIS51 (SAC51) and SAC51-LIKEs (SACLs), which inhibit heterodimerization of the xylem development proteins LONESOME-HIGHWAY (LHW) and TARGET-OF-MONOPTEROS5. Here, we report a methyltransferase, OVERACHIEVER, that methylates the peptidyl transferase center of the 25S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Residue m3U2952 promotes functional tSpm binding to a specific site connecting the P-site transfer RNA (tRNA) with rRNA residues in the peptidyl transferase center. This interaction enhances the translation of SACLs but inhibits that of LHW. Our study uncovers the dependency between a conserved rRNA base methylation and a polyamine in orchestrating cell fate decisions, highlighting a role for the ribosome chemical landscape in translational regulation.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105030225040

U2 - 10.1126/science.adx2867

DO - 10.1126/science.adx2867

M3 - Article

C2 - 41678627

AN - SCOPUS:105030225040

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 391

SP - 694

EP - 699

JO - Science (New York, N.Y.)

JF - Science (New York, N.Y.)

IS - 6786

ER -

Recruitment of bifunctional regulator thermospermine to methylated ribosomes directs xylem fate

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