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Kaya C, Uğurlar F, Adamakis IDS. Epigenetic Modifications of Hormonal Signaling Pathways in Plant Drought Response and Tolerance for Sustainable Food Security. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:8229. [PMID: 39125799 PMCID: PMC11311266 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25158229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2024] [Revised: 07/25/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Drought significantly challenges global food security, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of plant molecular responses for effective mitigation strategies. Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, are key in regulating genes and hormones essential for drought response. While microRNAs (miRNAs) primarily regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally, they can also interact with epigenetic pathways as potential effectors that influence chromatin remodeling. Although the role of miRNAs in epigenetic memory is still being explored, understanding their contribution to drought response requires examining these indirect effects on epigenetic modifications. A key aspect of this exploration is epigenetic memory in drought-adapted plants, offering insights into the transgenerational inheritance of adaptive traits. Understanding the mechanisms that govern the maintenance and erasure of these epigenetic imprints provides nuanced insights into how plants balance stability and flexibility in their epigenomes. A major focus is on the dynamic interaction between hormonal pathways-such as those for abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene, jasmonates, and salicylic acid (SA)-and epigenetic mechanisms. This interplay is crucial for fine-tuning gene expression during drought stress, leading to physiological and morphological adaptations that enhance plant drought resilience. This review also highlights the transformative potential of advanced technologies, such as bisulfite sequencing and CRISPR-Cas9, in providing comprehensive insights into plant responses to water deficit conditions. These technologies pave the way for developing drought-tolerant crops, which is vital for sustainable agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cengiz Kaya
- Soil Science and Plant Nutrition Department, Harran University, Sanliurfa 63200, Turkey; (C.K.); (F.U.)
| | - Ferhat Uğurlar
- Soil Science and Plant Nutrition Department, Harran University, Sanliurfa 63200, Turkey; (C.K.); (F.U.)
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Wang Z, Xia A, Wang Q, Cui Z, Lu M, Ye Y, Wang Y, He Y. Natural polymorphisms in ZMET2 encoding a DNA methyltransferase modulate the number of husk layers in maize. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2024; 195:2129-2142. [PMID: 38431291 PMCID: PMC11213254 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiae113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
DNA methylation affects agronomic traits and the environmental adaptability of crops, but the natural polymorphisms in DNA methylation-related genes and their contributions to phenotypic variation in maize (Zea mays) remain elusive. Here, we show that a polymorphic 10-bp insertion/deletion variant in the 3'UTR of Zea methyltransferase2 (ZMET2) alters its transcript level and accounts for variation in the number of maize husk layers. ZMET2 encodes a chromomethylase and is required for maintaining genome-wide DNA methylation in the CHG sequence context. Disruption of ZMET2 increased the number of husk layers and resulted in thousands of differentially methylated regions, a proportion of which were also distinguishable in natural ZMET2 alleles. Population genetic analyses indicated that ZMET2 was a target of selection and might play a role in the spread of maize from tropical to temperate regions. Our results provide important insights into the natural variation of ZMET2 that confers both global and locus-specific effects on DNA methylation, which contribute to phenotypic diversity in maize.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio-breeding, National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China
| | - Aiai Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio-breeding, National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China
| | - Qi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio-breeding, National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China
| | - Zhenhai Cui
- Shenyang Key Laboratory of Maize Genomic Selection Breeding, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
| | - Ming Lu
- Maize Research Institute, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Gongzhuling 136100, China
| | - Yusheng Ye
- Maize Research Institute, Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenyang 110065, China
| | - Yanbo Wang
- Maize Research Institute, Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenyang 110065, China
| | - Yan He
- State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio-breeding, National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China
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3
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Cao S, Chen ZJ. Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance during plant evolution and breeding. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024:S1360-1385(24)00112-2. [PMID: 38806375 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2024.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
Plants can program and reprogram their genomes to create genetic variation and epigenetic modifications, leading to phenotypic plasticity. Although consequences of genetic changes are comprehensible, the basis for transgenerational inheritance of epigenetic variation is elusive. This review addresses contributions of external (environmental) and internal (genomic) factors to the establishment and maintenance of epigenetic memory during plant evolution, crop domestication, and modern breeding. Dynamic and pervasive changes in DNA methylation and chromatin modifications provide a diverse repertoire of epigenetic variation potentially for transgenerational inheritance. Elucidating and harnessing epigenetic inheritance will help us develop innovative breeding strategies and biotechnological tools to improve crop yield and resilience in the face of environmental challenges. Beyond plants, epigenetic principles are shared across sexually reproducing organisms including humans with relevance to medicine and public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Cao
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore
| | - Z Jeffrey Chen
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
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Khodaeiaminjan M, Gomes C, Pagano A, Kruszka D, Sulima P, Przyborowski JA, Krajewski P, Paiva JAP. Impacts of in-vitro zebularine treatment on genome-wide DNA methylation and transcriptomic profiles in Salix purpurea L. PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM 2024; 176:e14403. [PMID: 38923551 DOI: 10.1111/ppl.14403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Renewable energy resources such as biomass are crucial for a sustainable global society. Trees are a major source of lignocellulosic biomass, which can vary in response to different environmental factors owing to epigenetic regulation, such as DNA C-methylation. To investigate the effects of DNA methylation on plant development and wood formation, and its impacts on gene expression, with a focus on secondary cell wall (SCW)-associated genes, Salix purpurea plantlets were cloned from buds derived from a single hybrid tree for both treatment and control conditions. For the treatment condition, buds were exposed to 50 μM zebularine in vitro and a combined strategy of whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) and RNA-seq was employed to examine the methylome and transcriptome profiles of different tissues collected at various time points under both conditions. Transcriptomic and methylome data revealed that most of the promoter and gene body demethylation had no marked effects on the expression profiles of genes. Nevertheless, gene expression tended to decrease with the increased methylation levels of genes with highly methylated promoters. Results indicated that demethylation is less evident in centromeric regions and sex chromosomes. Promoters of secondary cell wall-associated genes, such as 4-coumarate-CoA ligase-like and Rac-like GTP-binding protein RHO, were differentially methylated in the secondary xylem samples collected from two-month potted treated plants compared to control samples. Our results provide novel insights into DNA methylation and gene expression landscapes and a basis for investigating the epigenetic regulation of wood formation in S. purpurea as a model plant for bioenergy species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mortaza Khodaeiaminjan
- Department of Integrative Plant Biology, Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Carolina Gomes
- Department of Integrative Plant Biology, Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Andrea Pagano
- Department of Integrative Plant Biology, Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Dariusz Kruszka
- Department of Biometry and Bioinformatics, Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Paweł Sulima
- Department of Genetics, Plant Breeding and Bioresource Engineering, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Jerzy Andrzej Przyborowski
- Department of Genetics, Plant Breeding and Bioresource Engineering, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Paweł Krajewski
- Department of Biometry and Bioinformatics, Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Jorge Almiro Pinto Paiva
- Department of Integrative Plant Biology, Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Poland
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Balan T, Lerner LK, Holoch D, Duharcourt S. Small-RNA-guided histone modifications and somatic genome elimination in ciliates. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. RNA 2024; 15:e1848. [PMID: 38605483 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Transposable elements and other repeats are repressed by small-RNA-guided histone modifications in fungi, plants and animals. The specificity of silencing is achieved through base-pairing of small RNAs corresponding to the these genomic loci to nascent noncoding RNAs, which allows the recruitment of histone methyltransferases that methylate histone H3 on lysine 9. Self-reinforcing feedback loops enhance small RNA production and ensure robust and heritable repression. In the unicellular ciliate Paramecium tetraurelia, small-RNA-guided histone modifications lead to the elimination of transposable elements and their remnants, a definitive form of repression. In this organism, germline and somatic functions are separated within two types of nuclei with different genomes. At each sexual cycle, development of the somatic genome is accompanied by the reproducible removal of approximately a third of the germline genome. Instead of recruiting a H3K9 methyltransferase, small RNAs corresponding to eliminated sequences tether Polycomb Repressive Complex 2, which in ciliates has the unique property of catalyzing both lysine 9 and lysine 27 trimethylation of histone H3. These histone modifications that are crucial for the elimination of transposable elements are thought to guide the endonuclease complex, which triggers double-strand breaks at these specific genomic loci. The comparison between ciliates and other eukaryotes underscores the importance of investigating small-RNAs-directed chromatin silencing in a diverse range of organisms. This article is categorized under: Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > RNAi: Mechanisms of Action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Balan
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France
| | | | - Daniel Holoch
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France
- Institut Curie, INSERM U934/CNRS UMR 3215, Paris Sciences et Lettres Research University, Sorbonne University, Paris, France
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Roelfs KU, Känel A, Twyman RM, Prüfer D, Schulze Gronover C. Epigenetic variation in early and late flowering plants of the rubber-producing Russian dandelion Taraxacum koksaghyz provides insights into the regulation of flowering time. Sci Rep 2024; 14:4283. [PMID: 38383610 PMCID: PMC10881582 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54862-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The Russian dandelion (Taraxacum koksaghyz) grows in temperate zones and produces large amounts of poly(cis-1,4-isoprene) in its roots, making it an attractive alternative source of natural rubber. Most T. koksaghyz plants require vernalization to trigger flower development, whereas early flowering varieties that have lost their vernalization dependence are more suitable for breeding and domestication. To provide insight into the regulation of flowering time in T. koksaghyz, we induced epigenetic variation by in vitro cultivation and applied epigenomic and transcriptomic analysis to the resulting early flowering plants and late flowering controls, allowing us to identify differences in methylation patterns and gene expression that correlated with flowering. This led to the identification of candidate genes homologous to vernalization and photoperiodism response genes in other plants, as well as epigenetic modifications that may contribute to the control of flower development. Some of the candidate genes were homologous to known floral regulators, including those that directly or indirectly regulate the major flowering control gene FT. Our atlas of genes can be used as a starting point to investigate mechanisms that control flowering time in T. koksaghyz in greater detail and to develop new breeding varieties that are more suited to domestication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai-Uwe Roelfs
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Andrea Känel
- Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, 48143, Münster, Germany
| | | | - Dirk Prüfer
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, 48149, Münster, Germany
- Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, 48143, Münster, Germany
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Hu W, Hu S, Li S, Zhou Q, Xie Z, Hao X, Wu S, Tian L, Li D. AtSAMS regulates floral organ development by DNA methylation and ethylene signaling pathway. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2023; 334:111767. [PMID: 37302530 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
S-adenosylmethionine synthase is the key enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of S-adenosylmethionine, which serves as the universal methyl group donor and a common precursor for the biosynthesis of ethylene and polyamines. However, little is known about how SAMS controls plant development. Here, we report that the abnormal floral organ development in the AtSAMS-overexpressing plants is caused by DNA demethylation and ethylene signaling. The whole-genome DNA methylation level decreased, and ethylene content increased in SAMOE. Wild-type plants treated with DNA methylation inhibitor mimicked the phenotypes and the ethylene levels in SAMOE, suggesting that DNA demethylation enhanced ethylene biosynthesis, which led to abnormal floral organ development. DNA demethylation and elevated ethylene resulted in changes in the expression of ABCE genes, which is essential for floral organ development. Furthermore, the transcript levels of ACE genes were highly correlated to their methylation levels, except for the down-regulation of the B gene, which might have resulted from demethylation-independent ethylene signaling. SAMS-mediated methylation and ethylene signaling might create crosstalk in the process of floral organ development. Together, we provide evidence that AtSAMS regulates floral organ development by DNA methylation and ethylene signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenli Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Developmental Biology of Freshwater Fish, Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Crop Sterile Germplasm Resource Innovation and Application, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
| | - Shuang Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Developmental Biology of Freshwater Fish, Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Crop Sterile Germplasm Resource Innovation and Application, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
| | - Shaozhuang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Developmental Biology of Freshwater Fish, Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Crop Sterile Germplasm Resource Innovation and Application, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
| | - Qi Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Developmental Biology of Freshwater Fish, Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Crop Sterile Germplasm Resource Innovation and Application, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
| | - Zijing Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Developmental Biology of Freshwater Fish, Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Crop Sterile Germplasm Resource Innovation and Application, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
| | - Xiaohua Hao
- College of Life and Environmental Science, Hunan University of Arts and Science, Changde 415000, China
| | - Sha Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Developmental Biology of Freshwater Fish, Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Crop Sterile Germplasm Resource Innovation and Application, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
| | - Lianfu Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Developmental Biology of Freshwater Fish, Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Crop Sterile Germplasm Resource Innovation and Application, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China.
| | - Dongping Li
- State Key Laboratory of Developmental Biology of Freshwater Fish, Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Crop Sterile Germplasm Resource Innovation and Application, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China.
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Zhang(张宇鹏) Y, Fan G, Toivainen T, Tengs T, Yakovlev I, Krokene P, Hytönen T, Fossdal CG, Grini PE. Warmer temperature during asexual reproduction induce methylome, transcriptomic, and lasting phenotypic changes in Fragaria vesca ecotypes. HORTICULTURE RESEARCH 2023; 10:uhad156. [PMID: 37719273 PMCID: PMC10500154 DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhad156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/19/2023]
Abstract
Plants must adapt with increasing speed to global warming to maintain their fitness. One rapid adaptation mechanism is epigenetic memory, which may provide organisms sufficient time to adapt to climate change. We studied how the perennial Fragaria vesca adapted to warmer temperatures (28°C vs. 18°C) over three asexual generations. Differences in flowering time, stolon number, and petiole length were induced by warmer temperature in one or more ecotypes after three asexual generations and persisted in a common garden environment. Induced methylome changes differed between the four ecotypes from Norway, Iceland, Italy, and Spain, but shared methylome responses were also identified. Most differentially methylated regions (DMRs) occurred in the CHG context, and most CHG and CHH DMRs were hypermethylated at the warmer temperature. In eight CHG DMR peaks, a highly similar methylation pattern could be observed between ecotypes. On average, 13% of the differentially methylated genes between ecotypes also showed a temperature-induced change in gene expression. We observed ecotype-specific methylation and expression patterns for genes related to gibberellin metabolism, flowering time, and epigenetic mechanisms. Furthermore, we observed a negative correlation with gene expression when repetitive elements were found near (±2 kb) or inside genes. In conclusion, lasting phenotypic changes indicative of an epigenetic memory were induced by warmer temperature and were accompanied by changes in DNA methylation patterns. Both shared methylation patterns and transcriptome differences between F. vesca accessions were observed, indicating that DNA methylation may be involved in both general and ecotype-specific phenotypic variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- YuPeng Zhang(张宇鹏)
- EVOGENE, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0313 Oslo, Norway
- Department of Molecular Plant Biology, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, 1431 Ås, Norway
| | - Guangxun Fan
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Viikki Plant Science Centre, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tuomas Toivainen
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Viikki Plant Science Centre, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Torstein Tengs
- Department of Molecular Plant Biology, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, 1431 Ås, Norway
| | - Igor Yakovlev
- Department of Molecular Plant Biology, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, 1431 Ås, Norway
| | - Paal Krokene
- Department of Molecular Plant Biology, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, 1431 Ås, Norway
| | - Timo Hytönen
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Viikki Plant Science Centre, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Carl Gunnar Fossdal
- Department of Molecular Plant Biology, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, 1431 Ås, Norway
| | - Paul E. Grini
- EVOGENE, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0313 Oslo, Norway
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Zhang Y, Toivainen T, Mackenzie K, Yakovlev I, Krokene P, Hytönen T, Grini PE, Fossdal CG. Methylome, transcriptome, and phenotype changes induced by temperature conditions experienced during sexual reproduction in Fragaria vesca. PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM 2023; 175:e13963. [PMID: 37340851 DOI: 10.1111/ppl.13963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
Temperature conditions experienced during embryogenesis and seed development may induce epigenetic changes that increase phenotypic variation in plants. Here we investigate if embryogenesis and seed development at two different temperatures (28 vs. 18°C) result in lasting phenotypic effects and DNA methylation changes in woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca). Using five European ecotypes from Spain (ES12), Iceland (ICE2), Italy (IT4), and Norway (NOR2 and NOR29), we found statistically significant differences between plants from seeds produced at 18 or 28°C in three of four phenotypic features investigated under common garden conditions. This indicates the establishment of a temperature-induced epigenetic memory-like response during embryogenesis and seed development. The memory effect was significant in two ecotypes: in NOR2 flowering time, number of growth points and petiole length were affected, and in ES12 number of growth points was affected. This indicates that genetic differences between ecotypes in their epigenetic machinery, or other allelic differences, impact this type of plasticity. We observed statistically significant differences between ecotypes in DNA methylation marks in repetitive elements, pseudogenes, and genic elements. Leaf transcriptomes were also affected by embryonic temperature in an ecotype-specific manner. Although we observed significant and lasting phenotypic change in at least some ecotypes, there was considerable variation in DNA methylation between individual plants within each temperature treatment. This within-treatment variability in DNA methylation marks in F. vesca progeny may partly be a result of allelic redistribution from recombination during meiosis and subsequent epigenetic reprogramming during embryogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yupeng Zhang
- Department of Molecular Plant Biology, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Ås, Norway
- EVOGENE, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Tuomas Toivainen
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Viikki Plant Science Centre, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kathryn Mackenzie
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Viikki Plant Science Centre, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Igor Yakovlev
- Department of Molecular Plant Biology, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Ås, Norway
| | - Paal Krokene
- Department of Molecular Plant Biology, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Ås, Norway
| | - Timo Hytönen
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Viikki Plant Science Centre, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Paul E Grini
- EVOGENE, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Carl Gunnar Fossdal
- Department of Molecular Plant Biology, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Ås, Norway
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Panda K, Mohanasundaram B, Gutierrez J, McLain L, Castillo SE, Sheng H, Casto A, Gratacós G, Chakrabarti A, Fahlgren N, Pandey S, Gehan MA, Slotkin RK. The plant response to high CO 2 levels is heritable and orchestrated by DNA methylation. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 238:2427-2439. [PMID: 36918471 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Plant responses to abiotic environmental challenges are known to have lasting effects on the plant beyond the initial stress exposure. Some of these lasting effects are transgenerational, affecting the next generation. The plant response to elevated carbon dioxide (CO2 ) levels has been well studied. However, these investigations are typically limited to plants grown for a single generation in a high CO2 environment while transgenerational studies are rare. We aimed to determine transgenerational growth responses in plants after exposure to high CO2 by investigating the direct progeny when returned to baseline CO2 levels. We found that both the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana and seedless nonvascular plant Physcomitrium patens continue to display accelerated growth rates in the progeny of plants exposed to high CO2 . We used the model species Arabidopsis to dissect the molecular mechanism and found that DNA methylation pathways are necessary for heritability of this growth response. More specifically, the pathway of RNA-directed DNA methylation is required to initiate methylation and the proteins CMT2 and CMT3 are needed for the transgenerational propagation of this DNA methylation to the progeny plants. Together, these two DNA methylation pathways establish and then maintain a cellular memory to high CO2 exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaushik Panda
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | | | - Jorge Gutierrez
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | - Lauren McLain
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | | | - Hudanyun Sheng
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | - Anna Casto
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | - Gustavo Gratacós
- Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, 63130, USA
| | - Ayan Chakrabarti
- Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, 63130, USA
| | - Noah Fahlgren
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | - Sona Pandey
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | - Malia A Gehan
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | - R Keith Slotkin
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, MO, 63132, USA
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, MO, 65211, Columbia, USA
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11
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Bennett M, Hawk TE, Lopes-Caitar VS, Adams N, Rice JH, Hewezi T. Establishment and maintenance of DNA methylation in nematode feeding sites. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 13:1111623. [PMID: 36704169 PMCID: PMC9873351 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1111623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
A growing body of evidence indicates that epigenetic mechanisms, particularly DNA methylation, play key regulatory roles in plant-nematode interactions. Nevertheless, the transcriptional activity of key genes mediating DNA methylation and active demethylation in the nematode feeding sites remains largely unknown. Here, we profiled the promoter activity of 12 genes involved in maintenance and de novo establishment of DNA methylation and active demethylation in the syncytia and galls induced respectively by the cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii and the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita in Arabidopsis roots. The promoter activity assays revealed that expression of the CG-context methyltransferases is restricted to feeding site formation and development stages. Chromomethylase1 (CMT1), CMT2, and CMT3 and Domains Rearranged Methyltransferase2 (DRM2) and DRM3, which mediate non-CG methylation, showed similar and distinct expression patterns in the syncytia and galls at various time points. Notably, the promoters of various DNA demethylases were more active in galls as compared with the syncytia, particularly during the early stage of infection. Mutants impaired in CG or CHH methylation similarly enhanced plant susceptibility to H. schachtii and M. incognita, whereas mutants impaired in CHG methylation reduced plant susceptibility only to M. incognita. Interestingly, hypermethylated mutants defective in active DNA demethylation exhibited contrasting responses to infection by H. schachtii and M. incognita, a finding most likely associated with differential regulation of defense-related genes in these mutants upon nematode infection. Our results point to methylation-dependent mechanisms regulating plant responses to infection by cyst and root-knot nematodes.
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12
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Ferrari M, Muto A, Bruno L, Cozza R. DNA Methylation in Algae and Its Impact on Abiotic Stress Responses. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:241. [PMID: 36678953 PMCID: PMC9861306 DOI: 10.3390/plants12020241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Epigenetics, referring to heritable gene regulatory information that is independent of changes in DNA sequences, is an important mechanism involved both in organism development and in the response to environmental events. About the epigenetic marks, DNA methylation is one of the most conserved mechanisms, playing a pivotal role in organism response to several biotic and abiotic stressors. Indeed, stress can induce changes in gene expression through hypo- or hyper-methylation of DNA at specific loci and/or in DNA methylation at the genome-wide level, which has an adaptive significance and can direct genome evolution. Exploring DNA methylation in responses to abiotic stress could have important implications for improving stress tolerance in algae. This article summarises the DNA methylation pattern in algae and its impact on abiotic stress, such as heavy metals, nutrients and temperature. Our discussion provides information for further research in algae for a better comprehension of the epigenetic response under abiotic stress, which could favour important implications to sustain algae growth under abiotic stress conditions, often related to high biosynthesis of interesting metabolites.
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Morgan BL, Donohue K. Parental methylation mediates how progeny respond to environments of parents and of progeny themselves. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2022; 130:883-899. [PMID: 36201313 PMCID: PMC9758305 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcac125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Environments experienced by both parents and offspring influence progeny traits, but the epigenetic mechanisms that regulate the balance of parental vs. progeny control of progeny phenotypes are not known. We tested whether DNA methylation in parents and/or progeny mediates responses to environmental cues experienced in both generations. METHODS Using Arabidopsis thaliana, we manipulated parental and progeny DNA methylation both chemically, via 5-azacytidine, and genetically, via mutants of methyltransferase genes, then measured progeny germination responses to simulated canopy shade in parental and progeny generations. KEY RESULTS We first found that germination of offspring responded to parental but not seed demethylation. We further found that parental demethylation reversed the parental effect of canopy in seeds with low (Cvi-1) to intermediate (Col) dormancy, but it obliterated the parental effect in seeds with high dormancy (Cvi-0). Demethylation did so by either suppressing germination of seeds matured under white-light (Cvi-1) or under canopy (Cvi-0), or by increasing the germination of seeds matured under canopy (Col). Disruption of parental methylation also prevented seeds from responding to their own light environment in one genotype (Cvi-0, most dormant), but it enabled seeds to respond to their own environment in another genotype (Cvi-1, least dormant). Using mutant genotypes, we found that both CG and non-CG DNA methylation were involved in parental effects on seed germination. CONCLUSIONS Parental methylation state influences seed germination more strongly than does the progeny's own methylation state, and it influences how seeds respond to environments of parents and progeny in a genotype-specific manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Britany L Morgan
- University Program in Ecology Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Kathleen Donohue
- University Program in Ecology Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA
- Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA
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14
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Galanti D, Ramos-Cruz D, Nunn A, Rodríguez-Arévalo I, Scheepens JF, Becker C, Bossdorf O. Genetic and environmental drivers of large-scale epigenetic variation in Thlaspi arvense. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010452. [PMID: 36223399 PMCID: PMC9591053 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural plant populations often harbour substantial heritable variation in DNA methylation. However, a thorough understanding of the genetic and environmental drivers of this epigenetic variation requires large-scale and high-resolution data, which currently exist only for a few model species. Here, we studied 207 lines of the annual weed Thlaspi arvense (field pennycress), collected across a large latitudinal gradient in Europe and propagated in a common environment. By screening for variation in DNA sequence and DNA methylation using whole-genome (bisulfite) sequencing, we found significant epigenetic population structure across Europe. Average levels of DNA methylation were strongly context-dependent, with highest DNA methylation in CG context, particularly in transposable elements and in intergenic regions. Residual DNA methylation variation within all contexts was associated with genetic variants, which often co-localized with annotated methylation machinery genes but also with new candidates. Variation in DNA methylation was also significantly associated with climate of origin, with methylation levels being lower in colder regions and in more variable climates. Finally, we used variance decomposition to assess genetic versus environmental associations with differentially methylated regions (DMRs). We found that while genetic variation was generally the strongest predictor of DMRs, the strength of environmental associations increased from CG to CHG and CHH, with climate-of-origin as the strongest predictor in about one third of the CHH DMRs. In summary, our data show that natural epigenetic variation in Thlaspi arvense is significantly associated with both DNA sequence and environment of origin, and that the relative importance of the two factors strongly depends on the sequence context of DNA methylation. T. arvense is an emerging biofuel and winter cover crop; our results may hence be relevant for breeding efforts and agricultural practices in the context of rapidly changing environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dario Galanti
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Daniela Ramos-Cruz
- Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
- LMU Biocenter, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Adam Nunn
- ecSeq Bioinformatics GmbH, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Computer Science, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Isaac Rodríguez-Arévalo
- Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
- LMU Biocenter, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - J. F. Scheepens
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Claude Becker
- Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
- LMU Biocenter, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Oliver Bossdorf
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- * E-mail:
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15
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Dutta M, Raturi V, Gahlaut V, Kumar A, Sharma P, Verma V, Gupta VK, Sood S, Zinta G. The interplay of DNA methyltransferases and demethylases with tuberization genes in potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) genotypes under high temperature. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:933740. [PMID: 36051291 PMCID: PMC9425917 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.933740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Potato is a temperate crop consumed globally as a staple food. High temperature negatively impacts the tuberization process, eventually affecting crop yield. DNA methylation plays an important role in various developmental and physiological processes in plants. It is a conserved epigenetic mark determined by the dynamic concurrent action of cytosine-5 DNA methyltransferases (C5-MTases) and demethylases (DeMets). However, C5-MTases and DeMets remain unidentified in potato, and their expression patterns are unknown under high temperatures. Here, we performed genome-wide analysis and identified 10 C5-MTases and 8 DeMets in potatoes. Analysis of their conserved motifs, gene structures, and phylogenetic analysis grouped C5-MTases into four subfamilies (StMET, StCMT3, StDRM, and StDNMT2) and DeMets into three subfamilies (StROS, StDML, and StDME). Promoter analysis showed the presence of multiple cis-regulatory elements involved in plant development, hormone, and stress response. Furthermore, expression dynamics of C5-MTases and DeMets were determined in the different tissues (leaf, flower, and stolon) of heat-sensitive (HS) and heat-tolerant (HT) genotypes under high temperature. qPCR results revealed that high temperature resulted in pronounced upregulation of CMT and DRM genes in the HT genotype. Likewise, demethylases showed strong upregulation in HT genotype as compared to HS genotype. Several positive (StSP6A and StBEL5) and negative (StSP5G, StSUT4, and StRAP1) regulators are involved in the potato tuberization. Expression analysis of these genes revealed that high temperature induces the expression of positive regulators in the leaf and stolon samples of HT genotype, possibly through active DNA demethylation and RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway components. Our findings lay a framework for understanding how epigenetic pathways synergistically or antagonistically regulate the tuberization process under high-temperature stress in potatoes. Uncovering such mechanisms will contribute to potato breeding for developing thermotolerant potato varieties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhushree Dutta
- Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Vidhi Raturi
- Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Vijay Gahlaut
- Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, India
| | - Akhil Kumar
- Agrotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, India
| | - Paras Sharma
- Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, India
| | - Vipasha Verma
- Agrotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, India
| | | | - Salej Sood
- Division of Crop Improvement, ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
| | - Gaurav Zinta
- Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
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Wu X, Chai M, Liu J, Jiang X, Yang Y, Guo Y, Li Y, Cheng X. Turnip mosaic virus manipulates DRM2 expression to regulate host CHH and CHG methylation for robust infection. STRESS BIOLOGY 2022; 2:29. [PMID: 37676449 PMCID: PMC10441925 DOI: 10.1007/s44154-022-00052-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
DNA methylation is an important epigenetic marker for the suppression of transposable elements (TEs) and the regulation of plant immunity. However, little is known how RNA viruses counter defense such antiviral machinery. In this study, the change of DNA methylation in turnip mosaic virus (TuMV)-infected cells was analyzed by whole genome bisulfite sequencing. Results showed that the total number of methylated sites of CHH and CHG increased in TuMV-infected cells, the majority of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in the CHH and CHG contexts were associated with hypermethylation. Gene expression analysis showed that the expression of two methylases (DRM2 and CMT3) and three demethylases (ROS3, DML2, DML3) was significantly increased and decreased in TuMV-infected cells, respectively. Pathogenicity tests showed that the enhanced resistance to TuMV of the loss-of-function mutant of DRM2 is associated with unregulated expression of several defense-related genes. Finally, we found TuMV-encoded NIb, the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, was able to induce the expression of DRM2. In conclusion, this study discovered that TuMV can modulate host DNA methylation by regulating the expression of DRM2 to promote virus infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyun Wu
- Key Laboratory of Germplasm Enhancement, Physiology and Ecology of Food Crops in Cold Region of Chinese Education Ministry, College of Agriculture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030 Heilongjiang China
| | - Mengzhu Chai
- Key Laboratory of Germplasm Enhancement, Physiology and Ecology of Food Crops in Cold Region of Chinese Education Ministry, College of Agriculture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030 Heilongjiang China
| | - Jiahui Liu
- Key Laboratory of Germplasm Enhancement, Physiology and Ecology of Food Crops in Cold Region of Chinese Education Ministry, College of Agriculture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030 Heilongjiang China
| | - Xue Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Germplasm Enhancement, Physiology and Ecology of Food Crops in Cold Region of Chinese Education Ministry, College of Agriculture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030 Heilongjiang China
| | - Yingshuai Yang
- Key Laboratory of Germplasm Enhancement, Physiology and Ecology of Food Crops in Cold Region of Chinese Education Ministry, College of Agriculture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030 Heilongjiang China
| | - Yushuang Guo
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Guizhou Academy of Tobacco Science, Guiyang, 550081 China
| | - Yong Li
- College of Life Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030 Heilongjiang China
| | - Xiaofei Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Germplasm Enhancement, Physiology and Ecology of Food Crops in Cold Region of Chinese Education Ministry, College of Agriculture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030 Heilongjiang China
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17
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Chakraborty T, Trujillo JT, Kendall T, Mosher RA. A null allele of the pol IV second subunit impacts stature and reproductive development in Oryza sativa. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 111:748-755. [PMID: 35635763 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
All eukaryotes possess three DNA-dependent RNA polymerases, Pols I-III, while land plants possess two additional polymerases, Pol IV and Pol V. Derived through duplication of Pol II subunits, Pol IV produces 24-nt short interfering RNAs that interact with Pol V transcripts to target de novo DNA methylation and silence transcription of transposons. Members of the grass family encode additional duplicated subunits of Pol IV and V, raising questions regarding the function of each paralog. In this study, we identify a null allele of the putative Pol IV second subunit, NRPD2, and demonstrate that NRPD2 is the sole subunit functioning with NRPD1 in small RNA production and CHH methylation in leaves. Homozygous nrpd2 mutants have neither gametophytic defects nor embryo lethality, although adult plants are dwarf and sterile.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania Chakraborty
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721, USA
| | - Joshua T Trujillo
- Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA
| | - Timmy Kendall
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721, USA
| | - Rebecca A Mosher
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721, USA
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18
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Read A, Weiss T, Crisp PA, Liang Z, Noshay J, Menard CC, Wang C, Song M, Hirsch CN, Springer NM, Zhang F. Genome-wide loss of CHH methylation with limited transcriptome changes in Setaria viridis DOMAINS REARRANGED METHYLTRANSFERASE (DRM) mutants. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 111:103-116. [PMID: 35436373 PMCID: PMC9541237 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
The DOMAINS REARRANGED METHYLTRANSFERASEs (DRMs) are crucial for RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) in plant species. Setaria viridis is a model monocot species with a relatively compact genome that has limited transposable element (TE) content. CRISPR-based genome editing approaches were used to create loss-of-function alleles for the two putative functional DRM genes in S. viridis to probe the role of RdDM. Double mutant (drm1ab) plants exhibit some morphological abnormalities but are fully viable. Whole-genome methylation profiling provided evidence for the widespread loss of methylation in CHH sequence contexts, particularly in regions with high CHH methylation in wild-type plants. Evidence was also found for the locus-specific loss of CG and CHG methylation, even in some regions that lack CHH methylation. Transcriptome profiling identified genes with altered expression in the drm1ab mutants. However, the majority of genes with high levels of CHH methylation directly surrounding the transcription start site or in nearby promoter regions in wild-type plants do not have altered expression in the drm1ab mutant, even when this methylation is lost, suggesting limited regulation of gene expression by RdDM. Detailed analysis of the expression of TEs identified several transposons that are transcriptionally activated in drm1ab mutants. These transposons are likely to require active RdDM for the maintenance of transcriptional repression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Read
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
| | - Trevor Weiss
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
- Center for Precision Plant GenomicsUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
| | - Peter A. Crisp
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
- School of Agriculture and Food SciencesThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQueensland4072Australia
| | - Zhikai Liang
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
| | - Jaclyn Noshay
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
| | - Claire C. Menard
- Department of Agronomy and Plant GeneticsUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
| | - Chunfang Wang
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
- Center for Precision Plant GenomicsUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
| | - Meredith Song
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and DevelopmentUniversity of MinnesotaMinneapolisMinnesota55108USA
| | - Candice N. Hirsch
- Department of Agronomy and Plant GeneticsUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
| | - Nathan M. Springer
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
- Center for Precision Plant GenomicsUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
| | - Feng Zhang
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
- Center for Precision Plant GenomicsUniversity of MinnesotaSaint PaulMinnesota55108USA
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19
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Small regulatory RNAs in rice epigenetic regulation. Biochem Soc Trans 2022; 50:1215-1225. [PMID: 35579290 DOI: 10.1042/bst20210336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Plant small RNAs (sRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that are implicated in various regulatory processes involving post-transcriptional gene silencing and epigenetic gene regulation. In epigenetic regulation, sRNAs are primarily involved in RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathways. sRNAs in the RdDM pathways play a role not only in the suppression of transposable element (TE) activity but also in gene expression regulation. Although the major components of the RdDM pathways have been well studied in Arabidopsis, recent studies have revealed that the RdDM pathways in rice have important biological functions in stress response and developmental processes. In this review, we summarize and discuss recent literature on sRNA-mediated epigenetic regulation in rice. First, we describe the RdDM mechanisms in plants. We then introduce recent discoveries on the biological roles of rice genes involved in the RdDM pathway and TE-derived sRNAs working at specific genomic loci for epigenetic control in rice.
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20
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Matsunaga W, Inukai T, Masuta C. Progressive DNA demethylation in epigenetic hybrids between parental plants with and without methylation of the transgene promoter. TAG. THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS. THEORETISCHE UND ANGEWANDTE GENETIK 2022; 135:883-893. [PMID: 35028697 DOI: 10.1007/s00122-021-04004-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Crosses of parents that differ in their DNA methylation states leads to progressive demethylation in the F1 hybrids. In plant breeding research, hybrid vigor in F1 hybrids is known to be a very important phenomenon. Hybrid vigor, or heterosis, refers to the fact that F1 hybrids from crosses with a certain combination of parents have traits that are superior to those of the parents. In addition, DNA methylation is an important factor that affects gene expression in plant genomes and contributes to hybrid vigor. We introduced the 35S promoter sequence into the cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)-based vector and inoculated the GFP-expressing transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana line 16c with the recombinant virus specifically to induce DNA methylation on the 35S promoter. For plants that had transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) of GFP established by methylation of the 35S promoter (35S-TGS), TGS was fully maintained in their later self-pollinated generations. When the 35S-TGS plants were crossed with 16c, which does not contain DNA methylation in the 35S promoter, the F1 hybrids unexpectedly became progressively DNA demethylated as the plants grew. We hypothesis that in F1 hybrids that are produced by a cross between parents with extremely different gene methylation states, the methylation state of the genes in question may shift more and more to hypomethylation as the plants grow. This progressive demethylation phenomenon observed in this study may be important in plant breeding to reactivate the genes which were silenced by DNA methylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wataru Matsunaga
- Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita 9 Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8589, Japan
| | - Tsuyoshi Inukai
- Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita 9 Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8589, Japan.
| | - Chikara Masuta
- Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita 9 Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8589, Japan.
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21
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Decoding the sorghum methylome: understanding epigenetic contributions to agronomic traits. Biochem Soc Trans 2022; 50:583-596. [PMID: 35212360 PMCID: PMC9022969 DOI: 10.1042/bst20210908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
DNA methylation is a chromatin modification that plays an essential role in regulating gene expression and genome stability and it is typically associated with gene silencing and heterochromatin. Owing to its heritability, alterations in the patterns of DNA methylation have the potential to provide for epigenetic inheritance of traits. Contemporary epigenomic technologies provide information beyond sequence variation and could supply alternative sources of trait variation for improvement in crops such as sorghum. Yet, compared with other species such as maize and rice, the sorghum DNA methylome is far less well understood. The distribution of CG, CHG, and CHH methylation in the genome is different compared with other species. CG and CHG methylation levels peak around centromeric segments in the sorghum genome and are far more depleted in the gene dense chromosome arms. The genes regulating DNA methylation in sorghum are also yet to be functionally characterised; better understanding of their identity and functional analysis of DNA methylation machinery mutants in diverse genotypes will be important to better characterise the sorghum methylome. Here, we catalogue homologous genes encoding methylation regulatory enzymes in sorghum based on genes in Arabidopsis, maize, and rice. Discovering variation in the methylome may uncover epialleles that provide extra information to explain trait variation and has the potential to be applied in epigenome-wide association studies or genomic prediction. DNA methylation can also improve genome annotations and discover regulatory elements underlying traits. Thus, improving our knowledge of the sorghum methylome can enhance our understanding of the molecular basis of traits and may be useful to improve sorghum performance.
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22
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Liu JH, Dong WC, Fei FF, Li XT, Zhang XH, Zhou Y, Zhang XS, Sang YL, Cheng ZJ. Regulation of WOX11 Expression Represents the Difference Between Direct and Indirect Shoot Regeneration. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:850726. [PMID: 35310629 PMCID: PMC8931721 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.850726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Somatic cells of higher plants possess the remarkable ability to regenerate new individuals via reestablishing apical meristems. Reconstitution of shoot meristem is the vital process and is required for application of plant biotechnology. Under in vitro culture condition, shoot meristem can be formed directly or indirectly, depending on the absence or presence of callus as the intermediate status. However, the difference of regulatory mechanisms between the two regeneration types remains unknown. In this study, we established a bi-directional system in which shoots regenerated directly from lateral root primordia (LRP) and indirectly from hypocotyl-derived callus simultaneously. The results based on this system revealed that regulation of WOX11 expression represents the difference between the two regeneration types in two aspects. Firstly, number of founder cells expressing WOX11 is tightly associated with regeneration types. Relatively more founder cells gave rise to callus and produce larger meristem, whereas less founder cells produce LRP that regenerate smaller meristem. Secondly, non-CG DNA methylation specifically regulated WOX11 transcription in LRP and promoted direct shoot regeneration, but had no influence on indirect regeneration. The results provide new insights for understanding the regulatory mechanisms of cell fate transition during de novo organogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiong Hui Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, State Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Silviculture in Downstream Areas of the Yellow River, College of Life Sciences, College of Forestry, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
| | - Wan Chen Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, State Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Silviculture in Downstream Areas of the Yellow River, College of Life Sciences, College of Forestry, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
| | - Fang Fang Fei
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, State Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Silviculture in Downstream Areas of the Yellow River, College of Life Sciences, College of Forestry, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
| | - Xiao Tong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, State Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Silviculture in Downstream Areas of the Yellow River, College of Life Sciences, College of Forestry, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
| | - Xiao Hang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, State Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Silviculture in Downstream Areas of the Yellow River, College of Life Sciences, College of Forestry, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
| | - Yangyan Zhou
- Shandong Salver Group, Salver Academy of Botany, Rizhao, China
| | - Xian Sheng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, State Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Silviculture in Downstream Areas of the Yellow River, College of Life Sciences, College of Forestry, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
| | - Ya Lin Sang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, State Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Silviculture in Downstream Areas of the Yellow River, College of Life Sciences, College of Forestry, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
- Ya Lin Sang,
| | - Zhi Juan Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, State Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Silviculture in Downstream Areas of the Yellow River, College of Life Sciences, College of Forestry, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
- *Correspondence: Zhi Juan Cheng,
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23
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Sigman MJ, Panda K, Kirchner R, McLain LL, Payne H, Peasari JR, Husbands AY, Slotkin RK, McCue AD. An siRNA-guided ARGONAUTE protein directs RNA polymerase V to initiate DNA methylation. NATURE PLANTS 2021; 7:1461-1474. [PMID: 34750500 PMCID: PMC8592841 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-021-01008-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
In mammals and plants, cytosine DNA methylation is essential for the epigenetic repression of transposable elements and foreign DNA. In plants, DNA methylation is guided by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in a self-reinforcing cycle termed RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM). RdDM requires the specialized RNA polymerase V (Pol V), and the key unanswered question is how Pol V is first recruited to new target sites without pre-existing DNA methylation. We find that Pol V follows and is dependent on the recruitment of an AGO4-clade ARGONAUTE protein, and any siRNA can guide the ARGONAUTE protein to the new target locus independent of pre-existing DNA methylation. These findings reject long-standing models of RdDM initiation and instead demonstrate that siRNA-guided ARGONAUTE targeting is necessary, sufficient and first to target Pol V recruitment and trigger the cycle of RdDM at a transcribed target locus, thereby establishing epigenetic silencing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meredith J Sigman
- Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Kaushik Panda
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Rachel Kirchner
- Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | | | - Hayden Payne
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Graduate Program in the School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - John Reddy Peasari
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Aman Y Husbands
- Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - R Keith Slotkin
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
| | - Andrea D McCue
- Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, USA
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Hu D, Yu Y, Wang C, Long Y, Liu Y, Feng L, Lu D, Liu B, Jia J, Xia R, Du J, Zhong X, Gong L, Wang K, Zhai J. Multiplex CRISPR-Cas9 editing of DNA methyltransferases in rice uncovers a class of non-CG methylation specific for GC-rich regions. THE PLANT CELL 2021; 33:2950-2964. [PMID: 34117872 PMCID: PMC8462809 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koab162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
DNA methylation in the non-CG context is widespread in the plant kingdom and abundant in mammalian tissues such as the brain and pluripotent cells. Non-CG methylation in Arabidopsis thaliana is coordinately regulated by DOMAINS REARRANGED METHYLTRANSFERASE (DRM) and CHROMOMETHYLASE (CMT) proteins but has yet to be systematically studied in major crops due to difficulties in obtaining genetic materials. Here, utilizing the highly efficient multiplex CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing system, we created single- and multiple-knockout mutants for all the nine DNA methyltransferases in rice (Oryza sativa) and profiled their whole-genome methylation status at single-nucleotide resolution. Surprisingly, the simultaneous loss of DRM2, CHROMOMETHYLASE3 (CMT2), and CMT3 functions, which completely erases all non-CG methylation in Arabidopsis, only partially reduced it in rice. The regions that remained heavily methylated in non-CG contexts in the rice Os-dcc (Osdrm2/cmt2/cmt3a) triple mutant had high GC contents. Furthermore, the residual non-CG methylation in the Os-dcc mutant was eliminated in the Os-ddccc (Osdrm2/drm3/cmt2/cmt3a/cmt3b) quintuple mutant but retained in the Os-ddcc (Osdrm2/drm3/cmt2/cmt3a) quadruple mutant, demonstrating that OsCMT3b maintains non-CG methylation in the absence of other major methyltransferases. Our results showed that OsCMT3b is subfunctionalized to accommodate a distinct cluster of non-CG-methylated sites at highly GC-rich regions in the rice genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daoheng Hu
- School of Life Sciences & Institute of Plant and Food Science & Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
- College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Yiming Yu
- School of Life Sciences & Institute of Plant and Food Science & Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
| | - Chun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, China National Rice Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yanping Long
- School of Life Sciences & Institute of Plant and Food Science & Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
| | - Yue Liu
- School of Life Sciences & Institute of Plant and Food Science & Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
| | - Li Feng
- School of Life Sciences & Institute of Plant and Food Science & Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
| | - Dongdong Lu
- School of Life Sciences & Institute of Plant and Food Science & Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
| | - Bo Liu
- School of Life Sciences & Institute of Plant and Food Science & Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
| | - Jinbu Jia
- School of Life Sciences & Institute of Plant and Food Science & Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
| | - Rui Xia
- College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Jiamu Du
- School of Life Sciences & Institute of Plant and Food Science & Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
| | - Xuehua Zhong
- Laboratory of Genetics & Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Lei Gong
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of the Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
| | - Kejian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, China National Rice Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jixian Zhai
- School of Life Sciences & Institute of Plant and Food Science & Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
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25
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Lv Z, Dai R, Xu H, Liu Y, Bai B, Meng Y, Li H, Cao X, Bai Y, Song X, Zhang J. The rice histone methylation regulates hub species of the root microbiota. J Genet Genomics 2021; 48:836-843. [PMID: 34391677 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2021.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 06/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Plants have a close relationship with their root microbiota, which comprises a complex microbial network. Histone methylation is an important epigenetic modification influencing multiple plant traits; however, little is known about the role of plant histone methylation in the assembly and network structure of the root microbiota. In this study, we established that the rice (Oryza sativa) histone methylation regulates the structure and composition of the root microbiota, especially the hub species in the microbial network. DJ-jmj703 (defective in histone H3K4 demethylation) and ZH11-sdg714 (defective in H3K9 methylation) showed significant different root microbiota compared with the corresponding wild types at the phylum and family levels, with a consistent increase in the abundance of Betaproteobacteria and a decrease in the Firmicutes. In the root microbial network, 35 of 44 hub species in the top 10 modules in the tested field were regulated by at least one histone methylation-related gene. These observations establish that the rice histone methylation plays a pivotal role in regulating the assembly of the root microbiota, providing insights into the links between plant epigenetic regulation and root microbiota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyao Lv
- College of Life Sciences, Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin 130118, China
| | - Rui Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Haoran Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yongxin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Bo Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Shandong Rice Research Institute, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China
| | - Ying Meng
- Institute of Farming and Cultivation, Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150086, China
| | - Haiyan Li
- College of Life Sciences, Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin 130118, China
| | - Xiaofeng Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Yang Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Xianwei Song
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; INASEED, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Jingying Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
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26
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Bennett M, Cleaves K, Hewezi T. Expression Patterns of DNA Methylation and Demethylation Genes during Plant Development and in Response to Phytohormones. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22189681. [PMID: 34575855 PMCID: PMC8470644 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22189681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
DNA methylation and demethylation precisely and effectively modulate gene expression during plant growth and development and in response to stress. However, expression profiles of genes involved in DNA methylation and demethylation during plant development and their responses to phytohormone treatments remain largely unknown. We characterized the spatiotemporal expression patterns of genes involved in de novo methylation, methyl maintenance, and active demethylation in roots, shoots, and reproductive organs using β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter lines. Promoters of DNA demethylases were generally more highly active at the mature root tissues, whereas the promoters of genes involved in DNA methylation were more highly active at fast-growing root tissues. The promoter activity also implies that methylation status in shoot apex, leaf primordia, floral organs, and developing embryos is under tight equilibrium through the activity of genes involved in DNA methylation and demethylation. The promoter activity of DNA methylation and demethylation-related genes in response to various phytohormone treatments revealed that phytohormones can alter DNA methylation status in specific and redundant ways. Overall, our results illustrate that DNA methylation and demethylation pathways act synergistically and antagonistically in various tissues and in response to phytohormone treatments and point to the existence of hormone-linked methylome regulation mechanisms that may contribute to tissue differentiation and development.
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27
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Long J, Liu J, Xia A, Springer NM, He Y. Maize decrease in DNA methylation 1 targets RNA-directed DNA methylation on active chromatin. THE PLANT CELL 2021; 33:2183-2196. [PMID: 33779761 PMCID: PMC8364229 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koab098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
DNA methylation plays vital roles in repressing transposable element activity and regulating gene expression. The chromatin-remodeling factor Decrease in DNA methylation 1 (DDM1) is crucial for maintaining DNA methylation across diverse plant species, and is required for RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) to maintain mCHH islands in maize (Zea mays). However, the mechanisms by which DDM1 is involved in RdDM are not well understood. In this work, we used chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with high-throughput sequencing to ascertain the genome-wide occupancy of ZmDDM1 in the maize genome. The results revealed that ZmDDM1 recognized an 8-bp-long GC-rich degenerate DNA sequence motif, which is enriched in transcription start sites and other euchromatic regions. Meanwhile, 24-nucleotide siRNAs and CHH methylation were delineated at the edge of ZmDDM1-occupied sites. ZmDDM1 co-purified with Argonaute 4 (ZmAGO4) proteins, providing further evidence that ZmDDM1 is a component of RdDM complexes in planta. Consistent with this, the vast majority of ZmDDM1-targeted regions co-localized with ZmAGO4-bound genomic sites. Overall, our results suggest a model that ZmDDM1 may be recruited to euchromatic regions via recognition of a GC-rich motif, thereby remodeling chromatin to provide access for RdDM activities in maize.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jincheng Long
- MOE Key Laboratory of Crop Heterosis and Utilization, National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China
| | - Jinghan Liu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Crop Heterosis and Utilization, National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China
| | - Aiai Xia
- MOE Key Laboratory of Crop Heterosis and Utilization, National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China
| | - Nathan M. Springer
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Yan He
- MOE Key Laboratory of Crop Heterosis and Utilization, National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China
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28
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Dalakouras A, Vlachostergios D. Epigenetic approaches to crop breeding: current status and perspectives. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2021; 72:5356-5371. [PMID: 34017985 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
In order to tackle the cumulative adverse effects of global climate change, reduced farmland, and heightened needs of an ever-increasing world population, modern agriculture is in urgent search of solutions that can ensure world food security and sustainable development. Classical crop breeding is still a powerful method to obtain crops with valued agronomical traits, but its potential is gradually being compromised by the menacing decline of genetic variation. Resorting to the epigenome as a source of variation could serve as a promising alternative. Here, we discuss current status of epigenetics-mediated crop breeding (epibreeding), highlight its advances and limitations, outline currently available methodologies, and propose novel RNA-based strategies to modify the epigenome in a gene-specific and transgene-free manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Athanasios Dalakouras
- Institute of Industrial and Forage Crops, HAO-DEMETER, 41335 Larissa, Greece
- Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, HAO-DEMETER, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
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29
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RNA-directed DNA methylation prevents rapid and heritable reversal of transposon silencing under heat stress in Zea mays. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009326. [PMID: 34125827 PMCID: PMC8224964 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In large complex plant genomes, RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) ensures that epigenetic silencing is maintained at the boundary between genes and flanking transposable elements. In maize, RdDM is dependent on Mediator of Paramutation1 (Mop1), a gene encoding a putative RNA dependent RNA polymerase. Here we show that although RdDM is essential for the maintenance of DNA methylation of a silenced MuDR transposon in maize, a loss of that methylation does not result in a restoration of activity. Instead, heritable maintenance of silencing is maintained by histone modifications. At one terminal inverted repeat (TIR) of this element, heritable silencing is mediated via histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2), and histone H3 lysine 27 dimethylation (H3K27me2), even in the absence of DNA methylation. At the second TIR, heritable silencing is mediated by histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3), a mark normally associated with somatically inherited gene silencing. We find that a brief exposure of high temperature in a mop1 mutant rapidly reverses both of these modifications in conjunction with a loss of transcriptional silencing. These reversals are heritable, even in mop1 wild-type progeny in which methylation is restored at both TIRs. These observations suggest that DNA methylation is neither necessary to maintain silencing, nor is it sufficient to initiate silencing once has been reversed. However, given that heritable reactivation only occurs in a mop1 mutant background, these observations suggest that DNA methylation is required to buffer the effects of environmental stress on transposable elements. Most plant genomes are mostly transposable elements (TEs), most of which are held in check by modifications of both DNA and histones. The bulk of silenced TEs are associated with methylated DNA and histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2). In contrast, epigenetically silenced genes are often associated with histone lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3). Although stress can affect each of these modifications, plants are generally competent to rapidly reset them following that stress. Here we demonstrate that although DNA methylation is not required to maintain silencing of the MuDR element, it is essential for preventing heat-induced, stable and heritable changes in both H3K9me2 and H3K27me3 at this element, and for concomitant changes in transcriptional activity. These finding suggest that RdDM acts to buffer the effects of heat on silenced transposable elements, and that a loss of DNA methylation under conditions of stress can have profound and long-lasting effects on epigenetic silencing in maize.
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30
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Niu Q, Song Z, Tang K, Chen L, Wang L, Ban T, Guo Z, Kim C, Zhang H, Duan CG, Zhang H, Zhu JK, Du J, Lang Z. A histone H3K4me1-specific binding protein is required for siRNA accumulation and DNA methylation at a subset of loci targeted by RNA-directed DNA methylation. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3367. [PMID: 34099688 PMCID: PMC8184781 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23637-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
In plants, RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) is a well-known de novo DNA methylation pathway that involves two plant-specific RNA polymerases, Pol IV and Pol V. In this study, we discovered and characterized an RdDM factor, RDM15. Through DNA methylome and genome-wide siRNA analyses, we show that RDM15 is required for RdDM-dependent DNA methylation and siRNA accumulation at a subset of RdDM target loci. We show that RDM15 contributes to Pol V-dependent downstream siRNA accumulation and interacts with NRPE3B, a subunit specific to Pol V. We also show that the C-terminal tudor domain of RDM15 specifically recognizes the histone 3 lysine 4 monomethylation (H3K4me1) mark. Structure analysis of RDM15 in complex with the H3K4me1 peptide showed that the RDM15 tudor domain specifically recognizes the monomethyllysine through an aromatic cage and a specific hydrogen bonding network; this chemical feature-based recognition mechanism differs from all previously reported monomethyllysine recognition mechanisms. RDM15 and H3K4me1 have similar genome-wide distribution patterns at RDM15-dependent RdDM target loci, establishing a link between H3K4me1 and RDM15-mediated RdDM in vivo. In summary, we have identified and characterized a histone H3K4me1-specific binding protein as an RdDM component, and structural analysis of RDM15 revealed a chemical feature-based lower methyllysine recognition mechanism. In plants, RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) is a de novo DNA methylation pathway that is responsible for transcriptional silencing of repetitive elements. Here, the authors characterized a new RdDM factor, RDM15, and show that it is required for RdDM-dependent DNA methylation and siRNA accumulation at a subset of RdDM target loci.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingfeng Niu
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhe Song
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Kai Tang
- Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Lixian Chen
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lisi Wang
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ting Ban
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhongxin Guo
- Vector-borne Virus Research Center, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry Universtiy, Fuzhou, China
| | - Chanhong Kim
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Heng Zhang
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Cheng-Guo Duan
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Huiming Zhang
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Jian-Kang Zhu
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Jiamu Du
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Institute of Plant and Food Science, School of Life Science, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
| | - Zhaobo Lang
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
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31
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Fan X, Liu L, Qian K, Chen J, Zhang Y, Xie P, Xu M, Hu Z, Yan W, Wu Y, Xu G, Fan X. Plant DNA methylation is sensitive to parent seed N content and influences the growth of rice. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2021; 21:211. [PMID: 33975546 PMCID: PMC8111971 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-021-02953-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nitrogen (N) is an important nutrient for plant growth, development, and agricultural production. Nitrogen stress could induce epigenetic changes in plants. In our research, overexpression of the OsNAR2.1 line was used as a testing target in rice plants with high nitrogen-use efficiency to study the changes of rice methylation and growth in respond of the endogenous and external nitrogen stress. RESULTS Our results showed that external N deficiency could decrease seed N content and plant growth of the overexpression line. During the filial growth, we found that the low parent seed nitrogen (LPSN) in the overexpression line could lead to a decrease in the filial seed nitrogen content, total plant nitrogen content, yield, and OsNAR2.1 expression (28, 35, 23, and 55%, respectively) compared with high parent seed nitrogen (HPSN) in high nitrogen external supply. However, such decreases were not observed in wild type. Furthermore, methylation sequencing results showed that LPSN caused massive gene methylation changes, which enriched in over 20 GO pathways in the filial overexpression line, and the expression of OsNAR2.1 in LPSN filial overexpression plants was significantly reduced compared to HPSN filial plants in high external N, which was not shown in wild type. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that the parent seed nitrogen content decreased induced DNA methylation changes at the epigenetic level and significantly decreased the expression of OsNAR2.1, resulting in a heritable phenotype of N deficiency over two generations of the overexpression line.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoru Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, MOA Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- College of Resource and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Laihua Liu
- Vazyme Biotech Co Ltd, Nanjing, 210033, China
| | - Kaiyun Qian
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, MOA Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- College of Resource and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Jingguang Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, MOA Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- School of Agriculture, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Yuyue Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, MOA Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- College of Resource and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Peng Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, MOA Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- College of Resource and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Man Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, MOA Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- College of Resource and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Zhi Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, MOA Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- College of Resource and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - WenKai Yan
- Bioinformatics Center, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Yufeng Wu
- Bioinformatics Center, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Guohua Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, MOA Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- College of Resource and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Xiaorong Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, MOA Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
- College of Resource and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
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Carballo J, Zappacosta D, Marconi G, Gallardo J, Di Marsico M, Gallo CA, Caccamo M, Albertini E, Echenique V. Differential Methylation Patterns in Apomictic vs. Sexual Genotypes of the Diplosporous Grass Eragrostis curvula. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 10:plants10050946. [PMID: 34068493 PMCID: PMC8150776 DOI: 10.3390/plants10050946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism by which a methyl group is added to a cytosine or an adenine. When located in a gene/regulatory sequence it may repress or de-repress genes, depending on the context and species. Eragrostis curvula is an apomictic grass in which facultative genotypes increases the frequency of sexual pistils triggered by epigenetic mechanisms. The aim of the present study was to look for correlations between the reproductive mode and specific methylated genes or genomic regions. To do so, plants with contrasting reproductive modes were investigated through MCSeEd (Methylation Context Sensitive Enzyme ddRad) showing higher levels of DNA methylation in apomictic genotypes. Moreover, an increased proportion of differentially methylated positions over the regulatory regions were observed, suggesting its possible role in regulation of gene expression. Interestingly, the methylation pathway was also found to be self-regulated since two of the main genes (ROS1 and ROS4), involved in de-methylation, were found differentially methylated between genotypes with different reproductive behavior. Moreover, this work allowed us to detect several genes regulated by methylation that were previously found as differentially expressed in the comparisons between apomictic and sexual genotypes, linking DNA methylation to differences in reproductive mode.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Carballo
- Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida (CERZOS–CCT–CONICET Bahía Blanca), Camino de la Carrindanga km 7, 8000 Bahía Blanca, Argentina; (J.C.); (D.Z.); (J.G.); (C.A.G.)
- Departamento de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS), San Andrés 800, 8000 Bahía Blanca, Argentina
| | - Diego Zappacosta
- Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida (CERZOS–CCT–CONICET Bahía Blanca), Camino de la Carrindanga km 7, 8000 Bahía Blanca, Argentina; (J.C.); (D.Z.); (J.G.); (C.A.G.)
- Departamento de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS), San Andrés 800, 8000 Bahía Blanca, Argentina
| | - Gianpiero Marconi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06121 Perugia, Italy; (G.M.); (M.D.M.)
| | - Jimena Gallardo
- Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida (CERZOS–CCT–CONICET Bahía Blanca), Camino de la Carrindanga km 7, 8000 Bahía Blanca, Argentina; (J.C.); (D.Z.); (J.G.); (C.A.G.)
- Departamento de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS), San Andrés 800, 8000 Bahía Blanca, Argentina
| | - Marco Di Marsico
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06121 Perugia, Italy; (G.M.); (M.D.M.)
| | - Cristian A. Gallo
- Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida (CERZOS–CCT–CONICET Bahía Blanca), Camino de la Carrindanga km 7, 8000 Bahía Blanca, Argentina; (J.C.); (D.Z.); (J.G.); (C.A.G.)
| | - Mario Caccamo
- NIAB, 93 Lawrence Weaver Road, Cambridge CB3 0LE, UK;
| | - Emidio Albertini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06121 Perugia, Italy; (G.M.); (M.D.M.)
- Correspondence: (E.A.); (V.E.); Tel.: +39-075-585-6206 (E.A.); +54-291-486-1124 (V.E.)
| | - Viviana Echenique
- Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida (CERZOS–CCT–CONICET Bahía Blanca), Camino de la Carrindanga km 7, 8000 Bahía Blanca, Argentina; (J.C.); (D.Z.); (J.G.); (C.A.G.)
- Departamento de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS), San Andrés 800, 8000 Bahía Blanca, Argentina
- Correspondence: (E.A.); (V.E.); Tel.: +39-075-585-6206 (E.A.); +54-291-486-1124 (V.E.)
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Li D, Feng BE, Liu YJ, Gong J, Tang YM, Zhang LP, Pang BS, Sun RW, Zhang FT, Chen ZB, Wang YB, Chen XC, Wang AP, Zhao CP, Gao SQ. Genome-wide identification and transcriptional characterization of DNA methyltransferases conferring temperature-sensitive male sterility in wheat. BMC Genomics 2021; 22:310. [PMID: 33926387 PMCID: PMC8082647 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-07600-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Background DNA methyltransferase (DMT) genes contribute to plant stress responses and development by de novo establishment and subsequent maintenance of DNA methylation during replication. The photoperiod and/or temperature-sensitive genic male sterile (P/TGMS) lines play an important role in hybrid seed production of wheat. However, only a few studies have reported on the effect of DMT genes on temperature-sensitive male sterility of wheat. Although DMT genes have been investigated in some plant species, the identification and analysis of DMT genes in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) based on genome-wide levels have not been reported. Results In this study, a detailed overview of phylogeny of 52 wheat DMT (TaDMT) genes was presented. Homoeolog retention for TaDMT genes was significantly above the average retention rate for whole-wheat genes, indicating the functional importance of many DMT homoeologs. We found that the strikingly high number of TaDMT genes resulted mainly from the significant expansion of the TaDRM subfamily. Intriguingly, all 5 paralogs belonged to the wheat DRM subfamily, and we speculated that tandem duplications might play a crucial role in the TaDRM subfamily expansion. Through the transcriptional analysis of TaDMT genes in a TGMS line BS366 and its hybrids with the other six fertile lines under sterile and fertile conditions, we concluded that TaCMT-D2, TaMET1-B1, and TaDRM-U6 might be involved in male sterility in BS366. Furthermore, a correlation analysis showed that TaMET1-B1 might negatively regulate the expression of TaRAFTIN1A, an important gene for pollen development, so we speculated regarding an epigenetic regulatory mechanism underlying the male sterility of BS366 via the interaction between TaMET1-B1 and TaRAFTIN1A. Conclusions Our findings presented a detailed phylogenic overview of the DMT genes and could provide novel insights into the effects of DMT genes on TGMS wheat. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-07600-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Li
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China
| | - Bian-E Feng
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.,Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, 030800, China
| | - Yong-Jie Liu
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China
| | - Jie Gong
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China
| | - Yi-Miao Tang
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China
| | - Li-Ping Zhang
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China
| | - Bin-Shuang Pang
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China
| | - Ren-Wei Sun
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China
| | - Feng-Ting Zhang
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China
| | - Zhao-Bo Chen
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China
| | - Yong-Bo Wang
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China
| | - Xian-Chao Chen
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China
| | - Ai-Ping Wang
- Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, 030800, China.
| | - Chang-Ping Zhao
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.
| | - Shi-Qing Gao
- The Municipal Key Laboratory of the Molecular Genetics of Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.
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Assembly of a dsRNA synthesizing complex: RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2 contacts the largest subunit of NUCLEAR RNA POLYMERASE IV. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2019276118. [PMID: 33753485 PMCID: PMC8020760 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2019276118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) can inhibit mRNA translation or guide chromatin modifications that inhibit transcription, thus impacting gene regulation. In plants, transcriptional gene silencing involves siRNAs whose double-stranded (ds) precursors are generated by the coupled activities of NUCLEAR RNA POLYMERASE IV and RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2. We present evidence that Pol IV-RDR2 association involves contact between RDR2 and NRPD1, Pol IV’s largest catalytic subunit. As the only subunit never shared by Pol II or Pol IV, NRPD1 interaction accounts for RDR2's specific association with Pol IV. The positions of the protein docking sites suggest that Pol IV transcripts are generated in close proximity to RDR2’s catalytic site, enabling RDR2 to efficiently engage Pol IV transcripts and convert them into dsRNAs. In plants, transcription of selfish genetic elements such as transposons and DNA viruses is suppressed by RNA-directed DNA methylation. This process is guided by 24-nt short-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) whose double-stranded precursors are synthesized by DNA-dependent NUCLEAR RNA POLYMERASE IV (Pol IV) and RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2 (RDR2). Pol IV and RDR2 coimmunoprecipitate, and their activities are tightly coupled, yet the basis for their association is unknown. Here, we show that an interval near the RDR2 active site contacts the Pol IV catalytic subunit, NRPD1, the largest of Pol IV’s 12 subunits. Contacts between the catalytic regions of the two enzymes suggests that RDR2 is positioned to rapidly engage the free 3′ ends of Pol IV transcripts and convert these single-stranded transcripts into double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs).
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Yang J, Zhou X, Wu S, Gu D, Zeng L, Yang Z. Involvement of DNA methylation in regulating the accumulation of the aroma compound indole in tea (Camellia sinensis) leaves during postharvest processing. Food Res Int 2021; 142:110183. [PMID: 33773659 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2021.110183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The manufacturing process of tea (Camellia sinensis), especially oolong tea, involves multiple postharvest stresses. These stresses can induce the formation and accumulation of many important aroma compounds, such as indole-a key floral aroma contributor of oolong tea. However, little is known about the regulation mechanisms of aroma compound formation, especially epigenetic regulation. DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification. Changes in the DNA methylation levels of promoter sequences can regulate gene expression under stress conditions. In this study, the differences in DNA methylation levels and histone 3 lysine 9 dimethylation levels of indole key biosynthetic gene (tryptophan synthase β-subunit 2, CsTSB2) were detected between untreated and continuous wounding treatment tea leaves. The results show that the DNA methylation levels affect the ability of the basic helix-loop-helix family transcription factor CsMYC2a to bind to the promoter of CsTSB2. Analyses of the transcript levels of DNA methyltransferases during oolong tea processing screened out candidate genes involved in the regulation of secondary metabolite product biosynthesis/accumulation. The results suggest that the domains rearranged methyltransferase 3, a DNA methyltransferase, is involved in the DNA methylation regulation of indole formation during the oolong tea manufacturing process. This is the first report on the involvement of DNA methylation in the regulation of aroma compound formation in tea leaves exposed to postharvest stresses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Yang
- Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Xiaochen Zhou
- Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shuhua Wu
- Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Dachuan Gu
- Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Lanting Zeng
- Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510650, China; Center of Economic Botany, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Ziyin Yang
- Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China; Center of Economic Botany, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510650, China.
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Chen J, Liu J, Jiang J, Qian S, Song J, Kabara R, Delo I, Serino G, Liu F, Hua Z, Zhong X. F-box protein CFK1 interacts with and degrades de novo DNA methyltransferase in Arabidopsis. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 229:3303-3317. [PMID: 33216996 PMCID: PMC7902366 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
DNA methylation plays crucial roles in cellular development and stress responses through gene regulation and genome stability control. Precise regulation of DOMAINS REARRANGED METHYLTRANSFERASE 2 (DRM2), the de novo Arabidopsis DNA methyltransferase, is crucial to maintain DNA methylation homeostasis to ensure genome integrity. Compared with the extensive studies on DRM2 targeting mechanisms, little information is known regarding the quality control of DRM2 itself. Here, we conducted yeast two-hybrid screen assay and identified an E3 ligase, COP9 INTERACTING F-BOX KELCH 1 (CFK1), as a novel DRM2-interacting partner and targets DRM2 for degradation via the ubiquitin-26S proteasome pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana. We also performed whole genome bisulfite sequencing (BS-seq) to determine the biological significance of CFK1-mediated DRM2 degradation. Loss-of-function CFK1 leads to increased DRM2 protein abundance and overexpression of CFK1 showed reduced DRM2 protein levels. Consistently, CFK1 overexpression induces genome-wide CHH hypomethylation and transcriptional de-repression at specific DRM2 target loci. This study uncovered a distinct mechanism regulating de novo DNA methyltransferase by CFK1 to control DNA methylation level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiani Chen
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53715, USA
| | - Jie Liu
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53715, USA
| | - Jianjun Jiang
- Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
- Institute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Food Quality and Safety-State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base of Ministry of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210014, China
| | - Shuiming Qian
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53715, USA
| | - Jingwen Song
- Department of Environmental and Plant Biology & Interdisciplinary Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
| | - Rachel Kabara
- Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
| | - Isabel Delo
- Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
| | - Giovanna Serino
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Sapienza Università di Roma, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Fengquan Liu
- Institute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Food Quality and Safety-State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base of Ministry of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210014, China
| | - Zhihua Hua
- Department of Environmental and Plant Biology & Interdisciplinary Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
| | - Xuehua Zhong
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53715, USA
- Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
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Bai M, Liu J, Fan C, Chen Y, Chen H, Lu J, Sun J, Ning G, Wang C. KSN heterozygosity is associated with continuous flowering of Rosa rugosa Purple branch. HORTICULTURE RESEARCH 2021; 8:26. [PMID: 33518715 PMCID: PMC7848002 DOI: 10.1038/s41438-021-00464-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Revised: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Rose (Rosa spp.) plants flower via two contrasting methods: once flowering (OF) and continuous flowering (CF). Purple branch is a rare continuously flowering variety of Rosa rugosa that is extensively cultivated in China. However, the genetic basis of its CF behavior is unknown. We demonstrated that Purple branch is heterozygous for the TFL1 homolog KSN. One KSN allele with a 9 kb Copia insertion was found to be identical to that from continuously flowering Rosa chinensis Old blush. The other allele was found to be a functional wild-type allele. The overall expression of KSN was closely linked to the floral transition, and it was significantly repressed in continuously flowering Purple branch compared with OF Plena. The promoter region of the normal KSN allele was hypermethylated, and histone methylation at H3H4, H3K9, and H3K27 of the KSN gene locus was modified in continuously flowering Purple branch. Silencing of the DNA methyltransferase genes MET1 and CMT3 and the histone methyltransferase gene SUVR5 in Purple branch led to enhanced KSN expression, but silencing of the histone demethylase gene JMJ12 suppressed KSN expression. Therefore, the CF habit of Purple branch may be due to reduced expression of KSN caused by the halved dose and may be associated with epigenetic modifications together with retrotransposon insertions along the chromosome. Our study revealed a novel mechanism underlying the CF behavior of rose plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengjuan Bai
- College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Jinyi Liu
- College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Chunguo Fan
- College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Yeqing Chen
- College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Hui Chen
- College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Jun Lu
- College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Jingjing Sun
- College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Guogui Ning
- College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Changquan Wang
- College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
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Halter T, Wang J, Amesefe D, Lastrucci E, Charvin M, Singla Rastogi M, Navarro L. The Arabidopsis active demethylase ROS1 cis-regulates defence genes by erasing DNA methylation at promoter-regulatory regions. eLife 2021; 10:e62994. [PMID: 33470193 PMCID: PMC7880685 DOI: 10.7554/elife.62994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Active DNA demethylation has emerged as an important regulatory process of plant and mammalian immunity. However, very little is known about the mechanisms by which active demethylation controls transcriptional immune reprogramming and disease resistance. Here, we first show that the Arabidopsis active demethylase ROS1 promotes basal resistance towards Pseudomonas syringae by antagonizing RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM). Furthermore, we demonstrate that ROS1 facilitates the flagellin-triggered induction of the disease resistance gene RMG1 by limiting RdDM at the 3' boundary of a transposable element (TE)-derived repeat embedded in its promoter. We further identify flagellin-responsive ROS1 putative primary targets and show that at a subset of promoters, ROS1 erases methylation at discrete regions exhibiting WRKY transcription factors (TFs) binding. In particular, we demonstrate that ROS1 removes methylation at the orphan immune receptor RLP43 promoter, to ensure DNA binding of WRKY TFs. Finally, we show that ROS1-directed demethylation of RMG1 and RLP43 promoters is causal for both flagellin responsiveness of these genes and for basal resistance. Overall, these findings significantly advance our understanding of how active demethylases shape transcriptional immune reprogramming to enable antibacterial resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thierry Halter
- Institut de Biologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université de recherche Paris, Sciences & Lettres (PSL)ParisFrance
| | - Jingyu Wang
- Institut de Biologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université de recherche Paris, Sciences & Lettres (PSL)ParisFrance
| | - Delase Amesefe
- Institut de Biologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université de recherche Paris, Sciences & Lettres (PSL)ParisFrance
| | - Emmanuelle Lastrucci
- Institut de Biologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université de recherche Paris, Sciences & Lettres (PSL)ParisFrance
| | - Magali Charvin
- Institut de Biologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université de recherche Paris, Sciences & Lettres (PSL)ParisFrance
| | - Meenu Singla Rastogi
- Institut de Biologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université de recherche Paris, Sciences & Lettres (PSL)ParisFrance
| | - Lionel Navarro
- Institut de Biologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université de recherche Paris, Sciences & Lettres (PSL)ParisFrance
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Rymen B, Ferrafiat L, Blevins T. Non-coding RNA polymerases that silence transposable elements and reprogram gene expression in plants. Transcription 2020; 11:172-191. [PMID: 33180661 PMCID: PMC7714444 DOI: 10.1080/21541264.2020.1825906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Multisubunit RNA polymerase (Pol) complexes are the core machinery for gene expression in eukaryotes. The enzymes Pol I, Pol II and Pol III transcribe distinct subsets of nuclear genes. This family of nuclear RNA polymerases expanded in terrestrial plants by the duplication of Pol II subunit genes. Two Pol II-related enzymes, Pol IV and Pol V, are highly specialized in the production of regulatory, non-coding RNAs. Pol IV and Pol V are the central players of RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM), an RNA interference pathway that represses transposable elements (TEs) and selected genes. Genetic and biochemical analyses of Pol IV/V subunits are now revealing how these enzymes evolved from ancestral Pol II to sustain non-coding RNA biogenesis in silent chromatin. Intriguingly, Pol IV-RdDM regulates genes that influence flowering time, reproductive development, stress responses and plant–pathogen interactions. Pol IV target genes vary among closely related taxa, indicating that these regulatory circuits are often species-specific. Data from crops like maize, rice, tomato and Brassicarapa suggest that dynamic repositioning of TEs, accompanied by Pol IV targeting to TE-proximal genes, leads to the reprogramming of plant gene expression over short evolutionary timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bart Rymen
- Institut de biologie moléculaire des plantes, Université de Strasbourg , Strasbourg, France
| | - Laura Ferrafiat
- Institut de biologie moléculaire des plantes, Université de Strasbourg , Strasbourg, France
| | - Todd Blevins
- Institut de biologie moléculaire des plantes, Université de Strasbourg , Strasbourg, France
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Quantitative Epigenetics: A New Avenue for Crop Improvement. EPIGENOMES 2020; 4:epigenomes4040025. [PMID: 34968304 PMCID: PMC8594725 DOI: 10.3390/epigenomes4040025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Revised: 10/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Plant breeding conventionally depends on genetic variability available in a species to improve a particular trait in the crop. However, epigenetic diversity may provide an additional tier of variation. The recent advent of epigenome technologies has elucidated the role of epigenetic variation in shaping phenotype. Furthermore, the development of epigenetic recombinant inbred lines (epi-RILs) in model species such as Arabidopsis has enabled accurate genetic analysis of epigenetic variation. Subsequently, mapping of epigenetic quantitative trait loci (epiQTL) allowed association between epialleles and phenotypic traits. Likewise, epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) and epi-genotyping by sequencing (epi-GBS) have revolutionized the field of epigenetics research in plants. Thus, quantitative epigenetics provides ample opportunities to dissect the role of epigenetic variation in trait regulation, which can be eventually utilized in crop improvement programs. Moreover, locus-specific manipulation of DNA methylation by epigenome-editing tools such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) can potentially facilitate epigenetic based molecular breeding of important crop plants.
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Yang R, He L, Huang H, Zhu JK, Lozano-Duran R, Zhang H. RNA-directed DNA methylation has an important developmental function in Arabidopsis that is masked by the chromatin remodeler PICKLE. JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY 2020; 62:1647-1652. [PMID: 32515549 DOI: 10.1111/jipb.12979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 06/07/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
In Arabidopsis, RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) is required for the maintenance of CHH methylation, and for de novo methylation in all (CG, CHG, and CHH) contexts, but no obvious effect of RdDM deficiency on plant development has been found to date. We show that the combination of mutations in the chromatin remodeler PKL and RdDM components results in developmental alterations, which appear in a SUPPRESSOR OF DRM1 DRM2 CMT3 (SDC)-dependent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong Yang
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, Center for Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201062, China
| | - Li He
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, Center for Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201062, China
| | - Huan Huang
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, Center for Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201062, China
| | - Jian-Kang Zhu
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, Center for Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201062, China
- Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA
| | - Rosa Lozano-Duran
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, Center for Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201062, China
| | - Heng Zhang
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, Center for Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201062, China
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Center for Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
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Abstract
RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) is a biological process in which non-coding RNA molecules direct the addition of DNA methylation to specific DNA sequences. The RdDM pathway is unique to plants, although other mechanisms of RNA-directed chromatin modification have also been described in fungi and animals. To date, the RdDM pathway is best characterized within angiosperms (flowering plants), and particularly within the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. However, conserved RdDM pathway components and associated small RNAs (sRNAs) have also been found in other groups of plants, such as gymnosperms and ferns. The RdDM pathway closely resembles other sRNA pathways, particularly the highly conserved RNAi pathway found in fungi, plants, and animals. Both the RdDM and RNAi pathways produce sRNAs and involve conserved Argonaute, Dicer and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase proteins. RdDM has been implicated in a number of regulatory processes in plants. The DNA methylation added by RdDM is generally associated with transcriptional repression of the genetic sequences targeted by the pathway. Since DNA methylation patterns in plants are heritable, these changes can often be stably transmitted to progeny. As a result, one prominent role of RdDM is the stable, transgenerational suppression of transposable element (TE) activity. RdDM has also been linked to pathogen defense, abiotic stress responses, and the regulation of several key developmental transitions. Although the RdDM pathway has a number of important functions, RdDM-defective mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana are viable and can reproduce, which has enabled detailed genetic studies of the pathway. However, RdDM mutants can have a range of defects in different plant species, including lethality, altered reproductive phenotypes, TE upregulation and genome instability, and increased pathogen sensitivity. Overall, RdDM is an important pathway in plants that regulates a number of processes by establishing and reinforcing specific DNA methylation patterns, which can lead to transgenerational epigenetic effects on gene expression and phenotype.
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Zhang S, Wu XQ, Xie HT, Zhao SS, Wu JG. Multifaceted roles of RNA polymerase IV in plant growth and development. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2020; 71:5725-5732. [PMID: 32969476 PMCID: PMC7541909 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eraa346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
We discuss the latest findings on RNA polymerase IV (Pol IV) in plant growth and development, providing new insights and expanding on new ideas for further, more in-depth research on Pol IV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Zhang
- Vector-borne Virus Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xiao-Qing Wu
- Vector-borne Virus Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Hui-Ting Xie
- Vector-borne Virus Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Shan-Shan Zhao
- Vector-borne Virus Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Jian-Guo Wu
- Vector-borne Virus Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
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Mei Y, Wang Y, Li F, Zhou X. The C4 protein encoded by tomato leaf curl Yunnan virus reverses transcriptional gene silencing by interacting with NbDRM2 and impairing its DNA-binding ability. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008829. [PMID: 33002088 PMCID: PMC7529289 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In plants, cytosine DNA methylation is an efficient defense mechanism against geminiviruses, since methylation of the viral genome results in transcriptional gene silencing (TGS). As a counter-defense mechanism, geminiviruses encode viral proteins to suppress viral DNA methylation and TGS. However, the molecular mechanisms by which viral proteins contribute to TGS suppression remain incompletely understood. In this study, we found that the C4 protein encoded by tomato leaf curl Yunnan virus (TLCYnV) suppresses methylation of the viral genome through interacting with and impairing the DNA-binding ability of NbDRM2, a pivotal DNA methyltransferase in the methyl cycle. We show that NbDRM2 catalyzes the addition of methyl groups on specific cytosine sites of the viral genome, hence playing an important role in anti-viral defense. Underscoring the relevance of the C4-mediated suppression of NbDRM2 activity, plants infected by TLCYnV producing C4(S43A), a point mutant version of C4 unable to interact with NbDRM2, display milder symptoms and lower virus accumulation, concomitant with enhanced viral DNA methylation, than plants infected by wild-type TLCYnV. Expression of TLCYnV C4, but not of the NbDRM2-interaction compromised C4(S43A) mutant, in 16c-TGS Nicotiana benthamiana plants results in the recovery of GFP, a proxy for suppression of TGS. This study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms by which geminiviruses suppress TGS, and uncovers a new viral strategy based on the inactivation of the methyltransferase NbDRM2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuzhen Mei
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yaqin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Fangfang Li
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xueping Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
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Abstract
Epigenetic mechanisms play fundamental roles in regulating numerous biological processes in various developmental and environmental contexts. Three highly interconnected epigenetic control mechanisms, including small noncoding RNAs, DNA methylation, and histone modifications, contribute to the establishment of plant epigenetic profiles. During the past decade, a growing body of experimental work has revealed the intricate, diverse, and dynamic roles that epigenetic modifications play in plant-nematode interactions. In this review, I summarize recent progress regarding the functions of small RNAs in mediating plant responses to infection by cyst and root-knot nematodes, with a focus on the functions of microRNAs. I also recapitulate recent advances in genome-wide DNA methylation analysis and discuss how cyst nematodes induce extensive and dynamic changes in the plant methylome that impact the transcriptional activity of genes and transposable elements. Finally, the potential role of nematode effector proteins in triggering such epigenome changes is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tarek Hewezi
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA;
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The Absence of C-5 DNA Methylation in Leishmania donovani Allows DNA Enrichment from Complex Samples. Microorganisms 2020; 8:microorganisms8081252. [PMID: 32824654 PMCID: PMC7463849 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8081252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2020] [Revised: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cytosine C5 methylation is an important epigenetic control mechanism in a wide array of eukaryotic organisms and generally carried out by proteins of the C-5 DNA methyltransferase family (DNMTs). In several protozoans, the status of this mechanism remains elusive, such as in Leishmania, the causative agent of the disease leishmaniasis in humans and a wide array of vertebrate animals. In this work, we showed that the Leishmania donovani genome contains a C-5 DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) from the DNMT6 subfamily, whose function is still unclear, and verified its expression at the RNA level. We created viable overexpressor and knock-out lines of this enzyme and characterized their genome-wide methylation patterns using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing, together with promastigote and amastigote control lines. Interestingly, despite the DNMT6 presence, we found that methylation levels were equal to or lower than 0.0003% at CpG sites, 0.0005% at CHG sites, and 0.0126% at CHH sites at the genomic scale. As none of the methylated sites were retained after manual verification, we conclude that there is no evidence for DNA methylation in this species. We demonstrated that this difference in DNA methylation between the parasite (no detectable DNA methylation) and the vertebrate host (DNA methylation) allowed enrichment of parasite vs. host DNA using methyl-CpG-binding domain columns, readily available in commercial kits. As such, we depleted methylated DNA from mixes of Leishmania promastigote and amastigote DNA with human DNA, resulting in average Leishmania:human enrichments from 62× up to 263×. These results open a promising avenue for unmethylated DNA enrichment as a pre-enrichment step before sequencing Leishmania clinical samples.
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Genome-Wide Identification of Epigenetic Regulators in Quercus suber L. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21113783. [PMID: 32471127 PMCID: PMC7313042 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21113783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2020] [Revised: 05/22/2020] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Modifications of DNA and histones, including methylation and acetylation, are critical for the epigenetic regulation of gene expression during plant development, particularly during environmental adaptation processes. However, information on the enzymes catalyzing all these modifications in trees, such as Quercus suber L., is still not available. In this study, eight DNA methyltransferases (DNA Mtases) and three DNA demethylases (DDMEs) were identified in Q. suber. Histone modifiers involved in methylation (35), demethylation (26), acetylation (8), and deacetylation (22) were also identified in Q. suber. In silico analysis showed that some Q. suber DNA Mtases, DDMEs and histone modifiers have the typical domains found in the plant model Arabidopsis, which might suggest a conserved functional role. Additional phylogenetic analyses of the DNA and histone modifier proteins were performed using several plant species homologs, enabling the classification of the Q. suber proteins. A link between the expression levels of each gene in different Q. suber tissues (buds, flowers, acorns, embryos, cork, and roots) with the functions already known for their closest homologs in other species was also established. Therefore, the data generated here will be important for future studies exploring the role of epigenetic regulators in this economically important species.
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Shangguan L, Fang X, Jia H, Chen M, Zhang K, Fang J. Characterization of DNA methylation variations during fruit development and ripening of Vitis vinifera (cv. 'Fujiminori'). PHYSIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF PLANTS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FUNCTIONAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2020; 26:617-637. [PMID: 32255927 PMCID: PMC7113366 DOI: 10.1007/s12298-020-00759-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Revised: 12/21/2019] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The fruit is the most important economical organ in the grape; accordingly, to investigate the grapevine genomic methylation landscape and examine its functional significance during fruit development, we generated whole genome DNA methylation maps for various developmental stages in the fruit of grapevine. In this study, thirteen DNA methylation-related genes and their expression profiles were identified and analyzed. The methylation levels for mC, mCG, mCHG, and mCHH contexts in 65 days after flowering (65DAF) fruit (véraison stage) were higher than those in 40DAF (green stage) and 90DAF (mature stage) fruits. Relative to methylation in the mC context, methylation levels in the mCHH context were higher than those of mCG and mCHG. The DNA methylation level in the ncRNA regions was significantly higher than that in exon, gene, intron, and mRNA regions. The differentially methylated regions (DMRs) and differentially methylated promoters (DMPs) in 65DAF_vs_40DAF were both higher than those in 90DAF_vs_65DAF and 90DAF_vs_40DAF. Most DMRs (or DMPs) were involved in metabolic processes and cell processes, binding, and catalytic activity. These results indicated that DNA methylation represses gene expression during grape fruit development, and it broadens our understanding of the landscape and function of DNA methylation in grapevine genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingfei Shangguan
- Department of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095 Jiangsu Province, China
- Fruit Crop Genetic Improvement and Seedling Propagation Engineering Center of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, 210095 China
| | - Xiang Fang
- Department of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095 Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Haifeng Jia
- Department of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095 Jiangsu Province, China
- Fruit Crop Genetic Improvement and Seedling Propagation Engineering Center of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, 210095 China
| | - Mengxia Chen
- Department of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095 Jiangsu Province, China
- Fruit Crop Genetic Improvement and Seedling Propagation Engineering Center of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, 210095 China
| | - Kekun Zhang
- Department of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095 Jiangsu Province, China
- Fruit Crop Genetic Improvement and Seedling Propagation Engineering Center of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, 210095 China
| | - Jinggui Fang
- Department of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095 Jiangsu Province, China
- Fruit Crop Genetic Improvement and Seedling Propagation Engineering Center of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, 210095 China
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Zhou J, Liu L, Li Q, Xu W, Li K, Wang ZW, Sun Q. Intronic heterochromatin prevents cryptic transcription initiation in Arabidopsis. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2020; 101:1185-1197. [PMID: 31647592 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.14584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Revised: 10/06/2019] [Accepted: 10/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Intronic transposable elements (TEs) comprise a large proportion in eukaryotic genomes, but how they regulate the host genes remains to be explored. Our forward genetic screen disclosed the plant-specific RNA polymerases IV and V in suppressing intronic TE-mediated cryptic transcription initiation of a chimeric transcripts at FLC (FLCTE ). Initiation of FLCTE transcription is blocked by the locally formed intronic heterochromatin, which is directly associated with RNA Pol V to inhibit the entry of RNA Pol II and the occupancy of H3K4 methylation. Genome-wide Pol II Ser5p native elongation transcription sequencing revealed that a significant number of intronic heterochromatin-containing genes undergo this mechanism. This study sheds light on deeply understanding the function of intronic heterochromatin on host genes expression in eukaryotic genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jincong Zhou
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences and Center for Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Liangyu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Plant Gene Resources and Biotechnology for Carbon Reduction and Environmental Improvement, Beijing Municipal Government, College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Qin Li
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences and Center for Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Xu
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences and Center for Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Kuan Li
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences and Center for Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhi-Wei Wang
- Hainan Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Bioresources, College of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Qianwen Sun
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences and Center for Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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Panda K, McCue AD, Slotkin RK. Arabidopsis RNA Polymerase IV generates 21-22 nucleotide small RNAs that can participate in RNA-directed DNA methylation and may regulate genes. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190417. [PMID: 32075560 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The plant-specific RNA Polymerase IV (Pol IV) transcribes heterochromatic regions, including many transposable elements (TEs), with the well-described role of generating 24 nucleotide (nt) small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). These siRNAs target DNA methylation back to TEs to reinforce the boundary between heterochromatin and euchromatin. In the male gametophytic phase of the plant life cycle, pollen, Pol IV switches to generating primarily 21-22 nt siRNAs, but the biogenesis and function of these siRNAs have been enigmatic. In contrast to being pollen-specific, we identified that Pol IV generates these 21-22 nt siRNAs in sporophytic tissues, likely from the same transcripts that are processed into the more abundant 24 nt siRNAs. The 21-22 nt forms are specifically generated by the combined activities of DICER proteins DCL2/DCL4 and can participate in RNA-directed DNA methylation. These 21-22 nt siRNAs are also loaded into ARGONAUTE1 (AGO1), which is known to function in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Like other plant siRNAs and microRNAs incorporated into AGO1, we find a signature of genic mRNA cleavage at the predicted target site of these siRNAs, suggesting that Pol IV-generated 21-22 nt siRNAs may function to regulate gene transcript abundance. Our data provide support for the existing model that in pollen Pol IV functions in gene regulation. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Crossroads between transposons and gene regulation'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaushik Panda
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO 63132-2918, USA
| | - Andrea D McCue
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO 63132-2918, USA.,Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210-1214, USA
| | - R Keith Slotkin
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO 63132-2918, USA.,Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211-7400, USA
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