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Zeng Y, Somers J, Bell HS, Vejlupkova Z, Dawe RK, Fowler JE, Nelms B, Gent JI. Potent pollen gene regulation by DNA glycosylases in maize. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.13.580204. [PMID: 38405940 PMCID: PMC10888782 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.13.580204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Although DNA methylation primarily represses TEs, it also represses select genes that are methylated in plant body tissues but demethylated by DNA glycosylases (DNGs) in endosperm or pollen. Activity of either one of two DNGs, MDR1 or DNG102, is essential for pollen viability in maize. Using single-pollen mRNA sequencing on pollen segregating mutations in both genes, we identified 58 candidate DNG target genes that account for 11.1% of the wild-type transcriptome but are silent or barely detectable in the plant body (sporophyte). They are unusual in their tendency to lack introns but even more so in their having TE-like methylation in their CDS. The majority have predicted functions in cell wall modification, and they likely support the rapid tip growth characteristic of pollen tubes. These results suggest a critical role for DNA methylation and demethylation in regulating maize genes with potential for extremely high expression in pollen but constitutive silencing elsewhere.
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Omelyanchuk NA, Lavrekha VV, Bogomolov AG, Dolgikh VA, Sidorenko AD, Zemlyanskaya EV. Computational Reconstruction of the Transcription Factor Regulatory Network Induced by Auxin in Arabidopsis thaliana L. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:1905. [PMID: 39065433 PMCID: PMC11280061 DOI: 10.3390/plants13141905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2024] [Revised: 07/05/2024] [Accepted: 07/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024]
Abstract
In plant hormone signaling, transcription factor regulatory networks (TFRNs), which link the master transcription factors to the biological processes under their control, remain insufficiently characterized despite their crucial function. Here, we identify a TFRN involved in the response to the key plant hormone auxin and define its impact on auxin-driven biological processes. To reconstruct the TFRN, we developed a three-step procedure, which is based on the integrated analysis of differentially expressed gene lists and a representative collection of transcription factor binding profiles. Its implementation is available as a part of the CisCross web server. With the new method, we distinguished two transcription factor subnetworks. The first operates before auxin treatment and is switched off upon hormone application, the second is switched on by the hormone. Moreover, we characterized the functioning of the auxin-regulated TFRN in control of chlorophyll and lignin biosynthesis, abscisic acid signaling, and ribosome biogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadya A. Omelyanchuk
- Department of Systems Biology, Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (N.A.O.); (V.V.L.); (A.G.B.); (V.A.D.); (A.D.S.)
| | - Viktoriya V. Lavrekha
- Department of Systems Biology, Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (N.A.O.); (V.V.L.); (A.G.B.); (V.A.D.); (A.D.S.)
- Department of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Anton G. Bogomolov
- Department of Systems Biology, Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (N.A.O.); (V.V.L.); (A.G.B.); (V.A.D.); (A.D.S.)
| | - Vladislav A. Dolgikh
- Department of Systems Biology, Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (N.A.O.); (V.V.L.); (A.G.B.); (V.A.D.); (A.D.S.)
- Department of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Aleksandra D. Sidorenko
- Department of Systems Biology, Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (N.A.O.); (V.V.L.); (A.G.B.); (V.A.D.); (A.D.S.)
- Department of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Elena V. Zemlyanskaya
- Department of Systems Biology, Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (N.A.O.); (V.V.L.); (A.G.B.); (V.A.D.); (A.D.S.)
- Department of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
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Wang F, Xi Z, Wang M, Wang L, Wang J. Genome-wide chromatin accessibility reveals transcriptional regulation of heterosis in inter-subspecific hybrid rice. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38976378 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.16920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
The utilization of rice heterosis is essential for ensuring global food security; however, its molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this study, comprehensive analyses of accessible chromatin regions (ACRs), DNA methylation, and gene expression in inter-subspecific hybrid and its parents were performed to determine the potential role of chromatin accessibility in rice heterosis. The hybrid exhibited abundant ACRs, in which the gene ACRs and proximal ACRs were directly related to transcriptional activation rather than the distal ACRs. Regarding the dynamic accessibility contribution of the parents, paternal ZHF1015 transmitted a greater number of ACRs to the hybrid. Accessible genotype-specific target genes were enriched with overrepresented transcription factors, indicating a unique regulatory network of genes in the hybrid. Compared with its parents, the differentially accessible chromatin regions with upregulated chromatin accessibility were much greater than those with downregulated chromatin accessibility, reflecting a stronger regulation in the hybrid. Furthermore, DNA methylation levels were negatively correlated with ACR intensity, and genes were strongly affected by CHH methylation in the hybrid. Chromatin accessibility positively regulated the overall expression level of each genotype. ACR-related genes with maternal Z04A-bias allele-specific expression tended to be enriched during carotenoid biosynthesis, whereas paternal ZHF1015-bias genes were more active in carbohydrate metabolism. Our findings provide a new perspective on the mechanism of heterosis based on chromatin accessibility in inter-subspecific hybrid rice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Zengde Xi
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Mengyao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Linyou Wang
- Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Crop and Nuclear Technology Utilization, Hangzhou, 310021, China
| | - Jianbo Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
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4
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Cao S, Sawettalake N, Li P, Fan S, Shen L. DNA methylation variations underlie lettuce domestication and divergence. Genome Biol 2024; 25:158. [PMID: 38886807 PMCID: PMC11184767 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-024-03310-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is an economically important vegetable crop worldwide. Lettuce is believed to be domesticated from a single wild ancestor Lactuca serriola and subsequently diverged into two major morphologically distinct vegetable types: leafy lettuce and stem lettuce. However, the role of epigenetic variation in lettuce domestication and divergence remains largely unknown. RESULTS To understand the genetic and epigenetic basis underlying lettuce domestication and divergence, we generate single-base resolution DNA methylomes from 52 Lactuca accessions, including major lettuce cultivars and wild relatives. We find a significant increase of DNA methylation during lettuce domestication and uncover abundant epigenetic variations associated with lettuce domestication and divergence. Interestingly, DNA methylation variations specifically associated with leafy and stem lettuce are related to regulation and metabolic processes, respectively, while those associated with both types are enriched in stress responses. Moreover, we reveal that domestication-induced DNA methylation changes could influence expression levels of nearby and distal genes possibly through affecting chromatin accessibility and chromatin loop. CONCLUSION Our study provides population epigenomic insights into crop domestication and divergence and valuable resources for further domestication for diversity and epigenetic breeding to boost crop improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Cao
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117604, Singapore
| | - Nunchanoke Sawettalake
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117604, Singapore
| | - Ping Li
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117604, Singapore
| | - Sheng Fan
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117604, Singapore
| | - Lisha Shen
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117604, Singapore.
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117543, Singapore.
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Galli M, Chen Z, Ghandour T, Chaudhry A, Gregory J, Li M, Zhang X, Dong Y, Song G, Walley JW, Chuck G, Whipple C, Kaeppler HF, Huang SSC, Gallavotti A. Transcription factor binding site divergence across maize inbred lines drives transcriptional and phenotypic variation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.31.596834. [PMID: 38895211 PMCID: PMC11185568 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.31.596834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Regulatory elements are important constituents of plant genomes that have shaped ancient and modern crops. Their identification, function, and diversity in crop genomes however are poorly characterized, thus limiting our ability to harness their power for further agricultural advances using induced or natural variation. Here, we use DNA affinity purification-sequencing (DAP-seq) to map transcription factor (TF) binding events for 200 maize TFs belonging to 30 distinct families and heterodimer pairs in two distinct inbred lines historically used for maize hybrid plant production, providing empirical binding site annotation for 5.3% of the maize genome. TF binding site comparison in B73 and Mo17 inbreds reveals widespread differences, driven largely by structural variation, that correlate with gene expression changes. TF binding site presence-absence variation helps clarify complex QTL such as vgt1, an important determinant of maize flowering time, and DICE, a distal enhancer involved in herbivore resistance. Modification of TF binding regions via CRISPR-Cas9 mediated editing alters target gene expression and phenotype. Our functional catalog of maize TF binding events enables collective and comparative TF binding analysis, and highlights its value for agricultural improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Galli
- Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854-8020, USA
| | - Zongliang Chen
- Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854-8020, USA
| | - Tara Ghandour
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Amina Chaudhry
- Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854-8020, USA
| | - Jason Gregory
- Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854-8020, USA
| | - Miaomiao Li
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Xuan Zhang
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Yinxin Dong
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Gaoyuan Song
- Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Microbiology, Iowa State University; Ames, IA, 50011
| | - Justin W. Walley
- Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Microbiology, Iowa State University; Ames, IA, 50011
| | - George Chuck
- Plant Gene Expression Center, Albany, CA 94710, USA
| | - Clinton Whipple
- Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, 4102 LSB, Provo, UT 84602, USA
| | - Heidi F. Kaeppler
- Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
- Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center, University of Wisconsin, Middleton, WI, USA
| | - Shao-shan Carol Huang
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Andrea Gallavotti
- Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854-8020, USA
- Department of Plant Biology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
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6
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Hsieh JWA, Lin PY, Wang CT, Lee YJ, Chang P, Lu RJH, Chen PY, Wang CJR. Establishing an optimized ATAC-seq protocol for the maize. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1370618. [PMID: 38863553 PMCID: PMC11165127 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1370618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
The advent of next-generation sequencing in crop improvement offers unprecedented insights into the chromatin landscape closely linked to gene activity governing key traits in plant development and adaptation. Particularly in maize, its dynamic chromatin structure is found to collaborate with massive transcriptional variations across tissues and developmental stages, implying intricate regulatory mechanisms, which highlights the importance of integrating chromatin information into breeding strategies for precise gene controls. The depiction of maize chromatin architecture using Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (ATAC-seq) provides great opportunities to investigate cis-regulatory elements, which is crucial for crop improvement. In this context, we developed an easy-to-implement ATAC-seq protocol for maize with fewer nuclei and simple equipment. We demonstrate a streamlined ATAC-seq protocol with four key steps for maize in which nuclei purification can be achieved without cell sorting and using only a standard bench-top centrifuge. Our protocol, coupled with the bioinformatic analysis, including validation by read length periodicity, key metrics, and correlation with transcript abundance, provides a precise and efficient assessment of the maize chromatin landscape. Beyond its application to maize, our testing design holds the potential to be applied to other crops or other tissues, especially for those with limited size and amount, establishing a robust foundation for chromatin structure studies in diverse crop species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jo-Wei Allison Hsieh
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Genome and Systems Biology Degree Program, Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Yu Lin
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chi-Ting Wang
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Jing Lee
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Pearl Chang
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation/Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan
| | - Rita Jui-Hsien Lu
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Pao-Yang Chen
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Genome and Systems Biology Degree Program, Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Varela A, Marfil CF, Talquenca SG, Fontana A, Asurmendi S, Buscema F, Berli FJ. Three-year study of DNA cytosine methylation dynamics in transplanted Malbec grapevines. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2024; 342:112037. [PMID: 38367820 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2024.112037] [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: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 02/11/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
DNA cytosine methylation, an epigenetic mechanism involved in gene regulation and genome stability, remains poorly understood in terms of its role under changing environmental conditions. Previous research using methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) markers in a Vitis vinifera L. cv. Malbec clone showed vineyard-specific DNA methylation polymorphism, but no change in overall methylation levels. To complement these findings, the present study investigates the intra-seasonal epigenetic dynamics between genetically identical plants grown in different vineyards through a transplanting experiment. Cuttings of the same clone, showing differential methylation patterns imposed by the vineyard of origin (Agrelo and Gualtallary), were cultivated in a common vineyard (Lunlunta). Using high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection, the quantification of global DNA 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) levels revealed relatively low overall 5-mC percentages in grapevines, with higher levels in Agrelo (5.8%) compared to Gualtallary plants (3.7%). The transplanted plants maintained the 5-mC levels differences between vineyards (9.8% vs 6.2%), which equalized in subsequent seasons (7.5% vs 7%). Additionally, the study examined 5-mC polymorphism using MSAP markers in Lunlunta transplanted plants over three seasons. The observed differences between vineyards in MSAP patterns during the initial growing season gradually diminished, suggesting a reprogramming of the hemimethylated pattern following implantation in the common vineyard. In contrast, the non-methylated pattern exhibited greater stability, indicating a potential memory effect. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the dynamic nature of DNA methylation in grapevines under changing environmental conditions, with potential implications for crop management and breeding strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anabella Varela
- Instituto de Biología Agrícola de Mendoza, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Alte. Brown 500, Mendoza, Chacras de Coria M5507, Argentina
| | - Carlos F Marfil
- Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Mendoza, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), San Martín, Mendoza, Luján de Cuyo 3853, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, CABA C1425FQB, Argentina; Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Alte. Brown 500, Mendoza, Chacras de Coria M5507, Argentina.
| | - Sebastián Gomez Talquenca
- Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Mendoza, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), San Martín, Mendoza, Luján de Cuyo 3853, Argentina
| | - Ariel Fontana
- Instituto de Biología Agrícola de Mendoza, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Alte. Brown 500, Mendoza, Chacras de Coria M5507, Argentina; Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Alte. Brown 500, Mendoza, Chacras de Coria M5507, Argentina
| | - Sebastian Asurmendi
- Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO), INTA-CONICET, De Los Reseros y N. Repetto w/n, Hurlingham, Buenos Aires B1686IGC, Argentina
| | - Fernando Buscema
- Catena Institute of Wine, Bodega Catena Zapata, Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Federico J Berli
- Instituto de Biología Agrícola de Mendoza, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Alte. Brown 500, Mendoza, Chacras de Coria M5507, Argentina; Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Alte. Brown 500, Mendoza, Chacras de Coria M5507, Argentina.
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Ciren D, Zebell S, Lippman ZB. Extreme restructuring of cis-regulatory regions controlling a deeply conserved plant stem cell regulator. PLoS Genet 2024; 20:e1011174. [PMID: 38437180 PMCID: PMC10911594 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011174] [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: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
A striking paradox is that genes with conserved protein sequence, function and expression pattern over deep time often exhibit extremely divergent cis-regulatory sequences. It remains unclear how such drastic cis-regulatory evolution across species allows preservation of gene function, and to what extent these differences influence how cis-regulatory variation arising within species impacts phenotypic change. Here, we investigated these questions using a plant stem cell regulator conserved in expression pattern and function over ~125 million years. Using in-vivo genome editing in two distantly related models, Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) and Solanum lycopersicum (tomato), we generated over 70 deletion alleles in the upstream and downstream regions of the stem cell repressor gene CLAVATA3 (CLV3) and compared their individual and combined effects on a shared phenotype, the number of carpels that make fruits. We found that sequences upstream of tomato CLV3 are highly sensitive to even small perturbations compared to its downstream region. In contrast, Arabidopsis CLV3 function is tolerant to severe disruptions both upstream and downstream of the coding sequence. Combining upstream and downstream deletions also revealed a different regulatory outcome. Whereas phenotypic enhancement from adding downstream mutations was predominantly weak and additive in tomato, mutating both regions of Arabidopsis CLV3 caused substantial and synergistic effects, demonstrating distinct distribution and redundancy of functional cis-regulatory sequences. Our results demonstrate remarkable malleability in cis-regulatory structural organization of a deeply conserved plant stem cell regulator and suggest that major reconfiguration of cis-regulatory sequence space is a common yet cryptic evolutionary force altering genotype-to-phenotype relationships from regulatory variation in conserved genes. Finally, our findings underscore the need for lineage-specific dissection of the spatial architecture of cis-regulation to effectively engineer trait variation from conserved productivity genes in crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Ciren
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States of America
| | - Sophia Zebell
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States of America
| | - Zachary B Lippman
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States of America
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States of America
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9
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Cao S, Sawettalake N, Shen L. Gapless genome assembly and epigenetic profiles reveal gene regulation of whole-genome triplication in lettuce. Gigascience 2024; 13:giae043. [PMID: 38991853 PMCID: PMC11238431 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giae043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/22/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lettuce, an important member of the Asteraceae family, is a globally cultivated cash vegetable crop. With a highly complex genome (∼2.5 Gb; 2n = 18) rich in repeat sequences, current lettuce reference genomes exhibit thousands of gaps, impeding a comprehensive understanding of the lettuce genome. FINDINGS Here, we present a near-complete gapless reference genome for cutting lettuce with high transformability, using long-read PacBio HiFi and Nanopore sequencing data. In comparison to stem lettuce genome, we identify 127,681 structural variations (SVs, present in 0.41 Gb of sequence), reflecting the divergence of leafy and stem lettuce. Interestingly, these SVs are related to transposons and DNA methylation states. Furthermore, we identify 4,612 whole-genome triplication genes exhibiting high expression levels associated with low DNA methylation levels and high N6-methyladenosine RNA modifications. DNA methylation changes are also associated with activation of genes involved in callus formation. CONCLUSIONS Our gapless lettuce genome assembly, an unprecedented achievement in the Asteraceae family, establishes a solid foundation for functional genomics, epigenomics, and crop breeding and sheds new light on understanding the complexity of gene regulation associated with the dynamics of DNA and RNA epigenetics in genome evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Cao
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore
| | - Nunchanoke Sawettalake
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore
| | - Lisha Shen
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore
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10
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Ciren D, Zebell S, Lippman ZB. Extreme restructuring of cis -regulatory regions controlling a deeply conserved plant stem cell regulator. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.20.572550. [PMID: 38187729 PMCID: PMC10769289 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.20.572550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
A striking paradox is that genes with conserved protein sequence, function and expression pattern over deep time often exhibit extremely divergent cis -regulatory sequences. It remains unclear how such drastic cis -regulatory evolution across species allows preservation of gene function, and to what extent these differences influence how cis- regulatory variation arising within species impacts phenotypic change. Here, we investigated these questions using a plant stem cell regulator conserved in expression pattern and function over ∼125 million years. Using in-vivo genome editing in two distantly related models, Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) and Solanum lycopersicum (tomato), we generated over 70 deletion alleles in the upstream and downstream regions of the stem cell repressor gene CLAVATA3 ( CLV3 ) and compared their individual and combined effects on a shared phenotype, the number of carpels that make fruits. We found that sequences upstream of tomato CLV3 are highly sensitive to even small perturbations compared to its downstream region. In contrast, Arabidopsis CLV3 function is tolerant to severe disruptions both upstream and downstream of the coding sequence. Combining upstream and downstream deletions also revealed a different regulatory outcome. Whereas phenotypic enhancement from adding downstream mutations was predominantly weak and additive in tomato, mutating both regions of Arabidopsis CLV3 caused substantial and synergistic effects, demonstrating distinct distribution and redundancy of functional cis -regulatory sequences. Our results demonstrate remarkable malleability in cis -regulatory structural organization of a deeply conserved plant stem cell regulator and suggest that major reconfiguration of cis -regulatory sequence space is a common yet cryptic evolutionary force altering genotype-to-phenotype relationships from regulatory variation in conserved genes. Finally, our findings underscore the need for lineage-specific dissection of the spatial architecture of cis -regulation to effectively engineer trait variation from conserved productivity genes in crops. Author summary We investigated the evolution of cis -regulatory elements (CREs) and their interactions in the regulation of a plant stem cell regulator gene, CLAVATA3 (CLV3) , in Arabidopsis and tomato. Despite diverging ∼125 million years ago, the function and expression of CLV3 is conserved in these species; however, cis -regulatory sequences upstream and downstream have drastically diverged, preventing identification of conserved non-coding sequences between them. We used CRISPR-Cas9 to engineer dozens of mutations within the cis -regulatory regions of Arabidopsis and tomato CLV3. In tomato, our results show that tomato CLV3 function primarily relies on interactions among CREs in the 5' non-coding region, unlike Arabidopsis CLV3 , which depends on a more balanced distribution of functional CREs between the 5' and 3' regions. Therefore, despite a high degree of functional conservation, our study demonstrates divergent regulatory strategies between two distantly related CLV3 orthologs, with substantial alterations in regulatory sequences, their spatial arrangement, and their relative effects on CLV3 regulation. These results suggest that regulatory regions are not only extremely robust to mutagenesis, but also that the sequences underlying this robustness can be lineage-specific for conserved genes, due to the complex and often redundant interactions among CREs that ensure proper gene function amidst large-scale sequence turnover.
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Laspisa D, Illa-Berenguer E, Bang S, Schmitz RJ, Parrott W, Wallace J. Mining the Utricularia gibba genome for insulator-like elements for genetic engineering. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1279231. [PMID: 38023853 PMCID: PMC10663240 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1279231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Introduction Gene expression is often controlled via cis-regulatory elements (CREs) that modulate the production of transcripts. For multi-gene genetic engineering and synthetic biology, precise control of transcription is crucial, both to insulate the transgenes from unwanted native regulation and to prevent readthrough or cross-regulation of transgenes within a multi-gene cassette. To prevent this activity, insulator-like elements, more properly referred to as transcriptional blockers, could be inserted to separate the transgenes so that they are independently regulated. However, only a few validated insulator-like elements are available for plants, and they tend to be larger than ideal. Methods To identify additional potential insulator-like sequences, we conducted a genome-wide analysis of Utricularia gibba (humped bladderwort), one of the smallest known plant genomes, with genes that are naturally close together. The 10 best insulator-like candidates were evaluated in vivo for insulator-like activity. Results We identified a total of 4,656 intergenic regions with expression profiles suggesting insulator-like activity. Comparisons of these regions across 45 other plant species (representing Monocots, Asterids, and Rosids) show low levels of syntenic conservation of these regions. Genome-wide analysis of unmethylated regions (UMRs) indicates ~87% of the targeted regions are unmethylated; however, interpretation of this is complicated because U. gibba has remarkably low levels of methylation across the genome, so that large UMRs frequently extend over multiple genes and intergenic spaces. We also could not identify any conserved motifs among our selected intergenic regions or shared with existing insulator-like elements for plants. Despite this lack of conservation, however, testing of 10 selected intergenic regions for insulator-like activity found two elements on par with a previously published element (EXOB) while being significantly smaller. Discussion Given the small number of insulator-like elements currently available for plants, our results make a significant addition to available tools. The high hit rate (2 out of 10) also implies that more useful sequences are likely present in our selected intergenic regions; additional validation work will be required to identify which will be most useful for plant genetic engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Laspisa
- Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Eudald Illa-Berenguer
- Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Sohyun Bang
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Robert J. Schmitz
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Wayne Parrott
- Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
- Department of Crop & Soil Science & Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Jason Wallace
- Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
- Department of Crop & Soil Science & Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
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12
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Zhang W, Wang H, Ma Y, Gao B, Guan P, Huang X, Ouyang W, Guo M, Chen G, Li G, Li X. Domains Rearranged Methylase 2 maintains DNA methylation at large DNA hypomethylated shores and long-range chromatin interactions in rice. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2023; 21:2333-2347. [PMID: 37539491 PMCID: PMC10579712 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.14134] [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: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
DNA methylation plays an important role in gene regulation and genomic stability. However, large DNA hypomethylated regions known as DNA methylation valleys (DMVs) or canyons have also been suggested to serve unique regulatory functions, largely unknown in rice (Oryza sativa). Here, we describe the DMVs in rice seedlings, which were highly enriched with developmental and transcription regulatory genes. Further detailed analysis indicated that grand DMVs (gDMVs) might be derived from nuclear integrants of organelle DNA (NORGs). Furthermore, Domains Rearranged Methylase 2 (OsDRM2) maintained DNA methylation at short DMV (sDMV) shores. Epigenetic maps indicated that sDMVs were marked with H3K4me3 and/or H3K27me3, although the loss of DNA methylation had a negligible effect on histone modification within these regions. In addition, we constructed H3K27me3-associated interaction maps for homozygous T-DNA insertion mutant of the gene (osdrm2) and wild type (WT). From a global perspective, most (90%) compartments were stable between osdrm2 and WT plants. At a high resolution, we observed a dramatic loss of long-range chromatin loops in osdrm2, which suffered an extensive loss of non-CG (CHG and CHH, H = A, T, or C) methylation. From another viewpoint, the loss of non-CG methylation at sDMV shores in osdrm2 could disrupt H3K27me3-mediated chromatin interaction networks. Overall, our results demonstrated that DMVs are a key genomic feature in rice and are precisely regulated by epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation and histone modifications. OsDRM2 maintained DNA methylation at sDMV shores, while OsDRM2 deficiency strongly affected three-dimensional (3D) genome architectures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic ImprovementHubei Hongshan LaboratoryHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Huanhuan Wang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, Hubei Engineering Technology Research Center of Agricultural Big Data, College of InformaticsHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Yuning Ma
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic ImprovementHubei Hongshan LaboratoryHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Baibai Gao
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic ImprovementHubei Hongshan LaboratoryHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Pengpeng Guan
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, Hubei Engineering Technology Research Center of Agricultural Big Data, College of InformaticsHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Xingyu Huang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, Hubei Engineering Technology Research Center of Agricultural Big Data, College of InformaticsHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Weizhi Ouyang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic ImprovementHubei Hongshan LaboratoryHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Minrong Guo
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic ImprovementHubei Hongshan LaboratoryHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Guoting Chen
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, Hubei Engineering Technology Research Center of Agricultural Big Data, College of InformaticsHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Guoliang Li
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic ImprovementHubei Hongshan LaboratoryHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, Hubei Engineering Technology Research Center of Agricultural Big Data, College of InformaticsHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
- Shenzhen BranchGuangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern AgricultureGenome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of AgricultureAgricultural Genomics Institute at ShenzhenChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesShenzhenChina
- Shenzhen Institute of Nutrition and HealthHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Xingwang Li
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic ImprovementHubei Hongshan LaboratoryHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
- Shenzhen BranchGuangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern AgricultureGenome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of AgricultureAgricultural Genomics Institute at ShenzhenChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesShenzhenChina
- Shenzhen Institute of Nutrition and HealthHuazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhanChina
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13
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Zeng Y, Dawe RK, Gent JI. Natural methylation epialleles correlate with gene expression in maize. Genetics 2023; 225:iyad146. [PMID: 37556604 PMCID: PMC10550312 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023] Open
Abstract
DNA methylation in plants is depleted from cis-regulatory elements in and near genes but is present in some gene bodies, including exons. Methylation in exons solely in the CG context is called gene body methylation (gbM). Methylation in exons in both CG and non-CG contexts is called TE-like methylation (teM). Assigning functions to both forms of methylation in genes has proven to be challenging. Toward that end, we utilized recent genome assemblies, gene annotations, transcription data, and methylome data to quantify common patterns of gene methylation and their relations to gene expression in maize. We found that gbM genes exist in a continuum of CG methylation levels without a clear demarcation between unmethylated genes and gbM genes. Analysis of expression levels across diverse maize stocks and tissues revealed a weak but highly significant positive correlation between gbM and gene expression except in endosperm. gbM epialleles were associated with an approximately 3% increase in steady-state expression level relative to unmethylated epialleles. In contrast to gbM genes, which were conserved and were broadly expressed across tissues, we found that teM genes, which make up about 12% of genes, are mainly silent, are poorly conserved, and exhibit evidence of annotation errors. We used these data to flag teM genes in the 26 NAM founder genome assemblies. While some teM genes are likely functional, these data suggest that the majority are not, and their inclusion can confound the interpretation of whole-genome studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yibing Zeng
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - R Kelly Dawe
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Jonathan I Gent
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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Cao S, Chen K, Lu K, Chen S, Zhang X, Shen C, Zhu S, Niu Y, Fan L, Chen ZJ, Xu J, Song Q. Asymmetric variation in DNA methylation during domestication and de-domestication of rice. THE PLANT CELL 2023; 35:3429-3443. [PMID: 37279583 PMCID: PMC10473196 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Hundreds of plant species have been domesticated to feed human civilization, while some crops have undergone de-domestication into agricultural weeds, threatening global food security. To understand the genetic and epigenetic basis of crop domestication and de-domestication, we generated DNA methylomes from 95 accessions of wild rice (Oryza rufipogon L.), cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) and weedy rice (O. sativa f. spontanea). We detected a significant decrease in DNA methylation over the course of rice domestication but observed an unexpected increase in DNA methylation through de-domestication. Notably, DNA methylation changes occurred in distinct genomic regions for these 2 opposite stages. Variation in DNA methylation altered the expression of nearby and distal genes through affecting chromatin accessibility, histone modifications, transcription factor binding, and the formation of chromatin loops, which may contribute to morphological changes during domestication and de-domestication of rice. These insights into population epigenomics underlying rice domestication and de-domestication provide resources and tools for epigenetic breeding and sustainable agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore
| | - Kai Chen
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518120, China
| | - Kening Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
| | - Shiting Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
| | - Xiyu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
| | - Congcong Shen
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518120, China
| | - Shuangbin Zhu
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518120, China
| | - Yanan Niu
- National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Longjiang Fan
- Institute of Crop Science & Institute of Bioinformatics, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Z Jeffrey Chen
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Jianlong Xu
- National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Qingxin Song
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
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15
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Shi L, Su J, Cho MJ, Song H, Dong X, Liang Y, Zhang Z. Promoter editing for the genetic improvement of crops. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2023; 74:4349-4366. [PMID: 37204916 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erad175] [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: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Gene expression plays a fundamental role in the regulation of agronomically important traits in crop plants. The genetic manipulation of plant promoters through genome editing has emerged as an effective strategy to create favorable traits in crops by altering the expression pattern of the pertinent genes. Promoter editing can be applied in a directed manner, where nucleotide sequences associated with favorable traits are precisely generated. Alternatively, promoter editing can also be exploited as a random mutagenic approach to generate novel genetic variations within a designated promoter, from which elite alleles are selected based on their phenotypic effects. Pioneering studies have demonstrated the potential of promoter editing in engineering agronomically important traits as well as in mining novel promoter alleles valuable for plant breeding. In this review, we provide an update on the application of promoter editing in crops for increased yield, enhanced tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, and improved quality. We also discuss several remaining technical bottlenecks and how this strategy may be better employed for the genetic improvement of crops in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Shi
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Food Quality and Safety-State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base, Ministry of Science and Technology, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Jing Su
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization, Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for Plant Genome Editing, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Myeong-Je Cho
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
| | - Hao Song
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization, Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for Plant Genome Editing, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Xiaoou Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization, Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for Plant Genome Editing, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
- Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya 572025, China
- Zhongshan Biological Breeding Laboratory, No. 50 Zhongling Street, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210014, China
| | - Ying Liang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Food Quality and Safety-State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base, Ministry of Science and Technology, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Zhiyong Zhang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Food Quality and Safety-State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base, Ministry of Science and Technology, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
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16
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Agius DR, Kapazoglou A, Avramidou E, Baranek M, Carneros E, Caro E, Castiglione S, Cicatelli A, Radanovic A, Ebejer JP, Gackowski D, Guarino F, Gulyás A, Hidvégi N, Hoenicka H, Inácio V, Johannes F, Karalija E, Lieberman-Lazarovich M, Martinelli F, Maury S, Mladenov V, Morais-Cecílio L, Pecinka A, Tani E, Testillano PS, Todorov D, Valledor L, Vassileva V. Exploring the crop epigenome: a comparison of DNA methylation profiling techniques. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1181039. [PMID: 37389288 PMCID: PMC10306282 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1181039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Epigenetic modifications play a vital role in the preservation of genome integrity and in the regulation of gene expression. DNA methylation, one of the key mechanisms of epigenetic control, impacts growth, development, stress response and adaptability of all organisms, including plants. The detection of DNA methylation marks is crucial for understanding the mechanisms underlying these processes and for developing strategies to improve productivity and stress resistance of crop plants. There are different methods for detecting plant DNA methylation, such as bisulfite sequencing, methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism, genome-wide DNA methylation analysis, methylated DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing, reduced representation bisulfite sequencing, MS and immuno-based techniques. These profiling approaches vary in many aspects, including DNA input, resolution, genomic region coverage, and bioinformatics analysis. Selecting an appropriate methylation screening approach requires an understanding of all these techniques. This review provides an overview of DNA methylation profiling methods in crop plants, along with comparisons of the efficacy of these techniques between model and crop plants. The strengths and limitations of each methodological approach are outlined, and the importance of considering both technical and biological factors are highlighted. Additionally, methods for modulating DNA methylation in model and crop species are presented. Overall, this review will assist scientists in making informed decisions when selecting an appropriate DNA methylation profiling method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dolores Rita Agius
- Centre of Molecular Medicine and Biobanking, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
- Biology Department, Ġ.F.Abela Junior College, Msida, Malta
| | - Aliki Kapazoglou
- Department of Vitis, Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture (IOSV), Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DIMITRA (ELGO-DIMITRA), Athens, Greece
| | - Evangelia Avramidou
- Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology, Institute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems, Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DIMITRA (ELGO-DIMITRA), Athens, Greece
| | - Miroslav Baranek
- Mendeleum-Insitute of Genetics, Faculty of Horticulture, Mendel University in Brno, Lednice, Czechia
| | - Elena Carneros
- Center for Biological Research (CIB) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Elena Caro
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Stefano Castiglione
- Department of Chemistry and Biology ‘A. Zambelli’, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy
| | - Angela Cicatelli
- Department of Chemistry and Biology ‘A. Zambelli’, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy
| | - Aleksandra Radanovic
- Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National Institute of Republic of Serbia, Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Jean-Paul Ebejer
- Centre of Molecular Medicine and Biobanking, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
| | - Daniel Gackowski
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Francesco Guarino
- Department of Chemistry and Biology ‘A. Zambelli’, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy
| | - Andrea Gulyás
- Centre for Agricultural Genomics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, Nyíregyháza, Hungary
| | - Norbert Hidvégi
- Centre for Agricultural Genomics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, Nyíregyháza, Hungary
| | - Hans Hoenicka
- Genomic Research Department, Thünen Institute of Forest Genetics, Grosshansdorf, Germany
| | - Vera Inácio
- BioISI – BioSystems & Integrative Sciences Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Frank Johannes
- Plant Epigenomics, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Freising, Germany
| | - Erna Karalija
- Faculty of Science, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Michal Lieberman-Lazarovich
- Department of Vegetables and Field Crops, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Institute of Plant Sciences, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | | | - Stéphane Maury
- Laboratoire de Biologie des Ligneux et des Grandes Cultures EA1207 USC1328, INRAE, Université d’Orléans, Orléans, France
| | - Velimir Mladenov
- Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Leonor Morais-Cecílio
- Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF), Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ales Pecinka
- Centre of Plant Structural and Functional Genomics, Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Olomouc, Czechia
| | - Eleni Tani
- Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Pilar S. Testillano
- Center for Biological Research (CIB) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Dimitar Todorov
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Luis Valledor
- Plant Physiology, Department of Organisms and Systems Biology and University Institute of Biotechnology of Asturias, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Valya Vassileva
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
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Orantes-Bonilla M, Wang H, Lee HT, Golicz AA, Hu D, Li W, Zou J, Snowdon RJ. Transgressive and parental dominant gene expression and cytosine methylation during seed development in Brassica napus hybrids. TAG. THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS. THEORETISCHE UND ANGEWANDTE GENETIK 2023; 136:113. [PMID: 37071201 PMCID: PMC10113308 DOI: 10.1007/s00122-023-04345-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
KEY MESSAGE Transcriptomic and epigenomic profiling of gene expression and small RNAs during seed and seedling development reveals expression and methylation dominance levels with implications on early stage heterosis in oilseed rape. The enhanced performance of hybrids through heterosis remains a key aspect in plant breeding; however, the underlying mechanisms are still not fully elucidated. To investigate the potential role of transcriptomic and epigenomic patterns in early expression of hybrid vigor, we investigated gene expression, small RNA abundance and genome-wide methylation in hybrids from two distant Brassica napus ecotypes during seed and seedling developmental stages using next-generation sequencing. A total of 31117, 344, 36229 and 7399 differentially expressed genes, microRNAs, small interfering RNAs and differentially methylated regions were identified, respectively. Approximately 70% of the differentially expressed or methylated features displayed parental dominance levels where the hybrid followed the same patterns as the parents. Via gene ontology enrichment and microRNA-target association analyses during seed development, we found copies of reproductive, developmental and meiotic genes with transgressive and paternal dominance patterns. Interestingly, maternal dominance was more prominent in hypermethylated and downregulated features during seed formation, contrasting to the general maternal gamete demethylation reported during gametogenesis in angiosperms. Associations between methylation and gene expression allowed identification of putative epialleles with diverse pivotal biological functions during seed formation. Furthermore, most differentially methylated regions, differentially expressed siRNAs and transposable elements were in regions that flanked genes without differential expression. This suggests that differential expression and methylation of epigenomic features may help maintain expression of pivotal genes in a hybrid context. Differential expression and methylation patterns during seed formation in an F1 hybrid provide novel insights into genes and mechanisms with potential roles in early heterosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauricio Orantes-Bonilla
- Department of Plant Breeding, Land Use and Nutrition, IFZ Research Centre for Biosystems, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Hao Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China
| | - Huey Tyng Lee
- Department of Plant Breeding, Land Use and Nutrition, IFZ Research Centre for Biosystems, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Agnieszka A Golicz
- Department of Plant Breeding, Land Use and Nutrition, IFZ Research Centre for Biosystems, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Dandan Hu
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenwen Li
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China
| | - Jun Zou
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China
| | - Rod J Snowdon
- Department of Plant Breeding, Land Use and Nutrition, IFZ Research Centre for Biosystems, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
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18
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Depuydt T, De Rybel B, Vandepoele K. Charting plant gene functions in the multi-omics and single-cell era. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 28:283-296. [PMID: 36307271 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2022.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Despite the increased access to high-quality plant genome sequences, the set of genes with a known function remains far from complete. With the advent of novel bulk and single-cell omics profiling methods, we are entering a new era where advanced and highly integrative functional annotation strategies are being developed to elucidate the functions of all plant genes. Here, we review different multi-omics approaches to improve functional and regulatory gene characterization and highlight the power of machine learning and network biology to fully exploit the complementary information embedded in different omics layers. Finally, we discuss the potential of emerging single-cell methods and algorithms to further increase the resolution, allowing generation of functional insights about plant biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Depuydt
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent, Belgium; Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Center for Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Bert De Rybel
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent, Belgium; Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Center for Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Klaas Vandepoele
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent, Belgium; Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Center for Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, Belgium; Ghent University, Bioinformatics Institute Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.
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19
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Vandepoele K, Kaufmann K. Characterization of Gene Regulatory Networks in Plants Using New Methods and Data Types. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2698:1-11. [PMID: 37682465 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3354-0_1] [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] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
A major question in plant biology is to understand how plant growth, development, and environmental responses are controlled and coordinated by the activities of regulatory factors. Gene regulatory network (GRN) analyses require integrated approaches that combine experimental approaches with computational analyses. A wide range of experimental approaches and tools are now available, such as targeted perturbation of gene activities, quantitative and cell-type specific measurements of dynamic gene activities, and systematic analysis of the molecular 'hard-wiring' of the systems. At the computational level, different tools and databases are available to study regulatory sequences, including intuitive visualizations to explore data-driven gene regulatory networks in different plant species. Furthermore, advanced data integration approaches have recently been developed to efficiently leverage complementary regulatory data types and learn context-specific networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaas Vandepoele
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent, Belgium.
- VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, Belgium.
- Bioinformatics Institute Ghent, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Kerstin Kaufmann
- Institute of Biology, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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20
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Srikant T, Yuan W, Berendzen KW, Contreras-Garrido A, Drost HG, Schwab R, Weigel D. Canalization of genome-wide transcriptional activity in Arabidopsis thaliana accessions by MET1-dependent CG methylation. Genome Biol 2022; 23:263. [PMID: 36539836 PMCID: PMC9768921 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-022-02833-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite its conserved role on gene expression and transposable element (TE) silencing, genome-wide CG methylation differs substantially between wild Arabidopsis thaliana accessions. RESULTS To test our hypothesis that global reduction of CG methylation would reduce epigenomic, transcriptomic, and phenotypic diversity in A. thaliana accessions, we knock out MET1, which is required for CG methylation, in 18 early-flowering accessions. Homozygous met1 mutants in all accessions suffer from common developmental defects such as dwarfism and delayed flowering, in addition to accession-specific abnormalities in rosette leaf architecture, silique morphology, and fertility. Integrated analysis of genome-wide methylation, chromatin accessibility, and transcriptomes confirms that MET1 inactivation greatly reduces CG methylation and alters chromatin accessibility at thousands of loci. While the effects on TE activation are similarly drastic in all accessions, the quantitative effects on non-TE genes vary greatly. The global expression profiles of accessions become considerably more divergent from each other after genome-wide removal of CG methylation, although a few genes with diverse expression profiles across wild-type accessions tend to become more similar in mutants. Most differentially expressed genes do not exhibit altered chromatin accessibility or CG methylation in cis, suggesting that absence of MET1 can have profound indirect effects on gene expression and that these effects vary substantially between accessions. CONCLUSIONS Systematic analysis of MET1 requirement in different A. thaliana accessions reveals a dual role for CG methylation: for many genes, CG methylation appears to canalize expression levels, with methylation masking regulatory divergence. However, for a smaller subset of genes, CG methylation increases expression diversity beyond genetically encoded differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thanvi Srikant
- grid.419580.10000 0001 0942 1125Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany ,grid.5801.c0000 0001 2156 2780Present address: Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Department of Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Wei Yuan
- grid.419580.10000 0001 0942 1125Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Kenneth Wayne Berendzen
- grid.10392.390000 0001 2190 1447Plant Transformation and Flow Cytometry Facility, ZMBP, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Adrián Contreras-Garrido
- grid.419580.10000 0001 0942 1125Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hajk-Georg Drost
- grid.419580.10000 0001 0942 1125Computational Biology Group, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rebecca Schwab
- grid.419580.10000 0001 0942 1125Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Detlef Weigel
- grid.419580.10000 0001 0942 1125Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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21
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Xue Y, Zou C, Zhang C, Yu H, Chen B, Wang H. Dynamic DNA methylation changes reveal tissue-specific gene expression in sugarcane. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:1036764. [PMID: 36311126 PMCID: PMC9606695 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1036764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
DNA methylation is an important mechanism for the dynamic regulation of gene expression and silencing of transposons during plant developmental processes. Here, we analyzed genome-wide methylation patterns in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) leaves, roots, rinds, and piths at single-base resolution. DNA methylation patterns were similar among the different sugarcane tissues, whereas DNA methylation levels differed. We also found that DNA methylation in different genic regions or sequence contexts plays different roles in gene expression. Differences in methylation among tissues resulted in many differentially methylated regions (DMRs) between tissues, particularly CHH DMRs. Genes overlapping with DMRs tended to be differentially expressed (DEGs) between tissues, and these DMR-associated DEGs were enriched in biological pathways related to tissue function, such as photosynthesis, sucrose synthesis, stress response, transport, and metabolism. Moreover, we observed many DNA methylation valleys (DMVs), which always overlapped with transcription factors (TFs) and sucrose-related genes, such as WRKY, bZIP, WOX, SPS, and FBPase. Collectively, these findings provide significant insights into the complicated interplay between DNA methylation and gene expression and shed light on the epigenetic regulation of sucrose-related genes in sugarcane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yajie Xue
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Tillage, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Chengwu Zou
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Tillage, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Chao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Tillage, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Hang Yu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Tillage, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Baoshan Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Haifeng Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Tillage, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
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22
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Klein SP, Anderson SN. The evolution and function of transposons in epigenetic regulation in response to the environment. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2022; 69:102277. [PMID: 35961279 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2022.102277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) make up a major proportion of plant genomes. Despite their prevalence genome-wide, TEs are often tossed aside as "junk DNA" since they rarely cause phenotypes, and epigenetic mechanisms silence TEs to prevent them from causing deleterious mutations through movement. While this bleak picture of TEs in genomes is true on average, a growing number of examples across many plant species point to TEs as drivers of phenotypic diversity and novel stress responses. Examples of TE-influenced phenotypes illustrate the many ways that novel transposition events can alter local gene expression and how this relates to potential variation in plant responses to environmental stress. Since TE families and insertions at the locus level lack evolutionary conservation, advancements in the field will require TE experts across diverse species to identify and utilize TE variation in their own systems as a means of crop improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie P Klein
- Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Sarah N Anderson
- Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
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23
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Weiss T, Crisp PA, Rai KM, Song M, Springer NM, Zhang F. Epigenetic features drastically impact CRISPR-Cas9 efficacy in plants. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 190:1153-1164. [PMID: 35689624 PMCID: PMC9516779 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiac285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing has been widely adopted for basic and applied biological research in eukaryotic systems. While many studies consider DNA sequences of CRISPR target sites as the primary determinant for CRISPR mutagenesis efficiency and mutation profiles, increasing evidence reveals the substantial role of chromatin context. Nonetheless, most prior studies are limited by the lack of sufficient epigenetic resources and/or by only transiently expressing CRISPR-Cas9 in a short time window. In this study, we leveraged the wealth of high-resolution epigenomic resources in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) to address the impact of chromatin features on CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis using stable transgenic plants. Our results indicated that DNA methylation and chromatin features could lead to substantial variations in mutagenesis efficiency by up to 250-fold. Low mutagenesis efficiencies were mostly associated with repressive heterochromatic features. This repressive effect appeared to persist through cell divisions but could be alleviated through substantial reduction of DNA methylation at CRISPR target sites. Moreover, specific chromatin features, such as H3K4me1, H3.3, and H3.1, appear to be associated with significant variation in CRISPR-Cas9 mutation profiles mediated by the non-homologous end joining repair pathway. Our findings provide strong evidence that specific chromatin features could have substantial and lasting impacts on both CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis efficiency and DNA double-strand break repair outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trevor Weiss
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
- Center for Precision Plant Genomics, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
- Microbial and Plant Genomics Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55108, USA
- Center for Genome Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55108, USA
| | - Peter A Crisp
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
- Center for Precision Plant Genomics, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
- School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Krishan M Rai
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
| | - Meredith Song
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55108, USA
| | - Nathan M Springer
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
- Center for Precision Plant Genomics, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
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24
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Gent JI, Higgins KM, Swentowsky KW, Fu FF, Zeng Y, Kim DW, Dawe RK, Springer NM, Anderson SN. The maize gene maternal derepression of r1 encodes a DNA glycosylase that demethylates DNA and reduces siRNA expression in the endosperm. THE PLANT CELL 2022; 34:3685-3701. [PMID: 35775949 PMCID: PMC9516051 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koac199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Demethylation of transposons can activate the expression of nearby genes and cause imprinted gene expression in the endosperm; this demethylation is hypothesized to lead to expression of transposon small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that reinforce silencing in the next generation through transfer either into egg or embryo. Here we describe maize (Zea mays) maternal derepression of r1 (mdr1), which encodes a DNA glycosylase with homology to Arabidopsis thaliana DEMETER and which is partially responsible for demethylation of thousands of regions in endosperm. Instead of promoting siRNA expression in endosperm, MDR1 activity inhibits it. Methylation of most repetitive DNA elements in endosperm is not significantly affected by MDR1, with an exception of Helitrons. While maternally-expressed imprinted genes preferentially overlap with MDR1 demethylated regions, the majority of genes that overlap demethylated regions are not imprinted. Double mutant megagametophytes lacking both MDR1 and its close homolog DNG102 result in early seed failure, and double mutant microgametophytes fail pre-fertilization. These data establish DNA demethylation by glycosylases as essential in maize endosperm and pollen and suggest that neither transposon repression nor genomic imprinting is its main function in endosperm.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kaitlin M Higgins
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
| | - Kyle W Swentowsky
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
| | - Fang-Fang Fu
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
- Co‐Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Yibing Zeng
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
| | - Dong won Kim
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
| | - R Kelly Dawe
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
| | - Nathan M Springer
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
| | - Sarah N Anderson
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
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25
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Wrightsman T, Marand AP, Crisp PA, Springer NM, Buckler ES. Modeling chromatin state from sequence across angiosperms using recurrent convolutional neural networks. THE PLANT GENOME 2022; 15:e20249. [PMID: 35924336 DOI: 10.1002/tpg2.20249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
Accessible chromatin regions are critical components of gene regulation but modeling them directly from sequence remains challenging, especially within plants, whose mechanisms of chromatin remodeling are less understood than in animals. We trained an existing deep-learning architecture, DanQ, on data from 12 angiosperm species to predict the chromatin accessibility in leaf of sequence windows within and across species. We also trained DanQ on DNA methylation data from 10 angiosperms because unmethylated regions have been shown to overlap significantly with ACRs in some plants. The across-species models have comparable or even superior performance to a model trained within species, suggesting strong conservation of chromatin mechanisms across angiosperms. Testing a maize (Zea mays L.) held-out model on a multi-tissue chromatin accessibility panel revealed our models are best at predicting constitutively accessible chromatin regions, with diminishing performance as cell-type specificity increases. Using a combination of interpretation methods, we ranked JASPAR motifs by their importance to each model and saw that the TCP and AP2/ERF transcription factor (TF) families consistently ranked highly. We embedded the top three JASPAR motifs for each model at all possible positions on both strands in our sequence window and observed position- and strand-specific patterns in their importance to the model. With our publicly available across-species 'a2z' model it is now feasible to predict the chromatin accessibility and methylation landscape of any angiosperm genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis Wrightsman
- Section of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | | | - Peter A Crisp
- School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Univ. of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Nathan M Springer
- Dep. of Plant and Microbial Biology, Univ. of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Edward S Buckler
- Section of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
- Institute for Genomic Diversity, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
- USDA-ARS, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
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26
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Characterization of Transposon-Derived Accessible Chromatin Regions in Rice (Oryza Sativa). Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23168947. [PMID: 36012213 PMCID: PMC9408979 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23168947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Growing evidence indicates that transposons or transposable elements (TEs)-derived accessible chromatin regions (ACRs) play essential roles in multiple biological processes by interacting with trans-acting factors. However, the function of TE-derived ACRs in the regulation of gene expression in the rice genome has not been well characterized. In this study, we examined the chromatin dynamics in six types of rice tissues and found that ~8% of ACRs were derived from TEs and exhibited distinct levels of accessibility and conservation as compared to those without TEs. TEs exhibited a TE subtype-dependent impact on ACR formation, which can be mediated by changes in the underlying DNA methylation levels. Moreover, we found that tissue-specific TE-derived ACRs might function in the tissue development through the modulation of nearby gene expression. Interestingly, many genes in domestication sweeps were found to overlap with TE-derived ACRs, suggesting their potential functions in the rice domestication. In addition, we found that the expression divergence of 1070 duplicate gene pairs were associated with TE-derived ACRs and had distinct distributions of TEs and ACRs around the transcription start sites (TSSs), which may experience different selection pressures. Thus, our study provides some insights into the biological implications of TE-derived ACRs in the rice genome. Our results imply that these ACRs are likely involved in the regulation of tissue development, rice domestication and functional divergence of duplicated genes.
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27
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Hajheidari M, Huang SSC. Elucidating the biology of transcription factor-DNA interaction for accurate identification of cis-regulatory elements. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2022; 68:102232. [PMID: 35679803 PMCID: PMC10103634 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2022.102232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) play a critical role in determining cell fate decisions by integrating developmental and environmental signals through binding to specific cis-regulatory modules and regulating spatio-temporal specificity of gene expression patterns. Precise identification of functional TF binding sites in time and space not only will revolutionize our understanding of regulatory networks governing cell fate decisions but is also instrumental to uncover how genetic variations cause morphological diversity or disease. In this review, we discuss recent advances in mapping TF binding sites and characterizing the various parameters underlying the complexity of binding site recognition by TFs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohsen Hajheidari
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, 12 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Shao-Shan Carol Huang
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, 12 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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28
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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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29
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Taheri S, Teo CH, Heslop-Harrison JS, Schwarzacher T, Tan YS, Wee WY, Khalid N, Biswas MK, Mutha NVR, Mohd-Yusuf Y, Gan HM, Harikrishna JA. Genome Assembly and Analysis of the Flavonoid and Phenylpropanoid Biosynthetic Pathways in Fingerroot Ginger ( Boesenbergia rotunda). Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:7269. [PMID: 35806276 PMCID: PMC9266397 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23137269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Boesenbergia rotunda (Zingiberaceae), is a high-value culinary and ethno-medicinal plant of Southeast Asia. The rhizomes of this herb have a high flavanone and chalcone content. Here we report the genome analysis of B. rotunda together with a complete genome sequence as a hybrid assembly. B. rotunda has an estimated genome size of 2.4 Gb which is assembled as 27,491 contigs with an N50 size of 12.386 Mb. The highly heterozygous genome encodes 71,072 protein-coding genes and has a 72% repeat content, with class I TEs occupying ~67% of the assembled genome. Fluorescence in situ hybridization of the 18 chromosome pairs at the metaphase showed six sites of 45S rDNA and two sites of 5S rDNA. An SSR analysis identified 238,441 gSSRs and 4604 EST-SSRs with 49 SSR markers common among related species. Genome-wide methylation percentages ranged from 73% CpG, 36% CHG and 34% CHH in the leaf to 53% CpG, 18% CHG and 25% CHH in the embryogenic callus. Panduratin A biosynthetic unigenes were most highly expressed in the watery callus. B rotunda has a relatively large genome with a high heterozygosity and TE content. This assembly and data (PRJNA71294) comprise a source for further research on the functional genomics of B. rotunda, the evolution of the ginger plant family and the potential genetic selection or improvement of gingers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sima Taheri
- Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; (S.T.); (C.H.T.); (Y.M.-Y.)
| | - Chee How Teo
- Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; (S.T.); (C.H.T.); (Y.M.-Y.)
| | - John S. Heslop-Harrison
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK; (T.S.); (M.K.B.)
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Trude Schwarzacher
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK; (T.S.); (M.K.B.)
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Yew Seong Tan
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia;
| | - Wei Yee Wee
- School of Science, Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya 47500, Malaysia;
| | - Norzulaani Khalid
- Department of Biology, International University of Malaya-Wales, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia;
| | - Manosh Kumar Biswas
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK; (T.S.); (M.K.B.)
| | - Naresh V. R. Mutha
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37203, USA;
| | - Yusmin Mohd-Yusuf
- Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; (S.T.); (C.H.T.); (Y.M.-Y.)
- Biology Division, Centre for Foundation Studies in Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
| | - Han Ming Gan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya 47500, Malaysia;
| | - Jennifer Ann Harikrishna
- Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; (S.T.); (C.H.T.); (Y.M.-Y.)
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia;
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Sork VL, Cokus SJ, Fitz-Gibbon ST, Zimin AV, Puiu D, Garcia JA, Gugger PF, Henriquez CL, Zhen Y, Lohmueller KE, Pellegrini M, Salzberg SL. High-quality genome and methylomes illustrate features underlying evolutionary success of oaks. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2047. [PMID: 35440538 PMCID: PMC9018854 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29584-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The genus Quercus, which emerged ∼55 million years ago during globally warm temperatures, diversified into ∼450 extant species. We present a high-quality de novo genome assembly of a California endemic oak, Quercus lobata, revealing features consistent with oak evolutionary success. Effective population size remained large throughout history despite declining since early Miocene. Analysis of 39,373 mapped protein-coding genes outlined copious duplications consistent with genetic and phenotypic diversity, both by retention of genes created during the ancient γ whole genome hexaploid duplication event and by tandem duplication within families, including numerous resistance genes and a very large block of duplicated DUF247 genes, which have been found to be associated with self-incompatibility in grasses. An additional surprising finding is that subcontext-specific patterns of DNA methylation associated with transposable elements reveal broadly-distributed heterochromatin in intergenic regions, similar to grasses. Collectively, these features promote genetic and phenotypic variation that would facilitate adaptability to changing environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria L Sork
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1438, USA.
- Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Shawn J Cokus
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-7239, USA
| | - Sorel T Fitz-Gibbon
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1438, USA
| | - Aleksey V Zimin
- Center for Computational Biology, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Daniela Puiu
- Center for Computational Biology, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Jesse A Garcia
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1438, USA
| | - Paul F Gugger
- Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, MD, 21532, USA
| | - Claudia L Henriquez
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1438, USA
| | - Ying Zhen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1438, USA
| | - Kirk E Lohmueller
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1438, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Matteo Pellegrini
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-7239, USA
| | - Steven L Salzberg
- Center for Computational Biology, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
- Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, and Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
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Han B, Wu D, Zhang Y, Li DZ, Xu W, Liu A. Epigenetic regulation of seed-specific gene expression by DNA methylation valleys in castor bean. BMC Biol 2022; 20:57. [PMID: 35227267 PMCID: PMC8886767 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01259-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Understanding the processes governing angiosperm seed growth and development is essential both for fundamental plant biology and for agronomic purposes. Master regulators of angiosperm seed development are expressed in a seed-specific manner. However, it is unclear how this seed specificity of transcription is established. In some vertebrates, DNA methylation valleys (DMVs) are highly conserved and strongly associated with key developmental genes, but comparable studies in plants are limited to Arabidopsis and soybean. Castor bean (Ricinus communis) is a valuable model system for the study of seed biology in dicots and source of economically important castor oil. Unlike other dicots such as Arabidopsis and soybean, castor bean seeds have a relatively large and persistent endosperm throughout seed development, representing substantial structural differences in mature seeds. Here, we performed an integrated analysis of RNA-seq, whole-genome bisulfite sequencing, and ChIP-seq for various histone marks in the castor bean. RESULTS We present a gene expression atlas covering 16 representative tissues and identified 1162 seed-specific genes in castor bean (Ricinus communis), a valuable model for the study of seed biology in dicots. Upon whole-genome DNA methylation analyses, we detected 32,567 DMVs across five tissues, covering ~33% of the castor bean genome. These DMVs are highly hypomethylated during development and conserved across plant species. We found that DMVs have the potential to activate transcription, especially that of tissue-specific genes. Focusing on seed development, we found that many key developmental regulators of seed/endosperm development, including AGL61, AGL62, LEC1, LEC2, ABI3, and WRI1, were located within DMVs. ChIP-seq for five histone modifications in leaves and seeds clearly showed that the vast majority of histone modification peaks were enriched within DMVs, and their remodeling within DMVs has a critical role in the regulation of seed-specific gene expression. Importantly, further experiment analysis revealed that distal DMVs may act as cis-regulatory elements, like enhancers, to activate downstream gene expression. CONCLUSIONS Our results point to the importance of DMVs and special distal DMVs behaving like enhancers, in the regulation of seed-specific genes, via the reprogramming of histone modifications within DMVs. Furthermore, these results provide a comprehensive understanding of the epigenetic regulator roles in seed development in castor bean and other important crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Han
- Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China
| | - Di Wu
- Key Laboratory of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yanyu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - De-Zhu Li
- Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China
| | - Wei Xu
- Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China.
| | - Aizhong Liu
- Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China, Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, China.
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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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Schmitz RJ, Grotewold E, Stam M. Cis-regulatory sequences in plants: Their importance, discovery, and future challenges. THE PLANT CELL 2022; 34:718-741. [PMID: 34918159 PMCID: PMC8824567 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koab281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 55.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
The identification and characterization of cis-regulatory DNA sequences and how they function to coordinate responses to developmental and environmental cues is of paramount importance to plant biology. Key to these regulatory processes are cis-regulatory modules (CRMs), which include enhancers and silencers. Despite the extraordinary advances in high-quality sequence assemblies and genome annotations, the identification and understanding of CRMs, and how they regulate gene expression, lag significantly behind. This is especially true for their distinguishing characteristics and activity states. Here, we review the current knowledge on CRMs and breakthrough technologies enabling identification, characterization, and validation of CRMs; we compare the genomic distributions of CRMs with respect to their target genes between different plant species, and discuss the role of transposable elements harboring CRMs in the evolution of gene expression. This is an exciting time to study cis-regulomes in plants; however, significant existing challenges need to be overcome to fully understand and appreciate the role of CRMs in plant biology and in crop improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Schmitz
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
| | - Erich Grotewold
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
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Dai X, Tu X, Du B, Dong P, Sun S, Wang X, Sun J, Li G, Lu T, Zhong S, Li P. Chromatin and regulatory differentiation between bundle sheath and mesophyll cells in maize. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 109:675-692. [PMID: 34783109 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2021] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
C4 plants partition photosynthesis enzymes between the bundle sheath (BS) and the mesophyll (M) cells for the better delivery of CO2 to RuBisCO and to reduce photorespiration. To better understand how C4 photosynthesis is regulated at the transcriptional level, we performed RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq and Bisulfite-seq (BS-seq) on BS and M cells isolated from maize leaves. By integrating differentially expressed genes with chromatin features, we found that chromatin accessibility coordinates with epigenetic features, especially H3K27me3 modification and CHH methylation, to regulate cell type-preferentially enriched gene expression. Not only the chromatin-accessible regions (ACRs) proximal to the genes (pACRs) but also the distal ACRs (dACRs) are determinants of cell type-preferentially enriched expression. We further identified cell type-preferentially enriched motifs, e.g. AAAG for BS cells and TGACC/T for M cells, and determined their corresponding transcription factors: DOFs and WRKYs. The complex interaction between cis and trans factors in the preferential expression of C4 genes was also observed. Interestingly, cell type-preferentially enriched gene expression can be fine-tuned by the coordination of multiple chromatin features. Such coordination may be critical in ensuring the cell type-specific function of key C4 genes. Based on the observed cell type-preferentially enriched expression pattern and coordinated chromatin features, we predicted a set of functionally unknown genes, e.g. Zm00001d042050 and Zm00001d040659, to be potential key C4 genes. Our findings provide deep insight into the architectures associated with C4 gene expression and could serve as a valuable resource to further identify the regulatory mechanisms present in C4 species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiuru Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomic Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, 271018, China
| | - Xiaoyu Tu
- Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Baijuan Du
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomic Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, 271018, China
| | - Pengfei Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Shilei Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomic Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, 271018, China
| | - Xianglan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomic Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, 271018, China
| | - Jing Sun
- Biotechnology Research Institute/National Key Facility for Gene Resources and Gene Improvement, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Gang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomic Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, 271018, China
| | - Tiegang Lu
- Biotechnology Research Institute/National Key Facility for Gene Resources and Gene Improvement, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Silin Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Pinghua Li
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomic Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, 271018, China
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35
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Epigenome guided crop improvement: current progress and future opportunities. Emerg Top Life Sci 2022; 6:141-151. [PMID: 35072210 PMCID: PMC9023013 DOI: 10.1042/etls20210258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Epigenomics encompasses a broad field of study, including the investigation of chromatin states, chromatin modifications and their impact on gene regulation; as well as the phenomena of epigenetic inheritance. The epigenome is a multi-modal layer of information superimposed on DNA sequences, instructing their usage in gene expression. As such, it is an emerging focus of efforts to improve crop performance. Broadly, this might be divided into avenues that leverage chromatin information to better annotate and decode plant genomes, and into complementary strategies that aim to identify and select for heritable epialleles that control crop traits independent of underlying genotype. In this review, we focus on the first approach, which we term ‘epigenome guided’ improvement. This encompasses the use of chromatin profiles to enhance our understanding of the composition and structure of complex crop genomes. We discuss the current progress and future prospects towards integrating this epigenomic information into crop improvement strategies; in particular for CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and precision genome engineering. We also highlight some specific opportunities and challenges for grain and horticultural crops.
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36
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Zhou P, Enders TA, Myers ZA, Magnusson E, Crisp PA, Noshay JM, Gomez-Cano F, Liang Z, Grotewold E, Greenham K, Springer NM. Prediction of conserved and variable heat and cold stress response in maize using cis-regulatory information. THE PLANT CELL 2022; 34:514-534. [PMID: 34735005 PMCID: PMC8773969 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koab267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Changes in gene expression are important for responses to abiotic stress. Transcriptome profiling of heat- or cold-stressed maize genotypes identifies many changes in transcript abundance. We used comparisons of expression responses in multiple genotypes to identify alleles with variable responses to heat or cold stress and to distinguish examples of cis- or trans-regulatory variation for stress-responsive expression changes. We used motifs enriched near the transcription start sites (TSSs) for thermal stress-responsive genes to develop predictive models of gene expression responses. Prediction accuracies can be improved by focusing only on motifs within unmethylated regions near the TSS and vary for genes with different dynamic responses to stress. Models trained on expression responses in a single genotype and promoter sequences provided lower performance when applied to other genotypes but this could be improved by using models trained on data from all three genotypes tested. The analysis of genes with cis-regulatory variation provides evidence for structural variants that result in presence/absence of transcription factor binding sites in creating variable responses. This study provides insights into cis-regulatory motifs for heat- and cold-responsive gene expression and defines a framework for developing models to predict expression responses across multiple genotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Zhou
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
| | - Tara A Enders
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
| | - Zachary A Myers
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
| | - Erika Magnusson
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
| | - Peter A Crisp
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
- School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jaclyn M Noshay
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
| | - Fabio Gomez-Cano
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
| | - Zhikai Liang
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
| | - Erich Grotewold
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
| | - Kathleen Greenham
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
| | - Nathan M Springer
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
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Benoit M. Hot 'n cold: Applying the cis-regulatory code to predict heat and cold stress response in maize. THE PLANT CELL 2022; 34:497-498. [PMID: 35226744 PMCID: PMC8773968 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koab269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Benoit
- Assistant Features Editor, The Plant Cell, American Society of Plant Biologists, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, NY, USA
- Author for correspondence:
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38
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Cantó-Pastor A, Mason GA, Brady SM, Provart NJ. Arabidopsis bioinformatics: tools and strategies. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 108:1585-1596. [PMID: 34695270 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The sequencing of the Arabidopsis thaliana genome 21 years ago ushered in the genomics era for plant research. Since then, an incredible variety of bioinformatic tools permit easy access to large repositories of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, epigenomic and other '-omic' data. In this review, we cover some more recent tools (and highlight the 'classics') for exploring such data in order to help formulate quality, testable hypotheses, often without having to generate new experimental data. We cover tools for examining gene expression and co-expression patterns, undertaking promoter analyses and gene set enrichment analyses, and exploring protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions. We will touch on tools that integrate different data sets at the end of the article.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Cantó-Pastor
- Department of Plant Biology and Genome Center, University of California Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - G Alex Mason
- Department of Plant Biology and Genome Center, University of California Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Siobhan M Brady
- Department of Plant Biology and Genome Center, University of California Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Nicholas J Provart
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology/Centre for the Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada
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Abraham-Juárez MJ, Barnes AC, Aragón-Raygoza A, Tyson D, Kur A, Strable J, Rellán-Álvarez R. The arches and spandrels of maize domestication, adaptation, and improvement. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2021; 64:102124. [PMID: 34715472 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2021.102124] [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: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
People living in the Balsas River basin in southwest México domesticated maize from the bushy grass teosinte. Nine thousand years later, in 2021, Ms. Deb Haaland - a member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe of New Mexico - wore a dress adorned with a cornstalk when she was sworn in as the Secretary of Interior of the United States of America. This choice of garment highlights the importance of the coevolution of maize and the farmers who, through careful selection over thousands of years, domesticated maize and adapted the physiology and shoot architecture of maize to fit local environments and growth habits. Some traits such as tillering were directly selected on (arches), and others such as tassel size are the by-products (spandrels) of maize evolution. Here, we review current knowledge of the underlying cellular, developmental, physiological, and metabolic processes that were selected by farmers and breeders, which have positioned maize as a top global staple crop.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Jazmín Abraham-Juárez
- Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad (LANGEBIO), Unidad de Genómica Avanzada, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV), Irapuato, 36821, Mexico
| | - Allison C Barnes
- Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Alejandro Aragón-Raygoza
- Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA; Unidad de Genómica Avanzada, Cinvestav Sede Irapuato, Km. 9.6 Libramiento Norte Carretera Irapuato-León, Guanajuato, Mexico
| | - Destiny Tyson
- Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA; Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Andi Kur
- Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Josh Strable
- Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.
| | - Rubén Rellán-Álvarez
- Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.
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40
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Tonnessen BW, Bossa-Castro AM, Martin F, Leach JE. Intergenic spaces: a new frontier to improving plant health. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 232:1540-1548. [PMID: 34478160 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17706] [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: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
To more sustainably mitigate the impact of crop diseases on plant health and productivity, there is a need for broader spectrum, long-lasting resistance traits. Defense response (DR) genes, located throughout the genome, participate in cellular and system-wide defense mechanisms to stave off infection by diverse pathogens. This multigenic resistance avoids rapid evolution of a pathogen to overcome host resistance. DR genes reside within resistance-associated quantitative trait loci (QTL), and alleles of DR genes in resistant varieties are more active during pathogen attack relative to susceptible haplotypes. Differential expression of DR genes results from polymorphisms in their regulatory regions, that includes cis-regulatory elements such as transcription factor binding sites as well as features that influence epigenetic structural changes to modulate chromatin accessibility during infection. Many of these elements are found in clusters, known as cis-regulatory modules (CRMs), which are distributed throughout the host genome. Regulatory regions involved in plant-pathogen interactions may also contain pathogen effector binding elements that regulate DR gene expression, and that, when mutated, result in a change in the plants' response. We posit that CRMs and the multiple regulatory elements that comprise them are potential targets for marker-assisted breeding for broad-spectrum, durable disease resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley W Tonnessen
- Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
- Western Colorado Research Center, Colorado State University, 30624 Hwy 92, Hotchkiss, CO, 81419, USA
| | - Ana M Bossa-Castro
- Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
- Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, 111711, Colombia
| | - Federico Martin
- Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Jan E Leach
- Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
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Zemlyanskaya EV, Dolgikh VA, Levitsky VG, Mironova V. Transcriptional regulation in plants: Using omics data to crack the cis-regulatory code. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2021; 63:102058. [PMID: 34098218 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2021.102058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Innovative omics technologies, advanced bioinformatics, and machine learning methods are rapidly becoming integral tools for plant functional genomics, with tremendous recent advances made in this field. In transcriptional regulation, an initial lag in the accumulation of plant omics data relative to that of animals stimulated the development of computational methods capable of extracting maximum information from the available data sets. Recent comprehensive studies of transcription factor-binding profiles in Arabidopsis and maize and the accumulation of uniformly processed omics data in public databases have brought plant biologists into the big leagues, with many cutting-edge methods available. Here, we summarize the state-of-the-art bioinformatics approaches used to predict or infer the cis-regulatory code behind transcriptional gene regulation, focusing on their plant research applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena V Zemlyanskaya
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia; Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia.
| | - Vladislav A Dolgikh
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Victor G Levitsky
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia; Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Victoria Mironova
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia; Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia; Department of Plant Systems Physiology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525, AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
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Savadel SD, Hartwig T, Turpin ZM, Vera DL, Lung PY, Sui X, Blank M, Frommer WB, Dennis JH, Zhang J, Bass HW. The native cistrome and sequence motif families of the maize ear. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009689. [PMID: 34383745 PMCID: PMC8360572 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Elucidating the transcriptional regulatory networks that underlie growth and development requires robust ways to define the complete set of transcription factor (TF) binding sites. Although TF-binding sites are known to be generally located within accessible chromatin regions (ACRs), pinpointing these DNA regulatory elements globally remains challenging. Current approaches primarily identify binding sites for a single TF (e.g. ChIP-seq), or globally detect ACRs but lack the resolution to consistently define TF-binding sites (e.g. DNAse-seq, ATAC-seq). To address this challenge, we developed MNase-defined cistrome-Occupancy Analysis (MOA-seq), a high-resolution (< 30 bp), high-throughput, and genome-wide strategy to globally identify putative TF-binding sites within ACRs. We used MOA-seq on developing maize ears as a proof of concept, able to define a cistrome of 145,000 MOA footprints (MFs). While a substantial majority (76%) of the known ATAC-seq ACRs intersected with the MFs, only a minority of MFs overlapped with the ATAC peaks, indicating that the majority of MFs were novel and not detected by ATAC-seq. MFs were associated with promoters and significantly enriched for TF-binding and long-range chromatin interaction sites, including for the well-characterized FASCIATED EAR4, KNOTTED1, and TEOSINTE BRANCHED1. Importantly, the MOA-seq strategy improved the spatial resolution of TF-binding prediction and allowed us to identify 215 motif families collectively distributed over more than 100,000 non-overlapping, putatively-occupied binding sites across the genome. Our study presents a simple, efficient, and high-resolution approach to identify putative TF footprints and binding motifs genome-wide, to ultimately define a native cistrome atlas. Understanding gene regulation remains a central goal of modern biology. Delineating the full set of regulatory DNA elements that orchestrate this regulation requires information at two scales; the broad landscape of accessible chromatin, and the site-specific binding of transcription factors (TFs) at discrete cis-regulatory DNA elements. Here we describe a single assay that uses micrococcal nuclease (MNase) as a structural probe to simultaneously reveal regions of accessible chromatin in addition to high-resolution footprints with signatures of TF-occupied cis-elements. We have used maize developing ear tissue as proof of concept, showing the method detects known TF-binding sites. This genome-wide assay not only defines chromatin landscapes, but crucially enables global discovery and mapping of sequence motifs underlying small footprints of ~30 bp to produce an atlas of candidate TF occupancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Savannah D. Savadel
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
| | - Thomas Hartwig
- Institute for Molecular Physiologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Independent research groups, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
| | - Zachary M. Turpin
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
| | - Daniel L. Vera
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
| | - Pei-Yau Lung
- Department of Statistics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
| | - Xin Sui
- Department of Statistics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
| | - Max Blank
- Institute for Molecular Physiologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Independent research groups, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
| | - Wolf B. Frommer
- Institute for Molecular Physiologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Independent research groups, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
| | - Jonathan H. Dennis
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
| | - Jinfeng Zhang
- Department of Statistics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
| | - Hank W. Bass
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Noshay JM, Liang Z, Zhou P, Crisp PA, Marand AP, Hirsch CN, Schmitz RJ, Springer NM. Stability of DNA methylation and chromatin accessibility in structurally diverse maize genomes. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2021; 11:6288454. [PMID: 34849810 PMCID: PMC8496265 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkab190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Accessible chromatin and unmethylated DNA are associated with many genes and cis-regulatory elements. Attempts to understand natural variation for accessible chromatin regions (ACRs) and unmethylated regions (UMRs) often rely upon alignments to a single reference genome. This limits the ability to assess regions that are absent in the reference genome assembly and monitor how nearby structural variants influence variation in chromatin state. In this study, de novo genome assemblies for four maize inbreds (B73, Mo17, Oh43, and W22) are utilized to assess chromatin accessibility and DNA methylation patterns in a pan-genome context. A more complete set of UMRs and ACRs can be identified when chromatin data are aligned to the matched genome rather than a single reference genome. While there are UMRs and ACRs present within genomic regions that are not shared between genotypes, these features are 6- to 12-fold enriched within regions between genomes. Characterization of UMRs present within shared genomic regions reveals that most UMRs maintain the unmethylated state in other genotypes with only ∼5% being polymorphic between genotypes. However, the majority (71%) of UMRs that are shared between genotypes only exhibit partial overlaps suggesting that the boundaries between methylated and unmethylated DNA are dynamic. This instability is not solely due to sequence variation as these partially overlapping UMRs are frequently found within genomic regions that lack sequence variation. The ability to compare chromatin properties among individuals with structural variation enables pan-epigenome analyses to study the sources of variation for accessible chromatin and unmethylated DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaclyn M Noshay
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Zhikai Liang
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Peng Zhou
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Peter A Crisp
- School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | | | - Candice N Hirsch
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Robert J Schmitz
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Nathan M Springer
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
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Hufford MB, Seetharam AS, Woodhouse MR, Chougule KM, Ou S, Liu J, Ricci WA, Guo T, Olson A, Qiu Y, Della Coletta R, Tittes S, Hudson AI, Marand AP, Wei S, Lu Z, Wang B, Tello-Ruiz MK, Piri RD, Wang N, Kim DW, Zeng Y, O'Connor CH, Li X, Gilbert AM, Baggs E, Krasileva KV, Portwood JL, Cannon EKS, Andorf CM, Manchanda N, Snodgrass SJ, Hufnagel DE, Jiang Q, Pedersen S, Syring ML, Kudrna DA, Llaca V, Fengler K, Schmitz RJ, Ross-Ibarra J, Yu J, Gent JI, Hirsch CN, Ware D, Dawe RK. De novo assembly, annotation, and comparative analysis of 26 diverse maize genomes. Science 2021; 373:655-662. [PMID: 34353948 PMCID: PMC8733867 DOI: 10.1126/science.abg5289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 228] [Impact Index Per Article: 76.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
We report de novo genome assemblies, transcriptomes, annotations, and methylomes for the 26 inbreds that serve as the founders for the maize nested association mapping population. The number of pan-genes in these diverse genomes exceeds 103,000, with approximately a third found across all genotypes. The results demonstrate that the ancient tetraploid character of maize continues to degrade by fractionation to the present day. Excellent contiguity over repeat arrays and complete annotation of centromeres revealed additional variation in major cytological landmarks. We show that combining structural variation with single-nucleotide polymorphisms can improve the power of quantitative mapping studies. We also document variation at the level of DNA methylation and demonstrate that unmethylated regions are enriched for cis-regulatory elements that contribute to phenotypic variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew B Hufford
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Arun S Seetharam
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
- Genome Informatics Facility, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Margaret R Woodhouse
- USDA-ARS Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research Unit, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | | | - Shujun Ou
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Jianing Liu
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - William A Ricci
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Tingting Guo
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Andrew Olson
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | - Yinjie Qiu
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Rafael Della Coletta
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Silas Tittes
- Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Asher I Hudson
- Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | | | - Sharon Wei
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | - Zhenyuan Lu
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | - Bo Wang
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | | | - Rebecca D Piri
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Na Wang
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Dong Won Kim
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Yibing Zeng
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Christine H O'Connor
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Xianran Li
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Amanda M Gilbert
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Erin Baggs
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Ksenia V Krasileva
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - John L Portwood
- USDA-ARS Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research Unit, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Ethalinda K S Cannon
- USDA-ARS Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research Unit, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Carson M Andorf
- USDA-ARS Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research Unit, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Nancy Manchanda
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Samantha J Snodgrass
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - David E Hufnagel
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
- Virus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, USDA-ARS, Ames, IA, 50010, USA
| | - Qiuhan Jiang
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Sarah Pedersen
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Michael L Syring
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - David A Kudrna
- Arizona Genomics Institute, School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | | | | | - Robert J Schmitz
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra
- Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Jianming Yu
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Jonathan I Gent
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Candice N Hirsch
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Doreen Ware
- USDA-ARS NAA Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, Agricultural Research Service, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | - R Kelly Dawe
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
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45
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Crisp PA, Bhatnagar-Mathur P, Hundleby P, Godwin ID, Waterhouse PM, Hickey LT. Beyond the gene: epigenetic and cis-regulatory targets offer new breeding potential for the future. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2021; 73:88-94. [PMID: 34348216 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2021.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
For millennia, natural and artificial selection has combined favourable alleles for desirable traits in crop species. While modern plant breeding has achieved steady increases in crop yields over the last century, on the current trajectory we will simply not meet demand by 2045. Novel breeding strategies and sources of genetic variation will be required to sustainably fill predicted yield gaps and meet new consumer preferences. Here, we highlight that stepping up to meet this grand challenge will increasingly require thinking 'beyond the gene'. Significant progress has been made in understanding the contributions of both epigenetic variation and cis-regulatory variation to plant traits. This non-genic variation has great potential in future breeding, synthetic biology and biotechnology applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter A Crisp
- School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072, Australia.
| | - Pooja Bhatnagar-Mathur
- International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, Hyderabad, 502 324, India
| | - Penny Hundleby
- Crop Transformation Group, Department of Crop Genetics, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Ian D Godwin
- Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Peter M Waterhouse
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia; Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia
| | - Lee T Hickey
- Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
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46
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Provart NJ, Brady SM, Parry G, Schmitz RJ, Queitsch C, Bonetta D, Waese J, Schneeberger K, Loraine AE. Anno genominis XX: 20 years of Arabidopsis genomics. THE PLANT CELL 2021; 33:832-845. [PMID: 33793861 PMCID: PMC8226293 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koaa038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Twenty years ago, the Arabidopsis thaliana genome sequence was published. This was an important moment as it was the first sequenced plant genome and explicitly brought plant science into the genomics era. At the time, this was not only an outstanding technological achievement, but it was characterized by a superb global collaboration. The Arabidopsis genome was the seed for plant genomic research. Here, we review the development of numerous resources based on the genome that have enabled discoveries across plant species, which has enhanced our understanding of how plants function and interact with their environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J Provart
- Department of Cell & Systems Biology/Centre for the Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Siobhan M Brady
- Department of Plant Biology and Genome Center, University of California, Davis, California, 95616, USA
| | - Geraint Parry
- GARNet, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Robert J Schmitz
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Georgia, 30602, USA
| | - Christine Queitsch
- Department of Genome Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA
- Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA
| | - Dario Bonetta
- Faculty of Science, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, Ontario, L1G 0C5, Canada
| | - Jamie Waese
- Department of Cell & Systems Biology/Centre for the Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Korbinian Schneeberger
- Department of Chromosome Biology, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, D-50829, Cologne, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, LMU Munich, 82152 Munich, Germany
| | - Ann E Loraine
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, 28223, USA
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47
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Liang Z, Anderson SN, Noshay JM, Crisp PA, Enders TA, Springer NM. Genetic and epigenetic variation in transposable element expression responses to abiotic stress in maize. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 186:420-433. [PMID: 33591319 PMCID: PMC8154091 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiab073] [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: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) pervade most eukaryotic genomes. The repetitive nature of TEs complicates the analysis of their expression. Evaluation of the expression of both TE families (using unique and multi-mapping reads) and specific elements (using uniquely mapping reads) in leaf tissue of three maize (Zea mays) inbred lines subjected to heat or cold stress reveals no evidence for genome-wide activation of TEs; however, some specific TE families generate transcripts only in stress conditions. There is substantial variation for which TE families exhibit stress-responsive expression in the different genotypes. In order to understand the factors that drive expression of TEs, we focused on a subset of families in which we could monitor expression of individual elements. The stress-responsive activation of a TE family can often be attributed to a small number of elements in the family that contains regions lacking DNA methylation. Comparisons of the expression of TEs in different genotypes revealed both genetic and epigenetic variation. Many of the specific TEs that are activated in stress in one inbred are not present in the other inbred, explaining the lack of activation. Among the elements that are shared in both genomes but only expressed in one genotype, we found that many exhibit differences in DNA methylation such that the genotype without expression is fully methylated. This study provides insights into the regulation of expression of TEs in normal and stress conditions and highlights the role of chromatin variation between elements in a family or between genotypes for contributing to expression variation. The highly repetitive nature of many TEs complicates the analysis of their expression. Although most TEs are not expressed, some exhibits expression in certain tissues or conditions. We monitored the expression of both TE families (using unique and multi-mapping reads) and specific elements (using uniquely mapping reads) in leaf tissue of three maize (Zea mays) inbred lines subjected to heat or cold stress. While genome-wide activation of TEs did not occur, some TE families generated transcripts only in stress conditions with variation by genotype. To better understand the factors that drive expression of TEs, we focused on a subset of families in which we could monitor expression of individual elements. In most cases, stress-responsive activation of a TE family was attributed to a small number of elements in the family. The elements that contained small regions lacking DNA methylation regions showed enriched expression while fully methylated elements were rarely expressed in control or stress conditions. The cause of varied expression in the different genotypes was due to both genetic and epigenetic variation. Many specific TEs activated by stress in one inbred were not present in the other inbred. Among the elements shared in both genomes, full methylation inhibited expression in one of the genotypes. This study provides insights into the regulation of TE expression in normal and stress conditions and highlights the role of chromatin variation between elements in a family or between genotypes for contributing to expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhikai Liang
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Sarah N Anderson
- Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Jaclyn M Noshay
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Peter A Crisp
- School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Tara A Enders
- Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, USA
| | - Nathan M Springer
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
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48
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Marand AP, Chen Z, Gallavotti A, Schmitz RJ. A cis-regulatory atlas in maize at single-cell resolution. Cell 2021; 184:3041-3055.e21. [PMID: 33964211 DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.27.315499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
cis-regulatory elements (CREs) encode the genomic blueprints of spatiotemporal gene expression programs enabling highly specialized cell functions. Using single-cell genomics in six maize organs, we determined the cis- and trans-regulatory factors defining diverse cell identities and coordinating chromatin organization by profiling transcription factor (TF) combinatorics, identifying TFs with non-cell-autonomous activity, and uncovering TFs underlying higher-order chromatin interactions. Cell-type-specific CREs were enriched for enhancer activity and within unmethylated long terminal repeat retrotransposons. Moreover, we found cell-type-specific CREs are hotspots for phenotype-associated genetic variants and were targeted by selection during modern maize breeding, highlighting the biological implications of this CRE atlas. Through comparison of maize and Arabidopsis thaliana developmental trajectories, we identified TFs and CREs with conserved and divergent chromatin dynamics, showcasing extensive evolution of gene regulatory networks. In addition to this rich dataset, we developed single-cell analysis software, Socrates, which can be used to understand cis-regulatory variation in any species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zongliang Chen
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Andrea Gallavotti
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA; Department of Plant Biology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Robert J Schmitz
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
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49
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A cis-regulatory atlas in maize at single-cell resolution. Cell 2021; 184:3041-3055.e21. [PMID: 33964211 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 150] [Impact Index Per Article: 50.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
cis-regulatory elements (CREs) encode the genomic blueprints of spatiotemporal gene expression programs enabling highly specialized cell functions. Using single-cell genomics in six maize organs, we determined the cis- and trans-regulatory factors defining diverse cell identities and coordinating chromatin organization by profiling transcription factor (TF) combinatorics, identifying TFs with non-cell-autonomous activity, and uncovering TFs underlying higher-order chromatin interactions. Cell-type-specific CREs were enriched for enhancer activity and within unmethylated long terminal repeat retrotransposons. Moreover, we found cell-type-specific CREs are hotspots for phenotype-associated genetic variants and were targeted by selection during modern maize breeding, highlighting the biological implications of this CRE atlas. Through comparison of maize and Arabidopsis thaliana developmental trajectories, we identified TFs and CREs with conserved and divergent chromatin dynamics, showcasing extensive evolution of gene regulatory networks. In addition to this rich dataset, we developed single-cell analysis software, Socrates, which can be used to understand cis-regulatory variation in any species.
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50
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Wang X, Aguirre L, Rodríguez-Leal D, Hendelman A, Benoit M, Lippman ZB. Dissecting cis-regulatory control of quantitative trait variation in a plant stem cell circuit. NATURE PLANTS 2021; 7:419-427. [PMID: 33846596 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-021-00898-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Cis-regulatory mutations underlie important crop domestication and improvement traits1,2. However, limited allelic diversity has hindered functional dissection of the large number of cis-regulatory elements and their potential interactions, thereby precluding a deeper understanding of how cis-regulatory variation impacts traits quantitatively. Here, we engineered over 60 promoter alleles in two tomato fruit size genes3,4 to characterize cis-regulatory sequences and study their functional relationships. We found that targeted mutations in conserved promoter sequences of SlCLV3, a repressor of stem cell proliferation5,6, have a weak impact on fruit locule number. Pairwise combinations of these mutations mildly enhance this phenotype, revealing additive and synergistic relationships between conserved regions and further suggesting even higher-order cis-regulatory interactions within the SlCLV3 promoter. In contrast, SlWUS, a positive regulator of stem cell proliferation repressed by SlCLV3 (refs. 5,6), is more tolerant to promoter perturbations. Our results show that complex interplay among cis-regulatory variants can shape quantitative variation, and suggest that empirical dissections of this hidden complexity can guide promoter engineering to predictably modify crop traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingang Wang
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Lyndsey Aguirre
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Daniel Rodríguez-Leal
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
- Inari Agriculture, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Anat Hendelman
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Matthias Benoit
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Zachary B Lippman
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
- School of Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
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