Plant Physiol. Drug Metab Dispos
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Plant Physiology Preview
Published on October 19, 2007; 10.1104/pp.107.107730

OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE
This Article
Free via Open Access: OA
Right arrow Full Text (Plant Physiology Preview (PDF))
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
145/4/1549    most recent
pp.107.107730v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (10)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Penterman, J.
Right arrow Articles by Fischer, R. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Penterman, J.
Right arrow Articles by Fischer, R. L.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Penterman, J.
Right arrow Articles by Fischer, R. L.

Received August 21, 2007
Accepted September 24, 2007

Genetic Interactions between DNA demethylation and methylation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Jon Penterman , Rie Uzawa , and Robert L. Fischer *

Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

* Corresponding author; email: rfischer{at}berkeley.edu.

DNA demethylation in Arabidopsis is mediated by DNA glycosylases of the DEMETER (DME) family. Three DEMETER-LIKE proteins, REPRESSOR OF SILENCING 1 (ROS1), DML2, and DML3, function to protect genes from potentially deleterious methylation. In Arabidopsis, much of the DNA methylation is directed by RNA interference (RNAi) pathways and used to defend the genome from transposable elements and their remnants, repetitive sequences. Here we investigated the relationship between DML demethylation and RNAi-mediated DNA methylation. We found that genic regions demethylated by DML enzymes are enriched for small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and generally contain sequence repeats, transposons, or both. The most common class of siRNA was 24-nucleotides long, suggesting a role for an RNAi pathway that depends on RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2 (RDR2). We show that ROS1 removes methylation that has multiple, independent origins, including de novo methylation directed by RDR2-dependent and independent RNAi pathways. Interestingly, in rdr2 and drm2 mutant plants, we found that genes demethylated by ROS1 accumulate CG methylation, and we propose that this hypermethylation is due to the ROS1 down-regulation that occurs in these mutant backgrounds. Our observations support the hypothesis that DNA demethylation by DML enzymes is one mechanism by which Arabidopsis genes are protected from genome defense pathways.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
K. Nobuta, C. Lu, R. Shrivastava, M. Pillay, E. De Paoli, M. Accerbi, M. Arteaga-Vazquez, L. Sidorenko, D.-H. Jeong, Y. Yen, et al.
Distinct size distribution of endogenous siRNAs in maize: Evidence from deep sequencing in the mop1-1 mutant
PNAS, September 30, 2008; 105(39): 14958 - 14963.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
A. Rival, E. Jaligot, T. Beule, and E. J. Finnegan
Isolation and expression analysis of genes encoding MET, CMT, and DRM methyltransferases in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) in relation to the 'mantled' somaclonal variation
J. Exp. Bot., September 1, 2008; 59(12): 3271 - 3281.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
ASPB Publications PLANT PHYSIOLOGY® THE PLANT CELL
Copyright © 2007 by the American Society of Plant Biologists