miRNAs trigger widespread epigenetically activated siRNAs from transposons in Arabidopsis

Creasey, K. M., Zhai, J., Borges, F., Van Ex, F., Regulski, M., Meyers, B. C., Martienssen, R. A. (March 2014) miRNAs trigger widespread epigenetically activated siRNAs from transposons in Arabidopsis. Nature, 508 (7496). pp. 411-415. ISSN 0028-0836

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24670663
DOI: 10.1038/nature13069

Abstract

In plants, post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) is mediated by DICER-LIKE 1 (DCL1)-dependent microRNAs (miRNAs), which also trigger 21-nucleotide secondary short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) via RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 6 (RDR6), DCL4 and ARGONAUTE 1 (AGO1), whereas transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) of transposons is mediated by 24-nucleotide heterochromatic (het)siRNAs, RDR2, DCL3 and AGO4 (ref. 4). Transposons can also give rise to abundant 21-nucleotide 'epigenetically activated' small interfering RNAs (easiRNAs) in DECREASED DNA METHYLATION 1 (ddm1) and DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE 1 (met1) mutants, as well as in the vegetative nucleus of pollen grains and in dedifferentiated plant cell cultures. Here we show that easiRNAs in Arabidopsis thaliana resemble secondary siRNAs, in that thousands of transposon transcripts are specifically targeted by more than 50 miRNAs for cleavage and processing by RDR6. Loss of RDR6, DCL4 or DCL1 in a ddm1 background results in loss of 21-nucleotide easiRNAs and severe infertility, but 24-nucleotide hetsiRNAs are partially restored, supporting an antagonistic relationship between PTGS and TGS. Thus miRNA-directed easiRNA biogenesis is a latent mechanism that specifically targets transposon transcripts, but only when they are epigenetically reactivated during reprogramming of the germ line. This ancient recognition mechanism may have been retained both by transposons to evade long-term heterochromatic silencing and by their hosts for genome defence.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: organism description > plant > Arabidopsis
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > epigenetics
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > epigenetics
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > miRNA
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > miRNA
organism description > plant
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > siRNA
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > transposons
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL Cancer Center Program > Gene Regulation and Cell Proliferation
CSHL labs > Martienssen lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: 16 March 2014
Date Deposited: 11 Apr 2014 18:57
Last Modified: 16 Jul 2021 16:27
PMCID: PMC4074602
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/29733

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