Male fertility in Arabidopsis requires active DNA demethylation of genes that control pollen tube function.

Khouider, Souraya, Borges, Filipe, LeBlanc, Chantal, Ungru, Alexander, Schnittger, Arp, Martienssen, Robert, Colot, Vincent, Bouyer, Daniel (January 2021) Male fertility in Arabidopsis requires active DNA demethylation of genes that control pollen tube function. Nature Communications, 12 (1). p. 410. ISSN 2041-1723

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Abstract

Active DNA demethylation is required for sexual reproduction in plants but the molecular determinants underlying this epigenetic control are not known. Here, we show in Arabidopsis thaliana that the DNA glycosylases DEMETER (DME) and REPRESSOR OF SILENCING 1 (ROS1) act semi-redundantly in the vegetative cell of pollen to demethylate DNA and ensure proper pollen tube progression. Moreover, we identify six pollen-specific genes with increased DNA methylation as well as reduced expression in dme and dme;ros1. We further show that for four of these genes, reinstalling their expression individually in mutant pollen is sufficient to improve male fertility. Our findings demonstrate an essential role of active DNA demethylation in regulating genes involved in pollen function.

Item Type:	Paper
Subjects:	organism description > plant > Arabidopsis bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > DNA methylation
CSHL Authors:	Borges, Filipe LeBlanc, Chantal Martienssen, Robert A.
Communities:	CSHL labs > Martienssen lab
SWORD Depositor:	CSHL Elements
Depositing User:	CSHL Elements
Date:	18 January 2021
Date Deposited:	29 Apr 2021 20:40
Last Modified:	29 Apr 2021 20:40
PMCID:	PMC7813888
Related URLs:	Publisher
URI:	https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/39957

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