Delayed activation of the paternal genome during seed development

Vielle-Calzada, J. P., Baskar, R., Grossniklaus, U. (March 2000) Delayed activation of the paternal genome during seed development. Nature, 404 (6773). pp. 91-94. ISSN 0028-0836

Abstract

Little is known about the timing of the maternal-to-zygotic transition during seed development in flowering plants. Because plant embryos can develop from somatic cells or microspores(1), maternal contributions are not considered to be crucial in early embryogensis(2). Early-acting embryo-lethal mutants in Arabidopsis, including emb30/gnom which affects the first zygotic division(3,4) have fuelled the perception that both maternal and paternal genomes are active immediately after fertilization. Here we show that none of the paternally inherited alleles of 20 loci that we tested is expressed during early seed development in Arabidopsis. For genes that are expressed at later stages, the paternally inherited allele becomes active three to four days after fertilization. The genes that we tested are involved in various processes and distributed throughout the genome, indicating that most, if not all, of the paternal genome may be initially silenced. Our findings are corroborated by genetic studies showing that emb30/gnom has a maternal-effect phenotype that is paternally rescuable in addition to its zygotic lethality. Thus, contrary to previous interpretations, early embryo and endosperm development are mainly under maternal control.

Item Type: Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: ARABIDOPSIS-THALIANA PATTERN-FORMATION GENE EMBRYO EMBRYOGENESIS PROTEIN GNOM TRAP
Subjects: organism description > plant > Arabidopsis
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > genomes
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Grossniklaus lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: March 2000
Date Deposited: 31 Jan 2014 15:00
Last Modified: 31 Jan 2014 15:00
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/29371

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