Maintenance of genomic imprinting at the Arabidopsis medea locus requires zygotic DDM1 activity

Vielle-Calzada, J. P., Thomas, J., Spillane, C., Coluccio, A., Hoeppner, M. A., Grossniklaus, U. (November 1999) Maintenance of genomic imprinting at the Arabidopsis medea locus requires zygotic DDM1 activity. Genes and Development , 13 (22). pp. 2971-82. ISSN 0890-9369 (Print)

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Abstract

In higher plants, seed development requires maternal gene activity in the haploid (gametophytic) as well as diploid (sporophytic) tissues of the developing ovule. The Arabidopsis thaliana gene MEDEA (MEA) encodes a SET-domain protein of the Polycomb group that regulates cell proliferation by exerting a gametophytic maternal control during seed development. Seeds derived from female gametocytes (embryo sacs) carrying a mutant mea allele abort and exhibit cell proliferation defects in both the embryo and the endosperm. In this study we show that the mea mutation affects an imprinted gene expressed maternally in cells of the female gametophyte and after fertilization only from maternally inherited MEA alleles. Paternally inherited MEA alleles are transcriptionally silent in both the young embryo and endosperm. Mutations at the decrease in DNA methylation1 (ddm1) locus are able to rescue mea seeds by functionally reactivating paternally inherited MEA alleles during seed development. Rescued seeds are larger than the wild type and exhibit some of the abnormalities found in aborting mea seeds. Our results indicate that the maintenance of the genomic imprint at the mea locus requires zygotic DDM1 activity. Because DDM1 encodes a putative chromatin remodeling factor, chromatin structure is likely to be interrelated with genomic imprinting in Arabidopsis.

Item Type: Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: Alleles Arabidopsis/ genetics/growth & development Arabidopsis Proteins Chromatin/metabolism/ultrastructure DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics/ physiology Gene Expression Regulation, Plant Genes, Plant Genomic Imprinting Plant Proteins/ genetics Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Seeds Transcription Factors/genetics/ physiology Transcription, Genetic Zygote/ metabolism
Subjects: organism description > plant > Arabidopsis
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > protein structure, function, modification > protein types > DNA binding protein
organism description > plant
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Grossniklaus lab
CSHL labs > Timmermans lab
Depositing User: Kathleen Darby
Date: 15 November 1999
Date Deposited: 22 Apr 2014 18:34
Last Modified: 30 Apr 2014 17:17
PMCID: PMC317158
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/29853

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