Active DNA demethylation in plant companion cells reinforces transposon methylation in gametes
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Arabidopsis thaliana
PROVIDER: GSE38935 | GEO | 2012/09/21
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA169395
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:The Arabidopsis thaliana central cell, the companion cell of the egg, undergoes DNA demethylation prior to fertilization, but the targeting preferences and biological significance of this process remain unclear. Here, we show that active DNA demethylation mediated by the DEMETER DNA glycosylase accounts for all of the demethylation in the central cell, and preferentially targets small, AT-rich and nucleosome-depleted transposable elements. The vegetative cell, the companion cell of sperm, also undergoes DEMETER-dependent demethylation of similar sequences, and lack of DEMETER in vegetative cells causes reduced small RNA-directed DNA methylation of transposons in sperm. Our results demonstrate that demethylation in companion cells reinforces transposon methylation in plant gametes, thereby assuring stable silencing of transposable elements across generations Examination of DNA methylation in Arabidopsis endosperm, embryo, and pollen
2012-09-21 | E-GEOD-38935 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Epigenetic reprogramming is required for proper regulation of gene expression in eukaryotic organisms. In Arabidopsis, active DNA demethylation is crucial for seed viability, pollen function, and successful reproduction. The DEMETER (DME) DNA glycosylase initiates localized DNA demethylation in vegetative and central cells, so-called companion cells that are adjacent to sperm and egg gametes, respectively. In rice, the central cell genome displays local DNA hypomethylation, suggesting that active DNA demethylation also occurs in rice, however, the enzyme responsible for this process is unknown. One candidate is the rice REPRESSOR OF SILENCING 1a (ROS1a) gene, which is related to DME and is essential for rice seed viability and pollen function. Here, we report genome-wide analyses of DNA methylation in wild-type and ros1a mutant sperm and vegetative cells. We find that the rice vegetative cell genome is locally hypomethylated compared to sperm by a process that requires ROS1a activity. We show that many ROS1a target sequences in the vegetative cell are hypomethylated in the rice central cell, suggesting that ROS1a also demethylates the central cell genome. Similar to Arabidopsis, we show that sperm non-CG methylation is indirectly promoted by DNA demethylation in the vegetative cell. These results reveal that DNA glycosylase-mediated DNA demethylation processes are conserved in Arabidopsis and rice, plant species that diverged 150 million years ago. Finally, although global non-CG methylation levels of sperm and egg differ, the maternal and paternal embryo genomes show similar non-CG methylation levels, suggesting that rice gamete genomes undergo dynamic DNA methylation reprogramming after cell fusion.
2019-02-21 | GSE126791 | GEO
Project description:The mutagenic activity of transposable elements (TEs) is suppressed by epigenetic silencing and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), especially in gametes that would transmit transposed elements to the next generation. In pollen from the model plant Arabidopsis, we show that TEs are unexpectedly reactivated and transpose, but only in the pollen vegetative nucleus, which accompanies the sperm cells but does not provide DNA to the fertilized zygote. TE expression coincides with down-regulation of the heterochromatin remodeler DECREASE IN DNA METHYLATION 1 and of most TE siRNAs. However, 21 nucleotide siRNA from Athila retrotransposons is generated in pollen and accumulates in sperm, indicating that siRNA from TEs activated in the vegetative nucleus can target silencing in gametes. We propose a conserved role for reprogramming in germline companion cells, such as nurse cells in insects and vegetative nuclei in plants, to reveal intact TEs in the genome and regulate their activity in gametes.
2014-09-04 | GSE61028 | GEO
Project description:Parent-of-origin-specific (imprinted) gene expression is regulated in Arabidopsis thaliana endosperm by cytosine demethylation of the maternal genome mediated by the DNA glycosylase DEMETER, but the extent of the methylation changes is not known. Here we show that virtually the entire endosperm genome is demethylated, coupled with extensive local non-CG hypermethylation of siRNA-targeted sequences. Mutation of DEMETER partially restores endosperm CG methylation to levels found in other tissues, indicating that CG demethylation is specific to maternal sequences. Endosperm demethylation is accompanied by CHH hypermethylation of embryo transposable elements. Our findings demonstrate extensive reconfiguration of the endosperm methylation landscape that likely reinforces transposon silencing in the embryo. Keywords: Epigenetics; bisulfite sequencing Examination of DNA methylation in four Arabidopsis tissues Description of processed data and raw data file contents can be found in the attached README.txt file
2009-06-16 | E-GEOD-15922 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification that undergoes dynamic changes in mammalian embryogenesis, during which both parental genomes are reprogrammed. Despite the many immunostaining studies that have assessed global methylation, the gene-specific DNA methylation patterns in bovine preimplantation embryos are unknown. Using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing, we determined genome-scale DNA methylation patterns of bovine sperm and individual in vivo developed oocytes and preimplantation embryos. We show that: 1) the major wave of genome-wide demethylation was completed by the 8-cell stage; 2) promoter methylation was significantly and inversely correlated with gene expression at the 8-cell and blastocyst stages; 3) sperm and oocytes have numerous differentially methylated regions (DMRs) - DMRs specific for sperm were strongly enriched in long terminal repeats (LTRs) and rapidly lost methylation in embryos, while the oocyte-specific DMRs were more frequently localized in exons and CpG islands (CGIs) and demethylated gradually across cleavage stages; 4) a unique set of DMRs were found between in vivo and in vitro matured oocytes; and 5) differential methylation between bovine gametes was confirmed in some but not all known imprinted genes. Our data provide insights into deciphering the complex epigenetic reprogramming of bovine early embryos and will serve as an important model for investigating human development and the evolutionary and regulatory roles of DNA methylation.
2018-08-01 | GSE110400 | GEO
Project description:Cytosine methylation is a DNA modification with important regulatory functions in eukaryotes. In flowering plants, sexual reproduction is accompanied by extensive DNA demethylation, which is required for proper gene expression in the endosperm, a nutritive extra-embryonic seed tissue. Endosperm arises from a fusion of a sperm cell carried in the pollen and a female central cell. Endosperm DNA demethylation is observed specifically on the chromosomes inherited from the central cell in Arabidopsis thaliana, rice and maize, and requires the DEMETER DNA demethylase in Arabidopsis. DEMETER is expressed in the central cell prior to fertilization, suggesting that endosperm demethylation patterns are inherited from the central cell. Downregulation of the MET1 DNA methyltransferase has also been proposed to contribute to demethylation in the central cell. However, with the exception of three maize genes, central cell DNA methylation has not been directly measured, leaving the origin and mechanism of endosperm demethylation uncertain. Here, we report genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation in the central cells of Arabidopsis and rice, as well as in rice egg cells. We find that DNA demethylation in both species is initiated in central cells, which requires DEMETER in Arabidopsis. However, we do not observe a global reduction of CG methylation that would be indicative of lowered MET1 activity; on the contrary, CG methylation efficiency is elevated in female gametes compared to non-sexual tissues. Our results demonstrate that locus-specific, active DNA demethylation in the central cell is the origin of maternal chromosome hypomethylation in the endosperm.
2016-11-30 | GSE89789 | GEO
Project description:Parent-of-origin-specific (imprinted) gene expression is regulated in Arabidopsis thaliana endosperm by cytosine demethylation of the maternal genome mediated by the DNA glycosylase DEMETER, but the extent of the methylation changes is not known. Here we show that virtually the entire endosperm genome is demethylated, coupled with extensive local non-CG hypermethylation of siRNA-targeted sequences. Mutation of DEMETER partially restores endosperm CG methylation to levels found in other tissues, indicating that CG demethylation is specific to maternal sequences. Endosperm demethylation is accompanied by CHH hypermethylation of embryo transposable elements. Our findings demonstrate extensive reconfiguration of the endosperm methylation landscape that likely reinforces transposon silencing in the embryo. Keywords: Epigenetics; bisulfite sequencing
2009-06-16 | GSE15922 | GEO
Project description:The mutagenic activity of transposable elements (TEs) is suppressed by epigenetic silencing and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), especially in gametes that would transmit transposed elements to the next generation. In pollen from the model plant Arabidopsis, we show that TEs are unexpectedly reactivated and transpose, but only in the pollen vegetative nucleus, which accompanies the sperm cells but does not provide DNA to the fertilized zygote. TE expression coincides with down-regulation of the heterochromatin remodeler DECREASE IN DNA METHYLATION 1 and of most TE siRNAs. However, 21 nucleotide siRNA from Athila retrotransposons is generated in pollen and accumulates in sperm, indicating that siRNA from TEs activated in the vegetative nucleus can target silencing in gametes. We propose a conserved role for reprogramming in germline companion cells, such as nurse cells in insects and vegetative nuclei in plants, to reveal intact TEs in the genome and regulate their activity in gametes. Mature pollen was collected from Columbia reference strain plants by vacuum filtration (Johnson-Brousseau and McCormick, 2004). DNA and RNA were isolated from a ddm1-2 plant in the Columbia reference background. Small RNAs of 19–28 nt were size selected by denaturing 15% PAGE, and cloned as in Brennecke et al. (2007). Additional details regarding the cloning of small RNAs are found in the Supplemental Data. The small RNA libraries were sequenced on Illumina 1G sequencer. The total number of sequences perfectly matching the Arabidopsis genome were as follows: WT inflorescence, 4,158,848 (2,286,133 unique); WT pollen, 1,034,665 (437,984 unique); ddm1 inflorescence, 4,098,772 (1,637,771 unique); and WT sperm, 760,651 (429,972 unique).
2014-09-04 | E-GEOD-61028 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:The Arabidopsis DEMETER (DME) DNA glycosylase demethylates the central cell genome prior to fertilization. This epigenetic reconfiguration of the female gamete companion cell establishes gene imprinting in the endosperm and is essential for seed viability. DME demethylates small and genic-flanking transposons as well as intergenic and heterochromatin sequences, but how DME is recruited to these target loci remains unknown. H1.2 was identified as a DME-interacting protein in a yeast two-hybrid screen, and maternal genome H1 loss affects DNA methylation and expression of selected imprinted genes in the endosperm. Yet, the extent to which how H1 influences DME demethylation and gene imprinting in the Arabidopsis endosperm has not been investigated. Here, we showed that unlike in the vegetative cell, both canonical histone H1 variants are present in the central cell. Our endosperm methylome analysis revealed that without the maternal linker histones, DME-mediated demethylation is facilitated, particularly in the heterochromatin regions, indicating that H1-containing nucleosomes are barriers for DME demethylation. Loss of H1 in the maternal genome has a very limited effect on gene transcription or gene imprinting regulation in the endosperm; however, it variably influences euchromatin TE methylation and causes a slight hypermethylation and a reduced expression in selected imprinted genes. We conclude that loss of maternal H1 indirectly influences DME-mediated demethylation and endosperm DNA methylation landscape but does not appear to affect endosperm gene transcription and overall imprinting regulation.
2022-11-11 | GSE217277 | GEO
Project description:The formation of a zygote by the fusion of egg and sperm involves the two gametic transcriptomes. In flowering plants, the embryo sac embedded within the ovule contains the egg cell, while the pollen grain contains two sperm cells inside a supporting vegetative cell. The difficulties of collecting isolated gametes and consequent low recovery of RNA have restricted in-depth analysis of gametic transcriptomes in flowering plants. We isolated living egg cells, sperm cells, and pollen vegetative cells from rice, and identified transcripts for ~36,000 genes by deep sequencing. The three transcriptomes are highly divergent, with about three quarters of those genes differentially expressed in the different cell types. Distinctive expression profiles were observed for genes involved in chromatin conformation, including an unexpected expression in the sperm cell of genes associated with active chromatin. Furthermore, both the sperm cell and the pollen vegetative cell were deficient in expression of key RNAi components. Differences in gene expression were also observed for genes for hormonal signaling and cell cycle regulation. The egg cell and sperm cell transcriptomes reveal major differences in gene expression to be resolved in the zygote, including pathways affecting chromatin configuration, hormones and cell cycle. The sex-specific differences in expression of RNAi components suggest that epigenetic silencing in the zygote might act predominantly through female-dependent pathways. More generally, this study provides a detailed gene expression landscape for flowering plant gametes, enabling the identification of specific gametic functions and their contributions to zygote and seed development. The gene expression profiles of the three gametic cells, egg cell (EC), sperm cell (Sp) and vegetative cell (Ve) were compared via RNA-seq using three biological replicates for each. Differential expression (DE) analysis was performed using edgeR and the resulting DE genes were assessed for Gene Ontology term enrichment.
2013-10-31 | E-GEOD-50777 | biostudies-arrayexpress