Project description:DECREASE IN DNA METHYLATION 1 (DDM1) is the chromatin remodeling factor that has been genetically identified in Arabidopsis thaliana as a factor involved in the maintenance of repressive epigenomic modifications over transposons. In this study, we performed crosslinking mass spectrometry and biochemical analysis using reconstituted nucleosome to understand the chromatin remodeling activity of DDM1. We found that the unique C-terminal tail of heterochromain-specific H2A.W variant binds to DDM1. This result suggest that DDM1 functions with specific histone variants for the maintenance of repressive modifications and epigenetic regulation of transposon activity.
Project description:Dnmt2 genes are highly conserved tRNA methyltransferases with biological roles in cellular stress responses. Dnmt2 has recently been implicated in transposon silencing in Drosophila but the exact molecular mechanisms are unclear. Adult Dnmt2 mutants were heat shocked and RNA sequencing was performed on visible high-molecular weight RNAs to determine the identity of up-regulated transposons. Dnmt2 mutants accumulated almost all families of transposons after heat shock, indicating a general mis-regulation of transposon silencing in Dnmt2 mutants during the stress response.
Project description:Environmental stress-induced transgenerational epigenetic effects have been observed in various model organisms and human. The capacity and mechanism of such phenomena, particularly in animals, are poorly understood. In C. elegans, siRNA mediates transgenerational gene silencing through the germline nuclear RNAi pathway. At the organismal level, this pathway plays a transgenerational role in maintaining the germline immortality when C. elegans is under a mild heat stress. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is unknown. In this study, we performed a 12-generation temperature-shift experiment (15˚C->23˚C->15˚C) using the wild type (N2) and a mutant strain that lacks the germline-specific nuclear AGO protein HRDE-1/WAGO-9. We found that the temperature-sensitive mortal germline (Mrt) phenotype of the hrde-1 mutant is reversible, indicating a transgenerational cumulative but also reversible nature of the underlying molecular cause. By taking the whole-genome RNA and chromatin profiling approaches, we revealed an epigenetic role of HRDE-1 in repressing heat stress-induced transcriptional activation of over 280 genes, predominantly in or near LTR retrotransposons. Strikingly, for some of these elements, the heat stress-induced transcription becomes progressively activated in the hrde-1 mutant over several generations under heat stress. Furthermore, the effect of heat stress-induced transcription activation is heritable for at least two generations after the heat stress. Interestingly, the siRNA expression of these genes tend to be heat-inducible in the wild type animals, but not in the hrde-1 mutant, suggesting a role of siRNAs in repressing heat-inducible elements. Our study revealed a novel phenomenon of transgenerational feed-forward transcriptional activation, which is normally repressed in the wild type C. elegans by the germline nuclear RNAi pathway. It also provides a new paradigm to study epigenetic circuitry that connects the environment and gene regulation in the germline.
Project description:Environmental stress-induced transgenerational epigenetic effects have been observed in various model organisms and human. The capacity and mechanism of such phenomena, particularly in animals, are poorly understood. In C. elegans, siRNA mediates transgenerational gene silencing through the germline nuclear RNAi pathway. At the organismal level, this pathway plays a transgenerational role in maintaining the germline immortality when C. elegans is under a mild heat stress. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is unknown. In this study, we performed a 12-generation temperature-shift experiment (15˚C->23˚C->15˚C) using the wild type (N2) and a mutant strain that lacks the germline-specific nuclear AGO protein HRDE-1/WAGO-9. We found that the temperature-sensitive mortal germline (Mrt) phenotype of the hrde-1 mutant is reversible, indicating a transgenerational cumulative but also reversible nature of the underlying molecular cause. By taking the whole-genome RNA and chromatin profiling approaches, we revealed an epigenetic role of HRDE-1 in repressing heat stress-induced transcriptional activation of over 280 genes, predominantly in or near LTR retrotransposons. Strikingly, for some of these elements, the heat stress-induced transcription becomes progressively activated in the hrde-1 mutant over several generations under heat stress. Furthermore, the effect of heat stress-induced transcription activation is heritable for at least two generations after the heat stress. Interestingly, the siRNA expression of these genes tend to be heat-inducible in the wild type animals, but not in the hrde-1 mutant, suggesting a role of siRNAs in repressing heat-inducible elements. Our study revealed a novel phenomenon of transgenerational feed-forward transcriptional activation, which is normally repressed in the wild type C. elegans by the germline nuclear RNAi pathway. It also provides a new paradigm to study epigenetic circuitry that connects the environment and gene regulation in the germline.
Project description:In this study, we analyzed the genome-wide epigenetic and transcriptional patterns of the white-rot basidiomycete Pleurotus ostreatus throughout its life cycle. Our results performed by using high-throughput sequencing analyses revealed that strain-specific DNA methylation profiles are primarily involved in the repression of transposon activity, and suggest that 21 nt small RNAs play a key role in transposon silencing.Furthermore, we provide evidence that transposon-associated DNA methylation, but not sRNA production, is directly involved in the silencing of genes surrounded by transposons. Finally, we identified key genes activated in the fruiting process through the comparative analysis of transcriptomes.
Project description:Interspecific hybrids in Arabidopsis result in seed abortion that causes reproductive barrier. To investigate the allelic expression pattern at transcriptome level during early seed abortion stage, we performed RNA-seq analysis in F1 interspecific hybrids with three different ecotypes in A. thaliana as maternal and A. arenosa as paternal and identified MEGs and PEGs. Interestingly, PEGs showed distinct expression pattern in several aspects, compared to MEGs: PEGs showed ecotype-specific expression pattern, suggesting a role for PEGs in ecotype-dependent seed lethality. 35% of previously known MEGs in non-lethal hybrids were found as PEGs in our lethal interspecific hybrids, implying the presence of abnormal paternal allelic upregulation. The correlation test between the upregulation of PEGs and previously reported paternal-excess interploidy cross (2X6) which exhibited seed abortion showed that dosage disruption by abnormal paternal upregulation is correlated with seed abortion. Moreover, epigenetic disruption appears to cause some of abnormal upregulation of paternal alleles in PEGs via mis-regulation of MEA-mediated PcG2 and MET1-mediated DNA methylation. The results provide clue on the critical role of PEGs in seed abortion via disruption of dosage balance and epigenetic regulation.
Project description:Heat acclimation (AC) allows its faster re-induction following its decline. Constitutively preserved euchromatin state in hsp70 promoter during acclimation decline/regain pushed forward the hypothesis that acclimation decline is a period of M-bM-^@M-^\dormant memoryM-bM-^@M-^] involving molecular program including epigenetic controlled transcriptional regulation leading to heat acclimation mediated cytoprotective memory. We used microarray to uncover hallmark pathways in the induction of heat-acclimation-mediated memory, focusing on markers of epigenetic processes. Rats subjected to heat acclimation, deacclimation, reacclimation and untreated controls were used. We showed here that (i) AC2d provides the molecular switch for acclimation (ii) AC30 heart demonstrates qualitative adaptations (iii) specific molecular program encompassing up/down regulated gene during DeAC, of which epigenetic markers such as class A histones, chromatin modifiers and microRNA suggest epigenetic transcriptional regulation linked to acclimation memory (iv) constitutive upregulation of MAPK P38 module and targets as well as jak/stat and AKT associated pathways during DeAC imply its major role in this process. Noteworthy are players such as poly-(ADP-ribose)polymerase-1 (PARP1) and linker histones (histones H1 cluster in this process).