Project description:The C-line contains additional copies of chalcone synthase (CHS) and these result in silencing of the endogenous copy at tt4. The clv1-2 mutation was introduced into this line as a second marker. The line was mutagenised and several revertants obtained which show reduced silencing. The best characterised of these is hog1. The hog1 mutant shows reduced DNA methylation and more intact CHS transcript in Northern blots. I have been funded by the BBSRC gene flow initiative to look for downstream targets of DNA methylation by looking for genes which are up or down regulated by hog1. Three week old plants of the genotype C/C clv1-2 with or without the hog1 mutation will be used to prepare RNA for the study. I have set the sample size at two slides for each sample.
Project description:As part of an investigation into mechanisms of HDG silencing in Arabidopsis, we have produced transgenic plants containing extra copies of the chalcone synthase (CHS) gene. The CHS gene mediates an early step in the biosynthesis of the purple pigment anthocyanin. The insertion of extra copies of CHS in Arabidopsis caused the gene to be silenced in some plants. Seeds harvested from these CHS-silenced plants were mutated by treatment with ems. The progeny of these seeds were screened for "revertants" in which the effects of CHS silencing was alleviated and plants were able to produce anthocyanin. These revertants were found to contain a single recessive mutation; the trait has been termed hog1 (for homology dependant gene silencing 1). Our previous experiment used the Affymetrix 8200 chip to make comparisons between gene expression in the two genetic variants: the CHS-silenced type (ECG) and the anthocyanin-producing revertants (15B). Results showed that there were over 100 genes with at least a 10-fold increase or decrease in expression. However, the variation between 2 reps of each genetic variant was high. We would now like to carry out a modified version of this experiment using the 25K Affymetrix chip. It is intended to increase the number of reps to 4, and take samples at an earlier stage than previously in order to decrease the effect of developmental spread. To reduce the effects of interplant variability, samples will be generated from total plant tissue from a pool of 10 plants at GS 1.04. RNA will be purified using RNeasy kits from Qiagen.
Project description:22-nucleotide (nt) microRNAs (miRNAs) derived from asymmetric duplexes trigger trans-acting phased small interfering RNA (tphasiRNA) production from complementary targets. Here we investigate the efficacy of 22-nt artificial miRNA (amiRNA) mediated RNA silencing relative to conventional hairpin RNA (hpRNA) and 21-nt amiRNA mediated RNA silencing. CHALCONE SYNTHASE (CHS) was selected as a target in Arabidopsis thaliana due to the obvious and non-lethal loss of anthocyanin accumulation upon widespread RNA silencing. Over-expression of CHS in the pap1-D background facilitated visual detection of both local and systemic RNA silencing. RNA silencing was initiated in leaf tissues from hpRNA and amiRNA plant expression vectors under the control of an Arabidopsis RuBisCo small subunit 1A promoter (SSU). In this system, hpRNA expression triggered CHS silencing in most leaf tissues but not in roots or seed coats. Similarly, 21-nt amiRNA expression from symmetric miRNA/miRNA* duplexes triggered CHS silencing in all leaf tissues but not in roots or seed coats. However, 22-nt amiRNA expression from an asymmetric duplex triggered CHS silencing in all tissues, including roots and seed coats, in the majority of plant lines. This widespread CHS silencing required RNA DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE6 mediated accumulation of phasiRNAs from the endogenous CHS transcript. These results demonstrate the efficacy of asymmetric 22-nt amiRNA-directed RNA silencing and associated phasiRNA production and activity, in mediating widespread RNA silencing of an endogenous target gene. Asymmetric 22-nt amiRNA directed RNA silencing requires little modification of existing amiRNA technology and is expected to be effective in suppressing other genes and/or members of gene families.
Project description:As part of an investigation into mechanisms of HDG silencing in Arabidopsis, we have produced transgenic plants containing extra copies of the chalcone synthase (CHS) gene. The CHS gene mediates an early step in the biosynthesis of the purple pigment anthocyanin. The insertion of extra copies of CHS in Arabidopsis caused the gene to be silenced in some plants. Seeds harvested from these CHS-silenced plants were mutated by treatment with ems. The progeny of these seeds were screened for "revertants" in which the effects of CHS silencing was alleviated and plants were able to produce anthocyanin. These revertants were found to contain a single recessive mutation; the trait has been termed hog1 (for homology dependant gene silencing 1). Our previous experiment used the Affymetrix 8200 chip to make comparisons between gene expression in the two genetic variants: the CHS-silenced type (ECG) and the anthocyanin-producing revertants (15B). Results showed that there were over 100 genes with at least a 10-fold increase or decrease in expression. However, the variation between 2 reps of each genetic variant was high. We would now like to carry out a modified version of this experiment using the 25K Affymetrix chip. It is intended to increase the number of reps to 4, and take samples at an earlier stage than previously in order to decrease the effect of developmental spread. To reduce the effects of interplant variability, samples will be generated from total plant tissue from a pool of 10 plants at GS 1.04. RNA will be purified using RNeasy kits from Qiagen. Experiment Overall Design: Number of plants pooled:10 Experiment Overall Design: Biological replicates: 4
Project description:22-nucleotide (nt) microRNAs (miRNAs) derived from asymmetric duplexes trigger trans-acting phased small interfering RNA (tphasiRNA) production from complementary targets. Here we investigate the efficacy of 22-nt artificial miRNA (amiRNA) mediated RNA silencing relative to conventional hairpin RNA (hpRNA) and 21-nt amiRNA mediated RNA silencing. CHALCONE SYNTHASE (CHS) was selected as a target in Arabidopsis thaliana due to the obvious and non-lethal loss of anthocyanin accumulation upon widespread RNA silencing. Over-expression of CHS in the pap1-D background facilitated visual detection of both local and systemic RNA silencing. RNA silencing was initiated in leaf tissues from hpRNA and amiRNA plant expression vectors under the control of an Arabidopsis RuBisCo small subunit 1A promoter (SSU). In this system, hpRNA expression triggered CHS silencing in most leaf tissues but not in roots or seed coats. Similarly, 21-nt amiRNA expression from symmetric miRNA/miRNA* duplexes triggered CHS silencing in all leaf tissues but not in roots or seed coats. However, 22-nt amiRNA expression from an asymmetric duplex triggered CHS silencing in all tissues, including roots and seed coats, in the majority of plant lines. This widespread CHS silencing required RNA DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE6 mediated accumulation of phasiRNAs from the endogenous CHS transcript. These results demonstrate the efficacy of asymmetric 22-nt amiRNA-directed RNA silencing and associated phasiRNA production and activity, in mediating widespread RNA silencing of an endogenous target gene. Asymmetric 22-nt amiRNA directed RNA silencing requires little modification of existing amiRNA technology and is expected to be effective in suppressing other genes and/or members of gene families. sRNA sequencing from aerial tissues of 3-week old plants grown on MS media
Project description:As part of an investigation into mechanisms of HDG silencing in Arabidopsis, we have produced transgenic plants containing extra copies of the chalcone synthase (CHS) gene. The CHS gene mediates an early step in the biosynthesis of the purple pigment anthocyanin. The insertion of extra copies of CHS in Arabidopsis caused the gene to be silenced in some plants. Seeds harvested from these CHS-silenced plants were mutated by treatment with ems. The progeny of these seeds were screened for "revertants" in which the effects of CHS silencing was alleviated and plants were able to produce anthocyanin. These revertants were found to contain a single recessive mutation; the trait has been termed hog1 (for homology dependant gene silencing 1). Our previous experiment used the Affymetrix 8200 chip to make comparisons between gene expression in the two genetic variants: the CHS-silenced type (ECG) and the anthocyanin-producing revertants (15B). Results showed that there were over 100 genes with at least a 10-fold increase or decrease in expression. However, the variation between 2 reps of each genetic variant was high. We would now like to carry out a modified version of this experiment using the 25K Affymetrix chip. It is intended to increase the number of reps to 4, and take samples at an earlier stage than previously in order to decrease the effect of developmental spread. To reduce the effects of interplant variability, samples will be generated from total plant tissue from a pool of 10 plants at GS 1.04. RNA will be purified using RNeasy kits from Qiagen. Keywords: strain_or_line_design
Project description:Background: Introduction of a transgene that transcribes RNA homologous to an endogenous gene in the plant genome can induce silencing of both genes, a phenomenon termed cosuppression. Cosuppression was first discovered in transgenic petunia plants transformed with the CHS-A gene encoding chalcone synthase, in which nonpigmented sectors in flowers or completely white flowers are produced. Some of the flower-color patterns observed in transgenic petunias having CHS-A cosuppression resemble those in existing nontransgenic varieties. Although the mechanism by which white sectors are generated in nontransgenic petunia is known to be due to RNA silencing of the CHS-A gene as in cosuppression, whether the same trigger(s) and/or pattern of RNA degradation are involved in these phenomena has not been known. Here, we addressed this question using deep-sequencing and bioinformatic analyses of small RNAs. Results: We analyzed short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) produced in nonpigmented sectors of petal tissues in transgenic petunia plants that have CHS-A cosuppression and a nontransgenic petunia variety Red Star, that has naturally occurring CHS-A RNA silencing. In both silencing systems, 21-nt and 22-nt siRNAs were the most and the second-most abundant size classes, respectively. CHS-A siRNA production was confined to exon 2, indicating that RNA degradation through the RNA silencing pathway occurred in this exon. Common siRNAs were detected in cosuppression and naturally occurring RNA silencing, and their ranks based on the number of siRNAs in these plants were correlated with each other. Noticeably, highly abundant siRNAs were common in these systems. Phased siRNAs were detected in multiple phases at multiple sites, and some of the ends of the regions that produced phased siRNAs were conserved. Conclusions: The features of siRNA production found to be common to cosuppression and naturally occurring silencing of the CHS-A gene indicate mechanistic similarities between these silencing systems especially in the biosynthetic processes of siRNAs including cleavage of CHS-A transcripts and subsequent production of secondary siRNAs in exon 2. The data also suggest that these events occurred at multiple sites, which can be a feature of these silencing phenomena.