Project description:How epigenetics is involved in the transition from seed maturation to seed germination largely remains elusive. To uncover the possible role of epigenetics in gene expression during the transition from seed maturation to seed germination in soybean, the transcriptome of cotyledons from four stages of soybean seed maturation and germination, including mid-late maturation, late maturation, seed dormancy and seed germination, were profiled by Illumina sequencing. For the genes that are quantitatively regulated at the four stages, two antagonistic epigenetic marks, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3, together with the binding of RNA polymerase II, were investigated at the four stages by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). For 10 out of 16 genes examined, the relative enrichment of histone modification marks (H3K4me3 and H3K27me3) and RNA polymerase II binding on their promoter regions correlates well with their relative expression levels at four stages, suggesting the involvement of epigenetics in transcriptional regulation. A striking finding is that seed germination-specific genes start to show open chromatin (H3K4me3) during late seed maturation although their transcripts do not accumulate, which is further supported by RNA polymerase II binding. Together, our results provide the first evidence that seed germination genes can be primed for transcription (open chromatin and RNA polymerase II binding) during seed maturation, highlighting that the transition from seed maturation to seed germination starts at late seed maturation stages at both the genetic and epigenetic levels.
Project description:How epigenetics is involved in the transition from seed maturation to seed germination largely remains elusive. To uncover the possible role of epigenetics in gene expression during the transition from seed maturation to seed germination in soybean, the transcriptome of cotyledons from four stages of soybean seed maturation and germination, including mid-late maturation, late maturation, seed dormancy and seed germination, were profiled by Illumina sequencing. For the genes that are quantitatively regulated at the four stages, two antagonistic epigenetic marks, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3, together with the binding of RNA polymerase II, were investigated at the four stages by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). For 10 out of 16 genes examined, the relative enrichment of histone modification marks (H3K4me3 and H3K27me3) and RNA polymerase II binding on their promoter regions correlates well with their relative expression levels at four stages, suggesting the involvement of epigenetics in transcriptional regulation. A striking finding is that seed germination-specific genes start to show open chromatin (H3K4me3) during late seed maturation although their transcripts do not accumulate, which is further supported by RNA polymerase II binding. Together, our results provide the first evidence that seed germination genes can be primed for transcription (open chromatin and RNA polymerase II binding) during seed maturation, highlighting that the transition from seed maturation to seed germination starts at late seed maturation stages at both the genetic and epigenetic levels. Illumina sequencing of transcripts from cotyledons of mid-maturation (B1 stage) and late maturation (AA1 stage) seeds, whole dry seeds, and cotyledons of seedlings six days after imbibition.
Project description:During seed maturation, the embryo accumulates nutrition storage compounds such as oil and reservve proteins, and acquires dormancy and desiccation tolerance. Arabidopsis transcription factors LEC1, LEC2, FUS3 and ABI3 are known as the master regulators of seed maturation because all these events during the seed maturation are severely affected by the respective mutants. In addition, the lec1, lec2 and fus3 mutants exhibit some heterochronic characteristics, as exemplified by the development of true leaf-like cotyledons during embryogenesis. To characterize these mutants at the whole genome expression level, microarray experiments were performed.
Project description:During seed maturation, the embryo accumulates nutrition storage compounds such as oil and reservve proteins, and acquires dormancy and desiccation tolerance. Arabidopsis transcription factors LEC1, LEC2, FUS3 and ABI3 are known as the master regulators of seed maturation because all these events during the seed maturation are severely affected by the respective mutants. In addition, the lec1, lec2 and fus3 mutants exhibit some heterochronic characteristics, as exemplified by the development of true leaf-like cotyledons during embryogenesis. To characterize these mutants at the whole genome expression level, microarray experiments were performed.
Project description:Purpose: The goal of our study is to compare two different ecotypes of Oryza sativa L., PHS-susceptible rice trait and PHS-resistant rice trait under three different maturation stages in rice seed embryo with profile of miRNA-seq. Methods: Oryza sativa. L miRNA profiles of two different ecotypes with 3 different maturation stages of rice seed embryo were generated by NGS, in duplicate, following Illumina NGS workflow. Results: We found the differentially expressed microRNAs between PHS-susceptible rice trait and PHS-resistant rice trait according to the three different seed maturation stages. Target transcripts of differentially expressed microRNAs have been predicted via psRNATarget web server, and a part of those target genes are likely to be regulated by microRNAs, affecting overall responses to heat stress and the regulation of seed dormancy during maturation. Conclusions: Our study represents the analysis of rice seed small RNAs, specifically microRNAs, under two different ecotypes, three different seed maturation stages in rice seed embryo. Our results show that microRNAs are involved in response to heat stress and the regulation of seed dormancy. This study will provide a foundation for understanding dynamics of seed dormancy during the seed development and overcoming pre-harvest sprouting.