Atypical epigenetic and small RNA control of degenerated transposons and their fragments in clonally reproducing <i>Spirodela polyrhiza</i>.

ABSTRACT: A handful of model plants have provided insight into silencing of transposable elements (TEs) through RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM). Guided by 24 nt long small-interfering RNAs (siRNAs), this epigenetic regulation installs DNA methylation and histone modifications like H3K9me2, which can be subsequently maintained independently of siRNAs. However, the genome of the clonally propagating duckweed Spirodela polyrhiza (Lemnaceae) has low levels of DNA methylation, very low expression of RdDM components, and near absence of 24 nt siRNAs. Moreover, some genes encoding RdDM factors, DNA methylation maintenance, and RNA silencing mechanisms are missing from the genome. Here, we investigated the distribution of TEs and their epigenetic marks in the Spirodela genome. Altho

SUBMITTER: Dombey R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11960707 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature