An alternative polyadenylation mechanism coopted to the Arabidopsis RPP7 gene through intronic retrotransposon domestication.

ABSTRACT: Transposable elements (TEs) can drive evolution by creating genetic and epigenetic variation. Although examples of adaptive TE insertions are accumulating, proof that epigenetic information carried by such "domesticated" TEs has been coopted to control host gene function is still limited. We show that COPIA-R7, a TE inserted into the Arabidopsis thaliana disease resistance gene RPP7 recruited the histone mark H3K9me2 to this locus. H3K9me2 levels at COPIA-R7 affect the choice between two alternative RPP7 polyadenylation sites in the pre-mRNA and, thereby, influence the critical balance between RPP7-coding and non-RPP7-coding transcript isoforms. Function of RPP7 is fully dependent on high levels of H3K9me2 at COPIA-R7. We present a direct in vivo demonstration for cooption of a TE-associat

SUBMITTER: Tsuchiya T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3773791 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature