5-azacytidine promotes microspore embryogenesis initiation by decreasing global DNA methylation, but prevents subsequent embryo development in rapeseed and barley.

ABSTRACT: Microspores are reprogrammed by stress in vitro toward embryogenesis. This process is an important tool in breeding to obtain double-haploid plants. DNA methylation is a major epigenetic modification that changes in differentiation and proliferation. We have shown changes in global DNA methylation during microspore reprogramming. 5-Azacytidine (AzaC) cannot be methylated and leads to DNA hypomethylation. AzaC is a useful demethylating agent to study DNA dynamics, with a potential application in microspore embryogenesis. This work analyzes the effects of short and long AzaC treatments on microspore embryogenesis initiation and progression in two species, the dicot Brassica napus and the monocot Hordeum vulgare. This involved the quantitative analyses of proembryo and embryo production, the

SUBMITTER: Solis MT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4479788 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature