A Stress-Activated Transposon in Arabidopsis Induces Transgenerational Abscisic Acid Insensitivity.

ABSTRACT: Transposable elements (TEs), or transposons, play an important role in adaptation. TE insertion can affect host gene function and provides a mechanism for rapid increases in genetic diversity, particularly because many TEs respond to environmental stress. In the current study, we show that the transposition of a heat-activated retrotransposon, ONSEN, generated a mutation in an abscisic acid (ABA) responsive gene, resulting in an ABA-insensitive phenotype in Arabidopsis, suggesting stress tolerance. Our results provide direct evidence that a transposon activated by environmental stress could alter the genome in a potentially positive manner. Furthermore, the ABA-insensitive phenotype was inherited when the transcription was disrupted by an ONSEN insertion, whereas ABA sensitivity was recove

SUBMITTER: Ito H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4791638 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature