Epigenetic signatures associated with imprinted paternally expressed genes in the Arabidopsis endosperm.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Imprinted genes are epigenetically modified during gametogenesis and maintain the established epigenetic signatures after fertilization, causing parental-specific gene expression.

Results

In this study, we show that imprinted paternally expressed genes (PEGs) in the Arabidopsis endosperm are marked by an epigenetic signature of Polycomb Repressive Complex2 (PRC2)-mediated H3K27me3 together with heterochromatic H3K9me2 and CHG methylation, which specifically mark the silenced maternal alleles of PEGs. The co-occurrence of H3K27me3 and H3K9me2 on defined loci in the endosperm drastically differs from the strict separation of both pathways in vegetative tissues, revealing tissue-specific employment of repressive epigenetic pathways in plants. Based on the presence of

SUBMITTER: Moreno-Romero J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6385439 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature