Silencing of Mutator Elements in Maize Involves Distinct Populations of Small RNAs and Distinct Patterns of DNA Methylation.

ABSTRACT: Transposable elements (TEs) are a ubiquitous feature of plant genomes. Because of the threat they post to genome integrity, most TEs are epigenetically silenced. However, even closely related plant species often have dramatically different populations of TEs, suggesting periodic rounds of activity and silencing. Here, we show that the process of de novo methylation of an active element in maize involves two distinct pathways, one of which is directly implicated in causing epigenetic silencing and one of which is the result of that silencing. Epigenetic changes involve changes in gene expression that can be heritably transmitted to daughter cells in the absence of changes in DNA sequence. Epigenetics has been implicated in phenomena as diverse as development, stress response, and car

SUBMITTER: Burgess D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7268996 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature