Microrchidia ATPases and 6mA DNA demethylase ALKBH1 act antagonistically on PRC2 to control gene expression for stress tolerance
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ABSTRACT: The Microrchidia (MORC) ATPases are required for heterochromatin condensation and transposable element silencing in plants and animals. In plants, MORC proteins have been shown to be required for the efficient RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) at specific chromatin regions and have a function in plant response to biotic stress. Here we provide first evidence linking MORC proteins with Polycomb-Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2). We show that rice MORC proteins interact with PRC2 proteins and are required for efficient PRC2-binding to genomic targets for H3K27me3 and gene repression. This function of MORC proteins is counteracted by ALKBH1, a DNA 6mA demethylase previously shown to impair PRC2 binding to a subset of the target. We find that OsMORC6b binding is enriched at gene transcriptional start sites, which overlaps largely with that of the PRC2 protein EMF2b and co-localizes with fine scale chromatin boundaries delimitating genic H3K27me3 domains from open chromatin. We further show that rice MORC proteins are required to maintain RdDM at CHH sequences at the upstream promoter region and H3K27me3 at the downstream body region for gene repression. These findings uncover novel function for MORC in chromatin regulation and have implications for MORC protein function in other eukaryotic organisms.
ORGANISM(S): Oryza sativa Japonica Group
PROVIDER: GSE267968 | GEO | 2025/05/12
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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