Project description:Arabidopsis mutants in the PMP/PNP oxidase PDX3 show abberant growth and development.RNA sequencing reveals strong induction of stress-related genes in pdx3, particularly those associated with biotic stress.
Project description:Secondary metabolites are involved in the plant stress response. Among these are scopolin and its active form scopoletin, which are coumarin derivatives associated with reactive oxygen species scavenging and pathogen defence. Here we show that in Arabidopsis thaliana, scopolin accumulation can be induced in the root by osmotic stress and in the leaf by low temperature stress. A genetic screen for altered scopolin levels in Arabidopsis thaliana identified a mutant compromised for scopolin accumulation in response to stress; the lesion was present in a homologue of THO1, the product of which contributes to the THO/TREX complex. The THO/TREX complex contributes to RNA silencing, supposedly by trafficking precursors of small RNAs. Mutants carrying defective THO and RDR6 genes were impaired with respect to scopolin accumulation in response to stress, suggesting a mechanism based on RNA silencing like the transacting small interfering RNA pathway which requires THO/TREX and RDR6 function.
Project description:Polycomb (PcG) silencing is crucial for development, but how targets are specified remains incompletely understood. The cold-induced Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) silencing of Arabidopsis thaliana FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) provides an excellent system to elucidate PcG regulation. Association of the DNA binding protein VAL1 to the PcG nucleationregion at FLC is an important step. VAL1 interacts with APOPTOSIS AND SPLICING ASSOCIATED PROTEIN (ASAP) complex and PRC1. Here, we show that ASAP and PRC1 are necessary for co-transcriptional repression and chromatin regulation during FLC silencing. ASAP mutants affect FLC transcription in warm conditions, but the rate of FLC silencing in the cold is unaffected. PRC1-mediated H2Aub accumulates at FLC nucleation region during cold, but unlike the PRC2-delivered H3K27me3 does not spread across the locus. H2Aub thus marks the transition to epigenetic silencing, while H3K27me3 is necessary for long-term epigenetic memory. Overall, our work highlights the importance of VAL1 as an assembly platform co-ordinating the co-transcriptional repression and chromatin regulation necessary for the epigenetic silencing of FLC.
Project description:This study used the mutants nrpe1-11 and ros1-4 to assess the impact of RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) and ROS1 on the Arabidopsis thaliana (ecotype Col-0) methylome.
Project description:Characterization of Epigenetic Regulation in an Extraterrestrial Environment: The Arabidopsis Spaceflight Methylome [Bisulfite-seq]
