Blocking histone deacetylation in Arabidopsis induces pleiotropic effects on plant gene regulation and development

AUTOR(ES)

Tian, Lu

FONTE

The National Academy of Sciences

RESUMO

Histone acetylation and deacetylation play essential roles in eukaryotic gene regulation. Reversible modifications of core histones are catalyzed by two intrinsic enzymes, histone acetyltransferase and histone deacetylase (HD). In general, histone deacetylation is related to transcriptional gene silencing, whereas acetylation correlates with gene activation. We produced transgenic plants expressing the antisense Arabidopsis HD (AtHD1) gene. AtHD1 is a homolog of human HD1 and RPD3 global transcriptional regulator in yeast. Expression of the antisense AtHD1 caused dramatic reduction in endogenous AtHD1 transcription, resulting in accumulation of acetylated histones, notably tetraacetylated H4. Reduction in AtHD1 expression and AtHD1 production and changes in acetylation profiles were associated with various developmental abnormalities, including early senescence, ectopic expression of silenced genes, suppression of apical dominance, homeotic changes, heterochronic shift toward juvenility, flower defects, and male and female sterility. Some of the phenotypes could be attributed to ectopic expression of tissue-specific genes (e.g., SUPERMAN) in vegetative tissues. No changes in genomic DNA methylation were detected in the transgenic plants. These results suggest that AtHD1 is a global regulator, which controls gene expression during development through DNA-sequence independent or epigenetic mechanisms in plants. In addition to DNA methylation, histone modifications may be involved in a general regulatory mechanism responsible for plant plasticity and variation in nature.

Documentos Relacionados

• Mutations in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Gene SIR2 Can Have Differential Effects on In Vivo Silencing Phenotypes and In Vitro Histone Deacetylation Activity
• Circadian and Light-Induced Transcription of Clock Gene Per1 Depends on Histone Acetylation and Deacetylation
• Inhibition of Histone Deacetylation Induces Constitutive Derepression of the Beta Interferon Promoter and Confers Antiviral Activity
• Effects of host plant development and genetic determinants on the long-distance movement of cauliflower mosaic virus in Arabidopsis.
• AINTEGUMENTA, an APETALA2-like gene of Arabidopsis with pleiotropic roles in ovule development and floral organ growth.