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Epigenetic inheritance and reprogramming in plants and fission yeast
R A Martienssen1, A Kloc, R K Slotkin
1Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724, USA.
Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology
|March 31, 2009
Summary
Epigenetic silencing in fission yeast and plants relies on RNA interference (RNAi) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). These mechanisms ensure accurate inheritance of epigenetic information during cell division and development.
Area of Science:
- Epigenetics
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Plants and fission yeast possess diverse epigenetic phenomena like transposon regulation and heterochromatic silencing.
- These organisms serve as key models for studying epigenetic information propagation.
- Understanding epigenetic inheritance is crucial for developmental biology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the establishment, maintenance, and inheritance of heterochromatic silencing.
- To explore the cell cycle dependence of RNA interference (RNAi) in fission yeast.
- To analyze epigenomic changes and small interfering RNA (siRNA) production in plants.
Main Methods:
- Utilized genetic and genomic approaches in Schizosaccharomyces pombe (fission yeast) and Arabidopsis thaliana (plant).
- Examined cell cycle-dependent RNAi during S phase in fission yeast.
- Analyzed epigenomic alterations and siRNA generation in plant cell cultures and male germ-line cells.
Main Results:
- Fission yeast RNAi is cell cycle-dependent, occurring during S phase for heterochromatic silencing and histone modification reestablishment.
- Plant cells and male germ-line cells exhibit significant epigenomic changes linked to novel 21-nucleotide siRNAs.
- These changes follow the reactivation of transposable elements (TEs) after loss of heterochromatic DNA and histone methylation.
Conclusions:
- RNAi-mediated heterochromatic silencing is precisely reestablished during S phase in fission yeast.
- TE reactivation and subsequent siRNA production in plants suggest a developmental role in reprogramming.
- A model is proposed where TE revelation and silencing via small RNAs contribute to early plant and animal development.
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