Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 1, 2026

Efficient and Rapid Isolation of Early-stage Embryos from Arabidopsis thaliana Seeds
Published on: June 7, 2013
A two-step process for epigenetic inheritance in Arabidopsis
Todd Blevins1, Frédéric Pontvianne2, Ross Cocklin2
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA; Department of Biology and Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
Abstract:
In Arabidopsis, multisubunit RNA polymerases IV and V orchestrate RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) and transcriptional silencing, but what identifies the loci to be silenced is unclear. We show that heritable silent locus identity at a specific subset of RdDM targets requires HISTONE DEACETYLASE 6 (HDA6) acting upstream of Pol IV recruitment and siRNA biogenesis. At these loci, epigenetic memory conferring silent locus identity is erased in hda6 mutants such that restoration of HDA6 activity cannot restore siRNA biogenesis or silencing. Silent locus identity is similarly lost in mutants for the cytosine maintenance methyltransferase, MET1. By contrast, pol IV or pol V mutants disrupt silencing without erasing silent locus identity, allowing restoration of Pol IV or Pol V function to restore silencing. Collectively, these observations indicate that silent locus specification and silencing are separable steps that together account for epigenetic inheritance of the silenced state.
Related Concept Videos
Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
Epigenetic Regulation
X-chromosome...
Epigenetic Regulation
Epistasis Analysis
Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
Transcription
Transcription is the process of synthesizing RNA from a DNA sequence by RNA polymerase. It is the first step in producing a protein from a gene sequence. Additionally, many other proteins and regulatory sequences are involved in the proper synthesis of messenger RNA (mRNA). Regulation of transcription is responsible for the differentiation of all the different types of cells and often for the proper cellular response to environmental signals.
Transcription Can Produce Different Kinds...

