RNA-directed DNA methylation in plants
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Updated: Apr 6, 2026

Determination of DNA Methylation of Imprinted Genes in Arabidopsis Endosperm
Published on: January 28, 2011
Ali Movahedi1, Weibu Sun1, Jiaxin Zhang1
1Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China.
Abstract:
In plants, many small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) direct de novo methylation by DNA methyltransferase. DNA methylation typically occurs by RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM), which directs transcriptional gene silencing of transposons and endogenous transgenes. RdDM is driven by non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) produced by DNA-dependent RNA polymerases IV and V (PolIV and PolV). The production of siRNAs is initiated by PolIV and ncRNAs produced by PolIV are precursors of 24-nucleotide siRNAs. In contrast, ncRNAs produced by PolV are involved in scaffolding RNAs. In this review, we summarize recent studies of RdDM. In particular, we focus on the mechanisms involved in chromatin remodeling by PolIV and PolV.
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